[Shop-talk] xmas lights that don't suck?

[Mark Andy]

Howdy,

On Sat, 29 Nov 2008, Bill Rabel wrote:
> I have converted completely to LED strings, as suggested by another 
> response. Every joint is soldered, so there are no fluky contacts. They 
> run cool, use less power, and seem to be more durable than the old 
> incandescent strings. Strangely, they come labeled with the same warning 
> to limit plugging more than three in series. This seems too 
> conservative, as they draw far less current than the old-style bulbs.

So I picked up some LED lights at Target (bonus, no annoying bell 
ringers). Phillips 60 bulb multi-colored LEDs.

These things look identical to regular filament setups. Same style plug, 
same extra wires as part of the strand, etc. Presumably something is doing 
a conversion from AC to DC for the leds? Where is that done? There aren't 
AC LEDs are there? It can't be in the plug itself I don't think, since you 
can either plug them into the wall or into the end of the next string. The 
bulbs appear to have a polarity, so it must be in each socket? That's 
pretty crazy.

More importantly, if you pull one of the bulbs, half the strand dies, 
which isn't really something I want.

Are there different styles of LED xmas lights?

Mark