Abstract: A decorative lighting apparatus has user-selectable color schemes for a variety of different applications. In one illustrative embodiment, a selective illumination of two or more light colors in accordance with a first sports team color scheme is provided in response to a first user switch setting of the decorative lighting strand, a selective illumination of two or more light colors in accordance with a second sports team color scheme is provided in response to a second user switch setting of the decorative lighting strand, and a selective illumination of two or more light colors in accordance with a third sports team color scheme is provided in response to a third user switch setting of the decorative lighting strand. The sports team color schemes may be for soccer teams, football teams, or baseball teams, as examples.

Abstract: A decorative light strand has user-selectable color schemes corresponding to each holiday for year-round use. In one illustrative embodiment, the light strand has a plurality of lights; a decorating selector comprising a switch which provides a plurality of user-selectable settings; and logic coupled to the switch and the plurality of lights to provide different holiday color schemes in response to the user-selectable settings.

Abstract: A decorative lighting apparatus provides user-selectable color schemes corresponding to several holidays and other occasions for year-round use. In one illustrative example, the decorative lighting apparatus includes control circuitry which has a plurality of color-control outputs for coupling to color-control terminals of each one of a plurality of color-controllable lights along a decorative light strand. The control circuitry is operative to illuminate the color-controllable lights with any given color scheme by repeatedly time-multiplexing color-control signals at the color-control outputs to different interleaved sets of color-controllable lights along the decorative light strand. Each color-controllable light is a Red-Green-Blue (RGB) Light-Emitting Diode (LED). Preferably, the time-multiplexing rate is sufficient such that the RGB LEDs appear to be simultaneously illuminated along the strand (e.g. 32 Hertz or greater).

Abstract: A decorative lighting apparatus includes a decorative light strand having first, second, and third wires, each with a plurality of lamps coupled in series therealong, and a return wire coupled to ends of the first, the second, and the third wires. Each lamp of the plurality of lamps has a first light-emitting diode (LED) device coupled in parallel and in reverse orientation with a second LED device. The first, the second, and the third wires are positioned together such that each lamp of the first, the second, and the third pluralities are positioned adjacent to each other but sufficiently separated such that little or no color mixing occurs between the lamps. The apparatus also includes a controller adapted to control the plurality of lamps to provide different user-selectable color schemes in various simultaneously-illuminated combinations of color.

Abstract: A decorative lighting apparatus includes a decorative light strand having a plurality of addressable color-controllable red-green-blue (RGB) light-emitting diode (LED) nodes positioned therealong; a decorating selector which provides a plurality of user-selectable switch settings; control circuitry; and memory. The control circuitry selects, from the memory, stored holiday color data associated with a user-selectable switch setting and sends the holiday color data over one or more data lines to addressable color-controllable RGB LED nodes associated with LED node address data. Preferably, the plurality of holiday color schemes include color schemes for most major U.S. holidays including Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Independence Day, and Halloween.