Early I know, but I thought I would buy some new Xmas lights whilst there was plenty of choice:
Like previous sets I have had, the wall wart has a pushbutton to cycle through the various flashing modes, but I usually stick to a restrained "steady".
I gave them a quick test, set them to steady, and all was well. I tried them again later, only to find that the operating mode had reset, and they flashed wildly. Further testing shows that any interruption above a few seconds (ie time for the internal capacitors to discharge) has this effect.
I can't believe this is an intentional design change, but am waiting a response to my query from B&Q. There could be some frenetically flashing lights around the country.
The annoying thing is that I don't really want the flashing capability. Looking on line non-flashing are available, usually as plug-together sets, but seem to be to a better standard, and thus significantly more expensive.
Do I hear voices saying take an angle grinder to the wall wart, and link out the flasher? I guess that, as it is no doubt an electronic "transformer", everything is crammed on one board, not really made for modification.
Chris