Plan B

After Christmas, after the lights and decorations have been put away and after all the good feelings that came with the season, there will be the ELECTRIC BILL! Probably sometime in January, you will receive your bill for the month of December and in it you will notice how much juice your display used above your normal household use. This amount varies accordingly to the amount of usage of your lights and other components of your display. Depending on that amount, it could be as much as 30% - 40% of the bill. Be sure to keep that in mind when setting up your display. Last year, the amount we paid for our display's usage was about $35. 

Plan B.

Bearing that in mind and due to not putting out much of a display this year, we decided to spend that amount anyways in the form of buying food for the foodbank ourselves. We ended up buying 6 large bags of groceries weighing 72 Lb.s and perhaps there will be more by the time the foodbank opens next. While having a major light display is a great way to show community spirit, its not the main reason we do it. Raising food for the needy is our main goal at Timber Town Christmas and we do what we can to reach that goal. We also encourage everyone to do the same and contribute what they can to the foodbanks as well.

From everyone here at Timber Town Christmas, we wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

GRINCHED!

Grinched!

Due to bad weather, Willamina's Lighted Christmas Parade was cancelled this year. We had our entry all ready to go and then found out on the day it was going to held, it was cancelled. It was for the best because there was at least an inch of ice on the road, making it unsafe for the parade as well as the crowd that would be watching. We will try again next year.

Also, due to increased production at work (making for long hours), electrical problems and other factors, we will not be going all out on our display this year. This will severely impact our ability to collect food for the foodbank. We look forward to this time of year just for that opportunity as well as Christmas itself.

Yes Virginia, 

there is a Plan B. 

Here we go again!

After a very successful Halloween Show, its time again to gear up for CHRISTMAS!! Check out a video of our show at the link of TimberTownHalloween to the right  >>--> 

We will be entering both the Willamina Lighted Christmas Parade and the Light Em Up Home contest in an effort to raise more money to buy food for the foodbank. Last year, we took 3rd in the parade and 3rd in the home contest. I hope we will do better this year and that the weather will go in our favor. This year I have convinced my wife to be in the parade. Way to go, Me!

A huge list of stuff to do and very little time to do it in (isn't that always the case during the holidays?) Everything has to be checked and readied to put up during the short week around Thanksgiving. 

We will be accepting canned food donations again this year for our local foodbank. Any type of canned or boxed nonperishable food would be great. Please remember that the foodbanks need our help all year long but especially during the holidays. Thanks for your support.

According to What?

120+ Cords!

With the ever-increasing amount of power needed to supply your growing display, you will no doubt accumulate a high number of extension cords. With the escalating cost of copper, extension cords are becoming more expensive and you will always need more. Here at Timbertown Christmas, we look for bargains at yard sales, thrift stores and other such places to get more cords. Here's what we have in stock to run the many branch lines of our 120v AC system.

6' Cords: 44

9' Cords: 21

15' Cords: 26

20' Cords: 5

25' Cords: 8

50' Cords: 6

100' Cords: 4

"Y" Cords: 2

Custom Cords:2

Triple Cords: 3

Lost and I'm still looking for them Cords: ?

Custom-made or homemade cords are not really recommended but necessary sometimes to reach the out-of-the-way spots. Be sure to make them as water-tight as possible. Most extension cords come with a manufacturer's warning label and there are people that will take the label off to make it more presentable. If this happens and there is a problem with the cord, the manufacturer is no longer liable. At the beginning of each Christmas display season, check each cord carefully. Check for breakage, cuts, debris in sockets, broken tabs on the plugs, worn insulation and other defects. Replace any cord that is damaged. Keep your cords in boxes or hung up on the wall. Other AC accessories, such as timers and adapters should be checked as well. This will help to keep your display up and running in bad weather and other situations. 

Christmas in July?

In an effort to bring more awareness to our Christmas Show and to our Charity, a local foodbank, we put up our unfinished sign and the new Polar Bear. It will no doubt make a lot of people wonder whats going on. So much so that they will go to website to see what it is all about. (and that's what brought you here).

This blog is about how to construct a light display for Christmas. The Light Show serves as a vehicle to solicit non-perishable foodstuffs to donate to the local foodbank in the Willamina-Sheridan, Oregon area. Please remember that foodbanks serve the public all through the year, not just at holidays, so make yourself feel good by donating to the foodbanks.

