Love the way that you can make a simple bulb interesting viewing. Until I found this channel I had no interest whatsoever in electronics but I’m now addicted! I’ve got myself a soldering iron and make little projects. I don’t understand everything you say but most of it makes sense now. It’s a hobby I never thought I’d ever have so thank you. I’ve become a patron as a way of giving back and now I have even more content to indulge in. Awesome! Keep it up.
I started watching about 8 years ago. I understood each component but didn't understand how they would be used together in a circuit. The lighting industry has slowly changed how they power LED's. it has been great seeing those power supplies change over time.
Hands down a fantastic tear down and rebuild. This is what I enjoy seeing. They build it, you make it better. I'm ready to purchase the BCB line of lighting Big Clive Bulbs. Built to the better standards.
I really appreciate that you demonstrate unplugging things altogether when working with them. I've seen a handful of cases where people got a shock from something they assumed was off just because they turned off the switch or breaker and left it plugged into its socket. Also completely removes the risk of a switch being turned on accidentally either by fumbling around on a bench or someone else not realizing you have your fingers in a dangerous spot. Lock out/tag out helps but there will always be people that don't understand the risk of "just doing it anyway"
I've been a fan for a couple of years now and love Clive's vids, I also love the subtle humor he puts in there. Whether or not others notice, one of my favorite things is the "C(K)ink Palculator". I'm a huge fan of letter/word reversal and I get a little chuckle every time I hear it on top of the fact that the general video is informative and entertaining. I've learned much from you Clive. Thank you!
Love how you also look after your viewers from across the pond. Nobody else seems to do that. Another reason you are number one and so universally admired. Going the extra mile, to be so inclusive takes a lot of extra effort - thanks again.
This lamp seems interesting in two ways. I like it because the LED was being under-run, meaning that the LEDs themselves in the filament would have lasted a very long time (and given that festoon lights may be lit for several hours at a time, it makes sense to get the most lifespan possible from them). On the other hand, that regulator drawing more power than the LED itself is incredibly inefficient and explains why the 1W filament (being ran at 0.3W) was much dimmer than the 2W lamp with 2 filaments!
That bothers me, too. They go from incandescent filament to LED to "save" energy, then they turn around and waste half of the power drawn. Kind of like going from a Hummer to a Mini but then driving the Mini with flat tires.
I am using the same Dubai light but it runs on 12 volt DC, 1 Watt. Currently running under test using LiFePo⁴ battery, plan to connect small solar panel to charge it. Use for sleep light hence why I went with just 1 watt light. Really love it's warm color.
@@bigclivedotcom woah.. I didn't know that. This 12volt, I have to bought it from China because I can't find it here. If I can find 3volt, I can save lot's of unnecessary hardware and cost for what I have in my mind. Thanks for telling me that, I really appreciate it 👍
i got home this evening after a friendly night out. Ver pleasant. And what do I come home to? a new vid from my favorite Clive! Thank you so much for showing how you play with live mains electricity. So refreshing. And, thank you for using math to show us how we understand the world. Super cool how you tested your hack and evaluated it's performance. Thanks!
I know its the wrong subject, but, i have just watched and thoroughly enjoyed your 3 year old talk about G3 mega death rays. Its the best explanation i ever heard, great for a nincompoop like me. I do not have youe electrical expertise, so i tap into yours. The only problem is the idiots who are still setting fire to phone masts with that same (NON) argument will never read your item or undefstand how they have ever got it so wrong. Thanks once again.
I've found that this style of single filament festoon lamps (120V versions anyway) seem to dim quite nicely on theatrical dimmers. Make no mistake, there's still a fair bit of "pop on" you have to program your cues around, and a small incandescent ghost load does improve the quality of the dimmer curve immensely. But in a pinch in an age where getting bulk quantities of traditional tungsten incandescent lamps is so difficult (and sometimes illegal) worth keeping in mind when someone wants the look. (Specifically, it works on at least generic SCR circuits, as well as Colortran ENR and Strand CD80 racks)
This style clive shows here would not dimm well on any kind of dimmer because of the filter cap. Or at least with an insanely reduced range of the dimmer, maybe 30-50% equal to 0-full The ones with just the current regulator do in fact dimm perfectly, although they come on at about 20% or so and have full intensity at 80%, but nothing you cant compensate for The ones with an capacitive dropper are also dimmable, but I would suggest an trailing edge dimmer for that, since the sharp rising edge on an leading edge dimmer (SCR) probably kills the lamp very quick. And or course they do flicker a hell of a lot, especially dimmed. Which is bad for every camera related thing
Back in the last years of incandescent light bulbs, they were opaque instead of clear. When these LED filaments started apearing they switched to clear glass (probably to show off the new technology) but I wonder why they keep using clear glass nowadays. Opaque glass gives much more even lighting. For the floppy circular shaped filaments I see the purpose (just looks nice) but for straight stick shaped filaments opaque would be much better.
@@alexatkin Yeah I know it's meant to be decorative but I just think the spiral shaped flexible filaments have replaced them by now. The straight ones look kinda boring.
Some people like it frosted because they don't like it too bright or piercing to look at. My mother is one of them. She said the light would be too sharp, too bright. Some people like it clear because they like to see brighter light with lesser wattage. I am this type. But depending on application, I might use the frosted one too. So, it depends on what you want to use it for.
Most LEDs that are non decorative like the filament lights in this video are frosted here in Germany It would require some searching to find one that is clear
Always really happy when you leave the slowly tearing open things in the video cause i like it. I assume this is because i've torn many things apart for similar reason and something about it is satisfying.
I have lived through a rather nasty power outage situation that lasted nearly 72 hours. I am sure others have had it far worse, but 72 hours was quite enough for me thank you very much. Given that some people will have to sustain themselves on whatever battery power they have, and also given that the human eye can typically do extremely well in low-light conditions, I wouldn't mind having this bulb configuration as an emergency light. But I don't necessarily want it to run from an AC power source. Thankfully most of the larger sized power bank batteries come with a light on them anyhow. I also think it might be sufficient as a bathroom and/or hallway light, but would be better as a single plug-in unit, rather than a bulb base.
