Checking out the competition

As your show develops and grows, you will notice other people's displays with a bit more interest in what they have in their yards and on their homes. Driving around town is a good way to do this and will provide you and your family with a bit of other families' Christmas cheer. If you are involved in a contest of lights, this is your chance for a bit of friendly snooping. In any case, lets check out the twinkles in our general vicinity.

Dallas, Oregon
Larry Weiss puts on a spectacular show on Fir Villa Street. Complete with a train running around and so many lights even he isn't sure how many! We really enjoyed his display!

Mcminnville, Oregon

Davison Auto Parts puts on a nice display that includes a Ferris Wheel with Disney characters riding in it. What a fun idea!

We are still in a contest in our town of Willamina, Oregon and entries have to be posted by December 19th to be eligible so get yours in now! We hope to win but whatever the outcome, there will surely be a lot of colorful lights for everyone to enjoy this Christmas season. Bundle up the kids, have hot chocolate on standby and tour your town for displays. Its a fun way to spend an hour or so. Our lights are on every night starting at 6 PM til 10 PM until New Year's day. So if your are near us, come check us out (and bring us some canned food or non-perishables to donate to our local food-bank).

Sneak Peek Telletran-style

Runescape Intro

Scape Santa

Sometimes hobbies overlap and here it is! A song from Runescape called Scape Santa (only heard around Christmas-time), coupled with a bit of programming, mix in a ton of lights and a dash of data and AC equipment to produce a dazzling tribute to both hobbies! Woot! This one is for Chief, Biggs and the rest of the clan of the Adult Lounge. Merry Christmas all.

Lets have a look at the whole thing before anyone else does! Lights officially go on December 10th but as usual, testing has to be done to ensure a flawless performance. Enjoy!

The Little Thing VS The Big Thing

Reindeer or Chihuahua? You be the judge.

With 9 days left til LIGHTS ON!, a lot of details have to be addressed. Some are easy fixes like broken bulbs or small repairs. These are always the things that will slow you down when setting up your show so you want to check over all your light elements during the year. Almost all of our data communications are in place with SSR O1 mysteriously missing (probably packed away in another box). Organize your items by type is the easiest way to keep things were they are supposed to be. Also, once your show is set up, go back to where things are stored and tidy it and reorganize whats left. You will be surprised at what was not put out for various reasons. Check these things to see if they will be needed in the future shows. If an item will not be used as is, perhaps it can be used in a project. Stow these items in a separate box and label it to keep it apart from your good stuff. Scrap the things that will not be needed and you will save on storage space. Allow a little more time for items that are new in the setup. Read the instructions if you are not sure how to go about setting items up. Remind yourself about weather and moisture getting in your cords or lights as its not a good thing if it all goes poof! A simple way to keep water/rain off cord junctions is to make a tape roof. Simply take 2 pieces of vinyl tape and attach them side edge to side edge with a slight overlap. Stick it on the junction without wrapping it around and it will act as a roof. Water will penetrate tape wrapped junctions and stay there causing a short. Another trick is to take 2 liter pop bottles and cut them into domes with long zigzag cuts to act as spikes to anchor in the ground.

Details, Details, Details! Now back to work!

Halfway there and lots to do!

All of the substructures have been put up and most of the lights are in their places. The inflatables are inflated and have stopped blowing their fuses. A few more icicles need to be put on the side of the house. Next will be the major AC lines and the data communication system with the audio system to be installed after that. Some additional programming will be needed to accommodate the new SSRs out in the yard but it will be a matter of copy and paste for that. Best news is that we have entered the Willamina Home Illumination Contest! First place is $50, second place is $35 and third place is $15. We are thrifty shoppers so any prizes we get will be spent on as much food as we can to be donated to the Food bank. I think we will finish in the top 3 at least (cross your fingers!). Also, there are still a few more items to be built or rebuilt so those things will have to be squeezed in there somewhere. All in all, we are on track to finish and test before LIGHTS ON!

Here we go again!

