A few weeks ago, my Christmas lights (carefully wound around a rolled-up Radio Times from Christmas 1997) worked fine when I dug them out from the back of a cupboard and plugged them in.
They also worked fine when I checked them again this morning.
So I switch them off, unrolled them (laying them out carefully on the floor) - and put them up.
In great excitement, I switched them on again - and yet another heroic failure!
Why does this happen each year?
You really need to follow the herd and buy new ones every year. Still not go around to putting our 40 year old ones up.
It's a plot to make you buy new ones.
Have a few sets (LED) all the same, for the tree. The 'string' plugs into the PS. This year, one PS had failed. Being a tight arse, cut it open to see if it could be fixed. Soon worked out it was the mains to low volts side which had failed, while the 'flasher' part was OK. Not the usual failed cap, so used a +/-15v volt supply I had lying around to give the
30v or so needed to drive the 'flasher' part and therefore the lights.In message , DerbyBorn writes
What! I've actually still got a set of lights from around 1950 (happy memories of my childhood). They had 20 12V bulbs, but nearly half have died - and I've used up the few spares that were there.
However, if pressed into service, they can still give a good account of themselves if I put a bit of silver paper in the sockets of the dead bulbs before screwing them in (so they are shorted out) - and either run them from either on around half voltage (from a transformer), or directly from the mains with a diode in series (which will half the average current).
However, the set that's causing me grief today is much more modern set of 40 - and it's probably only a little over 30 years old. I've now taken them down - and as I have a few spares, so I suppose the next step is to spend half the afternoon ensuring that all bulbs are tight - and if that doesn't work, either check each in turn with a meter, or by substitution. If necessary, I suppose I'll have to wait until they are selling them off cheap just after Christmas, and buy a new set for next year!
I am the only one in our Avenue without LED lights! (for Xmas decoration that is)
Because Christmas comes once a year.
Bill
Never thought of that. It's just as well I don't also have to use the same lights for Hannuka, Eid, Diwal and Holi.
Anyway, I've fixed the little buggers - flex broken at one light, and go-return flexes shorting out at another. Maybe it really is time to look at an LED set (but would it be any better?).
no wonder you have more money than you know what to do with .....scrooge.....good man
Filament sets have always been hopelessly unreliable. Except the set I once made that ran them in parallel. Go LED, they make so much more sense. Just beware of the totally annoying flashing control circuits usually included.
NT
Make sure that you get a set which will remember w2hat flashing /static setting you want. CPC have some
Malcolm
In message , Jim GMDHJ ... writes
I believe my grandfather was from Jockland - which might explain things.
My mother was from Jockland and my father from Yorkshire.
A Yorkshireman is like a Scotsman stripped of his generosity.
No, get some with no flashing bs.
NT
if you think jock is ok why do people not like the term paki ?......
speshly on moderated groups?....
Lots of reasons. 1 they may have been in a loft with huge temp swings over the year or perhaps if they are of the bulbed type some of the bulbs worked loose as you laid them out etc, or possibly they are close to end of design life and are telling you to replace cheap third world nation manufactured lights with cheap third world manufactured LED ones that have a terrible RF interference generating psu or control device? I Any way, this used to happen to me until I found the perfect answer. I stopped bothering with trees decorations of any sort. Christmas nearly always brings a failure of some piece of domestic electronics in any case so why add to the chaos? My Trucall memory card has been corrupted and now won't work, of course this was bound to occur this time of year when it would be nice to record those Xmas phone calls to friends etc. I fully expect a water leak next or perhaps a volcano to erupt in my back garden..:-)
Brian
Well I used to use an old set as a way to lengthen the chain and hence reduce the voltage on each bulb. That way they would neverblow. Of course when the blow shorted ones came out they became a death trap or a money making device for bulb makers for rather obvious reasons, even if you bought a set of 5 fuse bulbs they used to get lost between Christmasses and hence when one did blow, you had to go out and buy another pack. The other thing about the old kind is that seeing as all the wiring was, in effect at mains voltage unless they were running of course, you could not buy them any more as making them double insulated made the cabling and holders rather clunky and stiff. Brian
About five years ago, I was told that a friend had bought bulbs for such a set. they were les 12v bulbs each with a moulded glass apparently decorated glass of things like santa, tree snow covered cottage,dodgy looking stars etc. They were of course made in China and looked a bit naff in the wiring department where they entered the bulb holder, but ehey did work and the bulbs blew open circuit which at leas was safe from the fire standpoint at least. It was a market stall in some northern town.
I suspect these things are still made, but modern safety regs normally stops them from appearing here. If someone is willing to use silver paper on a non isolated mains voltage device, I'm glad I was not insuring him! Brian
My grandfather was always called "Jock". (He lived and worked in England) He did not feel insulted by it.
We have a minority cult in the UK that likes to feel insulted on behalf of others. They have FA else to do.
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