Zonk,

I think rope LED would be a great idea. No LED light is ever going to get as hot as a standard incandescant bulb.  Example, the rope lights I have are not LED.  When I made them, LED rope was not readily available or cheap.  I used the incandescant ones from Wal-Mart. Each rope light draws about 30 watts.  By contract, an LED version is only going to draw about 5 watts.  It's much less heat to dissipate.

Even with standard lights coiled into a tight space, don't worry about heat.  I think too many people are focused on heat as a possible problem.  It is not important at all.  It's because the lights are going to be operating at night in very cool weather in the open air, so heat dissipates rapidly.  Most importantly, the off/on chasing patterns of arches results in them being off most of the time so there is not time for heat to build.

Bottom line, forget about heat.  If you are going to LED, the reason should be to save energy and have longer life.  One other thing to keep in mind that is very important is to make sure that the rope lights you get are ones that can be coiled tightly without breaking the wires inside.  Get as small diameter rope as you can find.

Jim, sorry you missed seeing us when you came by.  By coincidence, the show was not running when you came here because we lost power due to another reason and the computer did not start back up as it usually does.  Some time around 6:30, our son noticed the problem and started it.  Thus, you just missed it by about 15 minutes.

Yes, we are also doing same thing.  Show is shortened to 4 songs (about 15 minutes) at the peak time, and longer show before or after those times.  No matter how many times we say it on the web site or on the radio, people seem to want to come at the peak times thinking it will be ok.  The last few nights when there has been rain, traffic is light so we kept the full show in place (20 minutes).

I don't know if it is the economy or what, but some people are just outright rude.  Example. Christmas Eve I was out there in the Santa suite to help parking, etc.  A few people would have probably run over me if I didn't get out of the middle of the street.  One guy in a big 4x4 truck was intentionally not looking at me and went around me to go to the bottom of the hill.  I know he could not have possibly overlooked a big guy in a red suit with a flashlight!  That got me a bit upset so when he got stuck trying to turn around, I took that opportunity to go down and tell him I was not happy that he intentionally ignored me.  I was trying to tell him there is no place to park, so don't bother trying.

Then there was a car load of teenage girls coming late in the evening.  The message just played to tell them to not open car doors or play music looudly, yet they stood there in the middle of the street with the radio as loud as it could possibly go.  When the show shut down, they were upset.  Too bad, that's how the ball bounces.  I'm just not going to stand for anything like that.  People are missing the whole purpose of the event.

Yes, we may not do this at all next year.  It's getting out of hand.  I'd probably put up with a few difficult people and get them out if there were a benefit to sick kids, but even those donations are way down from last two years, so it just isn't worth it any more.  We aren't going to clean up cigarette butts from smokers and Mc Donalds trash being thrown out the window.  By the way, I send a video the the police department of the people who purposely (wasn't an accident) threw out trash into the street.  I asked that they be cited.  It will be easy because of the license plate is very easy to see.  Rude people like that need to be taught a lesson.

I want to try this with rope LEDs. I wonder if the LED ropes get as hot as the lights. (Do they have the same problems wrapping around small diameter pipes?)

It just dawned on me that I really SHOULD be trying to make my arches NOW, and do these initial hat-related tests during the cooler winter months, rather than on a warm summer evening. :/

     Thanks again for the clues!

                   -Z-

Yow!  Well, there are still a few days left to see this year's show, so I better get there ASAP! 

I'll come as early this evening as work permits, and try to say hello. (If we miss you, I'll try to come back for the special New Years show, since I have an affinity for a couple of the extra songs.

The train season was great, but consumed many days this year. I've had my show controller kit and two 16-channel light controller kits for 8 months now, and they are still kits! But, New Years is a great time to make resolutions and lists, and making/testing my kits will be at the top of my list. Next year, I want to light op a train car or two! :-)

   Best regards,

         -Z-

Richard,

I am sadden to read that you are considering cancelling next year, you have been an inspiration for our display.

I understand the problem, we have experienced very unusual activity this year also. We have seen people park in (not block) neighbors driveways and block the court preventing people from turning.  Luckily given the neighborhood focus, we have some very understanding neighbors.

Our response has been to shorten the show also, we are doing a max of an eight minute loop, between 6 and 9:30 which is our prime time. Before and after that we run full play list. We may even have to cut that down some for next year.

