Hello from Canada - DIY Permanent Holiday Light implementation

[glalonde25]

While I registered to this forum almost a year ago, I had been holding off contributing a first post but it is time to share some of my development.

How it all started
After hanging and removing last winter's traditional Christmas lights from our house roof line and the front lawn tree, I sought out an easier/faster ways of tackling this yearly chore under Canadian winter conditions. After googling a bit, I stumbled on a blog that pointed me to a YouTube video that introduced me to some DIY Permanent Holiday Lights offered by some US based company. Subsequently I discovered the large following of folks creating amazing Christmas Lights shows for the enjoyment of everyone. Although my goal was much more modest as I was simply looking to set up lights along our house roof line, I decided to invest a bit of time to see whether it would be feasible to use the same technology for my own needs.

The more forums and blogs I read regarding the type of lights, controllers and software available, the more I felt truly overwhelmed. Decisions, decisions, decisions. After much consideration, I made the following decisions for which I have little regrets to-date:

1. 5v pixel nodes (WS2811) ordered directly from Ray Wu (Sun Lei Lights)
   • 4 sets of 50 pixel node strings with 22 cm (9 inch) spacing between nodes
2. pixel controller ordered the E6804 Kit from SanDevices
   • my first soldering project
3. power supply power ordered the Meanwell LRS-350-5;5V/350W
   • 
4. software for light sequencing/scheduling
   • used Xlights to create models and sequences
5. enclosure ordered Leviton 14" Structured Media Center box
   • installed enclosure in garage on exterior wall
   • feed CAT5 and AC power to it
6. aluminium channel track design and build
   • basic channel design adapted from standard soffit channel track offered by some commercial permanent home holiday lighting systems provider
   • 
   • purchase 50' aluminium coil of 24" width
   • rented an aluminium brake (1 day) and folded channels as per selected design
   • rented a drill press and designed a jig to drill 12mm holes at every 22cm (9 inches)
   • 
7. securing aluminium channels
   • learned to make professional corners and connections with the helped of some online videos
   • used three ports on the pixel controller: 1st for pixels on lower house level, 2nd for second house level and finally third port for pixels on the two peaks
   • rented tow-behind boom to hang channels and lights on roof peaks
   • 
   • 
8. power injection
   • Added power injection to mid-run on the lower house run
9. null pixels
   • Added two nulls pixels from controller to the start of each of the two upper runs
   • 

What I would do differently:
Outsource the build of the aluminium channel segments (54 ") with holes to a local metal shop (diy: $8 vs outsource: $10cdn)

Closing thoughts:
It seems like commercial installation of Permanent Holiday Lights in our area has really taken off in a big way.

 

[djgra79]

Welcome to ACL. Great looking outlines, reminds me of traditional Christmas lights like you see in the movies.
Do you have plans to add any more props for this year or keep things simple? Nothing wrong with either way

 

[glalonde25]

Thank you. No plans in the short term to add any props. I wish to see how well the pixel lights, controller, etc fare after a couple of winters. I learned quite a bit from the 101 lighting manual and this forum. I hope this post encourages others to pursue their Christmas ligthting project.