All these 0.8 to 3W-ish bulbs available these days are brilliant, I have them in pretty much every room in the house and they give enough light and it really doesn't matter at all if I leave them running 24/7. Probably using like 5 watts to keep my apartment lit up all night
@@Okurka. I suppose if you really want to save the lifespan of a $1 bulb. I'm just saying I don't need to have one of those ultra dim night lights anymore when a 1W bulb is bright enough to read but also doesn't break the bank if I leave it on all night
Big Clive Bulbs. Super efficient, cool running, and last decades; as if made for a Prince in a foreign land. Available in white as well as traditional pink.
Current regulation is used to keep the LED illumination consistent. What I have seen used to make a current regulator is a simple voltage regulator with a load resistor on the output. The LED array low side is connected to the power of the regulator. The load resistor then sets the current in the LED array regardless of the supply voltage. Just using resistors will cause a variation in LED current based on the supply voltage. I have LED bulbs in my house that dim with even a 2V dip in the house voltage (i.e. when I use the microwave on the same circuit). These LED bulbs use the less expensive resistor method you suggest. Using a linear current regulator is more expensive but provides more consistent lighting.
These look like the bulbs that came with my festoons here in the US. They're 1W also, with the single "filament". I borrowed one of the spares to replace the 11W incandescent appliance bulb I was using in my bedside lamp -- It's the same form factor, and has a similar light output. The only difference is that these little LED bulbs are warmer in color.
Builders like Festoon temporary lighting but not sure the Pink lamp holders and double entry bulbs would go down very well but this is another Clive classic video with educated analysis
ahhh finally! i have 20 of the 2w leds in the garden within eye range, theyre so unbelieveably bright i never use them! these look like they will do the trick! tried spraying the bulbs with frosting etc and no luck!
Another mod to try would be to put a capacitive dropper on the AC input to the existing circuit. The constant current IC should keep things steady, but less power would be dissipated in the IC.
The best thing about this channel is how every once in a while you'll end up seeing who is behind the hands and the voice. Reminds me a bit of tool time
Clive, I've got a bit of a curious question regarding LED lights & dimmers. How does one determine if a LED light is dimmable, if the packaging had no mention of dimmability? If you haven't already covered this subject I would also be interested in learning more about lights & dimmers; incandescent vs. LED. My lovely wife bought me some LED shop lights that are as bright as the sun, with a power switch & 3-position color temperature switch, but no dimmer. I'd like to dim them, so that I don't need sunglasses in my shop! ;) They're cheap enough, that I'm comfortable with taking them to bits, to get them down to a reasonable brightness. I'm interested in your thoughts. As always, thanks for the education! :)
Honestly the easiest way is probably too just send it. Try it on a dimmer, if it dims smoothly and evenly it's probably fine. If it resisists and goes all screwy then it probably doesn't.
I know I cannot be alone in this, but I like the ever so slight dim 'glow' that a non-discharge/load resistor LED lamp provides for hallways and storage room illumination. Free night light that never needs changing/replacing, and it doesn't (potentially) eat up a plug socket.
@@bigclivedotcom I have one for ya,.. that I haven't quite figured out. The "Monster Basics" LED Lighting Strips. You can get the 6.5 ft (1.8 meters 😉) strip for $6 bucks (4.8 pounds 😂) here at Big 5 all the time. I've bought a few, because they are pretty cool for a lot of things,.. BUT. They really have a hard time picking up the IR Remote Commands. And I'm not sure why. I have found that the Shrink Wrap often covers most of the IR receiver. But even trimming that down. It almost takes a Short Range Direct Shot at it to get it to do it's thing. It just is To Directional and Short Range for the design. And it has to be how the IR receiver is mounted. But I've cut up a few. And they all work differently, and at different times. AND THAT'S WEIRD. Atmospheric Conditions shouldn't really matter, in your living room. Unless your living room is,.. 😳 Just kinda a baffling thing. And at $6,.. I just put the ones that work, where I want them to work ☺️ ... im old and lazy, but i got $6 bucks 😂 ALWAYS FUN 👍
I have a similar one watt bulb in our porch coach type lamp, it's just bright enough to illuminate the door way whilst looking decorative in a warm welcoming way. Plus at one watt & on a photocell with timer it doesn't cost a lot to run.
I love these videos. Hopefully stuff will rub off and I'll learn something. I wish I'd paid more attention at college. When I was young and skiving off college, I bought a 47,500 mfd capacitor (can't remember the voltage) to connect to a power supply I had built to put onto an old Dynohub to power a Sony Walkman. If that wee thing in the vid is a death beam capacitor, I was cycling around with a nuclear bomb that didn't even have the oomph to play Def Leppard and power the lights at the same time, downhill, in a tailwind. (I've since learned that the old Sturmey Dynohubs were crafty little buggers that were designed and wound in such a way that they self saturate at 6V 3 W - ish max but were only good for and ever rated as 2 W at best, later billed as 1.8 due to crap magnets).
I use bulbs from that manufacturer for a set of Christmas lights outside. The green bulbs last two months, and all the other colours have lasted three years so far. I’ve not quite worked out why.
I’ve seen a lot of difference in power factor I have a Cree non-cob 13 Watt lamp which is 0.95 PF while an older LG 13 Watt lamp has a 0.6 PF. If you’ve got a large factory, store or whatever with a lot of lamps, then you may be billed according to your actual measured PF. It would be in your interest to choose LED lamps wisely. On the other hand, you could use the capacitive PF of your LED lamps to help offset the inductive PF of any motors you might have. I’ve seen similar a similar thing with server computer power supplies. Some power supplies have terrible PF around 0.5, but you can pay a little extra and get 0.95 PF.
Fearsomely inefficient, really needs to be a partial capacitive dropper into the constant current stage, then it could be flicker free, more efficient, and could probably handle a bit more current set without cooking the chip
I wonder if this could be used as a 110v lamp in North america, Since the linear regulator has such a large voltage across it, to drop. You could possibly put 2 of them connected in series the uk.
