1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:12,399 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,159 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 4 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: tech are you. It's the holiday season, That's all I'm 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: allowed to sing by law, But in my neck of 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: the woods that means an awful lot of my neighbors 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,959 Speaker 1: have gone over the top with various holiday displays. Now 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: predominantly the holiday celebrated in my neck of the woods 9 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: is Christmas, And for simplicity's sake, I'll be talking a 10 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: lot about Christmas lights in this episode. But keep in 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: mind that, you know, obviously people do light shows for 12 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,319 Speaker 1: all sorts of different holidays, but just for simplicity's sake, 13 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: I'm going to say Christmas lights because that's what the 14 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: hobby is largely centered around. And today I really wanted 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: to talk about how people who create those really spectacular 16 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: light displays, the kind that often are coordinated with music, 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: how they pull that off. And it takes an awful 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: lot of technology. More than that, this technology evolves an 19 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: incredible pace. The way that people can do this now 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: is far more sophisticated than what was done even just 21 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. So the other thing to 22 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: keep in mind is if you're listening to this episode 23 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: after twenty twenty four, there's going to be some dated 24 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: stuff in here. That's kind of how tech works, and 25 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: it's really sophisticated, both from a hardware and a software 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: side of things. And yeah, we're going to really dive 27 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: into this, but on a high level because, as it 28 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: turns out, if you really really want to get into 29 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: this stuff, it's going to take some time on your 30 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: part to really get acquainted with all the nuances. If 31 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: you want a glimpse at how advanced this tech is, 32 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: you should look up Christmas lights shows on YouTube. Some 33 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: of those displays are truly dropping, and of course some 34 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: people do them for Halloween as well. There's a real 35 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: bustling community of hobbyists on YouTube with tutorials and product 36 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,399 Speaker 1: reviews for people in the space. I'll be talking about 37 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: a few different YouTube channels. For example, Listen to lights 38 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: or how to Pixel. That's the number two, so how 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: to Pixel. They can give you a lot of information 40 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: on the technology, the hobby, how to get started and 41 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: want to watch out for. But before we go any further, 42 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: let's talk about old school Christmas lights because when I 43 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: was a kid, the Christmas lights I had they could 44 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: not do the things that we're seeing these displays do. 45 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: So in ye olden days of electric Christmas lights, you 46 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: would buy a string of lights that were wired in series. Now, 47 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,399 Speaker 1: when we talk about circuits, one way that you can 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: classify simple circuits is by whether they're wired in series 49 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: or in parallel. Here's a quick refresher course on that 50 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: in case it's been a while since you've learned about 51 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: this in science class. So let's start with a power source. 52 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: The power source provides voltage. This is akin to pressure 53 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: in the system that's using water or air. That's how 54 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: much oomph is behind the current. So the higher the voltage, 55 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: the greater the pressure behind the push of electricity. So 56 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: a battery typically has you know, fairly low voltage, like 57 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: a like a little portable battery. It's something you would 58 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,399 Speaker 1: put in one of your handheld devices. So those are 59 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 1: usually around one and a half volts. The outlet in 60 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: your typical house, at least here in the United States, 61 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: provides around one hundred and twenty volts of pressure. Now 62 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: I say in the United States because in other places 63 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: like say the United Kingdom, it's different. The UK household 64 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: outlet goes to two hundred and thirty volts. By the way, 65 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: this is one of the reasons why it's important to 66 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: use a converter when connecting to outlets in other countries, 67 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: because you do not want to fry your gear anyway. 68 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: This pressure is what pushes electricity through a circuit, which 69 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: you can think of ultimately as a big old loop. 70 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: That's what a circuit is. It's just a loop. The 71 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: path goes from one terminal of your power supply and 72 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: ultimately comes back to connect at a different terminal of 73 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: that same power supply, and this makes a complete circuit. Now, 74 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: if it were just a path, that wouldn't be very useful, right, 75 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: if it was just a loop of wire, I mean 76 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: it would be useful if you wanted to generate heat, 77 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: because the circuit would start to get really hot and 78 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: then eventually melt or catch fire. Then you would be 79 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: pretty much set because the resistance of the pathway, the 80 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: electrical resistance, would mean that some of that electrical energy 81 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,239 Speaker 1: would be transformed into heat, and then if left long enough, 82 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: it'll heat up enough to really do some damage. Now, 83 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: instead we connect other stuff to circuits, you know, like 84 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: light bulbs, for example, and the electricity in the circuit 85 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: powers the light bulb in your old fashioned incandescent light bulbs. 86 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: The way this worked is that electricity would flow through 87 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: a tiny little filament inside the bulb and heat that 88 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: filament to a point where it would incandesce or light up. 89 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: This filament would be connect to a pair of electrodes, 90 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: and then the current could continue on the pathway and 91 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: go to the next light bulb in the series. We 92 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: call these elements the load on the circuit, and the 93 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: load can't exceed what the voltage is capable of doing, 94 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: or else things won't work out so well. It's kind 95 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: of like you can push, say a heavy cart, up 96 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: an incline. You can push it pretty well until it 97 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: reaches a certain weight, and then your strength just isn't 98 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: enough to push it up the incline. Same thing with voltage. 