Candy Cane Upgrade...

[Jeff Millard]

I was recently asked about rope light, and had taken some pictures of the upgrade I did to my Candy Canes. This includes connecting SPT2 to the ropelight in cut sections.
The ropelight I used for this was Action Lighting 1/2" clear, that can be cut in 16" sections. I needed 32" cuts for the Canes. I like the way they look much better with ropelight in them.

Thank you,
Jeff

[Jeff Millard]

Next Three...

[Jeff Millard]

Next Three...

[Jeff Millard]

Next Three...

[Jeff Millard]

Next Three...

[Jeff Millard]

Next Three...

[Jeff Millard]

Last two...

[Wayne J]

That is sooooooo COOL!!! I got to make those next year. Thanks for sharing and your help. ;)

[Jeff Millard]

Yer welcome brother! It was good to talk to ya this fine ev'nin, BFF!
Be careful with that photocell de-activator... :lol:
j

[Macrosill]

Just like a Charlie Chaplin movie. No words but I understand exactly what is happening! LOL

Nice Job Jeff!

[xmus]

So.... are these LED rope lights you are using?
If not, this might work for me, the canes i just purchased are 28" tall... i figure, with the curve, 32" of rope light might be perfect.

Can you go into a little more detail about why you think they look better? Because at this point all i need to do is modify the candy cane kits as follows: They come in a group of three, with a single plug, i just need to put a plug on each one.... Any chance you could shoot a picture of what these look like with the lights off?

Thanks!
Dave

[Jeff Millard]

No they aren't LEDs. Just plain 'ole 1/2" white rope light.
I think they look better for two reasons. The first is that they were used and had many bulbs burnt out.
You won't have this problem because yours are new.
The second reason is the close spacing of the rope lights is much more attractive, and to my eye they are about 50% brighter than the mini light versions.
The pic has four of the upgraded canes near the front of the house.
The rest of them came from a yardsale about a week before showtime, and have since been upgraded.
Jeff

[lbro]

These are awesome Jeff!
Lou

[Jeff Millard]

Thank you Lou,
Right nom I'm working on connecting them all together to make 4 channel sections controlled by SSRoz boards. I'm using Molex connectors and those PVC pods similar to what Brian had at the mini. I got lazy and didn't order the caps he suggested, so I had to buy them from Lowes. (not the cheap way to do it) I will post more pics when I get this part assembled.

Jeff

PS I will assemble one of these at the next gathering. Be it at Greg's, Brian's or my house...

[mark]

very cool. i wish i hadn't left all my candy canes in florida when i moved.

[sandy]

That is a nice upgrade,
from the house picture,
you can see the difference clearly,
Yours look like lit candy canes,
the others are a group of small light bend in a hook.
I bought lots of them last year close out,
so even tho they haven't been used,
I guess it's time for an upgrade.
Maybe, just doubling up the lights would help.

[fkostyun]

Thanks to Jeff, I did the ropelight upgrade on my candy canes also, and they just look incredible!!!! I had originally saw his photo's before christmas - so this last year I scoped out some canes for the after christmas sales.

I need to get a photo of how I did the cord for them - as I used the original power cord from the lights that were in the canes, and soldered it to the wires in the ropelight.

[sandy]

Went and cut up some clear rope light from Target,
BUT
They're 24" between sets.
Too short to fill the canes,
too long to double up.
So watch the spacing before you do the cutting.
I'm not looking for some ropes with the 16" spacing to try it again.

11/21/08
Got some rope from Lowes, their Holiday Living brand,
and the breaks are just about 3 feet between.
This should work for the cane upgrade