Behind the Scenes
How We Control the Lights
Most of the lights in the yard are controlled by gray boxes you see scattered around the yard. These boxes are all connected together using low voltage data cable (RS-485 data) and are connected to a computer that runs the show. The boxes and software used are made by Light-O-Rama (LOR) in upstate New York. Each gray box has 16 outlets that the lights are plugged into. The show consists of about 50 of these control boxes. The software tells each outlet to turn on/off/fade/twinkle, etc. in time with the music. The software also allows us to set a schedule so that the light show can run automatically at certain times.

To program the lights to flash, fade, twinkle, change color, etc. The Light-O-Rama sequencing software allows you to load the music file into a time grid. There is a row for each channel. In each row you program the lights as you wish. The software also provides a Visualization tool which allows you to get an idea of what the display will look like without actually having to run out into the yard to see how it looks. This allows us to program any time that we want, not just when the lights are up. See the pictures below of the sequencing and visualization tools.

Sequencing Software Visualization Software

During the show, the computer sends commands to the control boxes for each of the different outlets as often as 100 times per second. At the same time, the computer is sending the music to a low power FM transmitter so that visitors can listen to the music from the comfort of their car. We also use several outdoor speakers so that the music can be heard in front of the house.


Light-O-Rama Controller