Christmas Light for the YardFun Christmas light for the yard, huh? Find tips information and resources for a very special light fun in the Christmas season.
Many little effects -
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Your creation needs list
Or if you want to go rope lighting for this Christmas look it up here >>
Tree guide
Height of tree
It grows in your yard. Well it's kind of obvious that the height of your tree is a given. But suppose you have more than one spruce in the yard outdoor. You might want to choose the one with the right height. Depending on the specie the ratio of height to base diameter varies. But it is a good guide to about double (multiply 2 max 2.5 times) the base diameter to get to the height.
The best evergreen types
Ok, some consider the only real Christmas tree befitting your yard should come from this list:Scotch Pine, White Pine (Eastern and Western), Red Pine, Blue Spruce, Engleman Spruce, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Canaan Fir, Concolor Fir, Nova Scotia Balsam Fir.
And there is even a network of real tree sites and resources that claims to be the #1 in the US. Christmas-tree.com
Thoughtful alternative to
evergreens ...
You
might want to just decorate the tree, your
beloved tree in the yard.
(Photo:
David Meharey)
So what
if you don't have a tall evergreen in
your yard…? No need to despair. Let's face it. What you want
when the night falls is light effects. And listen to this. Amazing
light effects can be achieved with
decorating something else than a tree. Find out more on my Christmas rope light page here.
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Calculate the linear length of your lighted tree decoration
To
calculate rope length here is a table I created.
The table is
based on my "Award
winning" formula…
…
never to run out of lights. (This one won the lemon twice.)
Use this table to calculate the approximate length
you need if you decorate a Xmas tree (see suitable types on this page)
as your Christmas light for the yard. (Add up lengths if you want to
include more trees in your light display. Special tip:
don't leave out what I call here length of everyting.)
| Tree diameter at base | Tree height | Distance between rope coils | Rope length you need | ||||
| 3m | 9' 10'' | 6m | 19' 8" | 0.7m | 2' 4" | 40.8m | 133' 10" |
| 3m | 9' 10'' | 6m | 19' 8" | 0.9m | 2' 4" | 32.0m | 105' |
| 1.5m | 4' 11" | 3m | 9' 10" | 1.0m | 3' 3" | 7.7m | 25' 3" |
| 1.5m | 4' 11" | 3m | 9' 10" | 1.5m | 4' 11" | 5.6m | 18' 4" |
| 0.75m | 2' 6" | 1.5m | 4' 11" | 0.5 | 1' 8" | 3.8m | 12' 6" |
| 0.75m | 2' 6" | 1.5m | 4' 11" | 0.75 | 2' 6" | 2.8m | 9' 2" |
Special extra points for those little helpers who use a ladder for a 1.5m high tree
Long
enough stretches of light
Nothing
could be more disconcerting (and less funny for some watching you) than
labouring up high on a ladder only to find out the sad truth about the
real length of your tree. Because by then it will not be measured in
meters or feet any more…! Oh no. But in coils of ropes -
those you'll hold in your hands, precisely.
This
brings me to two other tips. Well…, three actually.
Tips:
1. Choose rope
Choose
rope light as your main
choice for your Christmas light for the yard. It could give you the
extra
length your need for the same intensity of light.
2.
Get a double length extension chord
A low voltage rope Xmas light comes with an
adaptor and the adaptor also comes with an extension chord.
Double the length for the chord you think you would
need. You will always need the longer one. Together with the rope
light and the extension chord they might just give you the right length
you
need.
3. Go LED
If you
still use incandescent
lights - like string or mini rope - a high new tree might test the
length of your everything. Go LED and go even longer for
the same brightness.
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Adaptor facts
for your Christmas light for the yard creation
Here are some important adaptor
facts for your Christmas light for the yard if you use low
voltage light bulbs for your creation. Look for the low
voltage warning under bright led bulbs or something.
Music
tips
Complementing
your Christmas light for the yard creation could be well chosen music. Here I will put Christmas
music that I found around the net.
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Controller tips
If you want comprehensive features and good in-circuit
re-programmability the 8 bit Rabbit
2000 Controller Board is said to be quite good value. You
will get bright blinking all right just watch out -- do not, I repeat
do not blind an aircraft. (And you probably won't.)
Rabbitsemiconductor.com/contact.shtml
And a final word of warning. Because your
controller will run a simple program, a dedicated pared down software -
a software nonetheless - you may need to reboot your whole Christmas
light for the yard. (And in pitch dark!) That is unless you run a
continuous power source. It's another device you might want to make
sure that you have. (No, it's not a surge protector!) There could be
few scenes less moving than a Christmas light crash in full view of
your family. I know it happed not some...Not cool!
And finally…
Make sure
you get Christmas light for the yard that is specifically marked as
being suitable for outdoor use! UV protection would probably come to
mind -- if I had any.
Return from Christmas Light for the Yard back to LED Christmas Lights
Published by fun-led-light.com