99 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: If you add too much of a load on your 100 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: circuit and the voltage can't get the job done, then 101 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: you don't get a really good result. If you've ever 102 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: used a battery powered device while the batteries were running 103 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: out of juice, you kind of experienced this. You know, 104 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: flashlights get dimmer before going out, and electric shavers start 105 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: to lose their buzz. You get the picture. But as 106 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: long as the load on a circuit is compatible with 107 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: the voltage supplied, you're in business. So let's talk about 108 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: series versus parallel. In a series circuit, each load follows 109 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: the one before it. It's more like a direct line 110 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: from the power supply to load one, and then from 111 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: load one to load two, and so on until you 112 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: get to the end where the path reconnects with the 113 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,799 Speaker 1: other tumble all the power supply. That means that power 114 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: could come through the wire to light bulb number one, 115 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: then continue to light bulb number two, and so on 116 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: and so forth until you get to the end of 117 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: the string, and you might plug a second string into 118 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: the first, which continues the circuit. This is a pretty 119 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: straightforward and simple approach, but there is one major problem. 120 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: If a single light bulb burns out somewhere along that string, 121 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: it breaks the whole circuit and everything goes dark. It's 122 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: like if you turn the switch to off instead of on, 123 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: the filament in that burnt out bulb breaks apart. Essentially, 124 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: it burns through and that means the electricity no longer 125 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,679 Speaker 1: has a path it can follow. It's what we would 126 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: call an open circuit. You have to find the burnt 127 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: out bulb and replace it in order to repair the 128 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: circuit and get things working again. It could be a 129 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: real hassle. Same thing could come true if a light 130 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: bulb becomes loose in its socket and it doesn't have 131 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: a good connection. Same issue. At least in that case, 132 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:03,279 Speaker 1: you're not having to replace the bulb. You just have 133 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: to figure out which one's lucy goosey in its socket. 134 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: This is also why the Netflix series Stranger Things presented 135 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: a real challenge to electricians like John Hilton, who worked 136 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: on the series. Hilton appeared on an episode of Tech 137 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: Stuff in the Past It's a great episode and we 138 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: talked about this challenge. So Hilton and Jess Royal from 139 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 1: the series talked about what it was like working on 140 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: there from behind the scenes, and Hilton explained that the 141 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: story required fine tune manipulation of a string of Christmas lights. 142 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: So a character caught in the upside down would use 143 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: Christmas lights to communicate with his mother by lighting up 144 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: very specific bulbs on a string. But, as Hilton explained, 145 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: that's kind of the opposite of how these old Christmas 146 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: lights worked. You know, you can't just turn off or 147 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: on a single bulb. They're either all on or they're 148 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: all off. So to achieve the effect in the series, 149 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: Hilton had to actually individually wire each bulb in a 150 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: string to an electric board so they look like they 151 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: were wired together, but they weren't. They were each wired separately, 152 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: and from that electric board he could manipulate the bulbs 153 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: individually by turning off or on the power to that 154 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: specific bulb. However, he also had to make it look 155 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: like it was a normal string of nineteen eighties era 156 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: Christmas lights, which meant he had to find ways to 157 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: hide all those individual wires running from each bulb to 158 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: his control board, which is not an easy task, especially 159 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: even if you're sitting there and only wiring up the 160 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: lights that are going to be used to communicate. Like 161 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: you figure out, oh they never use the letter K 162 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: or Q or whatever, it's still a whole bunch of 163 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: wires to deal with. Now, I did mention that you 164 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: could also wire circuits in parallel. Now, I imagine in 165 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: this case that rather than having each bulb connected in 166 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,439 Speaker 1: a straight line on that circuit. You have a pair 167 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: of wires connected to each bulb that then you know, 168 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: branches off from the main circuit path. So instead of 169 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:01,959 Speaker 1: a string which is just one bulb after the other, 170 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: it's more like a string in which there's kind of 171 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:06,719 Speaker 1: a turnoff for bulb number one, but if you just 172 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: keep going down the string, you'll come to the turnoff 173 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: for bulb number two and so on. These bulbs are 174 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: in a way, they're isolated from one another. And a 175 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,680 Speaker 1: big benefit to this approach is that if a single 176 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: bulb burns out, the path is unbroken for the rest 177 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: of the string, so your entire string doesn't go dark. 178 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: You would still have one dark bulb, but you would 179 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: have to replace that, but everything else would still be 180 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: lit up. Now, some Christmas lights are wired in what's 181 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: called series parallel, all right, So this means you have 182 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: multiple strings of lights wired in series, but collectively, each 183 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: individual string of lights are in parallel with one another. 