2007 was our first year getting into animated lights.  We used a 16 channel, Light-O-Rama controller.  The controller is connected to a computer which actually runs the show.  All of the songs are sequenced using the Light-O-Rama program.  The program allows us to have the lights come on/off, shimmer, twinkle, and fade to the music.

There are two main parts to doing animated lighting; setting up the lights, and sequencing the shows.  Both take an incredible amount of time. 

In 2007, I started by laying out all of the lights and deciding where the channels should be.  After stringing out all of the lights, it was time to get some power going.  That required about 8 trips to the hardware stores to find all of the extension cords they had.  Then I went back for more.

After getting everything hooked up and running how I wanted it, it was time to start the show.  The Light-O-Rama program comes with another program that allows me to set the times for the show to start and stop everynight.  This is one of the best features for us.  In years past we would go to sleep and forget to turn the lights off.  There just aren't that many people coming by at 4am to check out the lights.  Now, I set it and forget it.  See "When Its Done" for info on show times.

In 2007, I used an old laptop to run the Light-O-Rama.  The computer was acting up this year, so I had to borrow my son's desktop to run the show.  Here is a picture of the computer and FM transmtter set-up from 2007.  I have the Cat5 cable coming in from the Light-O-Rama Showtime control box.   This is where I can edit the songs and shows.  Notice the plug-in timer on the wall. I kept the FM transmitter plugged into that.  About 15 minutes before the show, the timer kicks it on.  !5 minutes after the show, it goes off.