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Lighted Christmas Angel for the yard


TJ Hvasta

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TJ Hvasta wrote:

I told the wife I'll have to seatch the world, high and low for a manequin, cheap.. which i know it wont be, she may have to be content with just having one, and I'll make it rotate next year..

I say put the "dress" on her and make her stand out there...

she is an "angel" after all...right?? :P

On a side note...many, many years ago I built a big train for my Christmas Display (went around in a oval) back in the 80's and it ran off of a motorcycle battery...but it never held a charge very long, so I finally had to mount the charger in the train and ran power to it...I used one of those curling irons that had a swivel end so the cord would not twist, rewired it and stuck it in the ground in the middle of my tracks...worked out pretty good...
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jimswinder wrote:

TJ Hvasta wrote:
I told the wife I'll have to search the world, high and low for a mannequin, cheap.. which i know it wont be, she may have to be content with just having one, and I'll make it rotate next year..

I say put the "dress" on her and make her stand out there...

she is an "angel" after all...right?? :P
good point, given that she is suppose to be an angel then it might be more important to illuminate her brightly than to make her spin. You shouldn't have to search the world as long as you have google. for every person out there wanting to buy a mannequin there is probably ten people trying to sell one.
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rstately wrote:

Where I live there are lots of plastic women, and most of them are cheap...
ok, do i want to ask?
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caniac wrote:

rstately wrote:
Where I live there are lots of plastic women, and most of them are cheap...
ok, do i want to ask?

I don't think so!
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rstately wrote:

cost less than a mannequin, more fun.
win,win;)
are there happy endings like in the fairy tales!!!:dude:
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rstately wrote:

I think this is the first thread that I may have steered into being closed,
feels good.:cool:
you have skills!!
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caniac wrote:

rstately wrote:
I think this is the first thread that I may have steered into being closed,
feels good.:cool:
you have skills!!

And so do the women he was talking about!
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Ron Amedee wrote:

I,ve got an extention cord reel that uses "brushes".
Thought about using it for something that spins. Only can run one channel though!


Not necessarily. Mount the controller(s) with the display item, and use the extension cord reel to power the controller (s)

Using LED lights, you have easily have 80 plus channels
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TJ Hvasta wrote:

I've got the swivel bases already.. from HD.. I used Lazy Susan plates.. were abt $6 each.. I got them for my ice skating bears.. so the swivel plates are covereed.. it transfering the 120v from base to doll I gotta figure out.. =)



Well here is how I would do it:



#1. Top plate is the only one that rotates.

#2. bottom plate that hold motor is stationary.

#3. Top plate would have 3 strips of conductive (i.e. copper clad tape. soldrable), this is for Hot, Neutral and Ground mounted underneath top rotating plate.

#4. use outdoor outlet (preferably a GFCI type!) and install in upper rotating plate away from where copper "solderable" tape is mounted, solder 3 wires to the copper tape, making sure Ground, Neutral and Hot are the same as coming off the main supply, connect these wires to the outlet(s).

#5. Outdoor rated Motor installed in bottom plate (non movable), use some type of brushes to lay against the copper tape. making note of proper connections (hot, neutral and ground), this will supply power to the upper plate outlet. Use a grounded outlet and grounded cords since this is being used outdoors.

By placing the wiring under the two plates, you can keep folks from putting their fingers in there and with the use of a GFCI, prevent someone from getting electrocuted. You can also make a "side panel" to go around the upper plate (screwed onto the stationary bottom plate) to hide the motor, wiring and help jkeep water out of the unit so as to prevent shorts.

I know a visible aid would probably help more in describing and understanding this a bit better, but this is how most of those rotating Christmas Tree stands are made and operate, it's also why they say not for use outdoors, mainly because these are only TWO wires and not grounded, even with or without the use of the ground, I'd still recommend a GFCI outlet on this rotating platform AND a GFCI in line with the motor as well, to be safe.


Make sure you make an access panel so you can repair or fix it if somethign happens to go awry while in operation. Still only uses ONE Channel of an LOR Controller.

Be Safe and Have Fun!
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I have a couple RFloods and Spots I could use, and they're just 12v, so I might be able to get away with a slip ring to power it.. ELL's would be too much invested in that.. I'd rather use it for the house.. I'm thinking I'll just go with a stationary angel, use a servo (my SCC32 controller) to move the wings and can use the normal lighting(controller) for the skirt..

Thanks everyone for the input.. 'have several months to work it out..

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