If you mean the little studs coming out of the garage door surface, in past years there has been a pixel matrix mounted there - page 27 of this doc downloads.eshepherdsoflight.com/Howidid-DumbRGBPixelGrid.pdf describes the very first version. After that I replaced it with WS281X pixel strips, and then more recently changed over to a projector but left the standoffs in place for other holidays - for example, this Easter display used the standoffs kzbin.infoLl59lc3CTqI

The main lesson is that now I am more comfortable with their reliability and this construction technique - they have been mounted outside for over a year now (exposed to sun/heat, rain/moisture, wind, but not so much cold) and they still work well. I wasn't sure about them when I first built them, so it was an experiment. Also, some of the frames bent a little during high wind (because I mounted some coroplast decorations behind them, which increased the wind resistance), so if any additional surfaces will be attached then the frames need to be a little sturdier.

Very helpful!!! Thanks.

I don't have the will power to stop changing things :P - there's always a new or better way to do something. :)

The projector is running off the Raspberry Pi HDMI port, and is configured as a virtual matrix in xLights and FPP. Within xLights, effects are applied to it like any other model.

​​@@ledtocelebrateThat's awesome, I'm definitely going to tinker with that. Is that the same pi that is running your fpp player?

@@KarelDoormans Yes, I run the entire show using a RPi 3 with a DPI hat - it has 24 ports for pixel data, and then I also use the HDMI port for the projector.

@ledtocelebrate you probably have some data boosters running then. Cool setup

@@KarelDoormans There are voltage shifter chips on the DPI hat itself, but otherwise no differentials or F-amps in the mix - the WS281X data goes out directly from the RPi DPI hat to the props via cat5 or individual twisted pairs. (they are all within 30 to 40 feet, which is short enough for a direct data signal) :)

using a 2D custom model with the nodes arranged according to the shape, and then submodels for rings, spokes, etc. ledtocelebrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-at-2024-11-25-07-48-44.png ledtocelebrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-at-2024-11-25-07-41-37.png

thanks! That sounds like a cool project - be sure to post photos or video when done!

They are hand-made. (in fact, all the other props are also DIY/hand-made). This doc is a little outdated, but I used the same general technique as described here ... downloads.eshepherdsoflight.com/Howidid-NativityFigures.pdf . Let me know if you would like any additional info. This video has a closer view of the camel kzbin.info/www/bejne/aImnoGl_raxssLc

Hi! The icicles are WS281X LED strips cut into sections of 10 pixels, mounted on white corogated plastic. The construction technique is described at downloads.eshepherdsoflight.com/HowIdid-WS281X-RGB-Icicles.pdf (chapters 3 and 4). There were several unnecessary steps in there, and I have a newer design in mind but the old ones still work (after 10 years) so I haven't replaced them yet. :) I don't have a write-up of the snow globes yet, but they were made using cardboard arches in a semi-spherical shape, and then WS281X bullet pixels were mounted in them in a somewhat 14 x 16 matrix, and then wrapped with plastic shrink wrap to protect from moisture. In retrospect, it would have been simpler and lighter to use coro for the frames, and then not need the plastic wrap for waterproofing of the cardboard. However, the plasticv wrap does give it a nice shiny look during the day. There is a back-side photo at downloads.eshepherdsoflight.com/SnowGlobes-backside.jpg showing most of the structure. Let me know if you would like more info.

Glad you liked it! I used a lot of sequencing from other sources. Feel free to suggest other songs in future. :)