184 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: So let's say there's like four parallel strings of lights 185 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: and one of those strings goes out, the other three 186 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: would remain lit up, so you would have a section 187 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: go dark, but the rest of your lights would still 188 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: be lit up and that's series parallel. It's part and 189 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,679 Speaker 1: part right within a series string. Any light going out 190 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: makes the rest of that string go out, but the 191 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: rest of the parallel strings remain lit up. You know. 192 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: That's how it used to be, right that if a 193 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: light goes out, then you're kind of up the creek. 194 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: More recently, Christmas lights have included an element called a shunt, 195 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: which helps. So this is something that creates a path 196 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: of lower resistance in an electric circuit, and electricity will 197 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: follow the path of least resistance. Electricity is a lot 198 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: like me. If there's a task that requires effort, I'm 199 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 1: likely to seek out the way in which I can 200 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: expend the least amount of energy to complete that task, 201 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: even if that means I don't do as good a 202 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: job in the process. If my bosses are listening, I 203 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,319 Speaker 1: was only kidding. So the shunts in Christmas lights are 204 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: wires connected to the electrodes. So remember I mentioned that 205 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: a filament connects two electrodes together, and then electricity, you know, 206 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: flows through the filament and heats it up and incandesces 207 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: and that's where you get your light and your old 208 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: incandescent lights. Eventually, the filament will burn out. It just 209 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: it burns through and breaks, and then you don't have 210 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 1: a path anymore. Well, the shunt acts as a secondary 211 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 1: connection between those two electrons, but it has a higher 212 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: resistance than the filament. So normally electricity will flow through 213 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: the filament because again it follows the path of least resistance. 214 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: But if the filament breaks, now it'll flow through the 215 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: shunt because even though it had a higher electrical resistance, 216 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: it still represents a viable path. And if there is 217 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 1: a viable path, electricity will take it. And so the 218 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: show goes on. Since I'm talking about shunts, I should 219 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: also take a moment to talk about fuses. So a 220 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: fuse is a safety measure. The fuse is there to 221 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: make sure that if something really unexpected happens, like let's 222 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: say there's a surge in electricity, the voltage suddenly changes 223 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: very dramatically, you don't want that to cause more problems. 224 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: You don't want that to create like a fire hazard, 225 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 1: for example. So the fuse allows electricity to flow through 226 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: under normal conditions, but if it's under a more extreme circumstance, 227 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: the fuze will break, kind of like the filament does 228 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: once it burns out. But the fuse is designed to 229 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: break on purpose once voltage exceeds a certain level, so 230 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: it's like a limit on how much it can allow through, 231 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: and if the incoming voltage exceeds that, the fuse trips, 232 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: so you don't end up with a real catastrophe on 233 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: your hands. It's just an open circuit so the electricity 234 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: doesn't flow through. In Christmas lights, you can typically find 235 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: fuses near the plug where it plugs into either the 236 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: wall or another string of Christmas lights. In some of 237 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: these lights, you can actually replace the fuse if it 238 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: does burn out. I have never done this personally, so 239 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: I have no clue as to how challenging or easy 240 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: it is to do this, though these days with my eyesight, 241 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: I imagine it'd be devilishly tricky if I don't have 242 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: my peepers on. One other thing that I should mention 243 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: is the transition from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs. So 244 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,719 Speaker 1: incandescent bulbs that was what we had when I was 245 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: a kid, those big Christmas lights. We even had bubblers 246 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,840 Speaker 1: disslights that would include liquid in a little vial that 247 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:05,679 Speaker 1: would bubble as the light would heat the liquid up. 248 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: It was really neat or I thought it was really neat. 249 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: But in stranger things. You know, the crew were working 250 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,080 Speaker 1: with these old incandescent bulbs because again that's what we 251 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: had in the nineteen eighties. But these days Christmas lights 252 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: tend to be LEDs, light emitting diodes. Now that's great 253 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: for lots of different reasons. One is that LEDs need 254 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: way less energy to generate light, something like seventy percent 255 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: less than incandescent strings, which is both good for the environment. 256 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: It's also good for your wallet because you won't be 257 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: footing a massive electricity bill just to keep your house 258 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: all holly jolly. Also, LED bulbs last a whole lot 259 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: longer than incandescent bulbs do. And you can even create 260 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: strings of LED lights in which each LED can be 261 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: turned on or off individually. That's advanced level stuff that 262 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,199 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about. Now. Your typical LED string 263 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: of lights you can't do that. They're not designed to 264 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 1: do that. They just plug into your wall, they all 265 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: come on. They might have a simple controller on them 266 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,960 Speaker 1: that allows them to do things like dim and brighten 267 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: or twinkle or flash those kinds of things. That's basic 268 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: level stuff. Serious hobbyists get into the individually controllable LED bulbs, 269 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: where each LED bulb has its own microchip, which in 270 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: turn has to be wired to a controller. When we 271 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: talk about addresses and stuff, we'll get more into that, 272 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: because that's kind of like the advanced level thing. On 273 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: a side note, those last types of LEDs aren't something 274 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: you're going to find in your typical big box stores. 