Question 1

Why are you doing this?

Accepted Answer

Our family loves the holiday season, lights, and technology.  We thought this would be a perfect project for our family to work on together. We realized this would also be a perfect opportunity to share the magic of the season with each other, our community, and for those less fortunate.

Question 2

How many lights/pixels are in your show?

Accepted Answer

As of this moment, there are about 6,000 pixels in our display. As of November 17th  - we are still waiting for a few more lights to arrive.   Main Show Elements: Megatree and Star = 1,725 pixels Matrix Display = 1,235 pixels Singing Trees x 4 = 1008 pixels PPD Geo Wreath (center prop) = 600 pixels Mega Spinners (circles under windows) x 2 = 480 pixels Leaping Arches x 5 = 375 pixels Ground Stakes x 50 = 250 pixels Windows x 3 = 338 pixels Flood Lights x 9 = 9 pixels

Question 3

How high is your electricty bill?

Accepted Answer

The entire show only uses a few hundred watts of power - the same as a few traditional 100w incandescent light bulbs. We use LED lights which are very efficient and operate on 12 volts. They use very little power compared to incandescent/traditional lights. The lights run at about 30% total brigthness which makes them even more efficient (and nicer to watch).   We use approximately 10 power supplies which are not much different than what you would use for landscape lighting and computers.

Question 4

How do you have your own radio station? Where does your music come from?

Accepted Answer

We use a very low power FM transmitter to broadcast over the air. We selected the station frequenecy (91.9FM) because it was free from interference from other radio stations.

Question 5

How does this all work?

Accepted Answer

The basic premise is as follows: We use special lights called "pixels". Pixels are bulbs which have 3 small lights inside them - a red light, a green light, and a blue light - these are also known as "RGB lights". By controlling the brightness of these three lights we can make millions of colors.   Pixels are controlled by...well.... controllers! The pixels attach to controllers, and the controllers tell the pixels (and their RGB lights) to be on or off.  There are many different kinds of lighting controllers you can buy. Each have their strengths and weaknesses.  See the question about "What equipment are you using?" for details.   But we need something to manage and coordinate the controllers, and for that we use a system of computers.  We have one "master" computer (a Raspberry Pi 3B+) which coordinates a group of "remote" computers (these are Raspberry Pi Zero WH). The master and remote computers run an operating system called Falcon Pi Player (FPP) which manages playlists, communications, and much more. By controlling groups of pixels we can create amazing patterns and effects. Finally, we need software called a "sequencer" to tell the computers and controllers exactly what they should be doing and at what time. The sequencer is where the music and colors come together to create amazing patterns and effects. We use a free, open-source piece of software called xLights. If you have ever worked with video or audio or other media editing software - or even something like GarageBand - you will understand the similarities.  When you complete a sequence for a song, you push the sequence file to the main computer. The main computer then talks to the remote computers to tell them when to start a sequence, and it passes along the data in the sequence file to tell the controllers when and how to to change each light.

Question 6

I'd like to make my own display - how do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Most lighting projects start with research.  We started our journey on January 2, 2021 which gave us just enough time to research the topic, understand the equipment and technolgies, order materials, and test test test (and break stuff!)    There are many ways to approach a lighting project - so give yourself plenty of time to think about your goals, your house layout, and which technologies you wish to use.     Excellent places to start are:   Beginners Guide Wiki Canispater Christmas Youtube Channel Do It Yourself Christmas forum   Feel free to drop us a line if you get stuck!

Question 7

What equipment are you using?

Accepted Answer

Here is a list of most of the components to our setup this year:   Lights
- Approximately ~6,000 ws2811 pixels.
- ws2811 Strip lights 30/10 (arches)  x 5
- Floodlights 20W x 7   Controllers:
- Falcon F16V3 (16 port controller)
- Falcon Expansion board (16 ports) - Falcon Differential Expansion board for receivers
- Falcon Differential Receiver board x 3 (4 ports each)   Computers:
- Raspberry Pi 3B+ - master show computer
- Raspberry Pi Zero WH x 7 - remote computers for props on house
- Raspberry Pi 4 2G - backup master computer
- Raspberry Pi 4 8G - communications gateway for remote management   Software:
- Falcon Pi Player (FPP) - handles scheduling and synchronization
- xLights - sequencing software   FM Transmitter:
- Signstek ST-05B FM transmitter   Network:
- Ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M2 wireless network/access point
- Netgear 4 port switch   Power Supplies:
- Meanwell 12v 350W x 6
- HP Server PSU 12v 750W with breakout board x 2
- HP Server PSU 12v 900W with breakout board x 2   Enclosures: - Main enclosure box is an equipment travel case donated by Automation & Control Inc. out of Moorestown NJ. - BudBox 32026 (XL) Double Decker with Bud NBX-32926-PL mounting plate - CableGuard CG-1500 with WiredWatts mounting plates - CableGuard CG-2000 with WiredWatts mounting plates - MTM ACR8-72 Crate Utility Box with Bud NBX-32926-PL mounting plate - Plano 1312 Box x2    Miscellaneous: - 5v Wifi controlled relay to reboot computers remotely if needed - 12 Sonoff/eWeLink smart wifi switches to control/reboot/reset computers and power supplies - Foscam PTZ cameras to monitor show and traffic - 5v ws2811 pixie/fairy lights for inside house - Multiple ESPArtSticks and ESPixelSticks to control ws2811 pixie/fairy lights inside house  - HDPE tubing for arches - PixNode net for matrix