2009-12-23
Rope Light Christmas Star
This was a quickie I saw on YouTube. Very easy to build and a great result. Much, much cheaper than equivalent commercial "shaped" rope light decorations which seem to go for more than $100 for something essentially identical.
The rope light came from a cheap store at Warringah Mall, at $22 it was the most expensive component. It offers 2-channel multi-pattern chasing and runs straight off the mains. The frame is 5 lengths of 1.2 metre 6 mm Tasmanian Oak dowelling from Bunnings (about $1 each). The dowels were joined end-to-end using duct tape as in the video. Originally I wanted to use short lengths of flexible PVC piping, but I had assumed I had some 1/4" ID stuff in the junkbox, unfortunately it was 3 mm ID when I went to use it - DOH! Anyway, the frame was assembled and tie-wrapped into place, then sprayed matt-black with some spray can paint to extend its life. The rope light was then tie-wrapped to the frame and the excess taped up with black vinyl electrical tape.
The end result it quite pleasing and is visible for a great distance. It is simply tie-wrapped to the balcony railing.
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Updates
- 2010-01-04: Rope Light Controller Failure
- Arcing fault destroys the Rope Light controller.