275 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: Those Christmas lights tend to be far simpler in design. 276 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: Those are like the off the shelf things that you'll 277 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: find in your basic retail store. Some retail stores are 278 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: selling kits for holiday light shows, but they tend to 279 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: be proprietary, and at least in the hobbyist field, the 280 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: serious hobbyists tend to look down on those kits. One 281 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: because they don't have as much flexibility. You can't incorporate 282 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: things that are outside those proprietary kits to work with them. 283 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: Another is that there's at least an opinion, a fairly 284 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: prevalent opinion, and the hobbyists that I listened to as 285 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: I was listening to podcasts and watching videos and stuff, 286 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: who feel that the quality of those products is lower 287 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: than what you'll get if you're doing things yourself, and 288 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: that a lot of those things will break down after 289 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: a season or two and that it just gets really 290 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: expensive and wasteful. So your mileage may vary, but that's 291 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: what I heard. So most of the hobby blogs and 292 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: videos that I encountered suggested that you should order straight 293 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 1: from where the lights are manufactured, which is China. They 294 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: also warned that this also comes with its own risks. 295 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: If something doesn't work correctly, it may be difficult or 296 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: even impossible to return the lights to get working ones, 297 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: so you have to be really careful to make sure 298 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: that you're ordering from a reputable seller. But yeah, the 299 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: LEDs that serious hobbyists use typically are meant for stuff 300 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: like digital disp lays and signage where you need to 301 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: be able to control individual lights in order to spell 302 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: things out right like roadwork ahead or whatever it may be, 303 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: except you're using it to make frosty, you know, melt 304 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: or something. I don't know what you do for your 305 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: Christmas lights displays. So these have just been repurposed to 306 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: be really a holly jolly kind of approach. And now 307 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, 308 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about some more details of the 309 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: early days of Christmas lights show as a hobby, so 310 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: we're back now. In the early days, light show hobbyists 311 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: ran into problems similar to those of the Stranger Things Crew. 312 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: The old style Christmas lights could only be controlled by 313 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: the string rather by the individual bulb, So you could 314 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: turn a string of lights off or on, and that 315 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: was relatively simple on a high It just meant that 316 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: you had to control the electricity that was going to 317 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: that particular string. You know, you turned the electricity off, 318 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: the lights go off, you turn it on, the lights 319 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 1: come on. That's it. The old lights had no ability 320 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: to change color either. If you wanted to create an 321 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: effect of a color change, then it meant that you 322 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: actually had to use multiple strings of lights. Like let's 323 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: say you wanted to outline a window frame outside your 324 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: house in lights and create an effect that those lights 325 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: are changing from red to green. Well, you would actually 326 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: have to use strings of red lights to outline the 327 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: frame and then strings of green lights to outline the frame, 328 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 1: and then you would just have to alternate which string 329 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: was getting power at what time in order to get 330 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: that effect of red changing to green and green changing 331 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: to red. Modern led lights often have RGB red green 332 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: and blue elements inside each bulb, meaning that you control 333 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: the concentration of what kind of light is allowed to 334 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 1: be emitted, so you can actually change the color within 335 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: a single string of lights. Now you don't have to 336 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: double up or triple up whatever it may be, which 337 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: does simplify things at least from a wiring perspective, not 338 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: necessarily from the programming perspective. As for controlling which string 339 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: received power at any given time, well, you would need 340 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: to run your lights to a controller box. So essentially 341 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: this box acts as a switch, and in the old 342 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: days it is simply just switched power going from one 343 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,719 Speaker 1: outlet connected to one set of lights or a different outlet. 344 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: The strings of lights would attach to the controller box. 345 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: But the controller is just a tool. It doesn't know 346 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 1: when it's supposed to switch stuff on or off on 347 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: its own. It has to be programmed. And with a program, 348 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,120 Speaker 1: the controller follows a preset series of instructions a sequence 349 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: in order to achieve whatever the effect was that was desired. Again, 350 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: those early variations essentially just being which strings of lights 351 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: were on or off at any given moment. Now, as 352 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: we'll see, if you really want to go all out 353 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: for the holidays, you could get wicked complicated with your setup, 354 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: but let's start with the simple stuff. So let's say 355 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: you've got your strings of lights hung with care on 356 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 1: your home. You know, the trees, the family dog, whatever 357 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 1: it might be, And now you want to create a 358 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: sequence for these lights to follow. They shouldn't just twinkle 359 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: or stay on. They should go on and off according 360 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 1: to your whimsical nature, perhaps creating animated effects or spelling 361 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,920 Speaker 1: stuff out. Even it takes an awful lot of technology 362 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: and effort to enable whimsy. As it turns out, we 363 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: aren't all like Willy Waka, where things just magically happen. 