☃️🥶 TEXAS SNOWMAGEDDON! (2021) ❄️

[@joshuahobson]

I live in North Austin/Round Rock. This is crazy!! So much snow! I wish it could have come two weeks ago for Christmas, but we’ll take it!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I think Georgetown is getting buried in it. SA got nothing. Highs in the 70s by Thursday. 😂

[@joshuahobson]

@@CanispaterChristmas There was three inches of pure powder on the truck by 2pm. By the way, my 11-month-old Weimaraner is having a blast in all this snow!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@joshuahobson LOL! Yeah, my Lab loves it. The other two, not so much.

[@NicholasBurlarley]

So that's where all my snow went! I live in NY and we always get tons of snow, but we have next to nothing this year!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

LOL! Highs in the 70s by Thursday. 😂

[@NicholasBurlarley]

@@CanispaterChristmas Wow!

[@drheili]

Same here in Wisc. Almost nothing this year, very unusual.

[@gabrielgarcia8018]

I’m in Corpus Christi Texas, where we are getting nothing but cold wind and rain today. Luckily I took down my props Friday and Saturday and all that’s left is extension cords.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

The saga continues. Power outages all over the city now. Glad I am prepared for that. 😂

[@abgarza911]

Awesome, i didn't know you were from Austin TX..

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yep. Been here a while.

[@davidcase2365]

As we wait for the season to begin, I would enjoy a filler video on how you made the scenery video your videos almost start with. Thanks

[@CanispaterChristmas]

You mean the sparkly fireball flying around the Christmas tree?

[@davidcase2365]

@@CanispaterChristmas - As eloquent as ever, But YES! I really enjoy that segway.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@davidcase2365 I can't take credit for that. I got it from VideoHive and just added my channel name to it. They have the audio on another hive website (can't remember what it was called now).

[@TJPatek]

Just south of you in San Antonio...unfortunately, it’s barely going to miss us. Something relaxing to watch it snow

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I'm actually surprised at what we got. That's a respectable Texas snowfall! 😂

[@robertgreen2871]

I've got about 4" of snow and Ice in my front yard if you want it. Guess the lights aren't coming down for awhile.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

It will be in the 70s by Thursday. 😂

[@aaronag7876]

Same here in London UK, no snow here. Looks amazing

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Cool! Yeah, it's awesome since we hardly ever get any. It will be gone tomorrow. 😂

[@markdickson9921]

We got quite a bit here in New Braunfels, unfortunately it is still too warm on the ground so nothing is sticking.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

LOL! That's normally how it goes. Enjoy it while it lasts. 😂

[@JMEproductions]

Hope you're safe and well, in our prayers.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

👍 All good! Thanks!

[@SUDSY0]

Interstates there get crazy with that much snow.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

This was the wet, slushy stuff. I didn't go out driving, but I didn't see anyone sliding around. I do know what you mean tho.

[@charlesmerkel2512]

Thanks for sending it up north here to Plano

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I have a brother trying to move boxes out of his house in Plano this weekend. 😂

[@danyf3116]

This is why having displays where I live is hard. I have had controllers catch fire because of incredible temperature swings in one day. Setup with no snow in mid-November and remove the last items due to being stuck in the snow, end of April. I'll be trying again with pixie lights this year but it has to be as wireless as possible.Finish are my days of 3000 feet of extension cords and possibly just as much in Ethernet!!!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Haha. This won't be around long. 70s forecasted by Thursday.

[@danyf3116]

@@CanispaterChristmas Lucky you. We had snow last year in November and had it for 6 months it seems. Then this year, we don't even have 6 inches on the ground, calling for rain this week and above freezing each day. I remember few years when I had to go outside with a hair dryer trying to thaw water from my vampire plugs or having to snowblow the front of the display so people could see it. When one foot of the arch is above the snow, kinda takes away the pleasure of the light show.

[@shadboal7668]

Just starting out. Have not even set up my first display. Love your videos and would love your input.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! Input on what? You mean how to get started or something else?

