2020 Display & Build

Total Raised in 2020 for Redkite: $3,000.

Display Images

2020 - Display
2020 - Display
2020 - Display
2020 - Display
2020 - Display
2020 - Display
2020 - Display

Display Videos

Build

December

Lights are mostly down, but a few things have been left up for further testing over coming months. Earlier in the month I purchased a new TIG welder for some upcoming Aluminium items I want to add to the 2020 show, but initially I need to learn how to use it.

January

Well I can weld… Sort of lol

Initial fit up of the base for the 2020 megatree ring.
Initial fit up of the base for the 2020 megatree ring.
Not quite finished and painted, but it works. Each piece had 44 5cm welds on it, all done with the TIG, so by the time I finished, they did not look too bad at all
Not quite finished and painted, but it works. Each piece had 44 5cm welds on it, all done with the TIG, so by the time I finished, they did not look too bad at all

February

Headed down to see Redkite on the 4th of february, and it was great. Handed over the $2500 raised last year, and while it was not as much as we hoped, it was great that we did make as much as we did, considering the fires and smoke in the area for almost all of December.

Also later in the month I started making a few giveaways for the Sydney mini, but alas due to Covid-19 it was cancelled.

Group image from Redkite for our fundraising in 2019.
Group image from Redkite for our fundraising in 2019.
Handing over the $2500 to Redkite for our fundraising in 2019
Handing over the $2500 to Redkite for our fundraising in 2019
AusChristmasLighting logo, done more for fun. Not many were given away.
AusChristmasLighting logo, done more for fun. Not many were given away.
Falcon Logo. Due to Covid, these were given to others to give away with Falcon orders
Falcon Logo. Due to Covid, these were given to others to give away with Falcon orders

May

A lot has been happening in recent weeks, starting with updates to a number of control boxes, window surrounds, arrival of Boscoyo strip, new Coro props and Falcon F16V3 firmware upgrades.

This was the original box in the Rose garden, originally built many years ago, and upgraded to a Falcon F16 in 2019
This was the original box in the Rose garden, originally built many years ago, and upgraded to a Falcon F16 in 2019
This in the internals of the Rose garden box. Single F16 V3 and a 350W 5V PSU
This in the internals of the Rose garden box. Single F16 V3 and a 350W 5V PSU
The old Rose Garden box was replaced with a new DSE Hi-Box with a 350*250*150mm size. The initial layout was tested for fit
The old Rose Garden box was replaced with a new DSE Hi-Box with a 350*250*150mm size. The initial layout was tested for fit
2020 - Updated Rose Garden box
Building the Rose Garden box was much easier outside the case. Wires from PSU to the Falcon are all 4sq mm, and power injection is all done with 1.5sq mm cable. The PSU's are held in place with a TIG welded Aluminium plate, bolted to the baseplate
2020 - Updated Rose Garden box
The PSU's in the Rose Garden box are held in place with a TIG welded Aluminium plate, bolted to the baseplate.
2020 - Updating controllers
All the Falcons have been running original firmware, from 2.00 through to 2.55, depending when bought. This year I decided to update them all to the latest V2.55 version, with this being the first one done
2020 - Updated Rose Garden box
Final interior of the F16 for the rose garden. Dual 350W PSU's, and a Falcon F16 updated to the latest firmware version
2020 - Updated Rose Garden box
The completed, but yet unpainted, final box. A vent was added to the front, with a 60mm cooling fan placed inside the box, and set to run all the time the box is on
2020 - Old Window Surrounds
One of the original window surrounds, simply LED's on rope that was strung over screws in each of the corners of the windows. Each LED had a 3D Printed cover on it
2020 - Window surrounds
2 small, 5 medium and 4 large windows were made, ready to push pixels
2020 - Window surrounds
A quick test of the 4 western window surrounds
2020 - Window surrounds
A test of the medium windows, with all of the strings getting sbout 2-3 hours of testing before being stored away
2020 - New Megatree box
The new Megatree box undergoes the initial test fit of the Power Supplies. a 350W and 320W were added to the base of the box
2020 - New Megatree box
The new Megatree box has a Falcon F16 (2020 edition) and 2 expansion boards were added to the top level of the box
2020 - New Megatree box
A mockup to determine where the cable inputs are to be located on the new Megatree box
2020 - New Megatree box
The new Megatree box has power added to the box, along with a cooling fan and it got its first power on test
2020 - New Megatree box
While it will never get seen, the LED lights do look really nice in the Megatree box
2020 - New Megatree box
On most new boxes I have added a voltage monitor for each of the power supplies, such as this one on the Megatree box
2020 - New Megatree box
The final version of the Megatree box, complete with output cables
2020 - New Front West F16V3
The new Megatree box was also painted blue (and later some green and black splotches were added) to make it less noticeable at night. Yes it got a Falcon logo as well lol
2020 - Block head dude
Not sure who this guy reminds me of, so I have called him little block headed dude
2020 - Boscoyo strip
A lovely 16KG box from Boscoyo arrived on the 26th of May, all the way from the USA. I guess I know what I'll be doing in the next few weeks
2020 - Old Front west falcon box
The original West Falcon F16 V3, a differential expansion board, 2 5V and one 12V power supplies plus some DMX splitters and pDMX injectors, along with some 5V and 12V outputs
2020 - New Front West F16V3
A new base was added to the West Falcon F16 V3 box, made of marine ply, and some mounting holes drilled and M4 screws mounted to the board as standoffs
2020 - New Front West F16V3
2*5v PSU's, West Falcon F16V3, and Differential Expansion board added to the box. The Falcon was upgraded from the original V2.00 firmware to the latest V2.55 without incident. The fuse holders were only sitting there until I decided what to use
2020 - New Front West F16V3
The West Falcon F16V3 had the output cables added, different fuse holder added, as there was a much lower need for power injection due to the box changes this year

June

The megatree topper arrived, but had to be modified, and I am slowly pushing pixels into the tree strip from Boscoyo.

