How To - Make Perfect Boscoyo Pixel Arches

[@johnmayer4747]

I have done Boscoyo arches and some of the problems you will have is if the arches are exposed to the sun in the southern states (South Mississippi here). The UV will make the 1/2" tees brittle and over a year or 2, the tees will break. I have used a different method to keep the Tees from breaking by 1. use a blow torch and heat the pvc up to where it is flexible (see bending pvc bending on KZbin). Bend the pvc to your diameter using the emt conduit as a guide from one side to the other. 2. Use water to solidify the bend . Once you have this completed it takes the stress off of the Tees and they will last longer than a couple of years. Good informative video!!!!

[@Austin.Wahlquist]

You by far from all of the other light show creators have the most organized light show! Spending all that time just to have the 51 pixels instead of 50!

[@BenWillKing]

Great video. I wasn't able to add these to my show this year, but will definitely be implementing them for next year. Thank you!

[@steviep3736]

Great videos and info. They help a lot. have question about power injection, how do you setup you power tees when they come from different power supplies.

[@NiFamilyLights]

Thanks for the comment! Regarding power injection coming from a different power supply, as long as the V- terminals of the power supplies are bonded together, you should be all set.

[@earlbradshaw]

Thank you. I apricate your insight and help.

[@benjaminreinhardt259]

To take up the slop in the joint between the tee and the EMT, wrap duct tape around the EMT until it is a snug fit. Just getting into the Christmas Light Show 'world'. Will be checking out more of your videos. Thanks!

[@randallbrown5257]

Thanks!

[@NiFamilyLights]

You bet!

[@mking0310]

I'm just curious, why use EMT and why not use PVC for the pipe at the bottom? It would fit better in the T and be cheaper. Is there a benefit?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Great question…You could use PVC for the base bar, however, there’s a lot of force on the T’s due to the bent PVC. So that base bar needs to be stiff enough to counter act the force of the PVC arch trying to straighten itself out. EMT is much more rigid, so it’s much better at maintaining the shape without bending. Until the curved PVC piece completely reshapes and relaxes in its curved state, a PVC base will likely also bend outwards as well due to the forces applied to it at the Tees. If you’re able to get the curved PVC piece to reshape and relax more readily to where it’s not trying to straighten out and bend the lower bar, then a PVC base could work.

[@robcamp6743]

Thanks!

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@LA2047]

If I've never set this kind of thing up before, but am planning to attempt it this season, where would you recommend I go to learn how to do all the electrical configuring? I'm adept at the mechanical parts like constructing the arches. I'm confident I can install the pixels onto the arches and even splice in the longer cord. But what I have zero experience with is linking them all together into their power source and then programming them so they'll do what they should do. Most sources I find seem to presume you already know what all the components are and are familiar with the terms. Do you know where I might learn to do that part if I have no previous knowledge?

[@NiFamilyLights]

I cover a number of electrical related items in this channel, but you are correct. Many videos including mine assume you have some base electrical knowledge. There are a bunch of good videos that should help you at videos.xlights.org. Best of luck.

[@WooderBoyProductions]

where did you get the trees from?

[@NiFamilyLights]

If you are referring to the mini trees, I made those by hand using sheets of 4mm coro from a local home improvement store.

[@WooderBoyProductions]

@@NiFamilyLights Do you have a close up of how you did it?

[@NiFamilyLights]

@The Lawn Warrior, sorry, no I don't. They are modeled to be similar to the large Boscoyo mini trees. However, they are a little shorter and smaller, and the placement of pixels in the left and right most columns are "irregularly" placed and not in a straight line.

[@zshenry]

Great video! For the spiral trees, did you make the stands yourself? If so, could you post a video on that?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Thanks for the comment. For the spiral trees, those were store bought spiral trees that I removed the lights and then zip tied pixels to the spirals. The big box stores usually carry those trees during this time of year.

[@dannygasca6898]

Hey Steve, Nice video lots of good info. This will be my first year any chance of a fpp install video.

[@NiFamilyLights]

Danny, I think there's plenty of vids covering FPP. Canispater Christmas' channel I think has a good one on installing FPP.

[@dannygasca6898]

Cool...I'll check it out Thanks!

[@blewis4x4]

So, the lights will shine through the Schedule 40 pipes good?

[@NiFamilyLights]

No, the lights don’t shine through the schedule 40 PVC. I mounted the Boscoyo large coro arch pieces to the PVC, and the pixels are pushed into the coro. So, the pixels are facing forward towards the viewer. I wouldn’t recommend trying to put pixels inside schedule 40 PVC, the light will not shine through the PVC.

[@AA-ho5mg]

@Ni Family Lights How wide is each arch from left to right?

[@NiFamilyLights]

It’s a little over 6’ wide at the base.

[@timcrandall970]

Great video! You showed separate power injection. Are you also doing self power injection on each arch? If yes, do you run the cables along the arch or on the ground?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Tim, thanks and great question. The arches are the only props in my show and the church show where I don't do the self power injection. Since, I'm doing the Tee Power Injection after only 153 pixels, it isn't necessary. If you push the limits by running 5+ arches (250-255+ pixels), then you'll likely be in the zone where adding higher quality self power injection wires would help.