[@shadboal7668]

@@CanispaterChristmas yes. I have only bought 1000 lights and I am starting to build a control box. My goal this year is to use my flag pole and gave a 16ft tall 24 x 100 nodes mega tree at 240 deg, so not a full circle.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@shadboal7668 Ah OK awesome!. I have a beginner playlist at kzbin.info/aero/PLFyrAfJ-kKd4ZfPdXWIt8v_bav61mW_KW Go through that if you haven't already. Also, check out the descriptions of my videos for links to places that can help you with questions if I'm not around. Check into the Wednesday night xLights zoom call (see xlights.org) if possible.

[@Jonny_O]

Whoa! You got more snow than we got up here in Chicago.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Haha. Yeah, these are respectable flakes for us.

[@TheEagle2688]

Just what I was thinking 🤔 sofar below what we should have.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@TheEagle2688 Hearing it's much better/deeper about 10 miles North of me.

[@radu_mol]

thanks for all the lessons ,i want to ask how can i record the show and add the music to make a video,thank again

[@CanispaterChristmas]

There are a few articles online about filming your display. Most say to do it at dusk so there's enough light for the camera, but you can still see the display. Depends on your gear. Do you have experience editing videos? That's an entirely different set of tools and skills.

[@radu_mol]

@@CanispaterChristmas yeah i know something,my brother knows more,but i was wonder wich program is commontly used,thank you

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Most of the free/included editing programs will do what you want.

[@dannygasca6898]

Hey Jeff, When wiring your pigtails is there a rule of thumb on how they are connected? From the controller is it male or female ? Thanks ! Back to the Super bowl!👍

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I don't know if there is a standard. I usually just work backwards from the pixels. Typically, the male end (with the pins) is the first pixel so I'd use a female pigtail, but no guarantee that's right. Look at the pixels and figure out which one is marked DI for "data in" vs DO for "data out."

[@dannygasca6898]

@@CanispaterChristmas Ok Thanks.

[@tjmfs1981]

Wish it would snow here... although Christmas is in summer here in Australia unfortunately

[@danyf3116]

Friend of mine met a guy from Australia, wanting to meet a Canadian girl for the snow. They've been married now for over 20 years and 5 kids , if I have the right last count. Might be an idea for you if you fit the mould. LOL

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I should visit in August & September when it's 40C here. 😂

[@darknes7800]

Hi Jeff! Love you videos! Where you connect your LED pigtails to the Falcon board terminals, I see a small yellow connector on each wire just as it enters the screw down terminal. Could you tell me what type of connectors you use? Thanks from Colorado!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

They're called bootlaced ferrules. Highly recommended! I got a kit from Amazon: amzn.to/3oYAElM

[@darknes7800]

Thank you, those are great! And thank you for all the videos! I am working on my 2021 Christmas display, I have all the Falcon controllers, 300 lights from Wired Watts (for testing) 10K lights on the way from Ray, props on the way from Coro, Gilbert and Boscoyo. Everything is on the network and correctly talking to each other and working with X Lights. Christmas On!

[@darknes7800]

BTW, I am using 750 watt HP server power supplies and placing 35 amp fuses between them and each controller input. Didnt know if you had any thoughts on those? The used HP units run about $30 each with a pinout board.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@darknes7800 I have one and know people use them. It's not running in my show currently, but I've heard good things about them.

[@ronm6585]

Lol. Welcome to my world Jeff. 😊

[@CanispaterChristmas]

70s for highs by Thursday. 😂

[@yssubed2]

good way to test of all of your connections are water proof!! Somehow the display looks better with a little snow. I've had really good success with xConnect - Last year - my first - I forgot to keep all my connections off the ground and they all ended up encased in a few inches of ice (I'm an hour or so north of Toronto). No issues at all.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Good to know. I had a connector in a puddle that was making the lights go crazy. I thought, huh, that's weird. Oh. 😂

[@yssubed2]

@@CanispaterChristmas Make sure they're nice and tight!. I also made the rookie mistake of putting my mega tree close to my furnace air exhaust. Had a group of about 8-10 pixels that ended up in a solid block of ice during a cold spell (-15C or so). The moist exhaust condensed on the pixels and mounting strip and immediately froze. Every time the furnace kicked in it added another layer.... Came thru with no problems at all.