The title of this video should have been "Clive shows off his inner Electroboom". Deadbugging a 240V AC circuit is absolutely something I can see him doing, but it would explode when he touched it with the multimeter probes. :)
Who else was ticking off all of Clive fav phrases in this episode? I think he achieved every one of them. "One moment please" "The kink palculator" "Deathbeam capacitor" "Reverse engineering complete" Did I miss any?
Ever since i changed all my lights in my house to LED, i noticed that in the evenings, with some lamps we get some flicker on the lights when the clock reaches a full hour or so. there is also a odd noise coming from a electric moters in my case a fan. i realized that is actually some sort of data transmission to turn on boilers? or tell that it is cheaper power time something like that. it can be pretty annoying.
around 4:08 u said u were takin urs apart so we didnt have to, but now seeing the different construction of this one, makes me want to open a few of mine up even worse to see how theyre built :p at least theyre fairly cheap
One thing that I always wonder about with ES bulbs: It's easy to touch the metal screw part of the bulb when installed in the holder, if the live and neutral were cross wired would you get zapped?
Mains wiring forms a great big capacitor, and can pass current even when things are switched off? That's amazing! How does it work? Is it dangerous? Are LED bulbs affected because they can glow at very low current? At 50Hz, how can current get through? Is it only at a low voltage? Sorry to bombard you but I never heard of light bulbs that stay on when they're switched off. I'd rather have hover-cars, but still, crazy futuristic world we live in!
For fun I just checked a Walmart Great Value tubular 40 Watt equivalent Edison base lamp in the fixture where I am tying this. v=121.4, i=0.04, W=5.7, VA=6.8, PF=0.94. The COB filament appears to have 40 small dots, which corresponds nicely to our US peak voltage of 177 Volts. I can see there is a little circuit board in the base, but can’t tell what’s on it without non-reversible disassembly. The capacitor must be fairly small value. Given the nice correspondence between the filament voltage and peak voltage, this lamp could almost get away with no dropper or regulator at all. (It kind of looks like the math is a bit off on my Kill-a-Watt meter, but in fairness 6 Watts is at the low end of what it is intended to measure.)
Nice light, cheers 2x👍 I saw this and thought of you. Its a news item on the BBC website About dangerous fairy lights Both Amazon and eBay have said they take safety seriously and have removed the items from their websites. (My arse🤣🤣 ) Testing by the consumer group on lights from four retailers found 10 out of 12 sets failed to meet UK electrical equipment safety regulationsor sale on Amazon and ebay
It would be interesting to measure the flicker before and after rebuild. Coz I've always been under impression any driver significantly lowers 100 Hz flickering
@@bigclivedotcom Oh I see... The 8mA is the RMS value of the current. Those 8mA times the 240V RMS gives 2 VA of apparent power (S). The 1 W is the real power (P), and therefore the power factor (PF) = P/S = 1/2 = 0.5. 👍🏼
@@bigclivedotcom it's odd that's it's labeled 220-240V when, as we know, it's perfectly capable of working on 120V... Maybe because then it would only consume 0.5W or so making the 1 watt spec false... Perhaps they sell the exact same bulb into North America but just label it differently.
I don't think Mr deathbeam is around any more, certainly not here! Is it really a 1w bulb, when most of that power is being used by the circuitry... Opens up a few questions about actual power ratings
The death beam guy is a conspiracist who made videos where he showed the inside of an ordinary LED street light and explained that the reason there was a 400V capacitor was to power 5G death beams. Other videos showed him hurling abuse at innocent road workers. For obvious reasons I didn't help promote his channel by linking to it. I think he's still about, presenting himself as an expert in military directed energy weapons.
Here in Canada we have a brand called Noma... I noticed that the 1st batch of lamps were labeled "83ma @ 120V 10watts" were later stamped as "120ma @ 120V 8.5W" and both were touted as 60W equivalents (To incandescent). So, yea, those power ratings are pretty loose.
I wonder how it compares to a 1 W indescedent lamp. 50% blown away in heat anyway. Does this LED give more light output? From here, the little 1W halogeen bulbs that we used here in the past seem to give more lightoutput.
@@bigclivedotcom Exactly what I mean. It might be one of those product that as been designed to work internationally, with no regard on efficiency. They probably sell it here as a 5W bulb and like a 4W in japan (100V there)
Put a resistor across the 270 ohm to raise the wattage from 1/3rd watt to 1 watt. While making it as bright as it should be it will also take load off the linear regulator [make it do less work] and improve the PF. Of course that mod would be hard to implement unless you could easily remove the metal base from the glass without destroying it like you did. They didn't lie for it is 1 watt the problem is almost 70% of that power is wasted as heat in the regulator.
Actually, that would INCREASE the power dissipated by the linear regulator because power is Voltage * Current. The LEDs are diodes and increasing the current through them would not significantly increase the voltage across them, leaving the same voltage drop across the linear regulator as before.
@@kimchristensen2175 Actually not. The voltage across the lamp would be increased along with the wattage across the lamp. The drop across the regulator would be less along with the wattage it would have to dissipate. That is why we use digital PWM to control a mosfet which controls a load so the mosfet is always forward biased at its lowest resistance or off. If you drive a transistor linearly somewhere in the middle of it's range it will generate more heat than when turned on [lowest resistance] fully. In this case driving the lamp brighter would force the regulator to have a lower resistance causing it to dissipate less power. Resistance hi = hi heat Resistance low = low heat How many ways can I put it? Causing a lower voltage drop across the regulator so the voltage applied to the lamp is increased means the resistance of the regulator will be lower thus generating less heat at the regulator.
I've got a led bulb in the living room lamp with the same style slinky 'filament'? that is every bit of 7 inches long like a fish tank bulb and the filament is coiled as it traverses from the base towards the tip. 120 vac and claims 4.5 watts and 200 lumens. I use it precisely for the warm glow it produces. Can't for the life of me figure how that is an led, but yes it is.
