I wanted to see how low the price and quality could go with the strings of LED lights, so I ordered the cheapest set in ebay. For a start they are actually tungsten lamps and not LED, and sadly they shimmer horribly due to the use of a single diode as a rectifier.
This set was full of "surprises".
This set was full of "surprises".
I love tungsten lights. Especially the small ones with low voltage, that you could get at lantern sticks for children festival "Sankt Martin" or in flashlights 🙂
I just prefer them because I love the idea about a small wire glowing 🙂
Just like watching a candle burn or some wood fire burn, it has something special for me. I prefer it over LED because of this 🙂
It just amazes me sometimes as to how much crap there is out there. And they got your money, too!
it's not often you hear a pile of cheap crap being described as "Interesting"………! I suppose, you could snip out all the bulbs and reuse them on a model railway layout? At least they'd have an "authentic" tungsten lighting effect!
The quality is very poor. But it's a pleasent surprise to see incandescent fairy lights again.
Most of our home ones have been updated to LED (albeit warm white) but it's just not the same.
Given the price and rarity of tiny tungsten lamps these days, these strings might actually be a great source for them. That is, if you can find the right listing.
I didn't get a plug piece will they not work without it?
Seems there are no regulations or standards on electrical items from china ? …..it is shocking the quality of the tatt you can get on eBay …… and people putting their lives at risk using this rubbish .
Why are there 3 output wires?
Is it possible to bypass the controller? Just have all lights on at once?
Here in Romania these things are very common, I hade these since I was a kid. On some sites you can get them as cheap as 1$. Some are better than others, obviosly, I fixed maybe 100 of these things. 🙂
Isn't it amazing that people with design and manufacturing skills would apply them to making such dangerous tat?
The plug is just a piece of art! It brings a tear to the eye.
is your mains 240 or 120v? because if you run it on 120v.. (24w?) couse it look like its made for an 240v mains! (scaninavian)
Once I bought a power cable from chinese store (its price was the same or even a little bit higher, than it would be in normal electronics store) and when I've been using it for some time, I noticed that insulation was all melted together… Of course I was scared and happy at the same time, because the thing didn't get caught on fire. Once I've unplugged it, I could easily tear the cable apart only with my hands (insulation was so weak), and when I looked inside, instead of three 0.75mm2 wires, there were like three 0.3mm2 wires. I was shocked. Even though I paid normal or even higher price for that cable, it wasn't made as it should be.
And I'm noticing all the time, that they're still selling those car jumper cables, with current rating of 1000 amps, with 2.5mm2 cable inside… Even though this is usually not such a problem, than with cables that are used inside of house, It's still not nice to people who buy such things unknowingly – and can even be dangerous…
Best regards, Electron 🙂
I want to thank you for these videos about the deadly LED lights. I ordered a set off of ebay without knowing about how shoddy they were. Thankfully, the seller refunded my money when I complained, but your videos saved me from plugging them in outside and possibly setting me up for either a fire or a lawsuit.