[@dannygasca6898]

One more show in the snow 😁👍

[@CanispaterChristmas]

If it lasts that long. 😂Highs in the 70s by Thursday.

[@lancebarker7356]

Thanks for all your videos, they have been a big help. I am trying to wire a mini tree with a star. It's a Small Mini Tree - 225 pixels (15 columns of 15 pixels) - Star is 40 pixels. How do I wire this?, How many port?, Not using any power injection. Thanks for all your help

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Model it in xLights. It will tell you how to wire it up.

[@lancebarker7356]

@@CanispaterChristmas Thanks, I did that, but do I have to run two ports to each mini tree. Because of the 265 count? With 2 universities?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

No. Number of controller connections isn't determined by the number in the string (technically). xLights may fuss at you if you go over what the controller can support.

[@lancebarker7356]

@@CanispaterChristmas Thanks, I'm still really confused here. I ran a single strand of 225 and put it on my test box in the blue wash, but 3/4 of the strand lite up blue the other 1/4 lite up green. Is this a data issue or power issue or both. So does that mean I have to split it into two strans to get under that 170 pixel to stay under the 512 channel rule?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@lancebarker7356 That sounds like you have combined two strings with different color orders. Or possibly some other setting. No, you can span multiple universes with one string.

[@geoffhoweth]

Put that neighborhood boy to work with a shovel. 😂

[@CanispaterChristmas]

LOL! May be a tad early for that. 😂

[@geoffhoweth]

@@CanispaterChristmas You and your family stay safe. 3 days ago I tested positive and have all symptom's of covid. It sucks! But your videos will get me though it. 😷

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@geoffhoweth Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll recover quickly. We've been able to avoid it so far.

[@TheSoundmanPete]

@@geoffhoweth Good luck there Jeff !

[@drummer12980]

Did you get a nighttime video

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I took some pictures. Too wicked cold to get video. 😂

[@JonathanHaas]

Looks like Austin got more than Dallas.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yeah, I think it was a band of stuff through the middle of the state. Mostly gone now.

[@derwintom7532]

Hi! Did you ever get a power supply with two line, two neutral, and one ground. We got one for our P5 panel and we are trying to figure out how wire it up. We are trying to copy your tune in sign

[@CanispaterChristmas]

No. There are usually 3 positive, 3 negative outputs and one mains input. Should be printed on the power supply.

[@derwintom7532]

Thank you! That is why it is so strange to receive a 5v power supply with two line in, two neutral and one ground with the three positive and three negative. It said that it was made for the p5 panels.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@derwintom7532 Hmm. Sure it's not an HP server power supply or something like that? That would explain the two inputs.

[@derwintom7532]

Thanks again. My dad and I love your videos. What do you mean by hp server and will we be able to use it for our tune in sign?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@derwintom7532 I have no idea what power supply you have. Where did you get it?

[@jacobjones2339]

How does Austin get snow but St. Louis doesn’t?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Crazy times we live in. 😂

[@donellis8231]

Jeff, I need your help because I feel dumb. I'm probably trying to take on too much as a newb, but I get all excited and want it all right now. What's the best way to talk with you? I'm sure it's not here, but there's so many forums it can be kind of overwhelming. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Well, I work full-time and am a caregiver to my wife so not much time to consult. The best place to get help is the forums and FB groups listed in my videos - especially the xLights zoom room. They are starting up the weekly sessions this week and you can basically ask anything in there after the presentation. Plenty of folks there to help you sort things out.

[@donellis8231]

@@CanispaterChristmas you're the best! I know you stay pretty busy, and I was unaware of your wife. I hope all is well! :)

[@garryverniest5893]

So why did you not turn them on at night and video?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

I took pictures. Too cold for me to stand out there and video. 😂

[@garryverniest5893]

@@CanispaterChristmas And here I thought Texans were supposed to be tough.😉 It was a balmy -5C (23F) here today. Hardly any wind so it was a beautiful day for January. Hope you had a great Christmas and all the best for you and your loved ones in 2021.

