How does it work?
The show runs on Light-O-Rama brand computerized light controllers, each of which has 16 channels. Each Channel plugs into a set or section of lights on the house and in the yard. Inside is a an old PC (no internet, no cd drive and only 512k memory) that runs specialized software to talk to the light controllers.
The PC inside addresses all these channels individually, and tells them what they should be doing (on/off/take 2 seconds to fade from off to full bright, twinkle between 60% and 100% bright, etc...), and most importantly WHEN.
In order to get the lights to go along to the music, each song of the show is broken down into cues. During this time I decide what lights should be off, which should be on, and what they should be doing (twinkle,fade,etc). This is called sequencing. On average each minute of music is broken down into between 70-100 'cues'. A cue is a spot in the song where the lights need to change somehow. The software helps me with this by putting everything on a grid -- the channels running down the left side, and the cues running along the top.
We have a small FM transmitter (only .013 watts, regular radio stations use 500,000 watts) that broadcasts the music about 300 ft. from the house.
I usually answer that question with 'It's a labor of Love'. To me the money is well spent if it brings a few smiles from those who are watching.
Most of what you see is done with a budget in mind. Alot of the things we incorporate into the show were purchased at garage sales or given to us by family and friends.
The lights I use are the same 100 count mini-lights you buy at your local department store.This year I will try to pick up lights and display items after Christmas to take advantage of sale prices. This year we have over 31,000 lights.
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