Hang around this place and at first you will think we speak some sort of foreign
language. We kind of do... but below is a cheat sheet explaining what the
terms mean.
| AL |
Animated Lighting
(http://www.animatedlighting.com) |
| Amp |
Unit of electrical measurement and is an abbreviation
for amperage. Most light decorators constantly struggle with finding
enough amps to power all their lights. See
Power Needs |
| Blog |
Contraction for Web Log. Think of it as an
electronic diary. See more at
Talk! |
| Blowmold |
Three dimension plastic figures |
| Brickclip |
A special clip that grabs the brick between mortar
joints. See
http://www.brickclip.com/ |
| CDB |
Christmas Done Bright
(http://christmasdonebright.com) |
| Channel |
Typically refers to one electrical circuit controlled
by a computer |
| Chatroom |
Where you go to get
all your questions asked. Post your question and you'll get a response
soon. Goto
Talk! |
| Clamp-On-Meter |
Special ammeter with a non-invasive jaw that clamps
around a single electrical conductor and will display how much current
is flowing. |
| Cross- Posting |
Someone that posts the
same messages in several different conferences of the
PlanetChristmas
chatroom. Don't worry, you only have to post once and the
right people will see it! |
| Coro |
Shorthand for Corrugated Plastic. Just like
cardboard, but plastic and weatherproof |
| Cutters |
People that like
making coro or plywood cutouts for their display. |
| DIY |
Do It Yourself |
| DLS |
Digital Light Show (preprogrammed boxes sold at
retail stores) |
| DMX |
Digital Multiplexing (used in theatrical lighting
industry) |
| ES |
Energy Saver Lights. See
Power Needs |
| Forums |
Where you go to get
all your questions asked. Post your question and you'll get a response
soon. Goto
Talk! |
| GFC or GFCI |
Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter |
| Grid |
method to synchronize light to music based on time
durations and triggers |
| Edison Plug |
The typical 115 volt plug we're all used to in the
United States |
| Indoor Only |
Christmas decorations that are certified by
Underwriters Laboratory to be used in dry locations only |
| Inflatable |
Those bigger-than-life decorations made of fabric
brought to life by a small fan in the base of the unit |
| LED |
Light Emitting Diode. See a good description at:
http://www.theledlight.com/technical1.html |
| Light Flurries |
A device using a modified mirror ball and bright
light source to project beams of light on your house simulating
snowfall. See
Light Flurries |
| Light Tester |
Shoots a very high
voltage, low current "zot" through your string of lights and will many
times fix or isolate the bulb causing the problems. For more details,
try a version sold by CDB by
clicking here. |
| LOL |
Commonly used
abbreviation in the PlanetChristmas
chatroom meaning Laughing Out Loud |
| LOR |
Light-O-Rama
(http://www.lightorama.com) |
| Lori's |
Lori's Lighted
D'Lights (http://www.lorislighteddlites.com) |
| Mega-Tree |
Large tree made out of lights. |
| MIDI |
Stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface." It
is a connectivity standard that musicians use to hook together musical
instruments (such as keyboards and synthesizers) and computer equipment.
Using MIDI, a musician can easily create and edit digital music tracks.
The MIDI system records the notes played, the length of the notes, the
dynamics (volume alterations), the tempo, the instrument being played,
and hundreds of other parameters, called control changes. |
| Mini-PLUS |
Regional or local gathering to talk and share our
love for the Christmas season |
| Mini-Tree |
Small tree made from a tomato cage or floral easel.
See Build 3D
Trees |
| MP3 |
Audio compression method popular in the personal
computer world. Typically it compresses one minute of high quality
audio down to about 1 megabyte of data. For a detailed definition see
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/MP3 |
| Newbie |
Someone new and eager to learn more |
| PC |
PlanetChristmas |
| PLUS |
Acronym for
PlanetChristmas
Lights Up Symposium held bi-annual on odd numbered
years |
| PPF |
Plastic Pink Flamingo. This has a really strange
story attached to it. |
| Puffers |
Slang for people that
love inflatables. See above. |
| RiteTime |
Nice plastic boxes sold at Home Depot in 2004 for a
cheap price. Excellent for mounting computer control boards. |
| Ropelight |
Miniature lights encased in a plastic rope that
attempts to look like neon. See
Rope Light |
| SPT-1 |
Stranded, Parallel, Thermoplastic (lamp cord) See
Wire Size |
| SPT-2 |
Like SPT-1, but heavier construction See
Wire Size |
| SPT-3 |
Like SPT-2, but heavier construction See
Wire Size |
| SSR |
Solid State Relay |
| Strobes |
Miniature strobe lights usually wired to one length
of cable and put up in a tree. See
Strobes |
| Triac |
An electrical device for switching voltage on and
off. See a detailed definition at
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Triac |
| UK |
United Kingdom |
| USD |
United States Dollar |
| Vampire Plug |
Plugs with little "teeth" that clamp through a piece
of lamp cord to make electrical contact. They are used to create
extension cords. |
| Wireform |
Heavy gauge steel formed to make unique figure you
can decorate |
| Wireframe |
Heavy gauge steel formed to make unique figure you
can decorate |
| X-10 |
An older generation technology allowing you to send
control signals over standard electrical wires. See
X-10 |
