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
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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. Just a quick update. We have posted a couple of new How-To's to the web site.
The first is a 2 part set showing the construction of the HolidayCoro Pixel Candy Canes we are building. Part 1 is complete and part 2 is in progress. We are waiting on the waterproof connectors from China. You can view the Candy Cane How-To Here: The second How-To is more of a how we did it not a how you should do it description. This new How-To covers how we built the enclosures for the DMX controllers that we will use to run parts of our show. You can view the How-To on As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask us. We love talking about this stuff. Well the project is rocking right along. The Chinese New Year is over and I have an update that my order for the 4-pin waterproof connectors are on the way !! David over at HolidayCoro updated the tops of my CandyCanes for me and I have those in hand. I have built/rebuilt the controller boxes for the DMX bridge and the pixel controller.
Things are going very well. As soon as the connectors arrive, I should be able to complete the project and start programming. I have also STARTED the How-To on the Candy Cane build. Please take a look at the How-To page. I have broken the process in to two parts. I have Part 1 completed and when the connectors arrive and I start the completion I will update part 2. I also included a short video link in Part 1 The 8 HolidayCoro CoroCanes arrived and I have started putting them together. David's video are VERY helpful and I've learned a few things along the way. Such as DO NOT cut out every flute to make the top curve. It doesnt hurt anything but its not really needed AND it makes it more cumbersome to lay down. I am taking pictures of the process of putting them together and I shot a quick video showing the effects of using individually controlled pixels. IT IS AWSOME !!!!
Since I had 8 of them to put together, I decided to break out the fine toothed plywood blade on the table saw to cut out the pieces. It really helped in getting the sides all the same width (even though I do have a CoroClaw to cut with. Anyway, I post the pics in the How-To section when I get them. In the mean time, here is a video of the first CoroCane in action!! http://vimeo.com/59033210 |
AuthorBob and Sandra Moody. Archives
May 2016
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