LED christmas lights

[Brado78]

Hey Gang I bought some LED lights for my windows. The original strings shorted out, I know I can't plug LED's into mini light strings, but can I plug in a regular LED into a LED light set into one with a motion controller
The Cascading Icicles for example?

Thanks a lot

Brad

 

[Herr Kutz]

Christmas lights are so boring these days. Everyone has the same whitish-yellow "icicle" lights.

 

[BoomerD]

Hey Gang I bought some LED lights for my windows. The original strings shorted out, I know I can't plug LED's into mini light strings, but can I plug in a regular LED into a LED light set into one with a motion controller
The Cascading Icicles for example?

Thanks a lot

Brad

Why can't you plug LED'S into incandescent strings? They use the same electricity...the only REAL limitation (that I'm aware of) is a limit on how many strings you can connect.

As for connecting the controlled string to a "normal" string...that SHOULD work...but the controller probably won't affect the "normal" string.

 

[Brado78]

I read somewhere that mini light strings are wired in series and they don't get a long with LED's

 

[BoomerD]

I read somewhere that mini light strings are wired in series and they don't get a long with LED's

Well....fuck me. It appears that's correct...

 

[13Gigatons]

I love LED Xmas lights...such an improvement over the older duller lights and they use much less power.

 

[lxskllr]

I love LED Xmas lights...such an improvement over the older duller lights and they use much less power.

I like all lights(#ILM!). LEDS are nifty due to the power requirements. I got some usb lights today to decorate my work computer. I also have some wired to a usb port in my truck. Makes it festive, and lights up the tray area near the floor. Incandescents look good too, but are harder to deal with.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I read somewhere that mini light strings are wired in series and they don't get a long with LED's

Both ends are still going to be parallel. 120vac in 120vac out. Or are you talking about the individual bulbs? Most leds don't have changeable bulbs, which is kinda annoying, since half the fun is buying a bunch of sets then making different color patterns by changing bulbs around.

I do like to full wave rectify LEDs as well so the flicker is not so bad so I make sure not to plug any loads at the other end that won't like DC power. Eventually want to look at making a 120vdc SMPS that produces a smooth voltage to remove the flicker altogether, even at 120hz you can somewhat see it. You can add a capacitor to 120vac but you will get 170vdc which might be too much for the lights as they are designed with half wave 120vac in mind so they are probably underspec as is for that voltage.

This is how a typical light set is wired:



Had to rewire one to make it DC compatible as not all sub strings will be the same polarity, that was fun...



The longer the set the more series strings there will be inside, but the plug on the end is just a regular outlet as there's always two wires that just pass right through as the sub strings tie in to them. The limitation to how many you can plug in one string is the gauge of the wires and ability to handle the amperage from whatever is at the other end. If you are going to put a lot together, make sure the thicker ones are first as they will be carrying the most current. Though thickness is not that great of an indicator since it might just be thicker insulation. If it specifies the wire gauge then go with that. I don't imagine most sets are any more than 18-20 gauge though so I would not put more than like 5 amps through a set to play things safe. With LEDs you can go a long way though.

 

[Brado78]

Thanks I am still a fan of the old C7' and C9's btw

 

[BoomerD]

Thanks I am still a fan of the old C7' and C9's btw

I believe you can connect the LEDs with the C7 and C9 strings...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Thanks I am still a fan of the old C7' and C9's btw

Same, though it seems they are harder to get now and don't know if it's me but I find the bulbs are cheaper now, they burn out or even just get broken filaments more easily. They do make LED replacement bulbs, I've been tempted to go that route but they arn't cheap. Would need to buy a couple bulbs to see how I like them and see if it's worth it. They would last a very long time. For their price I would hope they have built in rectification and maybe even smoothing capacitor. That would have me sold.

 

[Brado78]

I've seen those too but, Canadian Tire sells them but they are getting expensive. I can see the c7's and c9's eventually disappearing in the next couple of years