2019 Behind The Scenes Walk Through - North Table Mountain Christmas Lights

[@bob81354]

Grate job can you tell us where you bought your mini trees from

[@CSDM15]

Wait is this in Colorado??

[@wsbull78]

I just ordered some of your clips! Thanks for providing a solution to what is typically a headache!

[@tube.perfect]

Do the Pi Zero work wirelessly or can you use Ethernet? I don't have the greatest wifi to reach outside so what alternative would you recommend if they only work on wifi.

[@earthy1175]

Where’d you get your icicle lights at?

[@YoungDaggerDicc.316]

Were can i get som of those clips for the top of the roof

[@li2buenafe]

Do you have any video showing how you did your node installed in PVC up to your roof line design

[@nickwc152]

I was watching this years Xlights around the world video and your display caught my eye and I had to see your channel and set up. I love those P10 poles. I see you have P5 design on your site. So it looks like you have upgraded them?

[@bryanfelver6125]

Doug I understand this isnt about one of your products. Will the pixel 2 thing board work with led lights ?

[@reelpilot]

Yes. Only a couple of the AC props I have are incandescent, the rest are are LED.

[@manukalias]

Wow, What did I just saw in this video, A complete Heaven of Bullet Pixels. I am new to this and currently attached to show videos and starting to practice Xlights, To start with I'll do a test run with 500 Bullet shaped pixels using PI and Nodemcu running WLED. Your Setup is just awesome, Next Level Thanks for Sharing 😍😍

[@lancebarker7356]

Also, How many Power Supplies are you using in your main control box? Thanks

[@reelpilot]

Four

[@bryanfelver6125]

I know this is an older video. My question is on you arches . Are you controlling the data for all arches and base off 2 ports on the f16 . Then your adding power for 2 arches. Am i understanding that right . Also what pixels are you using in the arches. Thanks for your help .

[@reelpilot]

The arches are controlled from 2 ports and the bases are controlled from one port, so a total of 3 ports for the combined arches / bases. The arches needed to be split because it would have been too many pixels controlled from one port since I'm using 2 expansion boards with the F16. Each buck converter then powers two arches. The arches use strips and they are 60 LEDs per meter with 3 LEDs per pixel.

[@Campbellfamilylights]

Where did you get the controller for the pixel poles

[@reelpilot]

It's a Pi Zero with a matrix hat from Crockett Fantasy of Lights.

[@philkingmke]

The wire management is impeccable.

[@lancebarker7356]

Do you sell the housing for the on and off switch for the light strips inside the box?

[@reelpilot]

It's not on my website, but it's something I could print. If you're interested, message me through my site for more info. inspirelightshows.com/

[@trevorkelba6910]

What are the larger pixels you have for the runway, and for the roofline. I see the standard ws2811, but those are 12mm pixels. The runway seems to be a much larger pixel

[@reelpilot]

They go by different names depending on the vendor such as Pixabulbs and Brilliant Bulbs. They are kind of like a pixel version of a C9.

[@trevorkelba6910]

reelpilot do you have a link to these?

[@reelpilot]

www.diyledexpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=42&products_id=908

[@bryanfelver6125]

I noticed that your using different spaced pixels through your display. I was wondering what the spacing was on the baby wreath??? Alot of great information in this video. Thanks for your time.

[@reelpilot]

Whenever it's possible I get my pixels with custom spacing for the intended prop. On the wreath I actually have 4 different spacing intervals as the pixels work their way outward.

[@bryanfelver6125]

Im new to the whole pixel game. If you could lead me in the right direction with some information. I would greatly appreciate.

[@willyscreation]

OMG! I’m going with a PVC system to outline my house and wasn’t sure how I was going to do it but you have the best system! I was going to install the pixels in the PVC like you did but had no idea how to install it to the house. Thank you so much for this video again lol. As you can tell I’m very new to this hobby but I’m loving every minute about! This will be my first year with my house outlined with RGB Pixels.

[@reelpilot]

One of the keys is to streamline installation and removal of props whenever possible. Having lights in PVC and snapping them into clips is a great time saver. I can do my entire house outline by myself in an afternoon.

[@thebruhhh]

Did you spray paint the pvc that’s on the roof? All I can find is white pvc. (Sorry if I missed that explanation in video)

[@reelpilot]

Yes they are spray painted to blend in better.

