Firesticks - Revision history

ErnieHorning: Refined the introductory description, clarified how multiple lighting sections create animation effects, explained the purpose of the protective shrink tubing used on the pixel version, formatted the video link using standard Wiki syntax, and added a brief concluding note highlighting the continued popularity of both traditional and pixel-based firesticks.

2026-07-21T17:13:32Z

Refined the introductory description, clarified how multiple lighting sections create animation effects, explained the purpose of the protective shrink tubing used on the pixel version, formatted the video link using standard Wiki syntax, and added a brief concluding note highlighting the continued popularity of both traditional and pixel-based firesticks.

Dirknerkle at 14:19, 3 December 2022

2022-12-03T14:19:23Z

Dirknerkle at 16:42, 8 December 2018

2018-12-08T16:42:02Z

Dirknerkle at 16:38, 8 December 2018

2018-12-08T16:38:53Z

Admin at 17:10, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:10:11Z

Admin at 17:08, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:08:58Z

Admin at 17:05, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:05:39Z

Admin at 17:04, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:04:39Z

Admin at 17:04, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:04:13Z

Admin at 17:02, 12 September 2016

2016-09-12T17:02:57Z

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+A firestick is simply a vertical post wrapped with lights. Firesticks can be short or tall, thin or wide, and are commonly made from PVC pipe, wood, or other lightweight materials. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Traditionally, the lights are divided into several independently controlled sections so each firestick can be animated with chases, fades, and other lighting effects.
 '''Simple'''
 Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 15 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
 [[File:Firestick.JPG|250px]]
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 '''Pixel Firestick'''
-Here's an example of a firestick that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing. This particular example was 17' long and used three, 5-meter pixel strips, connected in parallel and driven by a single ESPixelStick.
+Here's an example of a firestick that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing. This particular example was 17' long and used three, 5-meter pixel strips, connected in parallel and driven by a single ESPixelStick. The shrink tubing protects the pixel strips from weather while also helping hold them securely against the PVC pipe.
 [[File:Shrink-3.JPG|750px]]
-Here's quick test showing how they look...
-https://vimeo.com/670380047
+Here's a quick demonstration of the completed firestick: [https://vimeo.com/670380047 Vimeo demonstration]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:19, 3 December 2022
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	[[File:Shrink-3.JPG\|750px]]		[[File:Shrink-3.JPG\|750px]]
		+
		+	Here's quick test showing how they look...
		+	https://vimeo.com/670380047

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 '''Pixel Firestick'''
-Here's an example of one that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing.
+Here's an example of a firestick that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing. This particular example was 17' long and used three, 5-meter pixel strips, connected in parallel and driven by a single ESPixelStick.
 [[File:Shrink-3.JPG|750px]]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.
 Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 15 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
 [[File:Firestick.JPG|250px]]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.
-Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 12 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
+Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 15 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
 [[File:Firestick.JPG|250px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:08, 12 September 2016
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−	~~== Table of Contents ==~~

	A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.		A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 A firestick is simple a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.
-Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 25-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 12 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
+Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 12 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
 [[File:Firestick.JPG|250px]]