Its that time of the year again! Time to get going on setting up the new and improved display! Some of the old making a reappearance and some new stuff makes its debut. With the addition of new controllers, there will be more stuff to see along the side yard and in front of the shop. A few unusual problems popped including a melted data cable (total mystery how that happened) and a motherboard on Blitzen the Christmas Computer went kablooey! but all problems are solved until the next ones. LOL. More canned food has been collected before any lights were put up than was collected last year. Weird. Most of the substructures for the display have been bought out of storage and put in the yard. A new spot roughly 1/6 the space in the shop has be allocated to the new light storage and repair area. Shelves, part boxes and table space are now available for use in maintaining and storage of the light elements. The music program has been shortened by not using Intros. Although the controllers will be in roughly the same locations as last year, some of the jobs they did will be controlling other light elements. Also the start of the shows will be on December 10th due to costs for electricity. Nightly viewing will still be 6 Pm til 10 PM. Still not sure of the total number of lights but we are hoping to top last year because some the light we will be using are LED lights. As the price of lights drops, we will replace our strings with LEDs. Due to the number of reindeer collected this year, there will be a reindeer herd by the shop. Look for the sad reindeer, he is blue. Rofl.

Bulls on Parade

Each year, Willamina has a lighted Christmas Parade. This year, it is possible that we will entering the parade. First, a portable power supply was needed as a generator was not feasible for our Ford Taurus. Two APC's were found at a local thrift shop and will supply a total of 800 watts for at least 30 minutes. Secondly, lights draw a considerably huge amount of power very quickly so a large number of lights wasn't possible until we got a batch of 400 LED lights. With only 8 channels to work with, the Grinch and the audio system will not draw a lot of power either. Two strings of snowflake lights will added to the sides of the car with a inflatable Santa on the trunk. Net lights and more LEDs will fill out the rest of the car's twinkly surface. More issues like how to attach the lights to the car and other things still have to be worked out. Time is also running short to get everything worked out and find out where to enter the parade. Watch your step, that's the deep end of the pool. :)

Just the F.A.Q.s Ma'am.

Doing a big light show like we do, people ask us a lot of questions about it. Here are a few of them..

Q: Don't you have enough lights?
A: Actually, no. Lets do the math. The system has 128 channels. Each SSR has 4 channels each. There are 32 SSRs that handle 7 Amps maximum. The average 100 count light string uses .33 Amps. That means 2100 lights per SSR max. For safety reasons, only 1800 will be on any SSR. 32 SSRs with 1800 each is 57,600 lights. Currently, there are about 31,000 lights in storage.

Q: Does Christmas mean that much to you?
A: Christmas means a lot to me and my wife, each of us for different reasons. Its the time of the year we all need each others help and to spread some joy the most.

Q: Doesn't that run your electric bill up?
A: It does some. Last year, with almost 22,000 lights on the property, the bill only went up about 48 Dollars for approximately a month's time.

Q: What are you buying that for?
A: It takes a lot of items, strings and other things to fill up a front and side yard like ours. Each year, the display changes a bit and more things are needed to fill in spots or replace old items.

Q: What do the neighbors think of you?
A: Before we started all this, we went around to each of the neighbors on our 2 streets. We are on a corner lot so the display wraps around the front and side of our home. We asked them if it would be alright if we had a large display, they said go ahead and loved the idea. Although we have yard speakers, the music can only be heard 1 or 2 homes away. City ordinances say loud music can only be played until 10 PM anyways.

Q: Don't you think you are going overboard on that?
A: Perhaps a little. Every hobby has something that interests that hobbyist. Electronics, computers and AC wiring were what I do for a living and I like Christmas lights. The ooh and the aah factor gets me.

Q: Shouldn't that much money be spent elsewhere on other things?
A: Sure it could. Who doesn't need more money for other things? We only spend a little here and there so we don't miss it that much. My wife won't let me spend a large amount all at once and I don't think I should either. Most of the items purchased are from thrift stores, yard sales, Craigslist but not many from retail stores.

Q: How much time have you spent on this project?
A: A lot it seems. Its a year-round hobby and the display evolves each year. The bigger it gets, the more time spent in preparing lights, programming the songs, shopping at thrift store, etc.

Q: Where do you put all that stuff?
A: Strings are put into separate plastic bags and sorted into bins by type and colors. Meanwhile the larger items are hung from the rafters in the garage to save on shelf and floor space. The rest are placed on racks or up high on shelves.