Went to that website enthusiastically looking to find a price, and, erm, they don't seem to have any sales other than what I guess is sales to commercial entities with a "Contact us for prices" link, which made me feel sad... :(
I guess their main retail outlet is eBay. Noting that I also bought a set of the cold white ones and they were completely different, complete with flicker.
@@bigclivedotcom I guess their webdev forgot to include their ebay presence in their website's "about us" then, as an aside, I just spotted some other 1W E27 bulbs with what looks to be a PCB holding the filaments which looks a bit odd, "kunzite shatterproof" being the keywords on that listing...
@@bigclivedotcom Just found them, and ah, I already know them, I dismissed them as being overpriced when looking for a suitable low-wattage LED bulb for an outdoor light I never put up (energy cost reasons), shame as they have some neat looking lamps, though (an edit here) I did buy two blue spiral CFLs from them last year, cs I liked them... :P
You are correct. "Festoon lamps" are those little cylindrical lamps with metal caps on each end. However, "festoon lights" are strings of lights hung over patios or work sites to provide general lighting. So what do you call the lamp that goes into a string of festoon lights? I'm not sure 😕
Word of the Day "festoon" (n.) "string or chain of flowers, ribbon, or other material suspended between two points," 1620s, from French feston (16c.), from Italian festone, literally "a festive ornament," apparently from festa "celebration, feast," from Vulgar Latin *festa (see feast (n.)). The verb is attested from 1789.
Very good. I'm thinking, you could just put all of the resistors on the AC side and it would be the same? Also, the lamp is only utilising about 50% of the power consumed, the other 50% is being wasted in the resistors. Wouldn't it be more efficient to use a 230v string of LEDs,
No - flicker on the 1 W - when you placed it across the diode on the HOPI I could see a bit of a flicker. Take a look at your thumb in the video - that where I noticed it. Why would it flicker then?
Could make a Dubai Lamp by putting 2 of those sticks in series for 260V out of the 340V or whatever peak voltage, and have the linear regulator just sop up the 80V leftover voltage. Twice the emitters at the same current would bring twice the brightness and about as much extra efficiency.
Love the way that you can make a simple bulb interesting viewing. Until I found this channel I had no interest whatsoever in electronics but I’m now addicted! I’ve got myself a soldering iron and make little projects. I don’t understand everything you say but most of it makes sense now. It’s a hobby I never thought I’d ever have so thank you. I’ve become a patron as a way of giving back and now I have even more content to indulge in. Awesome! Keep it up.
Thanks. As time goes on you'll understand more and more.
Same! Although, a few years ahead of you. haha. I learned nearly everything about this stuff from Clive. :)
@@bigclivedotcom this channels output should be required viewing!
@@BRUXXUS ... Hmm... On UA-cam, you either learn from Big Clive, or Electroboom...
I started watching about 8 years ago. I understood each component but didn't understand how they would be used together in a circuit. The lighting industry has slowly changed how they power LED's. it has been great seeing those power supplies change over time.
Hands down a fantastic tear down and rebuild. This is what I enjoy seeing. They build it, you make it better. I'm ready to purchase the BCB line of lighting
Big Clive Bulbs. Built to the better standards.
I really appreciate that you demonstrate unplugging things altogether when working with them. I've seen a handful of cases where people got a shock from something they assumed was off just because they turned off the switch or breaker and left it plugged into its socket. Also completely removes the risk of a switch being turned on accidentally either by fumbling around on a bench or someone else not realizing you have your fingers in a dangerous spot. Lock out/tag out helps but there will always be people that don't understand the risk of "just doing it anyway"
I've been a fan for a couple of years now and love Clive's vids, I also love the subtle humor he puts in there. Whether or not others notice, one of my favorite things is the "C(K)ink Palculator". I'm a huge fan of letter/word reversal and I get a little chuckle every time I hear it on top of the fact that the general video is informative and entertaining. I've learned much from you Clive.
Thank you!
Spoonerisms.
Sometimes the humour isn't quite so subtle. ;)
"Fluke, I'm your ather!" 05:20
Love how you also look after your viewers from across the pond. Nobody else seems to do that. Another reason you are number one and so universally admired. Going the extra mile, to be so inclusive takes a lot of extra effort - thanks again.
I never thought I would see the video where were increasing the current through the LED and not decreasing it.
I really appreciate that you break down the explanation so that a thick headed, cold sweed get the most of it. Cheers man.
This lamp seems interesting in two ways. I like it because the LED was being under-run, meaning that the LEDs themselves in the filament would have lasted a very long time (and given that festoon lights may be lit for several hours at a time, it makes sense to get the most lifespan possible from them). On the other hand, that regulator drawing more power than the LED itself is incredibly inefficient and explains why the 1W filament (being ran at 0.3W) was much dimmer than the 2W lamp with 2 filaments!
That bothers me, too. They go from incandescent filament to LED to "save" energy, then they turn around and waste half of the power drawn. Kind of like going from a Hummer to a Mini but then driving the Mini with flat tires.
I am using the same Dubai light but it runs on 12 volt DC, 1 Watt. Currently running under test using LiFePo⁴ battery, plan to connect small solar panel to charge it. Use for sleep light hence why I went with just 1 watt light. Really love it's warm color.
They also make 3V versions of these lamps.
@@bigclivedotcom woah.. I didn't know that. This 12volt, I have to bought it from China because I can't find it here. If I can find 3volt, I can save lot's of unnecessary hardware and cost for what I have in my mind.
Thanks for telling me that, I really appreciate it 👍
Another well done video Clive. I can see the amount of effort that you put into them, and appreciate it. Onya.
i got home this evening after a friendly night out. Ver pleasant. And what do I come home to? a new vid from my favorite Clive! Thank you so much for showing how you play with live mains electricity. So refreshing. And, thank you for using math to show us how we understand the world. Super cool how you tested your hack and evaluated it's performance. Thanks!
