sarahb84 Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Hello all!I would like to generate few Christmas Lighting ideas for this year and I need your help! Of course I am planning to decorate the tree. But this year I want my husband to help me put lighting outside the house as well.Running extension cords from the outlets or electrical wiring should not be an issue. What I am wondering is how can I make the lights flash! I already have some static lights for the trees. I am planning to buy for the outdoors.Is there any device or gadget I can buy locally or order online that can make my static lights animating the way I want? I want to have total control over the blinking patterns or flash! I am a complete newbie in electronics! So, please help me find a solution.- Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Weddle Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 That's a good question. I've seen those flashing light displays at Christmas time. A specialty store of some sort if you can't find them at the local stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asullivan Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Good to know about your enthusiasm about the Christmas Lighting! Did you find anything yet? I was looking for similar products few weeks ago and found a few on Amazon. You can try using a programmable power strip from PwrUSB (pwrusb dot com)You can hook up the power extension box to a computer via USB and program it anyway you like. It's okay, they provide a bundle easy to use software. So you don't actually need to know any computer language to flash the Christmas lights the way you want ;)If I am recalling right, you can program PwrUSB to flash the lights every 2 seconds on different power outlets. I was able to create some extraordinary animated lighting effects by putting diverging lighting on different power outlets (there are 4). Give it a try, you will love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astro90734 Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 If the lights you have now are static, they will all have to be turned off or on together. Otherwise you will have to rewire each light and that seems to be out of the question for a person new to electronics. Your best option seems to be to purchase some programable lights from the local store. They are actually quite affordable and have lots of blinking options. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Weddle Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 It seems similar to the device asullivan suggested. Microswitches and motor operated cams today reminds me of a Chistmas hobby. Most devices nowdays use bytes. Programmed devices can use bits which is essential to most electrical interfaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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