Q: Isn't that dangerous?
A: Electricity is always dangerous. Combined with water from rain like we have here in Oregon, even more so. Each circuit is equipped with GFIs (Ground Fault Interrupters) in case of shorts from water flow or breaks in the cords. Also, I have extensive training in computers, electronics and AC wiring. Don't try this at home without researching it a lot.

Q: Why are you doing all this?
A: For FUN! That's what hobbies are for. Also, we do it for other people's joy at Christmas time. Pack up the kids and go see the lights! We also do it as a draw to collect canned food for the local food bank. Most people give at that time but its needed all year long. Donate some to your local food bank.

Q: How long does it take to put up the display?
A: About a week and a half if I do it by myself. Some of my family usually help too. There are a lot of items to bring out of the garage like lights, reindeer, AC cords, supports and other things. Tearing it down takes about 3 days and we aren't sure why that is.

We hope this will clear up some of the mystery.

If I only had a brain...

At the heart of every "over the top" show, is a small workhorse doing all the number crunching just so everyone can see the twinklys. While we do have a number of computers, some old, some new, we did not have one dedicated to the Christmas show. Recently, we found a good computer at the Goodwill for around $25. Most of its hardware was gone but it had a good motherboard and other things. Using leftover parts and a lot of software upgrading, we got it running like new. Please be aware that when purchasing used computers from nonprofessional computer stores, there can be undesirable programs, viruses, videos and pictures on the hard drives. Since other components in the systems that have names, we gave the computer a name also. Meet Blitzen, the Christmas Computer! Transfering all the programs, pictures and videos associated with the show to this one computer from 4 other ones was a challenge but worth the effort to have a dedicated computer for the show.

Angels In The Attic.

Two angels were found upstairs in the Christmas Room in the Help and Hope to Others thrift store. With some repairs and bulb replacements, they will be a nice addition to the manger scene in the side yard. A little harp and horn section will make music for the baby Jesus!

Snowflakes Galore! Nine strings of eight snowflakes each with a controller to vary the flashing pattern. The snowflakes will be combined to make a temporary light fence on the side yard.

Two reindeer will be added to the herd along with a 5' tall Christmas card. An additional 14 strings (mostly blue) were included in the purchase. All these items were purchased and we paid less than $40! The Help and Hope to Others thrift store is a wonderful place to shop for Christmas items.

There Is Always Hope!

In the small town of Dallas, Oregon, there is a place where people work to help others (literally). A combined facility that houses a thrift store, food bank and other services ready to help their community. Friendly people staff the thrift store that has bargains in every corner of 3 levels of the building. This wonderful place helped TimberTownChristmas by providing an excellent deal on lights for the Christmas show. Organizations such as this is what caring and giving is all about. We encourage you to head over there and check out the place for yourselves.

A Peace Of History.

There is a store in our town called the Tina Miller Thrift Store. Items are donated to the store and sold with the money going to the Tina Miller Teen Center. Pictured above are some of the items purchased there included in a bin of 55 light strings. The blowmolds are from the Empire Plastic Corp. (no longer in business) made in a period from 1968 to 1972. A visit to Ebay told us that some blowmolds are worth a considerable sum. Our "Frosty" from our show is going for about $80! Who knew? Of the six new ones we got, we found out that the one above with the wreath is worth about $30. Apparently, some of the others might be rare because a Google search turned up almost nothing on them. We don't really care what they are worth, just as long they bring smiles to the viewing public.

Just what i needed! A huge set of Red, White and Blue triple cluster lights was found midway down in the bin of lights! I will add these to my 4th of July Show after checking the operation of them. Hopefully, no major repairs will be needed.
This is what I bought for $25 bucks! What a deal! (sort of)

After sorting through approximately 55 strings of various types and stowing each string in a separate bag, we ended up with this (minus the blowmolds). Upon prelimanary examination of the strings, we found that about 15 or more strings had no plugs on them. So repairs or discarding them will be on a case by case basis.

