Welcome to the Yule lights blog! Here is where you'll find more information about my website devoted to classic
Christmas lights and decorations of the postwar baby boom era, from the 1950s to the 1980s.
I started creating this site in 2002 as a way of learning web design and finally put it up in  May of 2007.

Now for a brief autobiography -
Many years ago my father, rest his soul, used to fix pinball machines. Among the parts he kept were a collection of miniature light bulbs. Most of them were clear bayonet base bulbs but back then they were fascinating glass globes with wires inside! Eventually I figured out how to connect a bulb to flashlight batteries to get them to light up. After that my interest in light bulbs took off. Other lighting projects I made over the years include the Radio Shack "Goofy Lite" neon bulb flasher (I'm showing my age here) and a home built xenon strobe light. Building a strobe light is a rite of passage for any bulb freak! I've worked with light emitting diodes since they only came in 3 colors, red, yellow, and green.
I consider myself a techie because I have to figure out how something works and if it doesn't work then fixing it becomes a challenge.

How do I feel about Christmas?
First ,there is no such thing as a "bad" holiday display. All displays are nice, from the simplest to those enormous ones you see on the evening news.
Although displaying an inflatable Nativity is pushing the boundary of good taste. (But that's only my opinion).
Well, O.K. there are a few things that annoy me about "the holidays"
First, it seems like Christmas arrives earlier every year. Traditionally, Christmas started right after Thanksgiving. Then it started after Halloween. now, there are all out store displays before Halloween ! Enough of this already !
Then there are those folks who leave their outdoor lights up year-round. Maybe you think you are saving work, but it looks tacky, the light sets get weathered from sun and rain, and it's an electrical code violation. Yes I take my lights and decorations down after Christmas.

So how did I acquire my collection?
It was obtained from a variety of sources. So from the least expensive to the most, here goes. First some items were passed down to me from my parents, some were bought at garage sales (why would anyone want to sell their garage?) also consignment and thrift shops - the Salvation Army thrift stores are a great source. Then there are antique shops, though they are somewhat more expensive. One antiquing hot spot I often go to is the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania, along Route 611 from Portland to the town of Delaware Water Gap.

Finally there's ebaY.  It's a great place for hard to find and even common stuff, just don't expect a bargain.
I've bought General Electric Lighted Ice and Stardust bulbs, Merry Midget light sets and other bulbs there to fill out my collection.
I only had one bad experience so far with a seller who neglected to mention that a vintage box had water damage. That was bad enough, but what really annoyed me was that the seller put tape on the set's box to close it up prior to shipping. You NEVER do that! It took me hours of soaking the  box with solvent before I could get the tape off without tearing the fiberboard. I was not pleased.

My own Christmas display -
I consider my Christmas display to be average, with a retro look that includes C-7 lights, bubble lights, and NOEL standard miniature reflector sets.
As to live vs. plastic, I have an artificial tree that way I can keep the tree up late - but never past good Friday !

I have been using a patriotic color scheme with a row of red, white, and blue lights along the peak of the roof, since 2001 to show support for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I will continue to do so until they come home. Looks like I will be doing it again for 2008. < Click the photo to enlarge.

R. I. P. Incandescent Bulb.
In early 2007, stories appeared in the media about the supposed demise of the incandescent bulb. Several Legislators in the United States and Canada suggested banning the sale of incandescent bulbs for household lighting because they are very inefficient. My first thought was "Oh no, they're going  to kill Christmas Lights! After all, most Christmas Lights use miniature incandescent light bulbs. Will there be an exemption for decorative lighting ? If regular Christmas Lights are going to become extinct, it should be due to changing tastes, not some over zealous politicians. (But that's only my opinion).

