Requirements:
Hang multiple home-made light strings consisting of "color-changing" LEDs.
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Do this without climbing
high ladders.
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Do not damage the house
with nail or screw holes.
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Solution:
Provide two strings of lights: one over the porch and one over the garage
door. They are each plugged into a junction box mounted on the AC intake vent
cover.
The light string was connected to the two hanging pendant lights using twist
ties.
(This was done with just a step ladder.)
Over the garage door:
The light string is to be supported by #21 nylon twine looped under the gutter
support struts. Since these are too high to reach with a step ladder, a scheme
using long bamboo poles was devised.
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| Gutter support strut |
The idea is to use Pole Tool A to place one end of the nylon twine
(tied to a small velcro pad) under a gutter strut, and then use Pole Tool B
to snag it using velcro. The nylon twine could then be pulled down to ground
level.
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| Pole Tool A, Pole Tool B |
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| Pole Tool A |
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| Pole Tool B |
I first placed the end of Pole Tool A over the gutter, then slid
it left until it hit the gutter support strut. (It was then possible to
let go of Pole Tool A, since it stayed in place.)With my left hand holding a long selfie stick, I pointed a cell phone
camera at Pole Tool A's velcro pad. The cell phone talked via Skype to
an iPad below, allowing me to see the operation in real time.
With my right hand, I controlled Pole Tool B to snag the velcro
pad off of Pole Tool A.
(This operation was like operating an arcade's
claw machine and then gently pulling in a crab line.)
Using this scheme, I was able to drape the nylon twine around the gutter
struts by myself, with no assistance.
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| The pole tools in action! |
Two-hole Cord Locks provide tie points between the nylon twine and the
light string. (One hole for the wire, the other hole for the nylon twine.)
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| Cord Lock |
The nylon twine was tied to the Cord Locks with the light string on the
ground. Pulling the twine through the Cord Locks lifted the light string. When the light string got higher than shoulder level, I snaked the twine through the eyelet at the bottom of Pole Tool B
to push the Cord Lock higher. This enabled me to mount the light string high
without needing to climb a ladder.
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| Pole Tool B (bottom) |
Power is supplied by an AC adapter brick feeding a 5-volt regulator
circuit. The AC adapter plugs into a smart plug which provides scheduling via a
phone app.
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| Some of the tools used |
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| Daytime view |
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| Nighttime view |
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