Behind the Scenes of 2021 Christmas Light Show

Setting up a Christmas light show requires a decent amount of effort and knowledge of electronics and electricity. I cover how everything is wired up, the hardware that was used, and the design for the show.

Video Transcript

WHAT'S GOING ON GOOD PEOPLE? THIS VIDEO WE'RE GOING TO DO A BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO OF THE 2021 CHRISTMAS LIGHT SHOW. THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONS AND CHANGES TO THIS YEAR'S LIGHT SHOW FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S SHOW. SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO COVER EVERYTHING AND IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE VIDEO FOR 2020 YOU CAN GO LOOK AT THAT IT'S TITLED "2020 CHRISTMAS LIGHT SHOW BEHIND THE SCENES". ALRIGHT INTRO TIME!

(MUSIC)

WE ARE STARTING AT THE CONTROL BOX AND I KNOW IT LOOKS LIKE A MBO JBO MESS BUT IT'S NOT. IT'S REALLY ORGANIZED CHAOS. COMING IN FROM THE BOTTOM THERE'S A BLACK CORD RIGHT HERE THAT COMES IN AND GOES TO THIS OUTLET OR THESE OUTLETS THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY A GFCI IF I CAN GET UNDER THERE SO THAT'S THE GFCI THIS IS THE RASPBERRY PI PLUG AND THEN THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL OUTLETS I HAVE A OR HAD AN ADDITIONAL CORD OVER HERE BUT I TOOK IT OUT FOR MY TUNE TUCSON BECAUSE NORMALLY THE TUNTUS STEIN STAYS LIT 24 7.

BUT IT KEPT TRIPPING THE GFCI SO I HAD TO UNPLUG IT AND IT WAS TRIPPING THIS UFCI BECAUSE OF WELL BECAUSE OR WHEN IT RAINED SO I JUST TOOK IT OUT ALTOGETHER TO QUIT HAVING IT CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH THE ENTIRE SHOW BUT THE POWER COMES FROM HERE TO THESE BUS BLOCKS THEN TO FUSES THAT'S WHAT THESE BLACK THINGS ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED WIRE AND THEN UP TO THE RELAYS AND THEN FROM THE RELAYS THEY COME OVER TO EACH OF THE OUTLETS THAT YOU SEE HERE NOW AS YOU SEE EACH OF THE OUTLETS ARE NBERED OR THE CHORDS ARE NBERED THAT WAY I KNOW WHERE THEY GO THE OTHER END OF THE CHORD I HAD AN ISSUE THIS YEAR I DID NOT NBER THEM LAST YEAR ON THE OTHER ENDS SO I HAD TO REMAP AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WHERE THIS YEAR I ACTUALLY MADE A MAPPING TABLE ON MY WEBSITE PERSONAL WEBSITE THAT IS SO THAT I KNOW WHAT GOES WHERE WHEN IT NEXT YEAR ROLLS AROUND.