I know its the wrong subject, but, i have just watched and thoroughly enjoyed your 3 year old talk about G3 mega death rays. Its the best explanation i ever heard, great for a nincompoop like me. I do not have youe electrical expertise, so i tap into yours. The only problem is the idiots who are still setting fire to phone masts with that same (NON) argument will never read your item or undefstand how they have ever got it so wrong. Thanks once again.
I've found that this style of single filament festoon lamps (120V versions anyway) seem to dim quite nicely on theatrical dimmers.
Make no mistake, there's still a fair bit of "pop on" you have to program your cues around, and a small incandescent ghost load does improve the quality of the dimmer curve immensely.
But in a pinch in an age where getting bulk quantities of traditional tungsten incandescent lamps is so difficult (and sometimes illegal) worth keeping in mind when someone wants the look.
(Specifically, it works on at least generic SCR circuits, as well as Colortran ENR and Strand CD80 racks)
This style clive shows here would not dimm well on any kind of dimmer because of the filter cap. Or at least with an insanely reduced range of the dimmer, maybe 30-50% equal to 0-full
The ones with just the current regulator do in fact dimm perfectly, although they come on at about 20% or so and have full intensity at 80%, but nothing you cant compensate for
The ones with an capacitive dropper are also dimmable, but I would suggest an trailing edge dimmer for that, since the sharp rising edge on an leading edge dimmer (SCR) probably kills the lamp very quick.
And or course they do flicker a hell of a lot, especially dimmed. Which is bad for every camera related thing
amazing how a 1W lightbulb only outputs less than 1/3 of its evergy as light while the rest is just to make the circuitry work
It’s truly a near-perfect emulation of an incandescent bulb.
Back in the last years of incandescent light bulbs, they were opaque instead of clear. When these LED filaments started apearing they switched to clear glass (probably to show off the new technology) but I wonder why they keep using clear glass nowadays. Opaque glass gives much more even lighting.
For the floppy circular shaped filaments I see the purpose (just looks nice) but for straight stick shaped filaments opaque would be much better.
Because the filament bulbs are meant to be decorative not just a light source, and at 1W especially so.
There are frosted versions available.
@@alexatkin Yeah I know it's meant to be decorative but I just think the spiral shaped flexible filaments have replaced them by now. The straight ones look kinda boring.
Some people like it frosted because they don't like it too bright or piercing to look at. My mother is one of them. She said the light would be too sharp, too bright.
Some people like it clear because they like to see brighter light with lesser wattage. I am this type. But depending on application, I might use the frosted one too. So, it depends on what you want to use it for.
Most LEDs that are non decorative like the filament lights in this video are frosted here in Germany
It would require some searching to find one that is clear
@@NinoJoel It's the opposite in Estonia, most filaments are clear compared to bulbs with SMD 3528s._
Always really happy when you leave the slowly tearing open things in the video cause i like it. I assume this is because i've torn many things apart for similar reason and something about it is satisfying.
Hi I am engineering student and I appreciate you making these videos. Currently eating soup at 1am watching this
I have lived through a rather nasty power outage situation that lasted nearly 72 hours. I am sure others have had it far worse, but 72 hours was quite enough for me thank you very much. Given that some people will have to sustain themselves on whatever battery power they have, and also given that the human eye can typically do extremely well in low-light conditions, I wouldn't mind having this bulb configuration as an emergency light. But I don't necessarily want it to run from an AC power source. Thankfully most of the larger sized power bank batteries come with a light on them anyhow. I also think it might be sufficient as a bathroom and/or hallway light, but would be better as a single plug-in unit, rather than a bulb base.
It'd run just fine from a 130 ish volt DC supply;-) probably up to 300vdc or so.
All these 0.8 to 3W-ish bulbs available these days are brilliant, I have them in pretty much every room in the house and they give enough light and it really doesn't matter at all if I leave them running 24/7. Probably using like 5 watts to keep my apartment lit up all night
Just a little silly that half of the power is wasted in a cheap dropper circuit.
@@Okurka. I suppose if you really want to save the lifespan of a $1 bulb. I'm just saying I don't need to have one of those ultra dim night lights anymore when a 1W bulb is bright enough to read but also doesn't break the bank if I leave it on all night
You are such an excellent teacher. Thank you for sharing your years of experience.
Big Clive Bulbs. Super efficient, cool running, and last decades; as if made for a Prince in a foreign land.
Available in white as well as traditional pink.
Current regulation is used to keep the LED illumination consistent. What I have seen used to make a current regulator is a simple voltage regulator with a load resistor on the output. The LED array low side is connected to the power of the regulator. The load resistor then sets the current in the LED array regardless of the supply voltage. Just using resistors will cause a variation in LED current based on the supply voltage.
I have LED bulbs in my house that dim with even a 2V dip in the house voltage (i.e. when I use the microwave on the same circuit). These LED bulbs use the less expensive resistor method you suggest. Using a linear current regulator is more expensive but provides more consistent lighting.
that IC sounds like a Depletion-mode MOSFET.
These look like the bulbs that came with my festoons here in the US. They're 1W also, with the single "filament". I borrowed one of the spares to replace the 11W incandescent appliance bulb I was using in my bedside lamp -- It's the same form factor, and has a similar light output. The only difference is that these little LED bulbs are warmer in color.
Builders like Festoon temporary lighting but not sure the Pink lamp holders and double entry bulbs would go down very well but this is another Clive classic video with educated analysis
ahhh finally! i have 20 of the 2w leds in the garden within eye range, theyre so unbelieveably bright i never use them! these look like they will do the trick! tried spraying the bulbs with frosting etc and no luck!
Another mod to try would be to put a capacitive dropper on the AC input to the existing circuit. The constant current IC should keep things steady, but less power would be dissipated in the IC.
The best thing about this channel is how every once in a while you'll end up seeing who is behind the hands and the voice.
Reminds me a bit of tool time
Clive, I've got a bit of a curious question regarding LED lights & dimmers. How does one determine if a LED light is dimmable, if the packaging had no mention of dimmability? If you haven't already covered this subject I would also be interested in learning more about lights & dimmers; incandescent vs. LED.
