Late this morning, the door bell rang. When answered, it was a delivery person here to hand me a rather large box which contained the new Christmas light controllers for syncronising lights to music this year.

So the assembly of the controllers has now begun. Once finished, an electrician will put in a new electrical circuit to run all the lights. This is the first time ever this is happening, purely as a safety measure due to the high amp capacity that each controller is capable of running.

I have also been informed that the ordered Christmas lights will be arriving in Australia during September - that's only next month!

I'm estimating that lights will commence being erected outside during October.

A couple of new photos have been uploaded to the 2008 page and the upgrade costs updated on the history page.

The webcam quality has been improved also, although live streaming will not be available until October or November.

Its been a few months since the last post, so it is about time I update all you Christmas light fanatics.

First of all, a new Christmas lights order of about 5,000 LED lights has been placed with a manufacturer in China via Starlight Christmas Superstore. I should be getting these in August or September sometime.

This year I am dumping my current method for computerising lights (Olsen595) with a commercial alternative that can do much more (Light-O-Rama) including operate the higher voltage lights safely. Financially, this single change is the killer this year.

After adjusting the amount of new lights and controllers that I'll be getting for 2008, the financial requirement now sits at approximately $2200. So far I've managed to raise just over $1000.

In other news, the computer page has been modified to display information in a similar fashion to the detail and history pages. However, this text is still based on the 2007 display at this stage.

The website has again been updated with a few more goodies:
1. There is now a streaming webcam available during the Christmas season
2. The 2008 photo gallery has been created (with a single photo)
3. The videos page as been redesigned
4. There are now two new pages - Details and History - in place of the former 'Quick Facts' area.

I am now at the stage of choosing what is needed for 2008 such as new lights and computer controllers. There will not be too many new lights this year as new computer controlling hardware is necessary which will cost in the thousands. A record breaking $2600 is the estimate upgrading cost for 2008, providing I can pull together enough cash.

'It was the night before new years, when all through the garden, everything went dark...'

Ok, I made that up. Anyway, last night was the final night that the 2007 light show was operating. Over the next month the lights will be removed and stored until late September or early October.

Another vandalism attack occured during the display this year (with the other one happening last year) causing an estimated damage bill of around $100. I am hoping this will be covered by insurance again. Other problems such as melting light sets in 40 degree celcius heat will also be claimed for.

Over the next few weeks some plans will need to be finalised before further planning commences, such as what new features I would like, what improvements to existing features I can do, and - for this year most importantly - what sort of computerisation method will I use (Currently I use Olsen595 boards made by a friend of mine. There are several commercial products available that have more flexibility that I may well consider.)

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and I would like to welcome you to the new year.

The lighting season kicked off extremely well last Saturday night, with a massive turn out eagerly waiting in anticipation for the grand count down and light up for 2007.

If you want to see the display in person, you can find us on Marquisite Drive in Salisbury East, South Australia.