Welcome to Wired For Christmas dot Net! I'm located in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Over the past 6 years or so, I've built up my Christmas Lights display to a point where I'm (reasonably) satisfied with it (or more to the point - I've have run out of storage space!). Last year I built a computer controller, and this year, 2007, will be about developing the software and sequences. Please have a look around, and sign the guest book. I hope this site provides you with some valuable information or just some inspiration! Keep the Christmas spirit alive! SME
I added Santa's boots in 2005. Located on the chimney, they're made from paper-mache (with spray-on varnish), connected to an old car window-wiper motor. They move back & forth giving the effect of Santa kicking. Click the image to see details of how these were made, and download a video of them in action. Last year a seven year-old was almost in tears - "Oh NO! Santa's stuck in the chimney!!"
Moving Santa Boots
UNDER DEVELOPMENT More info - Controller
More info - Relay boards
More info - Sequencing software More info - Countdown clock
More info - Wiring / Power
More info - Mounting
More info - Videos
Last year (2006) I built a computer controller that enables me to control all the lights electronically.
I've added quite a bit of information about what I've learned building it, which I hope people who find interesting and helpful if considering adding a computer controller to their displays, and . please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.
This year, I have around 60 sets of Christmas Lights (including 5 reindeer, 3 of which are motorised), plus the countdown clock (which is made up with another 7 sets of 150 lights - see the Countdown Clock page for more details).
This year I also added a countdown clock, which counts down the number of sleep until santa comes. It's made from 7 sets of 150 lights, each segment in the number has 75 lights, and is computer controlled (with over-ride switches). I also wrote a little program to count down the hours / minutes and seconds (in the last minute) for New Year's Eve (More details about this on the Countdown Clock page).
