Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Sync Your Christmas Lights To Some Radio Broadcast

A synchronized light display can center around a single home, or include a whole neighborhood.


Creating a light show that is synchronized to music was once a major production with high-tech gadgetry. Modern electronic programming, however, allows the average homeowner to create a major display to be synchronized with a local radio station. With the correct equipment and a little hard work, you can create a radio-synchronized light display for others to see and enjoy. However, be prepared: Creating and operating a large display for radio synchronization can run up a costly electricity bill.


Instructions


1. Build your Christmas display. All your Christmas lights must be attached to one another. For large displays use a surge protector both to protect your electronics and to connect multiple light strands.


2. Plug the surge protector, or the end of your terminal strand, into a light control box. This box is what will synchronize the elements of your Christmas display to the music. The light control box must be a musical light control box with synchronization programming.


3. Plug a radio into the light control box's "Audio In" port. The radio should plug in using an 1/8-inch audio connection cable.


4. Flip the audio switch on the light control box to "Audio In." There should be multiple position switch or a toggle switch for the audio options. Switching to the "Audio In" setting will program the lights to the radio, rather than the music that is programmed into the light control box itself.


5. Turn the radio to the station you want to synchronize your lights to. Tune the radio as exactly as possible to get the best sound quality.