| 50,000 Lights |
| The brains
of the display are provided by a system developed by Animated
Lighting which is comprised of a software
application called Animation Director and
a series of hardware components called Lighting Controllers. 
Animation
Director utilizes a spreadsheet style grid interface
where each row represents an individually controlled lighting
channel and each column represents a user defined period of
time that each channel is either on or off. By adjusting the
duration of each column, the routine is painstaking handcrafted
so that the lights are synchronized to the music to tolerances
as close as 1/100 of a second. Once the routine is perfected,
it is downloaded to the Monster Brain Animation Processor via
the computer's serial interface.
The Monster Brain Animation Processor (MB) provides standalone
control of the light display by directing multiple devices
based on user defined trigger events. For instance, at preprogrammed
times the MB will use X-10 technology to turn on various outlets
which control static portions of the display as well as the
surveillance cameras. When it is time for the light show to
begin, MB will execute the lighting routine downloaded from
Animation Director by controlling various Lighting Controllers
in conjunction with the synchronized music file being played
by the MP3 Controller. At the conclusion of the show, MB will
once again use the X-10 outlets to turn off the static portions
of the display and to turn on the security lights.
Pensacola Lights uses twelve
Lighting Controllers that each
provide 16 channels of microprocessor-controlled
lighting to include dimming, ramping, and other special effects.
These Lighting Controllers, coupled with 12 additional channels
controlled via the X-10 Interface, provide Pensacola Lights
with a total of 204 channels of programmable lighting. All
of the controllers are networked using the industry standard
RS-485 signaling protocol over standard Category 5 cables.
The lights, which are a combination of consumer and commercial
mini-lights, rope lights, spots, floods, and strobes are connected
to the controllers using over two miles of extension cords.
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| The Music |
Follow this
link for a listing of some of the recordings used by Pensacola
Lights,
Our radio programming is controlled by a software application
called OtsDJ from Ots Labs in Queensland, Austrailia. After
converting our music collection to MP3s and importing them
into OtsDJ, the program provides playlist creation and scheduling,
dynamic processing, and automated mixing. The resulting sound
is then routed from the computer's sound card to the FM transmitter.
The FM transmitter is a low-power Ramsey FM25B
from Ramsey Electronics which was built from a kit. The FM25B
features a PIC microprocessor for easy frequency programming,
rock solid tuning, and an amazing sound quality from such a
small package.
Beginning Thanksgiving Day, Pensacola
Lights will use its own FM radio station to broadcast Christmas
music 24/7 over FM frequency 103.3. Of course, in
order to remain in compliance with FCC Part 15 Rules, you
will have to be fairly close to the display area to receive
the signal. During the scheduled hours of the light display,
the synchronized music will be simulcast over this FM frequency
for the convenience of our visitors who want to listen to
the lights from the comfort of their vehicle.
It
is the intent of Pensacola Lights to comply in every way
with the FCC Part 15 Rules and Regulations regarding the operation
of low-power, non-licensed transmitters. The frequency
we have selected was picked following a thorough search, using
the FM Query at the Audio Division of www.fcc.gov, which indicated
that there were no licensed broadcasters using that frequency
within 150 miles of our location. If our broadcast interferes
with your use or enjoyment of an FCC licensed transmission
of any kind, please contact us IMMEDIATELY so that we can
change the operation of our transmitting device so as to cause
no more interference.
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