My lovely wife bought me some LED shop lights that are as bright as the sun, with a power switch & 3-position color temperature switch, but no dimmer. I'd like to dim them, so that I don't need sunglasses in my shop! ;) They're cheap enough, that I'm comfortable with taking them to bits, to get them down to a reasonable brightness. I'm interested in your thoughts. As always, thanks for the education! :)
Yup, I'd like that too. Good suggestion
Honestly the easiest way is probably too just send it. Try it on a dimmer, if it dims smoothly and evenly it's probably fine. If it resisists and goes all screwy then it probably doesn't.
@@zyeborm That apart, I'd like to understand how the whole dimmable/none dimmable electronic package works.
That "lamp, globe and bulb" - Excellent 🤪
Your bare wire prototype reminded me so much of electroboom. I was just waiting for some sparks.
I know I cannot be alone in this, but I like the ever so slight dim 'glow' that a non-discharge/load resistor LED lamp provides for hallways and storage room illumination. Free night light that never needs changing/replacing, and it doesn't (potentially) eat up a plug socket.
I think a lot of people like that effect once they realize it's normal and not a wiring defect.
@@bigclivedotcom
I have one for ya,.. that I haven't quite figured out.
The "Monster Basics" LED Lighting Strips. You can get the 6.5 ft (1.8 meters 😉) strip for $6 bucks (4.8 pounds 😂) here at Big 5 all the time. I've bought a few, because they are pretty cool for a lot of things,.. BUT.
They really have a hard time picking up the IR Remote Commands. And I'm not sure why.
I have found that the Shrink Wrap often covers most of the IR receiver. But even trimming that down. It almost takes a Short Range Direct Shot at it to get it to do it's thing. It just is To Directional and Short Range for the design. And it has to be how the IR receiver is mounted. But I've cut up a few. And they all work differently, and at different times. AND THAT'S WEIRD.
Atmospheric Conditions shouldn't really matter, in your living room. Unless your living room is,.. 😳
Just kinda a baffling thing. And at $6,.. I just put the ones that work, where I want them to work ☺️
... im old and lazy, but i got $6 bucks 😂
ALWAYS FUN 👍
@@Okurka. you get a cookie and a prize for pedantry
@@Okurka. he doesn't need to buy a night light. Everybody knows that the energy isn't free
@@Okurka. he got a free night light function. Like he said. Pendant
I have a similar one watt bulb in our porch coach type lamp, it's just bright enough to illuminate the door way whilst looking decorative in a warm welcoming way. Plus at one watt & on a photocell with timer it doesn't cost a lot to run.
The photocell and timer may actually use more power than leaving the lamp on all the time. But the lamp will last longer being turned off.
@@bigclivedotcom ha ha fair point 👍
I'm guessing that these lamps would work almost as well on 120V given the high drop across the regulator.
They do. I tested it afterwards.
I love these videos. Hopefully stuff will rub off and I'll learn something. I wish I'd paid more attention at college.
When I was young and skiving off college, I bought a 47,500 mfd capacitor (can't remember the voltage) to connect to a power supply I had built to put onto an old Dynohub to power a Sony Walkman. If that wee thing in the vid is a death beam capacitor, I was cycling around with a nuclear bomb that didn't even have the oomph to play Def Leppard and power the lights at the same time, downhill, in a tailwind. (I've since learned that the old Sturmey Dynohubs were crafty little buggers that were designed and wound in such a way that they self saturate at 6V 3 W - ish max but were only good for and ever rated as 2 W at best, later billed as 1.8 due to crap magnets).
We used to use old light bulbs for making vaporizers for weed. They opened nicely with hacksaw.
As always, substantiated and inspiring presentation.
I use bulbs from that manufacturer for a set of Christmas lights outside. The green bulbs last two months, and all the other colours have lasted three years so far. I’ve not quite worked out why.
That's interesting. I had a few coloured lamps in a different style and the green one has failed.
0.3W LED in a 1W lamp. Soon we’ll have bulbs with the same efficiency as incandecent ones but with inferior PF, color reproduction and flicker.
I’ve seen a lot of difference in power factor I have a Cree non-cob 13 Watt lamp which is 0.95 PF while an older LG 13 Watt lamp has a 0.6 PF. If you’ve got a large factory, store or whatever with a lot of lamps, then you may be billed according to your actual measured PF. It would be in your interest to choose LED lamps wisely. On the other hand, you could use the capacitive PF of your LED lamps to help offset the inductive PF of any motors you might have. I’ve seen similar a similar thing with server computer power supplies. Some power supplies have terrible PF around 0.5, but you can pay a little extra and get 0.95 PF.
Love the 240v speaker connectors on the HOPI. Removed from mine soon after purchase
Coming soon, A video showing the cheapest mains connection device from China. Spoiler - speaker connector, single pole switch and unpolarised plug.
When BigClive says something's nice, you believe him. You check if pigs are flying, but you still believe him.
You should run two of these lamps in series, to see if it's really just a 110 lamp being pushed hard...
Fearsomely inefficient, really needs to be a partial capacitive dropper into the constant current stage, then it could be flicker free, more efficient, and could probably handle a bit more current set without cooking the chip
The series resistor version would not compensate for mains voltage variations like the active linear regulator does.
I wonder if this could be used as a 110v lamp in North america, Since the linear regulator has such a large voltage across it, to drop. You could possibly put 2 of them connected in series the uk.
I tested it on 110V and it lit at full brightness.
5:15 and try again to see if it was not a Fluke!
I’m so locked in to a particular set of YT channels, when I see exposed electrical potential I think ElectroBoom and wait for a flash and a scream…🤔
The title of this video should have been "Clive shows off his inner Electroboom". Deadbugging a 240V AC circuit is absolutely something I can see him doing, but it would explode when he touched it with the multimeter probes. :)
Who else was ticking off all of Clive fav phrases in this episode?
I think he achieved every one of them.
"One moment please"
"The kink palculator"
"Deathbeam capacitor"
"Reverse engineering complete"
Did I miss any?
He didn't say "Unreasonable force".
