Leechburg Lights

E1.31 DIY LED Express Bridge and Pixel Extenders

This video walks through the use of the DIY LED Express 6 universe bridge. I put this together some time ago and wanted to share the build and hopefully give a bit of education on it. The DIY Bridge connects to your computer via e1.31 and can output pixel data to 6 pixel extenders. It […]

Learning the basic computer setup to start a pixel light show.

There is an all-new pixel controller that has taken the lighting hobby by storm this season, the new Falcon Christmas F16v2.  I have used 2 of these controllers in the 2015 display.  I’m so very impressed with all the innovation that has been built into this controller by Mr. David Pitts from FalconChristmas.com Currently there […]

New Falcon F16v2 Pixel controller works GREAT!

I have finished building and installing the new 64 universe Falcon F16v2 from Falcon Christmas.  This board is amazing, it can run over 10,000 pixels!    A special thank you to David Pitts for adding the protocol that runs my GECE pixels.  Very excited to use this for the 2015 display.  I’ll be putting it […]

Pixel Mini Tree

49 pixels total. 7 strings of 7 pixels Center poll: 3′ long piece of 2″x3″ Base: 18″x16″ Hardware needed ~30′ pallet strapping (I used 3/4″ wide stock) 2 @ 3″ drywall screws 14 @ cup hooks 14 @ zipties Optional hardware: 1 @ 2″ hinge 4 or 6 @ 1/8″ eyelets 4 or 6 @ […]

Pixel Spinner/Star Test

***Update Spring 2015… These have been disassembled and rebuilt using RGB bullet pixel nodes. See new video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCrtGR… Using 1/2″ PVC cut to 22″ and connecting 2 “T” connectors together with a bolt, I made the spinner. Each leg on the spinner has 5 pixels (RGB Pixel strips), with a total of 40 pixels. […]

Pixel Spiral Tree 2013

Very easy project completed today. Pixel spiral tree. I used 2 rolls of 5 meter 50 pixel WS2811 strips purchased from Ray Wu. Strips were $30 each, but I didn’t use every pixel, maybe 43-45. The star is made up of 5 bullet-node type pixels (WS3811s) that were hot-glued into the star. Used some GE […]

Pixel Starter Kit Burn In

Here is a video of the pixels from the starter kit order. They have been running for the past 12 hours in the light cave/shop. The purpose was to find any bad pixels and make sure the ones I send out are working fine.

Pathway Spiral Pixel Tree

Found these spiral pathway trees at Home Depot after Christmas for $5 per box. I picked up 4 boxes, and wanted to convert them over to RGB pixels. Used a total of 27 ws2811 5v pixels for this test. Soldered a 3-core male and female pigtail connection on the string. I plan on injecting 5v […]

5v Pixel Test

Here is a set of 50 RGB pixels I ordered from a vendor in China (I’ll release the link at a later date). The test puts the set of pixels through a freeze/thaw cycle that is a bit more brutal then what pixels face in an average northern environment. So far the tests are proving […]

Pixel Spinner How-to

This is what I used to make my pixel spinners for my 2013 display. Still some assembly work to do after the video was shot. Items used Pixel strip (in silicon sleeve) with 30 RGB’s per meter, 5 meter roll 12V WS2811… Used 1 roll per spinner., I cut a the strips into sections of […]

Pixel Spiral Tree 2013

Very easy project completed today. Pixel spiral tree. I used 2 rolls of 5 meter 50 pixel WS2811 strips purchased from Ray Wu. Strips were $30 each, but I didn’t use every pixel, maybe 43-45. The star is made up of 5 bullet-node type pixels (WS3811s) that were hot-glued into the star. Used some GE […]

Pixel Candy Canes 2015

Found these pathway candy canes at Big Lots after 2013. I had plans to use dumb RGB nodes in them, but realized it would take a lot more work and use up many more dumb channels than necessary. They were $2 or $3 per set of 6 on clearance and I plan on building around […]

Pixel Spinner with 96 Pixels

Rebuilding and replacing my original pixel strip spinners for 2015. These spinners will have 12 pixels per leg. The old spinners had 5 pixels on each leg. This should provide a much more dense look to the spinner while giving me more control over the element. Total assembly time was around 3 hours from start-to-finish, […]

GE Color Effects (GECE) Pixel Spinner How-To Build

Building a GE Color Effects Pixel spinner using PVC pipe. Total of 64 pixels make up this spinner. So far I’m pretty happy with the results. At the end of the video is a demo with music to show how it looks in action.

Small DMX RGB Pixel controller found on eBay for under $20

Here is a walk-thru and demo of the tiny pixel controller. This video will demonstrate how the controller to the DIYLED express.com e1.31 bridge, connecting WS 2811 Pixabulbs to the controllers output, an the power connection from the power supply. The Light O Rama Showtime S3 program and the e1.31 bridge were setup prior to […]

$16 Pixel Controller running test mode

Testing the DMX-SPI Decoder. If using pixels on an indoor tree, this controller could run up to 170 pixels with power injections. Simple push-button operation makes it easy to change the per-programmed mode Controller found at this sight. Took maybe 2 weeks to arrive. I emailed seller on shipping, it was lower then the online […]

New 250 pixel STAR VIDEO!

Here is the latest project out of the Leechburg Lights workshop.  250 pixels (750 led lights) are aligned with the angles of the star and can create an endless possibly for musical sequencing.  Have a look at the video for a demo and stay tuned for the how-to build after the demo.

GECE Pixel Window Frame Video

Lots of projects going on this week.  I have been building pixel extenders that will help run all the new GECE (GE Color Effects).  The extenders below can run up to 64 GECE pixels total.  These pixel extenders will run  the main windows on the house and the giant 52″ mega wreath.  Each one arrived […]

Pixel mega wreath video! Check it out!

Well, here is another project completed.  This has 63 pixels on the wreath and can do some really cool effects using the Nutcracker software.  Enjoy and share this video 🙂  

New Pixel Spinner Completed!

Here is another video on how to build a pixel spinner.  If you have visited the display you’ll know that the spinners have been used for many years in the Leechburg Lights display.  There are 96 individually addressable pixel “bulbs” on the spinner.  The previous model had only 40.  This latest upgrade and should prove […]

Pixel Candy Canes :)

Came home after work around 10pm last night and went into the shop.  Lots of stuff to organize, the display is coming down now that it’s nice weather out.   Just organizing a bit then uncovered this storage box with some candy canes I purchased in 2013.  These were meant to be made for 2014 but […]