[@thebruhhh]

@@reelpilot thanks man :)

[@asulliv1954]

OMG your set up puts my 3 sets of WS2811 & my deer,sled,2 trees & 3 inflatables to shame!!How long does it take to set up all this,WOW!!Spectackulis!!my way of writing spectacular!!Thank You for Sharing!!thumbs ⬆️ up!!

[@lancebarker7356]

Excellent Video and walk through - Can you tell me the Model number of your main control Bud Box?

[@reelpilot]

NBF 32334

[@nfogy]

Hi thank you for the walkthrough! Do you still sell the clips for siding you made?

[@reelpilot]

Yes they are available here. inspirelightshows.com/

[@howdydoody7555]

How do you connect pixels and the regular classic figures on the same box? Or do you need separate boxes?

[@reelpilot]

That enclosure is big enough for me to have both pixel controllers and AC controllers inside.

[@rfincke]

I see you added the winterberry trees in 2020. Did you make these or buy them somewhere? I love what they add to your display and would like to do something like this. Great video too by the way. THANK YOU for walk through your entire setup.

[@reelpilot]

They started life as store bought, but I stripped all the regular lights off and put pixels on them. Overall conversion time is about 10 hours per tree. There are actually supposed to be 11 in the display, but only 6 are complete this year.

[@sujeyrodriguez7692]

Great video! We love the walk thru and how creative and details but must of all how you still keep the true mean of Christmas.. My husband and I are newbies to this love the idea of the installation of the lights to the house. I do have a few questions tho.. Are you drilling holes through the pvc pipes and pushing the pixels threw or did you cut open the back to add the light.. and are you drilling the candy clips into the ridge clips?

[@MrRussCornell]

How much did this cost you to make estimate total ?

[@reelpilot]

I try not to think of the cost. A good estimate is $1 per pixel when getting started. Eventually the costs come down some after the initial investment.

[@putin2918]

@@reelpilot okay so how many pixel you got

[@davidcmckee]

Doug, Where do you print the parts you make for the Mini Trees and your other mounts for props. What is the rough estimated cost per part? Are you going to post the parts for the Mini Trees?

[@reelpilot]

I plan on offering the parts for sale later this year and haven't had the time to look into the cost analysis yet. I've been very busy this year and won't begin to really do much on the Christmas front for another couple of months.

[@LordHog]

Thanks for sharing. More importantly, thanks for referring that you use low voltage landscape wire for your display. I can't tell you how many times I have asked this question and not a single person replied. Thanks!! The other question I have is do you use one or more power rails from the power box (i.e., circuit breaker line) when powering the displays? Do you use one single 20 AMP circuit? Perhaps use multi circuits?? Do you measure and monitor the power usage for each circuit?

[@reelpilot]

I have the display on 5 different circuits. I could probably get away with less, but why push it. I periodically test with a watt meter. Overall the current draw on both the AC and DC is low except for when everything is on white which I seldom do with the sequences.

[@juanbolivar35]

I know it is almost impossible to answer, but how many LEDs?! I am proud of using 800 and it is nothing compared with yours!

[@reelpilot]

My notes from last year say over 45,000. However that does include the matrix panels which really inflate the amount. I know there is somewhere around 12,000 pixels.

[@jlock4545]

Hi, great work. I am very interested in the arches at the front of the house and wondered if you have any details on how to start and what I need to buy please?

[@thebruhhh]

There’s a few options. I’ll link one. I’m personally buying white 1” pex at Lowe’s, 3D printing the feet, 5/8” emt for the base connection to 3D feet, and stakes to hold the base, and inserting my leftover strips (you can drill for bullet pixels as well) This link the guy uses HDPE tubing which I don’t have local access to and can’t for this season: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqHNeXeDrZ5liqs

[@reelpilot]

Those arches use 1" PEX tubing and I will be adding a new video on the arches soon. I have just finished a redesign of the arch base mounts and they will be available at inspirelightshows.com very soon.

[@thebruhhh]

@@reelpilot Awesome!

[@NathanKSmith]

How long does it take to set all of this up every year? I noticed you have everything streamlined with labels and connectors.