364 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: So the world of hobbyists Christmas lights shows ends up 365 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: borrowing a lot of technology and technique from the world 366 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,439 Speaker 1: of stage lighting. Now, if you've ever been to a 367 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: big professional theatrical production like a Broadway show or an 368 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 1: arena concert, you've likely seen some pretty amazing lighting effects, 369 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,400 Speaker 1: like entire banks of lights might sweep around and focus 370 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: on a specific spot, or create interesting patterns on the background, 371 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,200 Speaker 1: or all sorts of other effects. To achieve that, and 372 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 1: not to have five hundred stage hands manually controlling every 373 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: light with precision, you need some special circuit boards. Now 374 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: I mentioned a controller earlier. These are large logic boards 375 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: that the direct power or commands to specific elements according 376 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: to a pre program set of instructions. Now, before we 377 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 1: get into those more, let's talk about LEDs. Let's say 378 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: that you've gone all out. You've decided to get the 379 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: LEDs that you're able to control one bulb at a time. 380 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: Each of these bulbs can create any number of colors 381 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: using a variation of the red, green, and blue elements 382 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: that are inside each bulb. Essentially, these bulbs are pixels, 383 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: just like you would have on a television or other display. 384 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: Each light bulb represents one point of light, and by 385 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: controlling them collectively, you can create different shapes, including words. 386 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: The pixel lights typically will be able again to create 387 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: pretty much any color you want. Some Christmas lights sequencer 388 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: programs refer to these pixels as nodes. Technically, a node 389 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: is any singular controllable element in a show. So let's 390 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: say that you have a string of lights that's an 391 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: old style string right the series lights where you can't 392 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: control individual light bulbs, that string would be a node. 393 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: But if you do have bulbs that can be controlled individually, 394 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: each bulb would be a node, So it all depends 395 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 1: on what are you controlling. Whether it's a string or 396 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: a single light bulb, each one would be a single node. 397 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: These lights have a different kind of plug, the fancy 398 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: led ones, they have a different kind of plug than 399 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: the ones you would find on your regular old Christmas 400 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 1: light strings. You wouldn't plug them into the wall. And 401 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: it makes sense because these lights have to be able 402 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 1: to accept digital commands. So you know, you have your 403 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: wires that are in charge of carrying the electricity to 404 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:49,639 Speaker 1: the bulbs, but you also need to be able to 405 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: control data. So it's a three pin plug and it's 406 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: designed to plug into a controller. The controllers themselves come 407 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: in several varieties. You can purchase components separately. You can actually, 408 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: you know, buy a circuit board controller unit and you know, 409 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: an old like power box, waterproof power box and mount 410 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: your circuit board inside the power box along with a 411 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,479 Speaker 1: power supply and some other elements. It's a lot like 412 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: building a PC from basic components if you have ever 413 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: done that, where you order all the different elements from 414 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 1: different companies whatever, assuming that you've made sure that they're 415 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 1: all going to be compatible, and then you mount them 416 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,239 Speaker 1: in the case and then you turn it on and 417 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: hope that it works. Similar thing there. However, nowadays quite 418 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: a few companies are offering fully built out controller systems, 419 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: like ready to play controller systems, so that you don't 420 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: have to do any of that stuff yourself. Now, you're 421 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 1: likely going to be paying more for a ready to 422 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: run style controller, but not that much more. The gap 423 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: between doing it yourself and the stuff that's already been assembled, 424 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: it's not huge, and if you value your time a lot, 425 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: then you may say, hey, it makes way more sense 426 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,880 Speaker 1: for me to buy this ready made solution as opposed 427 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: to trying to do it myself. If, however, you get 428 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: lots of joy and satisfaction out of doing it yourself, 429 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: that's a completely legitimate reason to do it. You're just 430 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:16,880 Speaker 1: not going to save that much money. You will save 431 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: a little now. One thing the controller is going to 432 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: need is obviously power, so figuring out how to run 433 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: a power supply to a controller is an important step. 434 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: It's also important that that power supply is weather proofed, 435 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: so in the old days, like I said, you might 436 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: mount a power supply like the kind you would use 437 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: with a PC inside the power box along with the 438 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,439 Speaker 1: controller's circuit board and just run power from the box 439 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: to the circuit board, then cables connecting to the power 440 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 1: source that would then run to say, an outlet in 441 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 1: your home, or you might buy a weather proofed power 442 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: source that can sit on the ground and then run 443 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: a cable from that to your controller. But yeah, that 444 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: power ends up going to the controller, which then can 445 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: send power out to the various elements connected to your show. 446 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 1: But yeah, figuring that out is really important. Really complex 447 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 1: displays may actually use multiple controllers. Some may use several 448 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 1: big controllers or lots of small ones, or a combination 449 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,199 Speaker 1: of the two. That obviously necessitates multiple power solutions to 450 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: make everything work and not become like a tripping hazard 451 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: for everyone living in the home. That itself can be 452 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: a huge challenge. Typically, you also have to connect another 453 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,679 Speaker 1: device like a computer to the controller. In the old days, 454 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: you had to have in the old days being like 455 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: three years ago, you had to have your computer connected 456 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: to the controller so that you could send the sequence 457 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: the show to the controller so that it then could 458 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: send the commands out to all the different elements. Because again, 459 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: the controller doesn't have any real intelligence itself. It just 460 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: knows where to send instructions at what time to what element, 461 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: but it has to get those instructions from somewhere. Typically 462 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: that was a computer. Now these days you can get 463 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: a device that often is referenced as a show player. 