One moment please… 😃
"That's bad. But it's okay"
It’s crazy how simple LED bulbs have gotten recently. I wonder how long this bulb will last with the undervolted filament
I had to look up festoon. Festoon bulbs for me were,the old car interior and reg plate lites. 😀
Only just getting to grips with micro circuits.lol
Wouldn't it be so amazing to go back in time and drop one of these off in Edison's laboratory...?
Just wave it in front of him and then teleport back out again.
🙃
Ever since i changed all my lights in my house to LED, i noticed that in the evenings, with some lamps we get some flicker on the lights when the clock reaches a full hour or so. there is also a odd noise coming from a electric moters in my case a fan. i realized that is actually some sort of data transmission to turn on boilers? or tell that it is cheaper power time something like that. it can be pretty annoying.
Oh boy they found a way to make an led light as efficient as a halogen bulb lol
Hehe, the 1 Megohm resistor alone is burning 1/10th of the total power of the lamp.
The kink palculator! So kinky! Love it!!
Curious how well that regulator and filament would run on 120V. Would probably last ages, nothing's being stressed
I suspect it would put out exactly the same light while using only half the power.
Yes, but will it sodastream?
around 4:08 u said u were takin urs apart so we didnt have to, but now seeing the different construction of this one, makes me want to open a few of mine up even worse to see how theyre built :p at least theyre fairly cheap
that circuit is designed for the two strings , hence so much power is wasted in the regulator. with two strings it would be great.
One thing that I always wonder about with ES bulbs: It's easy to touch the metal screw part of the bulb when installed in the holder, if the live and neutral were cross wired would you get zapped?
Yes!
Yes, always verify that it's wired correctly or assume it could be live.
@@zebo-the-fat Crap compared to the BC then?
Cool. Keep working. Good luck! 👍
There's enough room in there for a 400V 33nF or 47nF capacitor, then they don't have to worry about power dissipation.
You must be expert, very expert.(ok I'm sure someone has done that joke before but I haven't seen it)
I had wondered why bulbs sometimes stay on. Now I know!
Only Clive can take a thing we do not think much about and do so much with it !
Mains wiring forms a great big capacitor, and can pass current even when things are switched off? That's amazing! How does it work? Is it dangerous? Are LED bulbs affected because they can glow at very low current? At 50Hz, how can current get through? Is it only at a low voltage?
Sorry to bombard you but I never heard of light bulbs that stay on when they're switched off. I'd rather have hover-cars, but still, crazy futuristic world we live in!
For fun I just checked a Walmart Great Value tubular 40 Watt equivalent Edison base lamp in the fixture where I am tying this. v=121.4, i=0.04, W=5.7, VA=6.8, PF=0.94. The COB filament appears to have 40 small dots, which corresponds nicely to our US peak voltage of 177 Volts. I can see there is a little circuit board in the base, but can’t tell what’s on it without non-reversible disassembly. The capacitor must be fairly small value. Given the nice correspondence between the filament voltage and peak voltage, this lamp could almost get away with no dropper or regulator at all. (It kind of looks like the math is a bit off on my Kill-a-Watt meter, but in fairness 6 Watts is at the low end of what it is intended to measure.)
Nice light, cheers 2x👍
I saw this and thought of you. Its a news item on the BBC website About dangerous fairy lights
Both Amazon and eBay have said they take safety seriously and have removed the items from their websites. (My arse🤣🤣 )
Testing by the consumer group on lights from four retailers found 10 out of 12 sets failed to meet UK electrical equipment safety regulationsor sale on Amazon and ebay
It would be interesting to measure the flicker before and after rebuild. Coz I've always been under impression any driver significantly lowers 100 Hz flickering
14:30 Why is the HOPI measuring 8mA ?
The current reading is skewed by the odd waveform of charging the capacitor.
@@bigclivedotcom
Oh I see... The 8mA is the RMS value of the current. Those 8mA times the 240V RMS gives 2 VA of apparent power (S).
The 1 W is the real power (P), and therefore the power factor (PF) = P/S = 1/2 = 0.5. 👍🏼
How would one make this lamp more efficient though?
Literally by putting two in series in this case.
Would this lamp with its regulator work on 120V? Maybe that is why it is designed that way
It does. Like a low power universal lamp.
@@bigclivedotcom it's odd that's it's labeled 220-240V when, as we know, it's perfectly capable of working on 120V... Maybe because then it would only consume 0.5W or so making the 1 watt spec false... Perhaps they sell the exact same bulb into North America but just label it differently.
With the LEDs only dissipating 0.3W it should last for ages. A Dubai lamp.
I don't think Mr deathbeam is around any more, certainly not here!
Is it really a 1w bulb, when most of that power is being used by the circuitry... Opens up a few questions about actual power ratings
I know right, a measly 0.3W left at LEDs... Who's MrDeathBeam and what happened?
The death beam guy is a conspiracist who made videos where he showed the inside of an ordinary LED street light and explained that the reason there was a 400V capacitor was to power 5G death beams. Other videos showed him hurling abuse at innocent road workers.
For obvious reasons I didn't help promote his channel by linking to it.
I think he's still about, presenting himself as an expert in military directed energy weapons.
@@bigclivedotcom I did see his video, guy is an ass
Here in Canada we have a brand called Noma... I noticed that the 1st batch of lamps were labeled "83ma @ 120V 10watts" were later stamped as "120ma @ 120V 8.5W" and both were touted as 60W equivalents (To incandescent). So, yea, those power ratings are pretty loose.
@@kimchristensen2175 should always be the power of the led and not internal circuitry!
I wonder how it compares to a 1 W indescedent lamp. 50% blown away in heat anyway. Does this LED give more light output? From here, the little 1W halogeen bulbs that we used here in the past seem to give more lightoutput.
Hi Clive. How well does your resistor circuit work with a dimmer control?
It should be OK if the dimmer is capable of handling very low loads.
I wonder if it could be a bulb designed for north america and our 120vac. It gives about 169Vpeek. That sound right for a 129vdc led filament.
It works fine on 110V.