Seeing Stars Too

Cliffs Of Dover

After putting even more lights on the Star, a test was in order. Here is the result. But after viewing it, we decided it needed even more red and blue lights. When the new lights are added, it will have a total of 2751 lights including the strobe light. 2 SSRs are needed to run the Star now, so one of the new SSRs will be dedicated to it for the Christmas Show as well. Taking the additional lights off for Christmas doesn't seem to be a good choice so they will remain on the Star. The Christmas profile will be altered anyways so it will not be much of a problem to update it.

Seeing Stars

Now with even more lights!

There will be Christmas in July (sort of) when our Star makes an appearance on top of our shop in our 4th of July show. Seen above with all the channels on, it now has 2451 lights on it including the strobe light. Its a good thing all the lights won't all be on at the same time for an extended period of time because of the risk of overheating the SSRs. The Star now has 7 channels instead of 4 and will have more versatile use. We are hoping the crowd will love it.

Oh, Say Can You See..

After rummaging around in our local Goodwill (a treasure trove of parts and things), we found 2 single slide projectors along with some slides. Costing a combined total of about $20, it makes for a nice addition to our show. The slides included will also make images for other holidays and events. We are planning to use one on the house and the other on the shop.

In our 4th of July show, we will shine these flags on our shop. Hopefully, they will be seen along with the other lights.

Stringing You Along.

How to repair Christmas Light Strings.

1) Tools And Safety
Some tools you may require to fix strings are: Needle nose pliers, small size standard flat screwdriver, wire cutters, soldering pen and solder. Wire nuts, electrical tape, shrink wrap, masking tape, 9 volt battery, pencil and silicone caulking may also be needed. 120 volts AC against the skin doesn't feel good and may cause injury or death. Beware of metal objects or other paths that may be conducting from the string. Make sure the string is unplugged while working on it unless wiring is in good condition.
2) Visual Inspection
Stretch the string out so you can see it all in a line instead of coiled up. This will concentrate your attention on the wiring and bulbs. Always start at the beginning of a string and work to the end. Look for any obvious damage to the string such as melting, cuts, breaks, broken bulbs, broken or separated bulb housings, bent or missing plug prongs and burnt fuses. Tag any problems with masking tape. Label the tape with the problem if inspecting a number of strings to remind you.
3) Wiring Repair
Usually, broken or melted wiring is not a good idea to repair. In some cases, wiring can be repaired by stripping the ends of the broken wire and twisting them together. Solder the joint to keep them solidly joined. Cover the joint with a wire nut or spread silicone caulking on the joint then wrap the joint in electrical tape. This is a temporary fix only and the string should be replaced.
4) Bulb Replacement
Most bulbs have 2 paths that electricity can take through itself. The path of least resistance is through the filament of the bulb causing it to light up. If the filament is burnt or broken, then that path is lost and the electricity will have to travel through the shunt keeping the rest of the string lit. If the filament and the shunt are burnt then the bulb forms a break in the string. If a bulb in a string is out and the other bulbs are lit, then pull that one out and replace with another of the same type and color. If the bulb is tight in the bulb housing, gently use wire cutters to separate the bulb holder from the bulb housing. Careful not to squeeze cutters too hard but enough to separate the bulb. Pull the bulb out with fingers. If replacement bulbs are from another string or type of bulb housing style, gently bend the small wires at the base of the original bulb holder out straight. Pull the bulb out of the bulb holder. Beware that bulbs are made of glass and may cut you. Take the bulb out of the donor bulb holder and straighten the wires. Insert the bulb into the original bulb holder and bend the wires against the base of the bulb holder.
5) Fuse Replacement
If the fuses are missing, replace them with the correct type of fuse for that string. If a fuse is burnt out, remove the fuse. If fuse is stuck, gently pry it out with screwdriver or pointed tool. If fuse compartment is melted then the plug may have to be replaced or string discarded. Inspect the inside of the fuse compartment for debris or corroded fuse contacts. If corrosion is not bad, then gently scratching the surface of the contact will clean off the corrosion.
6) Plug Replacement
If a plug is ruined from bent, broken or missing prongs, broken wires, melting of the plug or fuse compartment, then the string may have to be discarded. In some cases, a replacement plug can be installed with a vampire type plug or similar. Cut the wire off close to the damaged plug. Some plugs require stripping of the wire so check the instructions for that new plug.
7) Bulb Housing Repair
Typically, melted, broken or missing bulb housing shouldn't be repaired. Usually bulb housings cannot be replaced but if most of the housing is still intact, it can be insulated to keep it safe from more damage. Spread silicone caulking around the housing and let dry. Housings can be cut out and the wires stripped. Join the wires by twisting them together and soldering them. Cover the joint with a wire nut or spread silicone caulking on the joint then wrap the joint in electrical tape. This is a temporary fix only and the string should be replaced.
8) Flasher Bulb Replacement
Some strings have flasher bulbs at the start of the string. If the flasher is burnt out, then remove the bulb and replace with the same type of bulb. If you don't want the string to flash any more, then pull the flasher out and replace with the same type of bulb as the rest of the string.
9) Light String Diagnostics
Start with the visual inspection with the string unplugged. If there are no obvious signs of damage, then plug the string in. Make sure the source of power you plug the string into is also working by plugging a good string into it. Plug the string into the outlet. If no lights are lit, unplug and check the fuses first. If fuses are good, then one or more bulbs are bad. If some of the lights are on then the problem lies in the section that is dark. Gently shake the string to see if there is intermittent contact. Sometimes shaking sections of the string will isolate the problem. Start at the plug end and pull out the bulb. Check for damage to wires and bulb holder. If no obvious signs of damage, then check if bulb lights by touching to the contacts of the 9 volt battery. If bulb lights, then replace bulb back into string, being careful not to disturb wires against the base of the bulb holder. If bulb doesn't light, replace bulb with same type of bulb in the same type of holder (see #4 above). Continue down the length of the string until all bulbs are checked. In the event that all bulbs are checked and the string still won't light up, check the string again. If the string still refuses to light up, then there may be a break in the wire inside the wiring insulation. In that case, discarding the string is best.
10) Bad Strings
We recommend to discard strings that just won't work. Incandescent mini lights and other strings are getting cheaper all the time with the move toward LED lighting. Easier and cheaper to replace the string other than chancing a fire.
Hopefully, this has given you some insight to that string that is causing you problems.