[@reelpilot]

I haven't kept track of the time that closely, but probably in the neighborhood of 100 hours. It would go down each year as I streamline various aspects, but I'm also adding more and more.

[@jhilling]

Love your setup. Where do you source your cables and boxes from? I'm also curious about your 3D printer. What 3D printer you are using?

[@reelpilot]

A few of the older boxed are CG1500's that are available from many vendors like DIYLED Express. However most of my newer ones are Bud Industry boxes. They come in tons of sizes, so I just measure what I need and go with whatever size box will fit them. I'm in a multi year transition to going with all xconnect pigtails, so wires are just ordered from the pixel vendor. For printing I use the Prusa MK3S.

[@jhilling]

@@reelpilot Thank you for the update.

[@backyardgifts9461]

Where do you pick up your roof and gutter clips???

[@reelpilot]

The ridges on the roof are the Canny Systems clips. All the others are ones that I designed and 3D print myself. I do sell them if you are interested. Message me at [e-mail] for more info.

[@orleandorsey8307]

Great layout and walk through. Do you have a video of the runway in action?

[@reelpilot]

Not anything worth sharing. It's still a work in progress and since I'm my biggest critic I don't want to share it until it's right. This year everything will be on aluminum rails and perfectly aligned.

[@orleandorsey8307]

@@reelpilot no problem. I am switching to RGBs this year but still have several strings of newly acquired LEDs that I wanted to somehow get a little use out of. I'll just do a MegaTree made up of superstrings. Thanks again for the walkthrough. It was very helpful.

[@davidcmckee]

Doug, Can you explain why you use the Pi computers in your controller boxes instead of using a computer to run the show? Is there an advantage to this? It seems more complicated to me as this was my first year and I had a dedicated PC running the show with XSchedule and it worked fine for me. Thanks again for all of the extra efforts you take to help all of us new guys!!

[@reelpilot]

Either way works, but with a pi I don't have to commit a PC to the job and have to worry about software updates or other reboots that may happen during showtimes. I can also continue to use my PC for any high CPU use and never have to worry about it effecting my show. I also choose to run my pis wirelessly, so I don't have to run cat 5 everywhere which is a huge benefit for me since my show is spread out. FPP and xlights work very well together and you can rather easily push xlights configuration out to both pis and controllers.

[@TheWanderer2527]

Looks great! Would be so kind as to tell me the diameter of your arches please?

[@TheWanderer2527]

Also is the connection at corners a 3D print you made?

[@reelpilot]

The PEX for the arch is 111" long and the horizontal PEX between the mounts is 63" long. The mounts are 3D printed. These particular ones were made for me before I got into 3D printing. At some point, hopefully this year, I am going to create my own version that makes a few improvements on this design.

[@TheWanderer2527]

@@reelpilot thank you. Is the Pex 1" diameter?

[@reelpilot]

Yes 1" PEX

[@TheWanderer2527]

@@reelpilot they look good. I appreciate the come back. Nice setup for show as well

[@johnnagy1575]

Sweet. But. I'm new too this. And need more understanding of the boards and how they actually work. I'm not new to electronics. I understand that. It's the data management. The boards you use. That would be an awesome video. Thank you

[@willyscreation]

Yes! Thank you for this video. Love the mega 🌲! Keep up the great work!

[@reelpilot]

Mega tree and snowflake tower videos coming soon.

[@willyscreation]

I’m very interested in your PVC clips for the gutters and sidings “J” channel? Is this something you would be willing to sell? Also do you have a link to the clips that you use at your peeks? Thank you for your time 👍

[@reelpilot]

@@willyscreation yes I do sell those clips. Message me at [e-mail] for more info. As far as the ridge mounts these are the ones I use. www.cannysystems.com/product-page/ridge-clips paired with the PVC adapters www.cannysystems.com/product-page/1-2-pvc-pipe-adapter

[@willyscreation]

Sounds good, I sent you a msg to that email.

[@ronchazin7280]

Are the files for the mounting system for the mini trees available or are you printing and selling them?

[@reelpilot]

Those took a lot of work, so I will be selling them later in the year. Right now I only have the ones sized for the Gilbert Engineering small mini trees, but my hope is to have all 4 sizes available.

[@ronchazin7280]

Ok, I’ll watch for your posting.

[@timothygodfrey4950]

show us your show please...