464 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: In a way, it's kind of like a dry that 465 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: stores show instructions and it will take on the role 466 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: of the computer. Like you have to still program the 467 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,400 Speaker 1: show on your computer, but you then send that program 468 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: to the show player, which stores the program, and then 469 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: when it's the right time to initiate, it will send 470 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: all the commands to the controller, which then sends those 471 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: signals to the various elements in your Christmas show. If 472 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: your display has elements that are really far away from 473 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: the controller, and by far i'm talking like maybe more 474 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: than twenty five feet, then you'll also probably have to 475 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: use receivers. I mean, you could use different controllers for 476 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: different elements so that you know no element is more 477 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: than twenty five feet away from its controller, But that 478 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 1: gets really complicated. Receivers receive a signal from the controller 479 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,200 Speaker 1: and then send it further along the chain, which allows 480 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: you to have certain show elements that would be further 481 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: away from the controller. So you have a really big yard, 482 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: for example, and you want to run elements way out 483 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: to trees or in the front, as well as all 484 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 1: the stuff that's in your you know, on your house itself. 485 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: That might be something that you would have to look into. 486 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:09,439 Speaker 1: Another component you'll probably need is a radio transmitter in 487 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 1: the FM band of frequencies. Now, this is so that 488 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 1: the people driving up to watch your display can tune 489 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: into a particular radio station to hear the accompanying music. 490 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: Some displays also make use of outdoor speaker systems that 491 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: will play music, you know, not as a super high 492 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 1: volume at least if you have any consideration for your neighbors, 493 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: but within the actual environment, so people walking up could 494 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: hear the music too. However, if you're going to use 495 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: a radio transmitter, there are certain rules you have to follow. 496 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: So countries have very strict laws regarding radio frequency bands 497 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: and who can use them and what they can be 498 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: used for. And in order to have permission to broadcast 499 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: on certain bands like the FM radio frequency band, typically 500 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 1: you need to secure a license, which is incredibly expensive. However, 501 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: if your transmission is under a certain power, you're okay. 502 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: So here in the United States, the rule is if 503 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: you're staying under point zero one microwatts of power at 504 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,119 Speaker 1: three meters, you're good to go, and you can choose 505 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: the frequency band you want to broadcast on. You would 506 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: need to choose something other than a radio station currently 507 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: in use in your area or else your broadcast is 508 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: going to be completely overpowered, and then you need to 509 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: alert folks that they should tune their car radios to 510 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: that specific channel. The transmitter's job is to transmit the 511 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: signal sent to it over the radio, and the signal 512 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: ideally is some Christmas music that you have coordinated with 513 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:37,960 Speaker 1: the program light display during the actual sequencing or programming phase, 514 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,719 Speaker 1: so it's another component. Also, the music obviously ends up 515 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: being something that gets sent to the show player as well. 516 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: It's all part of the program. Really, you could think 517 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: of it as almost like a video where you've got 518 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: the audio and the video stuff all synced up. It's 519 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: similar to that. One other element you'll need, and you'll 520 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: need several of these depending on what you want to do, 521 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: is some sort of mounting material for the lights. So 522 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 1: this is essentially a frame through which you plug the 523 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: light bulbs in so that each pixel is held in 524 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: the right position relative to its neighbors. Now that probably 525 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: sounds obvious. If you're controlling bulbs pixel by pixel, The 526 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: only way it works is if all the pixels maintain 527 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,120 Speaker 1: their relative position to one another. So you might use 528 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 1: strips of plastic with holes cut through to push the 529 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:30,239 Speaker 1: bulbs into. You could create shapes that you wanted to 530 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 1: in order, like do your own so that you get 531 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,400 Speaker 1: the effects to have stuff light up, but those are 532 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: really hard, Like I mean, if you wanted to make 533 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: a snowman or a reindeer or crampus or whatever, doing 534 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: it yourself is extremely challenging. These are often referred to 535 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: as props, and the nice thing is you can buy 536 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: props like the hobby. There's tons of props that are 537 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,960 Speaker 1: available in different shapes. So if you want candy canes, 538 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: no problem. You can get candy cane shapes and these 539 