@@bigclivedotcom Exactly what I mean. It might be one of those product that as been designed to work internationally, with no regard on efficiency. They probably sell it here as a 5W bulb and like a 4W in japan (100V there)
230v bulbs are E27 and E14
120v bulbs are E26 and E12
So you can't have multi-voltage lamps because the sockets aren't compatible.
@@LeifNelandDk you can have the same circuit but different bases
here in 'merica we can buy l e d bulbs at walmart that use 1.5 watts and output 125 lumens. they have 2 filament strings.
Reminded me of the expression 'Dim as a TOC H lamp'.
Put a resistor across the 270 ohm to raise the wattage from 1/3rd watt to 1 watt. While making it as bright as it should be it will also take load off the linear regulator [make it do less work] and improve the PF. Of course that mod would be hard to implement unless you could easily remove the metal base from the glass without destroying it like you did.
They didn't lie for it is 1 watt the problem is almost 70% of that power is wasted as heat in the regulator.
Actually, that would INCREASE the power dissipated by the linear regulator because power is Voltage * Current. The LEDs are diodes and increasing the current through them would not significantly increase the voltage across them, leaving the same voltage drop across the linear regulator as before.
@@kimchristensen2175 Actually not.
The voltage across the lamp would be increased along with the wattage across the lamp. The drop across the regulator would be less along with the wattage it would have to dissipate.
That is why we use digital PWM to control a mosfet which controls a load so the mosfet is always forward biased at its lowest resistance or off.
If you drive a transistor linearly somewhere in the middle of it's range it will generate more heat than when turned on [lowest resistance] fully.
In this case driving the lamp brighter would force the regulator to have a lower resistance causing it to dissipate less power.
Resistance hi = hi heat
Resistance low = low heat
How many ways can I put it?
Causing a lower voltage drop across the regulator so the voltage applied to the lamp is increased means the resistance of the regulator will be lower thus generating less heat at the regulator.
I've got a led bulb in the living room lamp with the same style slinky 'filament'? that is every bit of 7 inches long like a fish tank bulb and the filament is coiled as it traverses from the base towards the tip. 120 vac and claims 4.5 watts and 200 lumens. I use it precisely for the warm glow it produces. Can't for the life of me figure how that is an led, but yes it is.
Is clives mains voltage slowly creeping up??
It varies seasonally with local demand. It's a fairly small local transformer.
@@bigclivedotcom cool! hopefully itll be 300 before long 😂
Enjoyed that. Thank you.
Went to that website enthusiastically looking to find a price, and, erm, they don't seem to have any sales other than what I guess is sales to commercial entities with a "Contact us for prices" link, which made me feel sad... :(
I guess their main retail outlet is eBay. Noting that I also bought a set of the cold white ones and they were completely different, complete with flicker.
@@bigclivedotcom I guess their webdev forgot to include their ebay presence in their website's "about us" then, as an aside, I just spotted some other 1W E27 bulbs with what looks to be a PCB holding the filaments which looks a bit odd, "kunzite shatterproof" being the keywords on that listing...
@@bigclivedotcom Just found them, and ah, I already know them, I dismissed them as being overpriced when looking for a suitable low-wattage LED bulb for an outdoor light I never put up (energy cost reasons), shame as they have some neat looking lamps, though (an edit here) I did buy two blue spiral CFLs from them last year, cs I liked them... :P
@@twocvblokewould you mind putting a link to the ebay seller, my search ability is clearly lacking , thanks
@@sid111sid111sid111 Their seller name is "strictlylampshop" on ebay... :)
I really like your calculator because of the LCD size and digit number.
...but mostly the Square root key.
What model/brand is it please?
It's an odd one. It's labeled Sassy Squad.
Wait I thought festoon lamps were those little metal-ended pill shaped lamps that go in dome lights in cars
You are correct. "Festoon lamps" are those little cylindrical lamps with metal caps on each end. However, "festoon lights" are strings of lights hung over patios or work sites to provide general lighting. So what do you call the lamp that goes into a string of festoon lights? I'm not sure 😕
Word of the Day "festoon" (n.)
"string or chain of flowers, ribbon, or other material suspended between two points," 1620s, from French feston (16c.), from Italian festone, literally "a festive ornament," apparently from festa "celebration, feast," from Vulgar Latin *festa (see feast (n.)). The verb is attested from 1789.
Very good.
I'm thinking, you could just put all of the resistors on the AC side and it would be the same?
Also, the lamp is only utilising about 50% of the power consumed, the other 50% is being wasted in the resistors.
Wouldn't it be more efficient to use a 230v string of LEDs,
Another filament in series would have doubled the light output for the same power.
Can you get coloured filament bulbs?
Have you seen the meteor led filament modules?
Yes you can get coloured filament lamps.
I am surprised the screw base (Edison) bulbs are used in the UK. I thought the bulbs there were all bayonet style.
It's a mixture of all bases.
No - flicker on the 1 W - when you placed it across the diode on the HOPI I could see a bit of a flicker. Take a look at your thumb in the video - that where I noticed it. Why would it flicker then?
Is it possible to dismantle without damaging it? Have you ever tried a heatgun to soften the glue?
It's the same cement used on the old red hot tungsten lamps.
Nice and actually safe from the factory night light.
Care to elaborate about Power Factor and the efficiency of the lamp?
What's a "death beam" capacitor? Does it refer to the "high quality" of manufacture or is it the lack of protection in the circuit?
OK I heard @12:26 about the "death beam" capacitor.
Why does the power factor come so low? Seems like festoon likely running from a generator, so you'd want your power factor closer to unity?
Clive I wonder if the chip costs more than 3 resistors (I used for the setting of the chip)?
Could make a Dubai Lamp by putting 2 of those sticks in series for 260V out of the 340V or whatever peak voltage, and have the linear regulator just sop up the 80V leftover voltage. Twice the emitters at the same current would bring twice the brightness and about as much extra efficiency.
How comes you are finding so many Eddison bulbs these days?
I really hope the bayonet isn't on the way out!