ALL THE OUTLETS ARE NOT BEING USED I DID GET AN ADDITIONAL RELAY BOARD COMPARED FROM LAST YEAR I ONLY HAD TWO RELAY BOARDS BUT THIS YEAR I HAD THREE SO I WAS ABLE TO LEVERAGE MORE CHANNELS THIS MIDDLE SET OF CHANNELS LAST YEAR OR THESE MIDDLE SET OF OUTLETS WERE NOT BEING USED THIS YEAR THEY ARE BEING USED IN A MISMATCH CAPACITY NEXT YEAR HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE ALL OF THESE SO UP HERE WE HAVE THE RASPBERRY PI AND SOMEWHERE IN HERE IS ALSO OH THERE IT IS IS THE FM TRANSMITTER WITH ITS CORRESPONDING BLUE WIRE AS THE ANTENNA THIS YEAR I USE THE FM TRANSMITTER PLUGGED INTO A USB PORT THAT WAY IT WILL WORK SEND THE DATA DIRECTLY IN VIA USB INSTEAD OF USING THE AUDIO OUT ON THE RASPBERRY PI THERE IS IN MY OPINION A DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU USE THE USB AUDIO OUT INSTEAD OF WHEN YOU USE THE AUDIO JACK ON THE RASPBERRY PI TO THE FM TRANSMITTER AUDIO JACK I IN FALCON PI PLAYER THERE IS A WHEN YOU DO CONNECT IT VIA USB IT DOES SHOW UP AS A USB DEVICE AND YOU ARE ABLE TO SELECT THAT AS AN OUTPUT ALRIGHT SO THIS IS THE FALCON 5 PLAYER AND YES I'M STILL RUNNING 4.6 IN 2020 I DID NOT UPGRADE LIKE A LOT OF OTHERS DID FOR 2020 I MEAN EXCUSE ME 2021 I WILL BE UPGRADING TO THE 5 VERSION 5 FOR THE 2022 SHOW AS YOU SEE HERE THOUGH IF YOU GO INTO THE SETTINGS AND ON THE AUDIO TAB YOU HAVE THE AUDIO OUTPUT DEVICE AND YOU HAVE THE CD002 WHICH IS AS YOU SEE IN PARENTHESES FM TRANSMITTER IT AUTOMATICALLY NAMES THIS DEVICE AND IS ABLE TO DETECT IT ACCORDINGLY WHEN YOU PLUG IT IN VIA USB IF I DISCONNECT THIS DEVICE THE SETTING WILL STILL BE RETAINED HOWEVER IT WILL SHOW A MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYING THAT THE DEVICE COULD NOT BE FOUND AND THUS CANNOT SEND AUDIO TO IT ALRIGHT SO THAT COVERS EVERYTHING FOR THE BOX I DID HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL WIRES THAT I HAD TO BECAUSE RUN IN BECAUSE I DID HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL PROPS THAT I'VE ADDED SO MY SHOW FOR SOME PEOPLE THEY SAY THEY TURNED EVERYTHING OFF WENT DURING NON-SHOW HOURS THIS RASPBERRY PI RUNS 24 7. AND WHAT I HAVE HERE SO I HAVE THIS SNOWMAN HERE HELLO SNOWMAN SO THE SNOWMAN RUNS AND THE SNOWMAN IS FLOAT HERE NBER FOUR AND AS YOU SEE THE RELAY FOR NBER FOUR IS TURNED ON AT THE MOMENT AND SO WHEN THE SHOW IS NOT RUNNING THE SNOWMAN IS ON AND THE REASON BEING IS THE SNOWMAN SERVES AS A THIS BOX IS STILL FUNCTIONING INDICATOR WHEN THE SHOW IS NOT ACTIVELY RUNNING SO ANYTIME YOU KNOW IF I WANT TO LOOK OUT THE SHOW AND DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO LOG ON TO THE COMPUTER I CAN JUST LOOK OUT THE WINDOW OR OPEN THE DOOR LOOK OUT THE DOOR AND SEE THAT THE SNOWMAN IS ON IF THE SNOWMAN IS ON THE SHOW IS RUNNING ALRIGHT NOW THAT IT IS NIGHT TIME I WILL SHOW YOU OFF THE ADDITIONAL PROPS WE GOT CANDY CANES THEY'RE ACTUALLY THE RIGHT ONES ARE GROUPED IN THREES ONE TWO THREE ONE TWO THREE AND ONE TWO THREE AND THEN THE TWO ON THE END ARE ADDITIONAL CANDY CANES THAT I GOT FROM MY PARENTS THE WHITE CANDY CANES THERE THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO