Step 6 : The frame


I had hopes of making this a nice tight frame with a slot of the plastic sheet to rest in, but being quick and easy that idea went out the window.

The wood frame is 2 - 1x4 boards cut to 48" and 2 - 1x4 boards cut to 23". Just smaller then the perimeter plastic sheet. The wood I found was so warped there was no hope in making perfect cuts or having it be square. Good thing it will be dark when people look at this thing.

Duck tape was used to hold the plastic on to the frame. It was really quick! When handling the plastic sheet be very careful not to place any pressure on it against the frame, it will crack. The picture above has a crack, but it is not easily visible.

Step 7 : Backlighting the sign


Last year's twinkle icicle lights came in handy. Loosely bunching the lights together then stapling them to the frame provided good coverage from the front.

I added an additional string of 100 to the bottom to even out the brightness. When stapling the lights be sure the wire is as close to the back of the frame as possible. This will help avoid hot spots from the bulb directly touching the back of the sign. It didn't get hot enough to melt, but when the diffusion effect of the plastic, the hot spots were particularly bright when viewing the sign at night.

Step 8 : Optional Backing


The backing in this case was a cardboard box flat stapled to the wood frame. I added it to help reflect some of the light back out the front of the sign.

The sign was mostly under an eve from the house, so it didn't heave to be very weather proof. However in Sacramento this year we have a few heavy rain storms. It held up without any problems.

Step 9 : All lit up


I added the sign to its own channel. During the two sequences the channel is on at full.

Adding another sheet of plastic may help the bright spots.

Step 10 : Summary


I found this to be very effective and viewable from the street. However next year I would like to make the FM Station more visitable and have a sign closer to the middle of the house, or on each end of the house.

I found that people would turn on the radio station and watch only the right side of the display (great view of blank garage door). Given that most of the lights and channels are set back on the left, I need something to draw attention to that side of the house. Also note that all neighbors have very bright displays as well. I know that one neighbor for sure will have a radio station next year, so I need something else to help differentiate between the two.

If your show is well done, having a sign on all the time will grab the attention of those that come in in the middle of the songs.

My biggest mistake was thinking that people would come to the show in the start of the songs, stay for both and want more. However most of the time people watch parts of each and moved on either because of traffic or because of the other houses to see. To be most effective include painfully obvious details and keep it lit at all times.


Wood = $5
Plastic = $5
2nd plastic sheet due to spell error = $5
lights = $2
time = 4-6 hours (cutting stencil takes a while)