We stopped by last night about 6:15 and your display was off, I did not know about your sensors so I may have just been caused by a problem visitor. Hopefully we'll get a chance to come by and see it before the 1st.     

Thanks for all you efforts,

Jim

A reminder to folks who gather together in a parade of cars...
You might not get to see the show depending on how you approach the area.  What I mean is that a few times during the season, there are large groups of people who travel around the area to see various houses.  We see some folks every year and like to see them as they are nice and respectable folks.  There is the Corvette Car Owners club, so we get to see some neat cars, and there are the Harley folks with lots of neat bikes. 

However, when large numbers of vehicles show up at once, the electronics sensors are definitely going to shut down the show due to congestion.  It is certainly going to happen if you park on this side of the street.  The reason is that if cars are on both sides, it leaves only a very small strip of road for traffic flow.  People can't get in and out at the same time. Problems and tempers develop very quickly.  I didn't create the show for people to become frustrated.

If you see lots of cars backed up to the top of the hill, that should be a good clue to you that no space is available, so coming down the hill might just get you stuck.  Please don't try it.  Here is another clue.  A set of sensors detect when there is one or more open spaces and will announce over the radio at the end of a song when a space is available during heavy traffic time.

Tim, I'm beginning to think it has been a full moon all month! If you know what I mean. Actually, we are not that picking about noise early in the evening.  The problem comes when it starts getting after 9:00.  Some smaller houses in this area have a spare bedroom on the street side, so when those neighbors have guests (which often happens at Christmas), they are going to hear lots of noise when they try to go to sleep.

We are already planning to stop the shows at 9:30 from Christmas Eve for a period of 4 days.  Based on what happened last year, everyone is going to try and squeeze in here at 8:00 pm and continue to be busy longer after that time.  Also at New Year, I know I am going to need to be outside the whole time.  We are even thinking of just shutting the show down before New Year.  Last year there were lots of rowdy people out there at New Year.  If they could just keep the noise down and not cause congestion, it would not be a problem.  It isn't just teenagers.... there are some older folks that should know better.  They are usually soaking drunk in my opinion.

If you come during the New Year time, I may not have time to show you the stuff if it is a really busy time.  If possible, try to come before the shows start so I can have time for you.  Otherwise we can catch up on it after the New Year.

good to hear everything is ok. ya we got told you would be home in an hour or so. no big deal many more days in life to meet.  you probably saw the people i saw. probable next saturday and on jan 1st we will be there. hope to see you soon.

hey richard,

i know what you are talking about. last night there was people doing that at 6pm. me and the wife just couldnt beleave the people. thats why we watch 2 shows, knocked and said hi and left. for some reason people are being rude this year.

It's unfortuante that I need to post this message.  As of today, we are making radical changes to the show as a result of some inconsiderate people.

Although our goal of having FM radio is to stop outside noise by not needing speakers, some people insist to play radios as loud as they will go, then leave open the car windows or door.  To stop this practice, I increased the sensitivity of our noise sensors dramatically so that the show will automatically stop until sensors determine that cars have left the area and the noise stopped.  The show will then re-start.  Also, the shows will no longer run until 10:30 at week nights and 11:00 on weekends.  They will stop strictly at 10:00 PM EVERY NIGHT, and possibly be further restricted if problems persist.

A temporary shutdown can also occur if the street is too congested.  We created protection zones on the cameras so that if traffic is blocked in those areas, the show stops.  Yes, it was only one ding dong guy that caused me to do this.  Last night he ignored radio recordings to not park in the middle of the street, and then got upset when I asked him to move because no one could get out!  

If you have read down this far, then you get the idea that our system is highly automated and computerized.  FYI... our cameras are in multiple locations and high definition night vision.  They do record license plates of ALL cars, they record your speed, and they are tied to the show.  We are going to start sending videos to the San Ramon police department of suspicious activity and all excessive speeders coming or going.  Too bad it comes to this point, but I've learned that even during Christmas time, some people will simply never become courteous, considerate, or safe.

Thankfully, it is only a very few people who cause trouble, but they are spoiling the show for you.  We appreciate the very large percentage of great guests who are helping us keep the place clean, quiet, and safe.

The last note is that there is a high probability that we will not continue shows next year because of these people.