2020 - Megatree string storage
So far I have completed 24 of the 36 strips, with 2 more almost completed.
2020 - New tree topper
The outer ring was simply too big and would never be used here, so after an argument with a Oxy, it "fell off". 6mm thick plate with 48 holes is perfect for my 36 hole 270 degree tree

July

My wife Sue had a knee replacement in late June, so I have been slightly lacking in time to work on the lights, but in recent days I have managed to do a bit of work on the Megatree.

2020 - Megatree star
This is the 1.5 meter star mounted on the pole, lifted into place with 2 new 3.2mm stainless steel wires
2020 - Megatree test fit
test of the tree topper lifted into rough position to test for the string length and topper position

The initial test of the megatree setup. This was 33 of the final 36 strings, and one damaged that has subsequently been repaired. The final tree will be 270 degrees, 36 strings of 100 pixels each, and the 380 pixels on the star, increasing the megatree from 2066 pixels to 3980 pixels, and increasing the height from about 5.5m to about 7.2 meters, with the top just short of the 7.4m pole height

August

Since the megatree is completed, along with the new star, it’s time to work on the next item – the replacement Bethlehem star. The old 20+kg star had 166 LED’s, and the new one is 252 LED’s, with a number of additional sub-models, and weighs just 5.1kg with Pixels!

2020 - Bethlehem star old & new
The old star and initial part of the star, before holes and a backing frame
2020 - Bethlehem star old & new
252 holes drilled, and pixels pushed
2020 - Bethlehem star new
A test of the new star, before the sub models were created in xlights

September

Earlier in the year I decided to purchase the new pixels for the upgrade of the Pixicles (Icicles) that were planned to be done in 2021, but I have decided to bring the upgrades forward to 2020. To do this I needed to completely redo the icicle layout, and instead of a single J1Sys P12R controller for the old icicles and a small J1Sys P2 for the Bethlehem Star, I have changed it to a Falcon F16 V3 and 2 lots of smart receivers. An additional dumb receiver will be placed in with the F16 to drive a large wreath near the box as well

While I was at it I decided to tackle the Ice Queen Chromaflake’s rather unusual mounting, and came up with a rather unique solution.

Icicle replacement in the process of being built. 6 rows of 168 replaced with 7 rows of 307 pixels.
Icicle replacement in the process of being built. 6 rows of 168 replaced with 7 rows of 307 pixels.
One of two remote boxes for the Pixicles. 3 smart receivers and a 350W PSU
One of two remote boxes for the Pixicles. 3 smart receivers and a 350W PSU
The Ice Queen Chromaflake needed support on the back, so I laser cut a spacer to go between 8mm thread bar and the inside of 20mm conduit.
The Ice Queen Chromaflake needed support on the back, so I laser cut a spacer to go between 8mm thread bar and the inside of 20mm conduit.
The Ice Queen Chromaflake completed
The Ice Queen Chromaflake completed

November

A quick upgrade to the mounting for the PSU’s in the Jet Ski, along with a couple of new shirts for the family and a small power upgrade rounded out this month’s work. Oh and I put the rest of the lights up as well lol

The upgraded Power board for 2020. 12 individually controlled WiFi switches that allowed a staged power on of the controllers and power supplies.
The upgraded Power board for 2020. 12 individually controlled WiFi switches that allowed a staged power on of the controllers and power supplies.
New shirts for 2020
New shirts for 2020
The 2020 upgrade of the jet ski never really happened, but I did add a 36V PSU for a 50W flood, along with a base for the J1Sys P12S controller.
The 2020 upgrade of the jet ski never really happened, but I did add a 36V PSU for a 50W flood, along with a base for the J1Sys P12S controller.
Laser cut PSU spacers for the Jet Ski
Laser cut PSU spacers for the Jet Ski

December

Sues mother, Noelene, passed away on the 6th of December, just weeks before her 80th birthday, and of course Christmas.

We tend to be pretty rough on our small rose garden, but this year this one rose bloomed. It was on the day that Sues mum passed away.
We tend to be pretty rough on our small rose garden, but this year this one rose bloomed. It was on the day that Sues mum passed away.
Alas on December the 6th Sues mother passed away. This was something I gave to Sue as a remembrance of her passing.
Alas on December the 6th Sues mother passed away. This was something I gave to Sue as a remembrance of her passing.

2020 Spend

TIG Welder: $1500
Megatree Steel Order 1: $160
Falcon controller: $600
Conduit: $120
Paint: $20
Pixel strip: $380
Boxes: $200
Ray Wu Order 1: $965
Boscoyo Strip: $750
Tree Topper: $102
Cable Ties: $200
Storage Containers: $50
Power Injection Wire: $80
Steel for Megatree Pt 2: $160
2*Raspberry Pi V4: $140
Ray Wu order 2: $600
Extreme Lighting Displays order 2: $220
Spraypaint: $80
Megatree Steel Part 2: $90
Megatree Bolts: $140
Micro SD Cards: $150
Fans: $30
Parts for Temp sensors: $80
Wire Rope: $80
Ray Wu Order 3: $1250
Plastic Trellis: $182
Steel: $120
Paint: $60
Aluminium for Bethlehem Star: $150
Boxes: $160
Cable Ties: $150
Box vents: $74

Total: $8,953