[@vicentesalinas8259]

What are you using for arches?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

The Matt Johnson design. Are you familiar with those?

[@vicentesalinas8259]

@@CanispaterChristmas yes just don't like the shipping costs on that lol... Thought maybe it was pex from Home depot

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@vicentesalinas8259 Agreed. They are pretty though.

[@ducebigalow8834]

I just added 2 more pigtails to my enclosure and did a test. On the first prop only 1 pixel lights up and 4 pixels on the other. I tested one of my original props on its pigtail and it works fine. What could this mean?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Not really enough info to go on there, but possibly bad pixels. If one prop works and other pixels don't, I'd suspect the pixels. It's rare, but happens. Before saying bad things and throwing them away however, can you connect them and put the controller into test mode (or is that what you're doing)? Is the voltage correct? Can you give me a little more to go on? What controller? What are the voltages? blah blah.

[@ducebigalow8834]

@@CanispaterChristmas hi Jeff. I am using 12v pixels, falcon 16v3. The one new prop is 4 med arches with 32 pixels each and the 2nd is a small singing face with 125 pixels I belive so not much draw. I was thinking of try to hook up these new props to another port with more pixels on them just to see if the same thing happens. I know typically you have to tell the controller to see more than 50 nodes but I don't think this is the issue as I don't even see 50 lighting up. These are 12v regulated new pixels from wired watts. I hope that it's not the whole strand or I'm screwed.

[@ducebigalow8834]

@@CanispaterChristmas sorry I was connected to the controller and doing a test mode on them.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

You still need to configure the controller’s output. In the controller’s webpage, is the port set up (needs to know how many pixels are connected to a particular port). Is the fuse LED still lit?

[@ducebigalow8834]

@@CanispaterChristmas I thought that was done for all the ports but I could mistaken. These 2 new props are on ports 7 and 8. I have a small display maybe 1500 to 2000 pixels max. Yes the fuse on the controller was lit in fact all of them were.

[@Chucka1463]

Yikes! I haven't seen snow in 40 years.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yep. Been a while for me too. Nice snow for Texas!

[@gregoryross6874]

We all see the news.... Stay safe.....

[@CanispaterChristmas]

All good! Thanks!

[@TheSoundmanPete]

Hard to see the lights and couldn't hear the music. 😂

[@CanispaterChristmas]

But.... IT WAS SNOWING!!!!! 😂

[@TheSoundmanPete]

@@CanispaterChristmas You are too much

[@johnmayer4747]

Never say we never get snow!!!!! LOL!!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

LOL! That's why it's so festive! I haven't seen snow like this for about 20 years. 😂

[@johnmayer4747]

@@CanispaterChristmas and it looks like we may get a dusting from what you are sending us in South MS!! BTW, stationed in Minot ND back in 1984 85 and will never go back due to the amount of snow and below zero temps when I was there!!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@johnmayer4747 Kinda how I feel about Fairbanks, AK. 😂

[@RLeeErmy]

Looks like a fun day in texas! It's funny how a little snow can make lights seem even more beautiful! I could still live without that four letter word.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yeah, it's fun when it's rare. Feel sorry for people having to deal with it for months.

[@bwselectronic]

It's that doggone global warming! Has to be a mirage! It can't be colder. Sarcasm is fun.🙃

[@CanispaterChristmas]

LOL! At least it's warm enough to keep from shutting the city down. 😂

[@bwselectronic]

@@CanispaterChristmas if they have them, they could use belly plows on their dump trucks. We use them up North until it's to deep.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@bwselectronic It's wet, slushy stuff. They did treat the overpasses last night, but I don't expect much accumulation.

[@bwselectronic]

@@CanispaterChristmas i had heard some in Texas were possibly getting 6-8in. Awful lot when you rarely get snow

[@CanispaterChristmas]

That's probably a little further North. They'll just shut everything down. 😂