[@bryanfelver6125]

You need a 3d printer and make a bushing for the emt to the plastic tee.

[@NiFamilyLights]

That's a great idea. I know folks with 3D printers (who often end up with 2 or 3), and that's a whole other hobby on it's own. I'm trying to limit my hobbies... ;)

[@pomonabill220]

For the piece between the two T's, why not just use sch 80 1/2 inch PVC pipe rather than the EMT? It seems that the EMT is used to hold the T's together to form the arch, and no structural support. It would be light to store and the whole thing could be cemented together. Make sense?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Hi there. You could use PVC for the base cross piece. However, there is a lot of force exerted on the cross piece by the bent PVC which will cause the bottom piece to also bow if you use PVC. The EMT is structurally much stronger to resist bowing, so it makes for a better material to maintain the consistent shape of the curved arch piece. The weight of the entire arch with the EMT piece is still pretty light. I think the weight difference is negligible.

[@christowentzel2778]

Hi, do you think it would be an option to use a step drill and drill 12mm Pixel holes into the 1/2" PVC pipe rather than using the Correx board?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Christo, that’s definitely one way to do it, and many others have done it that way. I for one don’t have the confidence that I’ll be able to drill the holes in the PVC evenly spaced. People also have a hard time keeping the holes facing the same direction as the PVC holes tend to twist as you go down the pipe. So the holes end up spiraling along the length of the pipe. I’m also not sure how strong the PVC will be once you drill holes through them and then bend the pipe. The tension of the PVC to make the curve is relatively significant. With many holes cut out, it may break along a spot where a hole was drilled either initially or at some later time. That said, it’s super easy to zip tie the coro and push pixels for perfectly spaced arches. The key is to get the shaping right or else the coro pieces themselves won’t form a consistent circular shape.

[@Walterz930]

Nice video maybe 🤔 if you jam the rebar though before putting the pipe in place then you know you have the room inside also I think these arches will look nice if they had the arch shape on the back to hide all the cables

[@NiFamilyLights]

Good idea to pre fit a piece of rebar before securing the EMT. I’m not sure I understand your comment about putting the PVC arch on the back. When attaching the coro to the PVC, the PVC pipe is in the back where the pixel wires go. In the video, I’m showing the back side of the arches to show the wiring. The other side is what faces the audience.

[@bmacy1028]

I would really like to see a video of you bending the PVC. do you have one made, or can you?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Mr Macy, I thought about disassembling one but didn’t think it would be as useful. Once you have one corner in and screwed together, you can have someone hold the other end down while you bend it around or you can have one end against the house to bend the PVC around.

[@bmacy1028]

@@NiFamilyLights So they wont snap, that is my biggest fear is to have PVC shards going everywhere. but thanks for the reply.

[@timcrandall970]

The three foot radius isn't sharp enough to break the PVC. If you put the PVC in the sun first, then bend it, it's even easier. After attaching the strap I flipped the arch upside down and poured boiling water into it. After it cools, the pipe will hold its shape very well.

[@NiFamilyLights]

@@timcrandall970 That's a great tip to put boiling water in the pipe to quicken the time to shape the arch.

[@talentshow7168]

Why emt on the bottom? Why not use PVC there as well?

[@NiFamilyLights]

The EMT for the bottom is 1/2”. There’s quite a bit of force from the upper piece of PVC trying to bend the EMT piece where they connect at the bottom. The shaping step certainly helps to shape the PVC and reduce the stress placed on the EMT. If the bottom piece was made PVC, the base wouldn’t be straight from the upper PVC piece trying to straighten out. That would also cause the upper PVC piece to be a challenge to shape correctly.

[@djlightsaberdracula6003]

I am buying a LOR controller to use on xlights

[@Swimmer-rw7qb]

I got a 15 pack of 1/2 inch tees with a threaded hole for the EMT. The EMT fits perfectly in the threaded hole (with the help of a mallet) and it stops before the straightaway for the rebar

[@chrisshaffner7308]

Why wouldn't you screw the Tees on first and then install the PVC? Trying to screw on that second Tee seems like an unnecessary PITA.

[@NiFamilyLights]

I glued the tees on first to be sure there wasn’t any twisting of the PVC. Once you bend it over and stick the EMT into the T, it held itself together. I just laid it flat on the ground to drill and attach the second screw. I personally think that’s easier than trying to handle PVC primer and cement (which can make a serious mess) while bending it around to make a connection before stuff hardened.

[@AA-ho5mg]

@@NiFamilyLights How far is each arch from left to right? Thank you

[@NiFamilyLights]

@AA It's just over 6' from the left side to the right side of each arch.

[@tonylou8424]

hiya steve love your videos keep them coming do you have a E-mail add?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Thanks Tony, glad to hear that the videos have been helpful to you. I’m on Facebook in the Official xLights Support Group. You can message me from there.

[@tonylou8424]

@@NiFamilyLights oh ok i was hoping to chat private on zoom if or when you have time as the time different as i am in the uk