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TWINKLY SHOPPING LIST
Twinkly Shopping List For New Displays
Here’s a recommended shopping list for a small to medium Twinkly display to run with xLights and FPP. You will need to adjust quantities of lights based on your situation. You may already have some of this stuff laying around (I repurposed a Raspberry Pi, audio amplifier and outdoor speakers I had in the basement). Please see the buyer’s guide for more details on products recommended below.
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Twinkly Lights
Personally recommended
Twinkly lights come packaged in a variety of configurations, but all include 24 volt power supplies and controllers, so there’s no need to deal with those considerations or power injection like you would with WS2811 pixels. Twinkly strings would be the choice for using with coro props and decorating bushes/trees. Icicles and curtains are generally used on the house. Choose quantities that make sense for what you’re trying to accomplish.
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Show Computer (FPP)
Personally recommended
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 Pro Kit is a dependable starter platform for running FPP with enough performance for small to medium displays.
- Includes key components in one kit (Pi, case, cooling, storage)
- Simple setup path for first-time FPP users
- Good balance of performance and cost for beginner shows
Networking
Personally recommended
You need a rock-solid WiFi network to ensure Twinkly lights perform well in an xLights/FPP driven light show
- Gigabit unmanaged switch for show traffic – TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch
- Outdoor access point only if coverage is weak – TP-Link Amanda Long Range Outdoor Access Point (AP))
- Outdoor-rated Category-6 ethernet cable for long exterior runs
- Read article on WiFi troubleshooting
Audio and FM
Power and Cabling
Personally recommended
Buy outdoor rated AC extension cords in appropriate lengths and splitters for your show (as many as needed). Ensure all outdoor devices are plugged into GFCI (ground fault interrupters)! You also may want to have a repair kit if a rabbit chews through a wire — solderless connectors and a heat gun will work.
Weatherproofing, Mounting & Other
Personally recommended
You need to keep everything dry and secure from rain/snow/wind!
- Dry boxes for power and connectors — Twinkly rates their power supplies as IP44 (splash resistant) — use dry boxes!
- UV-resistant zip ties in multiple lengths — you can never have enough of these!
- Heavy stakes/rebar for coro props and support lines
- Rabbit repellant — rabbits chewed through my wires several times before I started using Liquid Fence Rabbit repellant
- Phone tripod for mapping lights and taking video of your shows
Twinkly Props
It used to be difficult to find props that would fit Twinkly lights, but availability has gotten better over the last 2 years or so. I have had great luck with Charlee’s Props for both Twinkly sized (4.3mm lights) and WS2811 pixels (12mm lights). The snowman shown is a Charlee’s Twinkly Singing Snowman, which uses 300 lights, and looks great. The interesting thing about Twinkly light strings is that on sets of 250 lights or greater, the strings are split — so a set of 600 is really 2 strings of 300 coming off the controller. Since Twinkly doesn’t make a 300 light set, The snowman you see is using half of a 600 string — the other half of the lights are being used for a Charlee’s Twinkly Singing Christmas Tree. Charlee’s is a family owned business, and has been great to deal with! Singing props like these might add a little complexity to your setup, or you can choose less complicated props like stars or spinners. Please see our guide to Twinkly Props!
Garage & Front Door Covers
Garage door covers take your holiday display up a notch with very little effort!
Garage Celebrations (as seen on Shark Tank!) makes AMAZING garage door, front door and bedroom door covers. These are super high quality stretchy spandex material with dye sublimation printing and attach to your door in a few minutes — using their patented zipper mounting system — no hook & loop fasteners, hooks, tape or anything else. Click HERE to visit their site for hundreds of prints for any size garage door! They have designs for every occasion, including birthdays, holidays (including patriotic!) and of course Halloween and Christmas! I choose to shine a floodlight on mine, so they can be seen in the dark.
Looking for Twinkly Mini-Reviews? Click HERE!