Really Big Lights PVC base

algerdes said:
That must be one heck of a pathway!
Click to expand...

:biggrin2: Should have clarified...pathway Christmas lights. I am just getting into pixels so before we had the lollipops and candy canes you buy from target or home depot. Thought with these we could put them along the path and run similar to minitrees as far as sequencing by pulling the guts and replacing with LEDs.
 
That's the plan, pathway Christmas lights. I'm waiting for the WS2811 LEDs from Ebay to come in. Then I'll test out the 1st one. If all is good I'll make about 4 more.
 
This is a spectacular design. And if you use white PVC, just grab some red tape and make the bases look like candy canes. I could also see HDPE adapters folding into this design, to have pixels in the bases too.

I have run many experiments with what lights to put inside the RBLs. And 8 rectangle pixels is the bomb for pixel folks. Super bright, 24 LEDs inside with 8 pixel channels, and they burn the same power as 8 bullet pixels due to the heavy losses in the load resistors of the bullets. I'll be hanging mine under the eaves behind the icicles this year. But I love this pathway idea, so it's on my list for 2018 !!!

For those who want to make up the 8 rectangle version, I cut a 3 3/4" piece of 1" gray electrical pipe. Then I cut a 3.5" piece of the 3/4" gray electrical pipe. I used these two pipe specifically because they can be inserted inside each other with no costly adapter. You have to sand the leading edge of the 3/4" piece so it starts to fit into the 1" easily. Make a mark at 1" down on the insert. That is how far you want it to go inside the 1" pipe. This leaves 2.5 inches sticking out. I bought a can of the gray PVC glue that is made for these pipes. Put a small amount inside the 1" and then with a hammer, drive the 3/4" piece in. If you carefully heat up these parts, they glue together more easily. But be careful. With the warmed up pieces, I had one that slipped in so good I went past my 2.5" mark. One of the pictures shows the two gray pipes glued together. This one had a shorter top section (1" pipe) for a bullets test, but that one held too many bullets and the power would have been high per RBL. My finished wands for the rectangles will have the 1" top gray pipe cut to 3.75" long.

This picture is your result when you zig zag the 8 rectangles around the 1" pipe. They have a sticky back but also use a tie wrap around them to make sure they don't slip. I will also be using a tie wrap around the lower pipe so it does not slip out of the RBL's light clip. The pictures also show 5 and 6 rectangle versions starting from the left. The 5 was not at all what I wanted, so I ended up also making one with 10 bullets. In testing, the 10 bullets were the weakest, followed by the 6 rectangles and the winner is clearly the 8 rectangles. These pictures are dumb nodes for the experiment, but when the pixels arrive I'll make up 30 of them.
 

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kidcole said:
This is a spectacular design. And if you use white PVC, just grab some red tape and make the bases look like candy canes. I could also see HDPE adapters folding into this design, to have pixels in the bases too.

I have run many experiments with what lights to put inside the RBLs. And 8 rectangle pixels is the bomb for pixel folks. Super bright, 24 LEDs inside with 8 pixel channels, and they burn the same power as 8 bullet pixels due to the heavy losses in the load resistors of the bullets. I'll be hanging mine under the eaves behind the icicles this year. But I love this pathway idea, so it's on my list for 2018 !!!

For those who want to make up the 8 rectangle version, I cut a 3 3/4" piece of 1" gray electrical pipe. Then I cut a 3.5" piece of the 3/4" gray electrical pipe. I used these two pipe specifically because they can be inserted inside each other with no costly adapter. You have to sand the leading edge of the 3/4" piece so it starts to fit into the 1" easily. Make a mark at 1" down on the insert. That is how far you want it to go inside the 1" pipe. This leaves 2.5 inches sticking out. I bought a can of the gray PVC glue that is made for these pipes. Put a small amount inside the 1" and then with a hammer, drive the 3/4" piece in. If you carefully heat up these parts, they glue together more easily. But be careful. With the warmed up pieces, I had one that slipped in so good I went past my 2.5" mark. One of the pictures shows the two gray pipes glued together. This one had a shorter top section (1" pipe) for a bullets test, but that one held too many bullets and the power would have been high per RBL. My finished wands for the rectangles will have the 1" top gray pipe cut to 3.75" long.

This picture is your result when you zig zag the 8 rectangles around the 1" pipe. They have a sticky back but also use a tie wrap around them to make sure they don't slip. I will also be using a tie wrap around the lower pipe so it does not slip out of the RBL's light clip. The pictures also show 5 and 6 rectangle versions starting from the left. The 5 was not at all what I wanted, so I ended up also making one with 10 bullets. In testing, the 10 bullets were the weakest, followed by the 6 rectangles and the winner is clearly the 8 rectangles. These pictures are dumb nodes for the experiment, but when the pixels arrive I'll make up 30 of them.
Click to expand...

Looks really good! What year is your Evinrude detachable rowboat motor?
 
Nice job on this one Dave! Not sure how I missed this thread going on for a few days. I can't wait to free up some time and come check these out in person once you get the LEDs in.

-Louie
 
I've changed the PVC pipe to 3/4" EMT conduit. Reason: I found some yard light stakes that fit the 3/4 EMT perfectly and inserting the pigtails in EMT is much easier.
 
EMT fitting https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gampak-1-2-in-BX-MC-Flex-Connector/1092405
EMT Conduit http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-EMT-Conduit-101550/100400406
Really Big Lights http://www.homedepot.com/p/REALLY-BIG-LIGHTS-Really-Big-Lights-LED-C9-White-RBL-WHITE/207000682
LED's https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJUS8V8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pigtails: I buy all mine from Holidaycoro, including completed cables and LED's with pigtails included.
Stakes from yard lights in my junk bin :cwaniak:

Modified RBL locking base
RBL base.jpg
 
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stallionent said:
EMT fitting https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gampak-1-2-in-BX-MC-Flex-Connector/1092405
EMT Conduit http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-EMT-Conduit-101550/100400406
Really Big Lights http://www.homedepot.com/p/REALLY-BIG-LIGHTS-Really-Big-Lights-LED-C9-White-RBL-WHITE/207000682
LED's https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJUS8V8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pigtails: I buy all mine from Holidaycoro, including completed cables and LED's with pigtails included.
Stakes from yard lights in my junk bin :cwaniak:

Modified RBL locking base
View attachment 35883
Click to expand...
Hey where did you get your light for Christmas at
 
John tribly said:
Hey where did you get your light for Christmas at
Click to expand...
This is an old thread from 2017 but Home Depot still had a version last year. These used to be wired for a 120 volt C7 light bulb but last year, it came as a battery version with 3 1.5-volt AA batteries an LED bulb. It doesn't really matter, since we throw the lighting part away.

Last year, HD usually had a 3' x 3' box by the entrance door, depending on the store. I found the box by the Christmas trees in one store.

I liked the AC once better because I could carry about ten of them by the power cord. Plus the power cords are more useful than the batteries. :)
 
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