Our house is on a corner lot and the side yard where the sign and polar bear are will be one of the busiest streets later on in the evening (July 4th). It will be busy because after the fireworks are over a few blocks away, a lot of folks will be trying to use the street to get to the highway. Last year, we counted well over 150 cars passing by within an hour's time. As each car goes past our house, they will wonder what a polar bear is doing in our yard! Wave as you go by!

Be sure to check out our Charity's page (link on the right). Come back at Christmas to see a huge improvement in the size of our display. Have a great summer!

Meanwhile... back at the branch.

As your display gets larger, you will have to figure out better ways to control the massive amount of electrical power running through it. This is the first year we will have to use 3 different modes of control to make sure everything runs smoothly. The first mode is "always on", being that the power is not switched off after the display is used for the night. This will include the inflatable motors and a few other things. The second mode is controlled by rotary timing units. Our light show schedule is from 6 PM to 10 Pm so some things like signs and background lighting will be turned off and on at those times. Thirdly, Blitzen the Christmas Computer will run the main show according to his programming. Using the 3 modes will greatly improve the control of the power usage and keep problems like turning things off and on to a minimum.

Also, when a number of controllers and elements are on the same GFI and the power gets shut off due to a problem like water intrusion, that branch of the system will all go off at the same time. The more GFIs you have, the more you can keep the rest of it working during that shutdown. Our springtime project is the GFI Branch Stake. An extension cord is ran out to the general area of where the branch will be and the GFI Branch Stake is plugged into it. Power needed for controllers or other light elements will be plugged into the Stake. Items plugged into the Stake will be protected and only those items on that particular GFI will be shut down in the event of a problem with the remaining others staying on. This project will protect 2 branch lines and is also plugged into a primary GFI for double protection. Check out our Projects Page for some pics.

This is a test! This is only a test.

Each year as you do your Christmas display, there is wear and tear, accidents, weather problems, water intrusion, vandalism, upgrades and other types of happenings that take a toll on your equipment. Its best that during the non-Christmas season that some testing is done on your hardware and other components to be sure of reliable operation. Check out each item in a thorough manner. Starting at the source is a good place to start. Run a series of test sequences if needed. The storm that hit us just before the judging of the contest created a lot of problems so I did some testing to see what was needing to be corrected. Here is a status report on our system.

===========
Computer: OK
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Grinch 1: OK
===========
Grinch 2: OK
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SSRs:

SSR - Channels - Status
===========
A1 - CH 1-4 - OK
B1 - CH 5-8 - OK
C1 - CH 9-12 - OK
D1 - CH 13-16 - OK
E1 - CH 17-20 - OK
F1 - CH 21-24 - OK
G1 - CH 25-28 - channel 3 not working - other channels ok
H1 - CH 29-32 - OK
I1 - CH 33-36 - OK
J1 - CH 37-40 - not finished - near complete
K1 - CH 41-44 - OK
L1 - CH 45-48 - OK
M1 - CH 49-52 - short in channel 1  stays on - other channels ok
N1 - CH 53-56 - OK
O1 - CH 57-60 - missing
P1 - CH 61-64 - OK
A2 - CH 65-68 - OK
B2 - CH 69-72 - subchannel 2 not working - other channels ok
C2 - CH 73-76 - OK
D2 - CH 77-80 - OK
E2 - CH 81-84 - not finished - need parts
F2 - CH 85-88 - not finished - near complete
G2 - CH 89-92 - OK
H2 - CH 93-96 - not finished - need parts
I2 - CH 97-100 - not finished - need parts
J2 - CH 101-104 - not finished - need parts
K2 - CH 105-108 - not finished - need parts
L2 - CH 109-112 - short in channel 3  stays on - other channels ok
M2 - CH 113-116 - not finished - need parts
N2 - CH 117-120 - not finished - need parts
O2 - CH 121-124 - not finished - need parts
P2 - CH 125-128 - not finished - need parts
===========

As you can see, one of our controllers is missing in action. We are not quite sure what happened to it or if it is lost in the garage someplace. Having a list of your equipment will help in such cases. Testing now will save on the headaches later!