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Monday, 16 October 2017 05:04

DIY Flash To Music Christmas Lights

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DIY Christmas Lights DIY Christmas Lights

It has become quite popular for people to synchronize Christmas videos to music especially since Gangnam Style (by PSY) became an anthem that made it to the Christmas light extravaganza.

The fun of it all is that you are free to choose your favorite videos and tunes to synchronize for your next Christmas adventure.

Although it takes a lot of planning, light stocking, and connection work, it is something you can easily achieve if you are serious about impressing your friends and family on this festive season. Nonetheless, it is not going to be an easy task particularly for those who have never taken on such projects.

Synchronizing flash videos to music requires insights and a certain level of mastery. Here is a step by step guide on how to achieve success with minimal hassle:

How big do you want the lights to be?

This should be your starting point before undertaking any such projects. Some people will only want the whole home draped while others choose to light up inside, outside or specific spots like the front garden.

Make this decision fast as it will impact all your choices as you go in search of Christmas lights and other accessories. Remember that you can only flash a channel and not a single bulb.

Christmas Lights

A channel usually consists of many bulbs connected to work as a single unit. If you are just starting out, choose 32 to 64 bulb channels as any option with more lights will be quite overwhelming to deal with.

The next step is to purchase Christmas lights. It is often advisable to buy lights during off- peak periods. One day after Christmas is fine as most prices drop by up to 80%. You can always browse the internet for price hunting.

Obtain A Control System

There are various kinds of control systems available including built-in systems, kits or manual DIYs. A completely built system will usually work from the box and costs around $25 per channel while kits require a bit of hands-on work and come at around $15. DIY kits cost around $5 per channel.

A control system includes a controller that communicates with your PC and SSRs (solid state relays) which switch on the lights. DIY kits may allow you to customize the lights and save up more money but the process will consume a lot of time.

If you are running low on that, only go for built-in kits that require minimal hands-on work. Getting some help from friends is important.

On your own, you need some 3-6 months before the lights can switch. This is not a simple project by any means and requires a lot of help to make the necessary arrangements and connections.

Find Good Software

You will need the software that allows integration and synchronization. You can easily buy one from vendors like Light-O-Rama or Animated Lighting.

Make sure you review the software as some can take hours to program one minute of the song while others take a few minutes but are often more expensive.

If you are a tech wizard, you program your DIY software, but this is only available if you land open-source applications. Most pre-built systems are closed and do not allow additional programming. Some offers are also free.

DIY Christmas Lights Decorating

Designing The Display

Consider including mini lights and clear lights for landscaping, Icicle and c-series for roof lights, mini trees that are two or three feet tall and multiple colored, one mega tree, wire frames, blow molds and C9 lights. All these supplies and lights are necessary for animation and displaying the lights.

Final Decisions

The last part which is the main within the process is programming the song. Chose your favorite music and synchronized everything at once.

Test it to make sure it is working and wake up every morning to check on your light and ensure it is still working. Maintenance is very crucial as you do not want the project to fail on the d-day.

If you wish, you can add a post outside your yard and play the music over and over in the neighborhood for publicity. Make sure there is sufficient power supply to run the channels.

Read 5582 times Last modified on Thursday, 28 September 2017 22:25