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 |
| Galaxia |
Galaxia Lighting (www.galaxialighting.com) |
| 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.
Megatrees |
| 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 miniature 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 annually usually the last weekend in July. Find details at
www.gotoPLUS.com |
| 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 |
