Big Pixel Bulbs - Plymouth Lights

For the 2017 season we decided to retire the old “big bulbs” and exchange them with some big bulbs that would be RGB, meaning that they would be able to turn virtually any color. The reason we decided to say good bye to the old bulbs is that they were getting dim and hard to see. They also used incandescent lights which were a hassle to replace, and used more electricity.

To make the new lights, we started with some “Really Big Lights”. That’s actually what they were called. They look like giant C7 or C9 bulbs… the type you see in classic Christmas displays. Only these are over a foot tall and made of plastic. They come in different colors and are normally lit up with a single LED inside, but we bought them in white, which allows us to change their color in the display by using RGB lights inside.

Our original “big bulbs” that were replaced in 2017 by these new lights.

ec92720c1a3486650a1c3a0a3d13ee43 original — We used white “Really Big Lights” as the basis for our light string

Here’s one of the white “Really Big Lights” before we started modifying it.

And a here it is without the big white cover on it. The lights came with a little C9-sized LED bulb inside.

Instead, we made these little LED modules. The design is similar to what we used on our North Poles. It consists of a piece of PVC pipe to make a central stalk, and then three LED modules around the top. Each of the modules is a “Pixel” (A computer-controllable module that can be any color). Each of the modules has 3 LEDs, for a total of 9 in each of the big bulbs. Normally when we program them, we have the entire bulb being one color at a time, but technically we could have each bulb showing 3 colors at once!

Then the LED stalk fits in right where the old C9 used to go. The plastic base was actually designed really nicely, with a hook that came off, allowing the wires to be passed through, and then reattached to make a nice strain relief.

Here are a couple daytime shots of the lights all strung together…

…and a couple of the many ways it can be lit up at night.