Recent Developments

The 7 new SSRs are at the halfway point in construction and will soon be assigned jobs. Hopefully, we will have enough Cat5 cable to make the runs out to the yard. Also, a new addition is being made for the front porch, a new 7' revolving, yep, revolving pre-lit tree! As we are sure its not water-proof, it will be standing under cover on the porch. Much better than trying to see it through a window, I'm sure. A new cartoonish reindeer blow-mold will be appearing somewhere out in the yard probably on the side of the house. A lot of light strings acquired that didn't work, have now been repaired and ready for use. Some new scratch-built items are nearing completion as well. Light Fence construction is gearing up and will added to the front yard line. A major portion of the entire Light Show now has put up and away in new storage areas so nothing will get lost or broken. Good to have more garage space back. Plans for the 4Th of July show are being finalized and sequences written (gonna be a good Rock n Roll show for sure!). Plans for the Halloween show are also in the works with all the new items being assigned their places. A lot more things to work on and planning is still going on, so stay tuned!

Here We Go Again!

A new batch of parts has arrived in the mail and its time to assemble some SSRs for this year's upgrade. A total of 7 will be built and wired to handle the new parts of the show's lights. Where the new SSRs will be deployed in the yard is still open to ideas currently being batted around by my wife and myself. At least one of them will upgrade the side yard Megatree and perhaps 4 will be used to control 4 new Minitrees. Some talk of reindeer in a forest of trees has been discussed as well. Whatever is decided, we are sure the viewing public will enjoy it.