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: props frequently you can actually get the digital equivalent of 540 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: the prop to be plugged into your sequencing software so 541 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 1: that your computer automatically recognizes these prop shapes and how 542 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: they are lined up. So the props tend to come 543 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: with instructions on how you are to install those pixels, 544 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: how you plug the digital pixels in where you start, 545 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: where you end what pattern you want to follow, and 546 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: then that gets sent to the computer software. And the 547 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: computer software already knows where each of those pixels are 548 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: in relation to each other, so that way, when you 549 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: run a program through it, it displays properly on the prop. 550 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,080 Speaker 1: Because that you have to tell the pixels where they live, 551 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: you have to create addresses. So yeah, for programs to 552 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: even work, lights have to have an address. Each light 553 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: has its own address. This as much like your computer 554 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: or your smartphone has an IP address on the Internet. 555 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: Similar thing. For the controller to know which bulbs to 556 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,480 Speaker 1: turn on and off, those bulbs have to have an address. 557 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: Otherwise you would just have random patterns being shown, and 558 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: if your bulbs weren't in the right position, it would 559 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 1: just look like a mess. So the standard that the 560 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: lighting industry here in the United States uses is called 561 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: DMX or sometimes DMX five twelve. The lighting industry in 562 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,560 Speaker 1: stage and concert productions developed the standard over a number 563 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 1: of years in order to streamline control processes because before 564 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: that standard, lighting technicians had to deal with lots of 565 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: different proprietary methods to control different elements on the lighting board. 566 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: That was really complicated and it meant it was a 567 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: real pain in the butt to set up and break down. 568 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: It was a nightmare from a wiring perspective. DMX five 569 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: twelve simplified matters. So essentially, every device, every node will 570 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: if you will, gets a DMX address. Now, some devices 571 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: actually receive more than one address. For example, let's say 572 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 1: you've got a light mounted in a system and the 573 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: light has the ability to dim, well, the dimmer is 574 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: on an address. If the mounted system can tilt, well, 575 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 1: you've got tilt controls. That requires another address, and so on. 576 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: So depending on how much an element can do, if 577 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 1: it can pan left and right, well, then you need 578 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: addresses for that. It's not necessarily a one to one system. 579 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: In other words, it all depends on the number of 580 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 1: effects the device is capable of producing. Each effect needs 581 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: to have its own address so the controller can send 582 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: the correct signal to that element at the right time. 583 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: Now I could do an entire episode on DMX and 584 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: the technologies associated with it and not even touch on 585 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: the fact that there's also the music artist DMX, but 586 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 1: that's getting away from our conversation about Christmas light shows. 587 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,280 Speaker 1: What you need to know is that DMX five twelve 588 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: makes it possible to quantify and control each pixel in 589 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: a display, and since it's a standard, you don't have 590 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 1: to worry about proprietary issues, assuming you haven't bought into 591 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 1: some proprietary string of lights controller system. Again, that's why 592 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: Obvious often will buy direct from China to get these 593 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 1: elements that can work with the open standards of DMX 594 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: five twelve as opposed to some proprietary approach where it 595 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,280 Speaker 1: only works with that one company's equipment, because you want 596 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,640 Speaker 1: to be able to incorporate whatever elements you like and 597 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: not be limited to what some company has created. Now 598 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,960 Speaker 1: let's talk about software. There are a few different software 599 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 1: packages out there that let you program at Christmas lights show. 600 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: People have their favorites. They all are trying to do 601 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,959 Speaker 1: the same thing, but the user interface is quite different 602 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: from software to software. Some people prefer one over another. 603 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: The one that I hear the most frequently, I think 604 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: is x lights. It's an open source lights sequencing software package. 605 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 1: I have not done this myself, so I do not 606 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,040 Speaker 1: have a preference. I suggest doing research on the different 607 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: software packages out there to figure out which one makes 608 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: sense to you. They all can seem a little obtuse 609 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: at first like there's a pretty steep learning curve. But 610 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,000 Speaker 1: in this software you have to go through a process 611 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,160 Speaker 1: called pixel mapping. That is, you have to tell your 612 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 1: computer where each bulb is in your display so that 613 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: you're able to create the effects that you actually want 614 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: to show. If you're using props from manufacturers, that process 615 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 1: is made simpler because most software packages make it possible 616 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 1: for you to indicate which props you're using, and the 617 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,200 Speaker 1: program automatically associates the shape where the lights are, so 618 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 1: that if you want, say your reindeer to go from 619 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: green to blood red, then you know you can just 620 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,160 Speaker 1: easily pull up that sequence and associate it with the shape. 