Welcome to PacificaLights.info, a web site devoted to the notion that a guy with no real background in electronics could build a blinking, flashing set of Christmas lights for his house, set to music.
Our show, now in its second year, has been expanded to provide different songs on alternating nights. See the program page for more details.
There are a variety of systems available on the market to handle the chore of synchronizing lights to music, but PacificaLights is a home-brew affair: each of the 10 light controllers (as well as the master controller and an electronic sign) were built in the workshop; the software is a freeware application and all the electrical was done by a guy with a liberal-arts education.
Admittedly, a large community of do-it-yourselfers from around the world helped out: some controllers were designed by electronics geniuses in Florida, while others were plotted out by soldering-iron wizards from Australia. You can visit these fine folk at the web sites Do It Yourself Christmas and DIY Light Animation, where all the gory details are at hand.
The core of the display is the presentation software, Vixen. Without it, there would be no show. You can learn more about Vixen here and here.
|
|
