Santa SERVO
Surprises Upstate
New York
by Dave Graham
The city of Johnstown in upstate New York roared to life on Friday night,
November 16, 2012 as 70 groups from Fulton, Montgomery, and Saratoga
counties converged on the town to display their floats and to march in the
annual holiday parade. Leading the charge this year was a float designed
as a collaborative effort between the Electrical Technology (Electech) Club
and the Radiology Technology Program of Fulton Montgomery Community
College (FMCC).
Electech Club President Heath Hill took the lead and got to work early planning and building the float (Figure 1) with a student-designed computer
controlled light show. The light show consisted of 25
strands of multi-colored lights controlled by a Parallax BASIC
Stamp driving a relay control board (Figure 2). Hill used a
Honda 2KW generator to power the float. The Radiology
program added their special touch to the show by following
the float with a skeleton in a wheelchair.
FIGURE 1. Electech Club
float under construction
(note the boxes of SERVOs
at the lower left).
62 SERVO 02.2013
