Family's light display attracts onlookers

Driving past a high-tech holiday light display in Highlands Ranch has turned into an annual tradition that attracts families from all over the metro area.

The Wortham family spends three days strategically placing 43,000 LED lights all over their house at 1582 Meyerwood Circle and synchronizing them to Christmas music that plays on an fm station that passers-by can tune into. Cleve Wortham said the display slowly evolved and three years ago was turned into a mechanism to raise money for charity.

United Cerebral Palsy Colorado is the beneficiary of donations that onlookers drop into a box in the Worthams' front yard. This year's donations have dropped sharply, however, the past two years have generated $7,000 for kids with cerebral palsy.

The compliments and thank-you cards from those who make the display a part of their holiday season are well-received, Wortham said.

"My biggest kick is watching people enjoying something you worked on," he said. "For some people, it makes their Christmas season and that's very satisfying."

The idea came about when Wortham's youngest daughter suggested during a trip around Denver to see the light displays that the family attempt to get listed with others in the Denver Post by building their own production. Putting the whole thing together is a group effort, with the take-down being the most important part, Wortham said.

The family uses energy efficient light bulbs, cutting the total cost for running the computer-animated light exhibit to about $150. Neighbors surrounding the home have been very supportive. The lights will be turned off on New Year's Day.

One intersection that led to the city looking into the project was Alabama Highway 69 South and Skyland Boulevard, Robinson said.

"That one got us looking at how we can better get the attention of drivers that are just ignoring red lights," Robinson said.

The study will break down types of accidents and try to pull out of that list the intersections that show the highest rate of right-angle collisions.

Robinson said the process to get legislative approval for red light cameras in Tuscaloosa began seven years ago. The Legislature passed a state law in 2010 allowing the city to use the cameras for traffic enforcement.

"Designing with LEDs"

Mouser Electronics, Inc., regarded as a top design engineering resource and global distributor for semiconductors and electronic components, today announced its sponsorship of EDN's Designing with LEDs event during the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) this week at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA.

The September 27thLED seminar will bring together editors of EDN and EE Times, circuit designers, system architects, LED light designers, device packaging engineers, lighting component designers, academic leaders and the industry's movers and shakers to explore the world of High-Brightness (HB) LEDs while learning new design techniques. Mouser suppliers Cree and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors will be among the panelists discussing the importance of light quality in LED design.

Mouser's sponsorship underscores the distributor's commitment to offer the newest innovations in Solid State Lighting (SSL). Mouser has made it a mission to be the distributor with the most advanced lighting solutions by expanding its lighting line card and offering Product Knowledge Center training sites for the newest lighting technologies. This is coupled with Mouser's pledge to offer the latest products in-stock and ready-to-ship, same day,the industry's award-winning site for searching, selecting and purchasing SSL components and modules for quick delivery.

"EDN's Designing with LEDs offers Mouser the opportunity to directly interact and engage with lighting designers," says Russell Rasor, Mouser Vice President of Advanced Technologies. "Mouser is committed to providing the most complete and comprehensive line-up of ready-to-ship LED components and modules, optical solutions, LED driver ICs and supplies, thermal, connecting, and mounting solutions for SSL design. This event helps Mouser demonstrate its commitment to partner with our suppliers in articulating the benefits of solid-state lighting."

The global design-fulfillment distributor is focused on solving the problems of solid-state lighting designers by providing them with the broadest selection of the most advanced technologies. Mouser offers customers 19 global customer support centers and the latest, most technologically advanced components for their newest design projects.

The website is updated daily and searches more than 8 million products to locate over 2 million orderable part numbers available for easy online purchase. Mouser also houses an industry-first interactive catalog, data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools.