It's that time again.
I was going to revive the old Christmas light threads we've had in years past, but many of the links in them and pictures are no longer valid Too bad

I collected up some of the pictures and links that are still around, (most on ECN's server) and will start them in a thread here. These span from 2001 to last year.
Where possible, the member that contributed them's name is given. Sorry I can't post all the comments from the past threads, but it would all seem out of place without the pictures.


Please add to the thread here by posting comments on this thread, sending in photos to us, and posting links to cool and interesting Holiday lighting pictures.

You can email pictures to

electure@sbcglobal.net
or to
Photos@electrical-contractor.net


From Bill Addiss









From Scott 35's neighborhood

Some more from Scott 35





A couple from Paul UK





Safety links from e57 http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/Christmas99.PDF http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/ChristmasTrees.pdf

Roger has a Christmas picture of his place so beautiful, he'll have to post it himself.

From Trumpy, a New Zealand decoration

From Bill Nelson's www.oldchristmaslights.com




(the Detect-o-lite has a 1923 patent)


Steve Fehr posted this one http://computerchristmas.com/index.phtml

From Out-of-Phase, we got these

"Steve" sent me this link.
http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/XmasLights.htm


And Doug Wells was the one that found the "Mother of All Christmas Light Displays"
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/45390/wizards_of_winter/

Here is my house




and here is the front door



I am hoping to run one of those computer controlled lightshows next year. I test-ran something like it on halloween and it worked really well.

As for the christmas lights, there are 5-250W. floodlights, 1-500W flood on the front door, and 2,200 small, white lights. The extension cords are all black 12awg cables that I cut to size, all running off of 2, 20 amp ccts. The circuits have GFCI breakers in the panel in the basement (Square D QO) and are each wired to a switch in my office. I can turn my lights on and off without having to go outide. I am eventually probably going to put a timer on the 4 outside circuits (2 ccts. front of house, 2 on the back deck) but I like being able to easily turn the outlets on for when I use them for power tools. Merry CHRISTmas everyone


[This message has been edited by electure (edited 12-13-2006).]

Here's my home-stead this year. Last year to decorate this old place, next year, it'll be gone, and I'm off to decorate a Levittowner.

Yes, they're plugged into the outlet on the pedestal. Yes, they're plugged into a 120/20amp outlet, not rigged into a 240. No, they're not plugged into the socket adapter on the porch. But, the pedestal's another post.







I'm heading to Levittown on Sunday Night, armed and ready with camera.

Ian A.

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 12-17-2006).]

[This message has been edited by Theelectrikid (edited 12-19-2006).]

A belated picture from Sandsnow






(Beautiful, Larry)

Bump.

Here's my album for this year:

https://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Macsignals/Christmas%202007/

Me and my aunt in NJ are having a "competition," who can put up the most lights... So more pics are sure to come.

Ian A.

Ah, so you're the ones responsible for the latest power crisis in the States!

This year you can post your own photos!!

Just go to: http://www.electricalphotos.com/ and register.

Upload them there, and post them here using the little button above (just to the right of the envelope)to copy the url.
**************************************************************
Of course you can always still send them to one of the moderators or the Webmaster and we'll post them.

YUP, They all worked when I took them down. Now over 2/3ds DON"T!! She's Bi***n And I aswell. Over $200 last year for lights.
I can't beleive anyone would try this more than once!!!!!!!!
You guys are outa' your minds!!!!
I'm moving to SO.Cal. No Christmass in warm climates, Right !!!!? (PLEASE SAY YES!!!!!)

PS: WHO WAS THE GENIUS WHO DECIDEd THEY SHOULD BE IN SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG.Just a tad miffed.:)

Here is a start on my lighting for the season. The larger C9 lamps are removable from the string so i can make my own Pattern of lamp placement




And then it snowed

This year I will be doing a "less is more" home-made DIY job with prismatic - lo-tech gobo and wash of the whole front of the house - I started today.... I'll post pic's as they come....

This is my snow flake light - I cut a piece if 24ga steel into a snow flake and mounted it it 3/4" Emt with few spot welds. The lighting effect is from two MR-16's (w/ a red and a green dicro filter for each) from two simular but slightly different angles through 2" EMT to give it a clean spot - The spot shows as yellow - but the shadows of each snow flake show as red and green.

There's this "series/parallel" flashing and variable brightness Xmas light scheme we've done for years:

In the schematic diagram under the tree, the black bulbs indicate a string that had its flasher bulb go open circuit for the moment. You rig up a violation like this to make it work:

http://pw2.netcom.com/~wa2ise/radios/xmassp.html for more details

Cool, e57! If you add a third light, with a blue filter, you can have a white background, and red, green, blue, cyan, yellow and purple pieces of snowflake. Arrange the lights in a triangle pattern.

Thet looks great. How would you get "SEA FOAM GREEN"?
AAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
Your' still outa your minds.:)

Hello everyone,

Thanks for bringing this thread to life electure.

I just started putting up lights the other day. I have 400+ C9 mulitcolored lights to hang, and some other 'stuff'..I will surely take some pics and post them.

Ya'll have a classic day and I'll be in touch.

Hmmmmm, New Years I just might add that....

Heres some good videos.

http://www.lightorama02.com/Videos.html

Soooo... I'm still working on my holiday lighting. Which consists solely of MR-16 landscape lighting with some colored filters. We're talking big bang for small bucks here, since it's lighting already there - just re-directed, and colored.... Some tasteful washes of red and green with silhouetted snowflakes added to previous picture....

Anyone got schematics for a flasher circuit by way of pennies on the dollar? (No 'Light o Rama' in my future...) Better yet a circuit to fade on and off (Slowly) at 12VAC under 50w load????

(All non-premis wiring - don't atempt at home kids)

Luke Clarke (Luketrician)

I just finished off the inside of the house, about 480 lights inside alone. Also, a $15 Made-in-USA Santa Claus from Walmart wraps up the display outside (at ground level at least...)

https://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Macsignals/Christmas%202007/

Ian A.

And to think I just chucked out about 25 or so strings of C-9 lights!.. Wasn't that they didnt look good when they were all up, it was just they made the KwH meter spin way too fast for my liking... I am going LED Next season!

A.D

Well I have added some stuff to my holiday lighting....


I realized that I can change the main image on the house any time I want by re-installing any figure I want - be it snow flakes - shooting star or X-mas tree on to the 3/4" emt stuck in the ground out front. Whatever I want cut into plexi ot tin roughly 1' sq will project on the house 5' sq in dual color of red and green on yellow mixed.

I also added some homemade gobo's that I was talking about.... One fixture (snow flakes) I made will project ~100' with a simple MR-16 12 degree spot through a telephoto lens from an old camera. By using the zoom I can make the image big or small.

And another super cheap gobo (Merry Christmas) by simply duct taping a 50mm SLR lens to a MR-16 bullet fixture with a colored lens and small spacer of 2" EMT. With this one image size is soley dependent on distance to projection surface. (Far big - close small)But the effect is neat!

I still have some aiming and focusing to do - but I'm pleased with the effect.

I still have another idea about animating some "snow" out there by using a disco ball mounted horizonally....

Anyone got any other neat projection ideas?

My apologies to ECN Member KJ.
I've sat on this image for ages.
So, here we go:



Thanks KJ for submitting it.

Good stuff.

I bought one of these for 79.00 today

LIGHT CONTROLLER

A short YOUTUBE Video