An LED lamp with seven 5050 LEDs each containing three chips with warm-white phosphor. The power supply is the simplest capacitive dropper possible.
I changed the original capacitor for a much lower value of 100nF to make the lamp work as a low level ambient or nightlight. The greatly reduced current through the LEDs will extend their life considerably.
I did a project about this on my website at http://www.bigclive.com/ledlmp.htm
I changed the original capacitor for a much lower value of 100nF to make the lamp work as a low level ambient or nightlight. The greatly reduced current through the LEDs will extend their life considerably.
I did a project about this on my website at http://www.bigclive.com/ledlmp.htm
kinda like those "beta caps" base , the Edison has one drawback if you don't know if the power is on or not. You hear the crackle of electricity it startles you and crack goes the bulb (cfl's usually. ) With your base, all your doing is pushing it in and turning. there shouldn't be the barely there crackle because the contacts are almost there to the point of turning on but not quite . Unless you spin the edison very fast .. LED's do about the same thing but your not snapping off 2 twigs of a CFL tube :O This rarely happens but in theory I like the UK type better..
I got it from an online supplier called Rapid Electronics. You can use any typical X2 suppression capacitor rated for mains voltage. They are easy to find in most suppliers. I wouldn't recommend increasing the value of the capacitor above what's in the lamp already, as the LEDs are often being pushed quite hard and they could fail extremely quickly if subjected to too much current. Reducing the value has the effect of extending the LED life though.
where did you get the replacement capacitor maplin or did you have it in your parts drawer
It was originally 330nF, although the value will vary depending on the mains voltage in your part of the world. I did a project about this on my website. I've added the link in the video description above.
what was the standard capacitor value?
If iIput a higher value one such as a 200nF for example would it be brighter? I guess the life would be a lot shorter
I changed the current limiting capacitor for a much lower value (100nF – 400V) so that the current through the LEDs was reduced to just a few milliAmps. It makes it ideal as a night light or ambient lighting feature, and extends the life of the LEDs by a significant level.
I have one of these in my bed lamp, what did you modify?