Computer-driven 10,000-light show features radio broadcast

Rodney Manuel considers himself a gadget guru.

So he didn’t think it strange when he set out to create a kinetic Christmas light show for his Thomson Estates home n complete with its own soundtrack.

Not everyone thought so at first.

“The reaction was mixed,” said Manuel, 38. “Some thought I was crazy while others said it was fantastic.”

The result?

A computer-controlled radio broadcast. Smoke and strobe effects. Over a half-mile of extension cords. Almost 10,000 LED Christmas lights.

And perhaps one of the most ambitious decorative-light projects Cecil County has ever seen.

“Everyone’s just like, ‘Wow, it’s like an amusement park or something,’” he said.

Manuel covered almost 3,000 square feet of his Franklin Court property in lights, which he will turn on every night until the start of the new year.

But the lights don’t just shine. They blink in coordination to music played out of the car radio.

“With this show, you’re wondering what’s next,” he said. “Basically, you sit in your car and hear music while the lights are flashing.”

According to Manuel, music will be broadcast on the radio frequency 90.7 FM to accompany each 12-minute light show. Three songs will also be played before the start of each show, which begins every half-hour.

A “modern, big-band sound” was desired, he said, because it featured music that had distinct highs and lows for the lights to follow. Artists chosen for the shows include the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Mannheim Steamroller.

The lights and music are controlled by a standard personal computer in Manuel’s home using mass-market software by Animated Lighting, a developer of lighting and animatronics controllers.

“Every minute of music required three hours of programming,” Manuel said.

The $1,000 system hasn’t been free of challenges, however, even for a tech-savvy user like Manuel.

“The software has a pretty stiff learning curve,” he said. “It still took me a week or two playing with it or calling for help.”

Manuel spent more than four months setting up the timing of the show. In all, the project has cost Manuel over $5,000, with most of the decorations ordered from specialty stores on the Internet.

“Most of my stuff are not things you see at Wal-Mart,” he said. “I wanted it to be a little cut above.”

Night-vision security cameras were also installed, he said, to protect his home against vandalism and theft.

Manuel started early on his project, beginning his research last Dec. 27. He took advantage of post-Christmas sales offering discounts on lights and decorations, a move that he said saved thousands of dollars.

He finished earlier this month, with the decorations taking six days n and a week of work n to set up.

The project also brought other kinds of challenges.

“I’m scared of heights,” he said. “So I had to get my friends to put up decorations in high places.”

But, for Manuel, the project was well worth the effort.

“I liked the idea of telling a story with my lights,” he said. “It was a lot of work, but I just want people to have something to enjoy.”