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Creating Arches

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rmonty View Drop Down
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  Quote rmonty Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Creating Arches
    Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 10:42am
I'm new to this and am wondering what the best method is to create an arch.  Also, how do you get away with not having to buy an outdoor extension cord for every channel?  I have found that that is one of my biggest expenses at $7 a pop.  Thanks for any help.
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  Quote Comporder1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 12:30pm

Hi rmonty,

I made 8 arches this year.... needless to say, I had the method perfected (for me) after finishing all of those!! Richard Holdman made a good video ( http://holdman.com/christmas/projects.asp ) showing how he did it. I used a similar method, except I used a low speed drill. He doesn't really explain how he does the extension cord. What I did was:

1) Start wraping at the female end on one end of the pipe.
2) once wrapped, cut off the plug end of the string.
3) solder on cheap 18 gauge zip (lamp) cord. You can buy this for $40 /250' spool.
4) tape the zip cord to the pipe all the way to the opposite end of the pipe.
5) cut off the zip cord about 3 feet off the end of the pipe
6) solder the plug back on to the end of the zip cord (or you could use attachon plugs "G" - http://www.creativedisplays.com/siteresources/modules/webstore/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=472 )
7) rinse and repeat!!!
 
You could leave as much (or little) wire past the end of the pipe to reach your controller. I ended up putting my controller about 2' away from the base of the arches and plenty of cord available to reach.
 
I used saw horses to support the drill, middle of the arch, and "plug-in" end of the arch. You will also want to mark the pipe for the width of the sections of lights. This will ensure the sections will be evenly spaced.
 
There has been much discussion on the length of pipe, number of lights, number of channels, etc. I decided on 15' pipe, 8 channels, and one 100ct mini incandecent string per section. They are not as bright as some I have seen, but I am happy with the way they turned out.
 
Let me know if you have more any questions. I could also snaps some pictures if you are interested.
 
Welcome to the forums!
Carey
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Jonathan View Drop Down
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  Quote Jonathan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 1:44pm
My arches were very simple this year, but they are extremely effective and a definite crowd pleaser.  I didn't want to have to wind lights around the PVC pipe and I didn't have the controllers to run them, so I simply used my fireflies (available here).  The pipe was a little short as the strands are a bit over 10 feet, so I added a bit more to the pipe (about a foot or so) so that the first and last pixels were just off the ground, then I used zip ties to secure the lights to the pipe.  I then pounded in a small bit of rebar into the ground and slid the PVC pipe into that.  For extra support, I placed a wooden stake at the base and zip tied the pipe to that.  While not every square inch of pipe is covered with lights, the fireflies themselves provide such great effects that you won't need it.  There's a video on D-Light's site that shows my test setup in action (only difference being I used stakes instead of rebar for the test). 

Extension cords.  Either pay a lot, or make your own.  Personally, I went to Lowe's and bought 50 6 foot extension cords that they had for $1 each, and then bought two spools of matching wire (sorry, I can't remember the price of that offhand).  I simply cut the 6 foot strand about 8 inches from the male end, and spliced it to the wire, which was then spliced to the female end.  Make sure to buy extra electrician's tape and the blue splice caps.  I went through a lot more of them than I expected.  Others have used lamp wire with success instead of extension cord wire, but I wanted my cords to match. 
~Jonathan
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  Quote LightChristmas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 3:17pm
Jonathan's way makes me look like Scrooge!

While I wrap mine in the traditional way (cordless drill powering a rube-goldberg "lathe"), I'll take SPT1 wire and extend both ends by soldering and heatshrinking the connections of the string so they hang off either end. This way I can "gang" more than one arch and use fewer channels.

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  Quote rmonty Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 3:22pm
Thanks for all the responses.  So I assume most of you just use two-conductor wire to go to all your channels?  Have you had any issues with shorts (i.e. rain, snow, etc.)  even though we don't get any snow where I live.
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  Quote Pony_God Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 8:33pm
We zip the female of the lights to the pipe, then wrap 2 feet of minis on the pipe, then use a 9' indoor cord (~$1)  zip-tie that all tight then zip the male of the ext. cord at the other end of the pipe. $5 to get all the outlets of a single section to the end. No cutting, nothing.
 
But... our arch is 30' long, so I run an extra 5 15' cords first, THEN start with the minis. This way the top/middle section has a place to plug into. Those cords, I did cut, colder, and tape up so there's no extra slack. On the other side, they go down to the ground, and I just run power across the drive.
 
Water? Rain? Shorts? HA! That's the better of the stuff that's plugged in. The just had a huge storm than shattered the leg of the arch, but he kept running dripping wet.
I'm more worried about the home made ext. cords that don't extactly use standard male and female plugs at the ends.
 
I should note that we don't have anything in the display (currently) that requires a ground. Even with that, each controller is fully grounded and has grounded outputs with well grounded plugs and ext. cords to the house. Some even use 30A twist-lock outlets.


Edited by Pony_God - 06 Dec 2008 at 8:35pm
Fine. You're so smart you rig up the lights.
D-Light users Unite!
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bdkeen View Drop Down
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  Quote bdkeen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 9:39pm
Originally posted by Pony_God

then use a 9' indoor cord (~$1)
 
Pretty much the same here for our 2 15 ft (8 channel) arches - some brown 9 ft  & 15 ft $1 extension cords zip tied on the back side of the arch. No cutting - no soldering - just plugged them in and ran then on the back side of the arch. Sure they're a bit visable primarily on the back side of the arch in the daylight but disappear pretty good in the darkness.  So far they've survived close to 60 mph winds, rain, and light snow.. 
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  Quote LightChristmas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Dec 2008 at 10:54pm
The biggest hassle everyone will have at one time or another is having GFIs trip in wet weather. 

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  Quote bdkeen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Dec 2008 at 5:53am
Originally posted by LightChristmas

The biggest hassle everyone will have at one time or another is having GFIs trip in wet weather. 
 
That was glitch #3 for me...  Just 1 GFI was pop'n and only when 1 channel got beyond ~30%... There I was getting soaked hunting around with a flashlight to see if I could find the culprit. Drove me nutz.
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  Quote deweycooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2008 at 7:04am
I pretty much mail it in for the night if it's raining - too much trouble and not terribly safe.
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