Recent content by David_AVD

I thought they were Bluetooth? Does it say wi-fi on it anywhere? EDIT: it does appear to be Bluetooth only, so unlikely to have an appropriate module inside.

A rough guide to current carrying capacity is 10 Amps per 1 square mm. So a 2.5mm (cross sectional area, not diameter) wire can carry about 25 Amps. This works well for shorter distances, but beware of voltage drop on longer runs. For 240V power losing a few volts over a 10m run is no big deal...

I'm surprised that it's held up. Have you had any really hot days?

It's 2 wires in (from the transformer) and 3 wires out (to the star) as far as I can see.

I'm not certain that this particular MFC can be easily bypassed. It seems to use a variant of the polarity witching method normally seen with 2 wire light sets.

Power supply brands other than Mean Well may be ok as long as they have data sheets with the relevant information available. I can speak for cold weather (we don't get it where I live), so will leave it to others to comment on that.

I completely agree that current draw is really what you need to look at. Measured current draw is is the ultimate way to go. Only yesterday I was pondering about adding the actual current draw at 100% white on the voltage tags I already put on each prop male tail. I'll be making up a simple...

I would always ask for a reference to the specific rule / law that that is supposedly being broken. They should be able to provide one. You can also ask to speak to their supervisor (or get their details) if you feel that you're being pressured into something with no reason.

From memory the "80% rule" came about mainly due to people using "no name" power supplies. The output rating on them was always a bit suspect so better to run them at less than full rated power. It has no bearing on the efficiency of the power supply which is about conversion losses; more...

Seed pixels are just one more tool we can use. I think they look much nicer (and proportional) on smaller trees, especially indoor ones. The inline nature of the lights is useful in itself too.

Have you ever measured the real strand count and size for the extensions? A lot of the "0.75mm" (18 AWG) marked ones from various suppliers have turned out to be 0.5mm CSA (20 AWG).

That link comes up with "No products were found matching your selection."

Also check that you are feeding data into the correct end of the strip.

I got aluminium stakes for mine from AliExpress. Search for garden light stake.

Love them.