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Twinkly Hardware Buyer’s Guide
If you are looking for the WS2811 Buyer’s Guide, click HERE!
Below is a collection of products that I recommend for folks going down the Twinkly path — I have personally used and tested all of these with my show (although some below are newer variations of the product). I have also compiled a detailed Twinkly Shopping List (including quantities) for folks starting out, including everything you will need to get going.
| Product | Photo | Commentary | Purchase Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twinkly Strings |  | Twinkly strings form the basis of most Twinkly displays; they come in 100, 150, 250, 400 and 600 bulb lengths (see Twinkly technical details for more); I have over 8000 Twinkly lights and have only had 1 bulb failure and 1 power supply fail over several seasons – and Twinkly replaced both under warranty. | Twinkly Strings 600 |
| Twinkly Icicles |  | 190 count Twinkly icicle lights — I use these around my front porch overhang and across my garage; look great; clear wire helps them blend in | Twinkly Icicles |
| Twinkly Curtain |  | 210 count Twinkly curtain | Twinkly Curtain |
| CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 Pro Kit |  | Perfect for running FPP – includes Raspberry Pi 4 Pro, 4GB RAM, 32GB MicroSD, Case, Fan, Heatsinks, more (note: photo is my old CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3B – which still works great). CanaKits are great because they test all of the parts of the kit to make sure they work together, so one stop shop. | CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 Pro Kit |
| TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch |  | I have an older 5 port version — really any gigabit unmanaged switch should work — I’ve had good luck with TP-Link | TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch |
| 1000FT FM Transmitter,Long Range Stereo Mini Radio Station |  | This works great for broadcasting FM radio to folks in cars watching your show; you connect an audio output from a USB sound card on your Raspberry Pi to the audio input on this, and you are a mini radio station! I’ve tested out the range, and it’s good for about 1/4 mile where I live. | FM Radio Transmitter |
| UGREEN USB to Audio Jack Sound Card Adapter | This is what I use for sound output on my Raspberry Pi running FPP. The quality is much better than the standard audio jack on the Pi — which was terrible. I actually split the audio output of this to the FM transmitter above and to an amplifier connected to outdoor speakers for folks walking by (amp turns of at 9pm) | USB Sound Card | |
| TP-Link Amanda Long Range Outdoor Access Point (AP) |  | If you’re having WiFi issues with Twinkly, you may need one of these! It’s power over ethernet, so you don’t need to have AC power near where you mount it. This purchase was a game changer in terms of Twinkly reliability. Be sure to get an outdoor rated (uv protected) ethernet cable to run to it — I used a flat ethernet cable to run it through a window; the access point includes a Power Over Ethernet (PoE) adaptor to inject power onto the ethernet cable, so you don’t need a PoE capable switch (which is more expensive); photo shows AP peeking out of my front bushes | TP-Link Omada Long Range Outdoor Access Point – WiFi 6 AX1800 Dual Band |
| Jadaol Cat 6 Ethernet Cable 25 ft, 10Gbps Support Cat8 Cat7 Network, Flat RJ45 LAN Patch Cable | Flat OUTDOOR rated ethernet cable to run from your switch (inside the house) to the access point outside; this will also carry power to the access point (AP includes PoE injector); available in different lengths. | Outdoor Cat 6 Cable | |
| Large Outdoor Waterproof Electrical Box(12.9X 8.3 x 5.2 inch |  | Twinkly power supplies and controllers are not quite waterproof (they are “splash resistant”) — I HIGHLY recommend keeping them dry with something like this. I also use these for storage of cables, etc. in the off season to save space. | Large Dry Box |
| Flemoon Outdoor Extension Cord Safety Cover |  | I use these where cords are joined out in the yard, they come in packs of 3, 6 or 9 and seem to keep things dry! You can also just fit a Twinkly string controller in these, but not the power supply. | Small Dry Box |
| 32 Pack Tent Stakes, 12in Heavy Duty Tent Stakes with Storage Bag |  | I replaced the flimsy aluminum stakes included with the Twinkly Light trees with these; the old ones would pop out of the ground in high winds, but these are great — especially for the heavy clay soil where I live, where the aluminum ones tend to bend when being pounded in. They even come with a nice storage bag. | 12 inch Steel Tent Stakes |
| 2026 MacBook Air |  | You will need a computer to do your sequencing in xLights; I prefer a laptop so I can take it outside after I put the lights up to test and make real time changes to my layout; I’m a Mac fan, so I gravitate toward Macs, but Windows laptop will work fine; in any case, more memory (RAM) is better for sequencing. 2026 MacBook Air 15-inch Laptop with M5 chip: Built for AI, 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID, Wi-Fi 7 (MacBook Pro shown) | MacBook Air |