L. E. D. Christmas Lights.
In the past few years I have seen Christmas Lights that use Light Emitting Diodes or L.E.D.s. These sets have been gaining in popularity and got a BIG boost when they were used on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City in 2007.
LED bulbs are now available in any color from infrared to ultraviolet. The color of the light is determined by the semiconductor chip in the LED bulb. This produces a narrow spectral band, which results in very intense colors!
White light is produced by a different method. An ultraviolet emitter shines upon a phosphor coating making the phosphor glow in a process similar to what happens in a fluorescent bulb. The hue of light can be changed by altering the mix of phosphors.
These L.E.D. bulbs have advantages over conventional bulbs.
    L.E.D.s use less electricity, about 10 % of what is used by incandescent bulbs.
    They last longer - L.E.D.s have a theoretically unlimited life and will only burn out if damaged, or if the wires corrode.
    The light from L.E.D.s is purer and will never fade. That's because the light color is determined by the semiconductor chip in the LED bulb.
But there are also a few disadvantages.
    Christmas Lights that use L.E.D.s are more expensive, about twice the cost of ones that use conventional bulbs.
    An L.E.D. bulb only emits light over a narrow viewing angle, which requires an optical diffuser.
    Also, I have noticed some L.E.D. sets have a slight flicker, which a few people may find objectionable.
 

The Blog postings.

10/05/2007
I have just found scientific proof on the internet that Christmas light strings really do tangle themselves into knots when in storage!
This is according to research by Douglas Smith and Dorian Raymer of the University of California, San Diego.
Read the complete article at  http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/071003-knots-form.html

11/08/07
Just did a market analysis of Christmas lights at a few local merchants and about half of their stock consists of LED sets, so we are obviously in a transition era. Once the price of these new sets comes down, I predict that will mean the end of traditional incandescent Christmas lights.
So if you have any of these sets, keep them. If past history is any indication, there will be a core of traditionalists who will continue to use the incandescent light sets. Hey, vinyl LP records are still around 25 years after the audio CD was invented, so there is hope.

01/01/08
Happy New Year! I hope everyone survived the past Christmas season and wish you well for 2008.
If you want to see more videos of bubble lights, go to YouTube and do a search for "Christmas bubble lights"  I found several nice videos there.
The old bulbs are becoming harder to find. As of 2007, Twinkle bulbs were still sold at Kmart and Walgreens, while bubble lights and flame bulbs were found at Wal mart.

07/30/08
I finally finished some major work on my computer like a new hard drive, clean reinstall of windows XP, and the latest software.
So you'll be seeing more additions soon.

11/02/08
Wow! where did October go? Now it's time to start selling Christmas decorations! I still have some more items to put up on the site.

11/17/08
Just checked out K Mart's offerings and have good news. They are still selling twinkle bulbs in C-7 and C-9 sizes. They are sold in 4-packs labeled "Cool lite" and flasher bulbs but you need a microscope to read it! Also they are still selling 6 volt mini replacement bulbs which are very hard to find.
The bad news is these bulbs have a different current rating than old bulbs so you must buy enough bulbs to replace all of the bulbs in the set.

02/08/09
Found an internet store selling old stock G.E. Merry Midget replacement bulbs. These are the ones with the bi-pin base, which are very hard to find, and 6 volt bulbs with wedge base, also hard to find. They have other bulbs as well like 6S6 indicator bulbs which can be used in bubble Lights. The store is The College Toolbox. "The College Toolbox provides students with the tools necessary to begin their college careers and for years to come." I found that amusing because these bulbs are older than most College students!
For the G.E. replacement bulbs, go to : http://www.thecollegetoolbox.com/geelli.html

04/13/09

Well spring is finally here and the weather is getting warmer. The crocuses just finished blooming, and now the daffodils and hyacinths are in full bloom. Oh - wait this website is about LIGHT bulbs!

What's next? I am still adding more light sets to the site and will be redoing the photographs of some sets to make them look more three dimensional. I also have plans to redesign the site to take advantage of high speed internet.

I now have an e-mail account just for this site!
Perhaps you have a question or comment, or want to point out an error or omission in the information on my site. I am always doing research and appreciate additional information. So, if you have any information to contribute, please email me at the address below.
If you would like to contact me just fire up your favorite email program, and type in, or copy/paste, the following address, replacing (at) with @.

yulelights(at)entermail.net
Remember there's a .net at the end, not .com

Update I am unable to reply to hotmail. My replies keep getting returned as undeliverable!
In fact somewhere out in cyberspace is a hotmail user who cannot get my replies! I have sent 3 so far!
I do not have the time to try to troubleshoot the problem, so I cannot accept hotmail messages until further notice.
I'm sure a spammer or hacker could get through with no problem.

I have to do it this way to foil spammers. This is webmail so please limit any attachments to under 1MB.
I am still busy with my job, doing yard and house work. But I can still find time to add stuff now and then.

From the webmaster.
J. S. Pilliteri

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