Deal or No Deal

As your display grows larger, you have probably already noticed how much things are costing. In order to achieve the effect that you are looking for, you will have to be the budgeted-minded purchaser. Buying items during non-Christmas time of the year is most likely the best time to get those super sweet deals. Shopping online is a big part of that. A place i like to shop is Craigslist. There is always someone selling holiday items there, most likely in yard sales, moving sales or "I just want it out of my garage!" sales. Pictured above is a purchase we made just after St. Pat's day. It is a mix of Christmas and Halloween lights and other items. Mostly for outside and some for inside. We paid $100 for the entire lot and we did get a bargain. Most of it was new and still in factory boxes sealed up. But what did we get? A list of items and store prices follows:

Santa and Reindeer Teeter Totter: $98
Yard Reindeer: $15
Yard Reindeer: $15
2' Spiral Tree: $7
2' Spiral Tree: $7
5 Holographic Bat Lights: $10
4 Candy Cane Lights: $10
4 Candy Cane Lights: $10
80" Merry Christmas Sign: $40
6' Spiral Tree: $16
10 White Star Lights: $10
2 Tote Bins of misc. Halloween stuff: $40
2 Tote Bins: $5
=============================
Total: $283 Approximate Value

Purchase Price: $100
Gas and Refreshments going to get it all: $10
================================
Total: $110

Value minus Expenses = $183 profit.
Smiles and Christmas Cheer: Priceless

Other Birthdays

Christmas is also a birthday party as much as a holiday. As there are birthdays every day of the year, some are special, more so if they are for your loved ones or family. My wife's birthday falls in the month of March and I made her a special cake.

Telletran's Strawberry Banana Twinkie Cake

Ingredients:

16 Twinkies (unwrapped)

1 LB Fresh Strawberries (washed and sliced- reserve biggest 1 for topping)

5 Fresh Bananas (peeled and sliced)

2 Containers of Whipped Topping

1 Chocolate Bar (shaved with cheese grater)

In a 9 x 15 pan, place Twinkies face up in rows to cover pan. Add Strawberries and Bananas. Spread Whipped Topping on top and press down into fruit with spoon. Sprinkle Chocolate shavings evenly over Whipped Topping. Place biggest Strawberry on top for garnish. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight to allow Strawberry juice to seep into Twinkies. To serve, scoop a Twinkie with some of the fruit/topping mix on top. Enjoy!

Just Hanging Around

17 pumpkins on a string

Sadly, once Christmas is over, its time to pack up the twinklies, cords, controllers and other whatnot. For most, its not much problem to throw it all in a box and stow it in the garage to await the next Yuletide season. However, if you are one of those special few that go overboard like us, then you have a storage problem. Where do you put all this stuff? Lucky for us, we have a big garage but still we need space for our non-Christmas things and we have to come up with solutions to get that space. This what we did..

Hanging stuff from the rafters gained us a large chunk of storage that would have been wasted if all the items were packed in boxes on the ground. It also allows us to see if repairs or other things are needed. 16-Penny nails were driven into the rafters so there is no danger of anything falling and allows quick access for when its time to bring them down again.

2011 The New Year

The new year is ahead and its time to get started. Making a good light display is a year-round hobby and its never a time not to work on it. This year, we will be doing a display for the 4Th of July, Halloween and of course, Christmas. The 4Th and Halloween are smaller displays and are ran only a few days unlike Christmas. These 2 displays are 32 channels or smaller with only a few strings on any channel. As with Christmas, we know that it will get more attention than if we didn't. If we can get that attention, we stand a better chance to get more donations to send along to our charities. Building a display and running it is not our only contribution as we also donate items to them as well. Lets all do our part to help those we can.

2010 Light System Report

2010 Light System Report
===================
64 channels of lights
21,645 total lights
33 extension cords of varying lengths 476 feet
16 SSRs with data cables a total of 645 feet
total run time of 193 hours
total electric cost: approx. $48

Repairs due to weather and/or vandalism
total repair time of 7 1/2 hours

Donations collected: 40 Lbs of nonperishable food

Smiles and Christmas cheer: $$ Priceless $$

Donations are still needed

During our show, we were accepting donations for the 3 charities that we were supporting. Although it was a bit of a long shot, we offered to accept donations on their behalf then pass along the donations afterward. Some of the donations we wanted to receive were nonperishable food items, pet supplies and cash. After just over a month, we received 40 pounds of food, no pet supplies and no cash. This was a good start and we hope we as a community can do better during the upcoming year. Its up to all of us to help where and with what we can. Besides, it will make you feel good :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Christmas is a bit behind us and the new year is ahead. We at TimberTownChristmas wish all a safe and happy New Year. We want everyone to be here again when its Christmas time once more. Make your Resolution a good one (and stick to it.)