621 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 1: In this computer program, you do build out sequences. These 622 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 1: are the animations and commands that make up your Christmas show, 623 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: and typically you want to coordinate those with whatever music 624 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 1: you're playing. So this all gets associated with a timeline 625 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: and that gives you precise control over when each element 626 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: in your sequence initiates. Programming sequences can end up getting 627 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: very complicated. The hobbyists all have also uploaded sequences that 628 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: they have design and other people can download those sequences 629 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: import them into their own control software like x lights 630 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,399 Speaker 1: and then incorporate it into their own show. So if 631 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:14,240 Speaker 1: the whole idea of programming and entire display is daunting 632 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: to you, like if it seems too technical or two 633 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:22,279 Speaker 1: time consuming, it is possible to download previously program sequences 634 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: and then run them on your system. Once the show 635 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: is programmed, you then can export it to the show 636 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 1: player in the controller or controller is connected to your show, 637 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:35,040 Speaker 1: assuming that you have those and which case, at that point, 638 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,719 Speaker 1: your computer is no longer needed, Like, all all you 639 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 1: did was create the sequence. It sent the sequence to 640 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: the show player that's now stored on the show player. 641 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 1: Your computer is done. You don't have to keep it 642 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,960 Speaker 1: connected to the system, unless, of course, something in the 643 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: show doesn't work and you have to go back and 644 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,640 Speaker 1: check the program for errors and figure out what went wrong. 645 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: Which does happen now? I got to be straight with 646 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 1: all of y'all. The programming part of this is a 647 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:01,719 Speaker 1: particularly huge task. If you're picking on everything yourself, it 648 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: can be just as or more time consuming as plugging 649 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:09,239 Speaker 1: each individual led into a prop or wiring everything up 650 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:11,520 Speaker 1: in the first place and mounting it in your yard 651 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:15,280 Speaker 1: or on your house. There are some great tutorials online 652 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,799 Speaker 1: for the various programs out there. So for example, if 653 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 1: you want to know how to get started with X lights, 654 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,239 Speaker 1: the YouTube channel how to Pixel. The number two how 655 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:29,480 Speaker 1: to Pixel has a thorough tutorial on X lights, and 656 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: by thorough, I mean it's two and a half hours long. 657 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:38,320 Speaker 1: Like I said, this stuff gets complicated. Another YouTube channel 658 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: that I highly recommend is learn Christmas Lighting by above AVL, 659 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: which has multiple videos dedicated to different components in Christmas 660 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: lights shows. These folks come from the world of theatrical lighting, 661 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: so their expertise is considerable in the subject. I do 662 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,879 Speaker 1: suggest that if you are interested in this, take a look, 663 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,799 Speaker 1: start reading about it at least or watchings and see 664 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:02,880 Speaker 1: if it's something that you know kind of clicks with you. 665 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,880 Speaker 1: Then is something that you'd be interested in, And try 666 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 1: not to go all out right out the gate like 667 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,879 Speaker 1: build up, you know, gradually, so that you can kind 668 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:16,200 Speaker 1: of get comfortable with all the various elements needed in 669 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,839 Speaker 1: this hobby to make it work, Like you don't need 670 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:22,400 Speaker 1: to go all out with fog machines and panning and 671 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,560 Speaker 1: tilting lights and all that kind of stuff right from 672 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 1: the start, Like start slow, get to know the software, 673 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 1: get to know the hardware and become familiar with it 674 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,800 Speaker 1: so that you can build upon that knowledge and create 675 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: more complicated and impressive light displays moving forward. Also, keep 676 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 1: in mind, as I said earlier, this hobby is one 677 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:48,200 Speaker 1: that is evolving rapidly. The sophistication of the tools has 678 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:52,000 Speaker 1: changed so much over just the last few years. Like 679 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: it wasn't always possible for you to be able to 680 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,279 Speaker 1: buy an off the shelf controller, for example, you had 681 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 1: to kind of put those things together yourself. You can 682 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,359 Speaker 1: easily do that. There are multiple companies that offer them, 683 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: So dip your toe in by watching some videos, reading 684 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 1: some blogs, reading some instructions and stuff, find out what 685 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,719 Speaker 1: kind of fits your your comfort level and go from there. 686 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,719 Speaker 1: But the cool thing is that ultimately you're going to 687 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: end up with a really interesting and fun display that 688 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:25,640 Speaker 1: can delight people who stop by, and you can really 689 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:30,920 Speaker 1: celebrate ingenuity and innovation and technology along with the concept 690 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,799 Speaker 1: of people coming together and spending time with each other 691 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 1: and showing appreciation for one another. I think that's a 692 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,880 Speaker 1: great thing when technology and sappy sentimentality can come together. 693 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: Because I'm a soft touch y'all. You should probably know 694 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 1: that by now if you've been listening for a while. Anyway. 695 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:50,120 Speaker 1: That's a quick overview of do it yourself Christmas lights shows. 696 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,880 Speaker 1: There is so much more to talk about. I didn't 697 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,839 Speaker 1: even really scratch the surface, but I just wanted to 698 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,920 Speaker 1: kind of raise awareness. I think a lot of people 699 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:01,320 Speaker 1: they've just seen the stuff that's online and they haven't 700 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: thought what kind of work goes into actually making that. 701 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:08,200 Speaker 1: It's considerable amount of work, but the reward of designing 702 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:12,839 Speaker 1: a really nice lights show is also considerable. I mean 703 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,200 Speaker 1: it may not be monetary, but at least it's a 704 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,680 Speaker 1: sense of satisfaction of having created something really eye catching 705 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,879 Speaker 1: and delightful. I hope all of you out there are 706 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:26,879 Speaker 1: doing well, and I'll talk to you again really soon. 707 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 708 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,200 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 709 00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:46,720 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.