Introduction

Hi there,

This is the story of my first Christmas lighting system with computer sequenced pixels. I like tech stuff so I wanted to learn about the technology with a simple setup without spending a large amount of money. Then I would know if I wanted to spend more time and money on a more complex system next time.

I am pleased with the result - not too much work or $ and looks good, and my family even got involved in the sequencing of the lights... mainly because they didn't like how I had done it.

Here it is. The controlled lights are the 3 shapes, the lights on the columns and the flood lights on the house. The LEDs hanging from the gutter are not controlled.

This year I hope to add a mega-tree.



I am writing this blog to help others who might also be starting out and to give back to the wonderful Christmas lights community.

My first recommendation is to join auschristmaslighting.com (ACL) and download their 101 manual, available from a link on the home page. There are also a lot of great videos on the site.

I went to the ACL 'mini' lighting meet-up in Sydney in early 2019 where I met some great people, learnt a lot, bought some parts and even won some goodies!