While ebay has some very low quality Chinese stuff on it, this little LED night light really takes the biscuit. It's visually unpleasant and has such hideously underrated components that it's only fit for the bin.
The circuitry is the most minimalist capacitive dropper possible, with a 100nF cap (with 820K discharge resistor in parallel) in series with three LEDs wired as a single LED and a pair in inverse parallel so it alternates between one LED and two on each half wave of the mains cycle, and a 330 ohm resistor to limit inrush current. Sadly the capacitor which is suspiciously small only has a voltage rating of 100V which is far short of the peak UK mains voltage (230/240V AC) of around 330V. Yeah, rated at less than a THIRD of the supply voltage.
In use the light flickers very visibly due to the alternating between the LEDs on each half cycle.
Such a shame. With a tiny bit more effort it could have been made much nicer.
The circuitry is the most minimalist capacitive dropper possible, with a 100nF cap (with 820K discharge resistor in parallel) in series with three LEDs wired as a single LED and a pair in inverse parallel so it alternates between one LED and two on each half wave of the mains cycle, and a 330 ohm resistor to limit inrush current. Sadly the capacitor which is suspiciously small only has a voltage rating of 100V which is far short of the peak UK mains voltage (230/240V AC) of around 330V. Yeah, rated at less than a THIRD of the supply voltage.
In use the light flickers very visibly due to the alternating between the LEDs on each half cycle.
Such a shame. With a tiny bit more effort it could have been made much nicer.
Total crap then
A polished turd then?
Lets take a moment and appreciate Clive writing upside down and backwards
Anyone else brought here by YouTube's algorithm 6 years later? I think it's running out of things to recommend during lockdown.
This crap is allways interesting
I bought these for 75 cents usa. delivered. You really think I was expecting anything more than this?
I've seen worse, but it was an LED keychain light which had been dropped in a literal dog turd… so I'm not entirely certain that it counts.
Nice tea-rdown, mate! Never did like the flickery LEDs. I'll take a neon or incandescent anyday!
no wounder it flickers, its running on 50Hz AC , a single diode can do a half rectificantion that this night light need, but you will have to swap out the rezistors to a higher rated ones
low quality imports shit look for ul rating usually a good product
If it's got a US style plug (US voltage around 120) then it's designed for the US market so it's a bit of a risk if you plug it into 240V.
why do my LEDs do this? ok i've got a 1 meter long strand of LEDs that said they take 12v but when I cut off the old 12v adapter and connected an old 9v adapter they run brighter.
Dear Clive: I have a nice, cheap 120-V. Walmart night light. But flicker is discernable in one's peripheral – not direct vision.
Circuit is: Left plug prong -> [diode] -> [1/4-Watt 10,000 ohm 5% resistor] -> LED[o] -> switch -> right plug prong.
Nice, warm 2700K light! Why is its flicker not terribly noticeable 60 Hz halfwave flicker?
Is there microcircuitry in the [o] wafer? (It has 6 leads but I can't see where they go.) Squinting, I can see that the 3 mm orange-ish yellow dot has three little bright spots inside. I assume it is a phophorescent material excited from UV LEDs beneath. Perhaps that slows ON/OFF smoothing out flicker.
How can I eliminate ALL flicker? I want to mount this in our grandmother clock aimed down to illuminate the brass chains, weights and pendulum bob. Thank you. Robert USA
Your apple light has LEDs cleverly reversed in polarity to reduce flicker. (Illuminates each side of the AC sine wave.)
maybe it was intended for use on 110v ac supply, why they used a 100v cap? even so, peak volts would be around 150v…. BANG!
What??? The bin??? your not gonna rewire it and make it work correctly?
But they keep making 'em because people keep buying 'em and they make money off 'em.
China? More like my bum!