BE REPLACED THE BULBS AND THERE WAS DRAWING TOO MUCH CURRENT SO WHAT I DID WAS I TOOK LEDS SIMILAR TO THESE AND STUFFED THEM INSIDE OF THOSE THE SMALLER CANDY CANES ALREADY HAD ENOUGH LIGHTS IN THEM SO I DID NOT REPLACE THOSE AS THEY DID NOT DRAW TOO MUCH CURRENT ONE OTHER THING THAT I DID WAS TO USE THE CHICKEN WIRE AND I DID THIS ON THE TREES AS WELL SO AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS RIGHT THERE CHICKEN WIRE AND THEN THE LIGHTS ARE ATTACHED TO THE CHICKEN WIRE AND IN THIS CASE WITH THE TREE IT IS WILD THE WIRE THE WHOLE MESH IS WOUND AROUND THE TREE AND SIMILAR FOR THESE TWO WINDOWS DOWN HERE AT THE BOTTOM THIS YEAR WE ARE USING GREEN FLOODLIGHTS LAST YEAR I USED RED THESE ARE THE SAME LIGHTS ONE OF THE LIGHTS DID NOT MAKE IT AS IT GOT WET SO WE'RE ONLY DOWN TO TWO LIGHTS AND I WILL NEED TO PROBABLY PURCHASE SOME MORE FOR THE FUTURE BUT WE ARE USING GREEN THIS YEAR I NOTICE I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH ONE OF THE BUSHES AND WELL THIS BUSH RATHER IT HAS A SHORTENER OF SOME SORT WE'LL LOOK AT THAT IN THE OFFSEASON ALSO WE HAVE ADDITIONAL LIGHTS ADDED TO THE UPPER WINDOWS THOSE ARE 200 EACH EACH WINDOW YOU HAVE 300 ON THESE THERE'S ANOTHER 300 THERE THERE'S 300 IN THE WHITE CANDY CANE AND THAT NOW THE SHOW IS STARTING THE REDS ANOTHER 300 FORTH AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME LIGHTS THAT ARE ON THE PORCH AS WELL AS YOU CAN SEE AND THE GARAGE AND ALSO SINCE THE SHOW IS RUNNING AS YOU SEE THE SNOWMAN IS TURNED OFF OR YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE THE SNOWMAN TURNED OFF BUT NOW YOU CAN SEE THE SNOWMAN IS TURNED OFF BECAUSE THE SHOW IS RUNNING AND THE WAY I HAVE CONFIGURED THIS IS THAT THE SNOWMAN IS ONLY ON WHEN THE SHOW IS IDLE WHEN THE SHOW IS ACTUALLY RUNNING SNOWMAN GOES OFF SO YOU SEE LIGHTS SWITCHING ON AND OFF AS USUAL DOWN HERE BY THE ROAD WHICH IS NOT LIT RIGHT NOW IS THE TUNE TWO SIGN AS I MENTIONED EARLIER THE TWO ZOOM SIGN IT'S THE SAME ONE FROM LAST YEAR BUT IT'S ALSO THE SIGN THAT HAS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AROUND THE EDGE THERE THAT ARE SHORTING OUT FOR SOME REASON THEY DIDN'T HAVE THAT ISSUE LAST YEAR SO IN THE OFFSEASON I WILL TAKE THOSE LIGHTS OFF I ACTUALLY HAVE A 120 VOLT LED STRIP I'LL PROBABLY BE BUILDING A CONTROLLER THAT WILL ALLOW THAT LED STRIP TO CHANGE COLORS AND UPDATING THE SEQUENCES ACCORDINGLY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE OR TO ALLOW THAT LIGHTS TO CHANGE COLORS WITH THE REST OF THE SHOW THAT WILL WRAP THINGS UP FOR THIS YEAR'S VIDEO I'M SHOWING YOU ONE OF THE SEQUENCES I'M NOT SURE WHICH SONG THIS IS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALL OF THESE SEQUENCES FOR THE 2021 LIGHT SHOW YOU CAN GO AND CHECK OUT THE PLAYLIST FOR THE 2021 LIGHT SHOW IS HERE ON THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL THERE ARE EIGHT SONGS IN TOTAL ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP THOSE DOWN BELOW I'LL BE SURE TO ANSWER THEM AS THEY COME ABOUT AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING