As promised here is the picture of the Little Tikes train set that Sandra and I inherited. It is absolutely amazing the condition this train is in considering it had been stored in an attic for 25 to 20 years(?). I have removed the ride on section and I am currently rebuilding the transmission and drive. There is nothing wrong with it, but after sitting for so long I thought since it was easy to get in to (They really did make this toy to be repaired) I would clean out the old grease and re-pack the gear drive with some fresh white grease. We are thinking this train will look great in the display. We have to purchase a 6V battery and do some testing on how long it will run. I'm hoping that without a rider, it will last for awhile. If not, then I have some other ideas to maybe trigger the train using LOR when visitors come to see the display.
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Its been REALLY busy around here since the first of the year. If you have been following along you know we have several projects going on.
DMX North Poles - UPDATES COMPLETE - We converted all 8 of the North Poles to use 4-pin water proof connecters. All the pole feeds have been updated and interconnect cables have been made. We still need to complete the new power supply box but that is separate from the update project. Pixel Candy Canes - COMPLETED - YEAH !!!! FINALLY ... there were times were I thought I bit off more than I could chew with this project, but I did finally get all of the power issues worked out (Thanks to help from my friends). My final test today was to see all 8 canes with the same colors and intensity working flawlessly. All the cables are made and were tested as a complete setup. Be sure to watch for the How-to on this project (coming soon). I learned a LOT of do's and don'ts (mostly DON'TS) ... but they look GREAT !!! NEW PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT !!! - Sandra and I came in to possession of a late 1970's early 1980's Little Tikes Ride on train. It is in incredible condition. We are considering adding it to our display for 2013. I have it cleaned up and disassembled at the moment. I'm cleaning and lubricating the gear drive. They DON'T build toys like this anymore at any price. I have some pictures to post but I need to render them for the web pages. I will have a pic of the train, cars and track posted very soon. As you can see, Sandra is keeping me very focused and to tell you the truth.. I'm loving every minute of it. This is going to be our BEST display yet !!! Keep watching and reading (subscribe to the RSS feed for update notifications !!) Bob The Pixel Candy Cane project is almost done !!! All of the candy canes have been completed. The only thing left to do is make the 4-pin cables to connect them all together when they are out in the yard on display.
We are going to complete the How-To shortly. This project was an educational eye opener. What started out being a simple idea got complicated very quickly. We will go into the details in the How-To but lets just say that if you want to build these, you need to do RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH !!! You will need to fully understand pixel operation, wire sizes and standards, power injection and a lot more. We have documented our journey and will pass it along in the How-To. All three parts of the North Pole How-To are complete and online. Another project completed!!!
We have posted an update to Part 3 of the North Pole How-To. This update shows how we made the 4 conductor extension cords used to connect each of the North Poles in our display. I have 5 of 7 completed but wanted to go ahead and get the pictures and how-to posted just in case there were any of you making these same updates (Trying to stay ahead of the hardware side of the display!!)
Hope our How-To's help you in your projects. I have part 1 of the HOW-TO for the RGB North Poles done and published. I need to locate the rest of the photos for part 2 and part 3 is just a photo essay of the updates we did to them for 2013.
Finished adding the 4-pin connectors to all 8 of the North Poles and tested them. They still work great so I didnt cross or reverse any of the wiring. I started making the interconnect cables for the North Poles. I took all 8 into the yard last night and needless to say, neighbors started getting nervous... "OH NO .. its only MARCH .. he really isnt starting to set up NOW is he??? " HEH HEH .. Next week Sandra and I are on Spring Break so I really hope to get a lot of things done. With so many new RGB node and pixel elements coming into the show, I need to get cracking on the coding !!! Ta-Ta-For-Now... keep following our progress and make plans to come see us Everyone say YEAH !!!!
The 4 pin connectors from China have arrived and I will begin finalizing the HolidayCoro Candy Canes and the rework of last years North Poles. Keep an eye out in the How-To section for updates, pictures and hopefully some test video of the completed projects. We have received a lot of positive feedback on the project(s) and hope this final push to complete goes smoothly. This will put us right on track. Sandra has been a blessing in keeping me focused this year on these new projects. If we can get all of the hardware updates done in the first quarter of the year, it will give us ample time to program everything and hopefully have the best display we have ever offered!! Thanks for reading... Bob While watching TV, or trying to pull up a news article/video it just floored me how flooded we are with commercials. You cant even watch a TV show without the network running ads and commercials during the show. We are bombarded by these things all day and every day.
I decided to do my part to "Just Say No" and have removed all of the Google AdSense links for the website. When I get a little time I will rewrite the Music Information page and delete those links as well. Although they really arent advertisements. This is our Christmas Website. Please enjoy the site for what you came here to do. I hope no one misses the advertisements. |
AuthorBob and Sandra Moody. Archives
May 2016
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