It's always when I find a fault like that, it's a "Why didn't I start with that" moment 🙄. For removing the pins from connectors like you did, I use a section of a dismantled telescopic aerial to push over the pin releasing the tabs. One of them is the right size for the job. Cheers Pete' New Zealand.
I stopped decorating for Christmas probably 2 decades ago. I had a real tree and then an artificial tree. Being in an apt I just don't feel like decorating. For some of us, this is a difficult time of the year. By the way. The windchill outside here for most of the day was -40c.
@@GregM Well it's not compulsory 🙂My view is seeing as it is going to happen anyway and festivities are part of the occasion then may as well enjoy it even if it is against my religious non beliefs 😂 And I get to have fun with electronics making my own lights
That was a nice simple little circuit to work on for us simple types 😜 and I may need to watch it again but, am I right in saying you took the rectifier out of the power supply (it would be great to see how you do that) but in the light driving unit is another rectifier to convert the ac to dc anyway ? 😮 Maybe I need a Richard hand drawn circuit diagram 😅
yeah, the lights' control box called for 24V AC and had its own rectifier inside. It's not common for something to specifically ask for AC that's not the typical wall voltage, so he needed to hack another psu to access just the step-down transformer inside (to get the lower AC output. I think the light box wants stepped down AC for a couple reasons - 1. It doesn't need a transformer or hefty power components if the AC is already at the level it needs (this saves weight, space, and cost). 2. It doesn't want an already processed DC input because it needs the raw pulsed DC the bridge rectifier provides before the filter stage to have a means of easily commutating (turning off) the thyristors (commutating on a steady DC circuit can be a pain - adding several components to make it happen, so having a ready means to cut off the thyristors naturally available 50x/sec reduces complexity and therefore cost by a lot. It also means that the lights are gonna have an ugly 100Hz flicker, but not too many people are actually bothered by that (I'm one of the unfortunate exceptions, sadly lol). It also has a filter stage to provide 24V smoothed DC to the control chip, separate from the pulsed DC it uses for the lights' output. It's actually pretty clever. I've not seen something say "yeah just give me the stepped down AC and I'll handle the rest" before as a cost saving measure. Simple enough circuit to trace easily, but interesting to learn about!
@@VAC-u1r And you are 98% correct in 2. You are well on your way to understanding electronic circuits! apart from the detail that pulsed DC from a bridge rectifier is gonna be 100Hz not 50Hz but then you correct that later anyway so was probably a typo. Also the microcontroller runs on 3.3V DC not 24V DC. It does this by charging the electrolytic capacitor by a 27K resistor. The resistor forms a potential divider with the microcontroller (load) itself and relies on the current drawn by the controller (i.e it's resistance) to effectively provide the correct voltage to it. That is why the 3.3V is wobbling around a bit due to the current drawn not being stable but is is close enough to be within tolerance of the controllers required Vcc. This could of course be fixed by using something simple like a zener diode. But still well done on your analysis and a merry Christmas to you🎄
Does Santa change in to some form of skimpy Santa suit, unlike the thermal and waterproof one he needs when visiting us in the UK. Waterproof being the biggest requirement. 🙂
What hairy hands! ... Are you a werewolf, by any chance? 🤣 All that poking around with a multimeter? ... First thing you check is the fuse, and if the lights are receiving power, then check the connections are sound. It was the connections. Poking around with a multimeter and all the head scratching was a massive waste of time. Start at the beginning. Not the middle!
It's always the cheap stressed connectors. Now, let there be light!
Thank you so much for these wonderfull videos.
It's always when I find a fault like that, it's a "Why didn't I start with that" moment 🙄.
For removing the pins from connectors like you did, I use a section of a dismantled telescopic aerial to push over the pin releasing the tabs. One of them is the right size for the job.
Cheers
Pete' New Zealand.
Yeah I often used to think that too... but now I think it wouldn't be a worthwhile video without the journey 😆
happy Christmas Richard keep up the great work :)
Perhaps the sockets could have done with a bit of IPA cleaning as well. Could have corroded a bit over the years.
LOL I have no christmas lights and I want to keep it that way 😂😂 can't have enough christmas lights he says 😂😂😂😂😂 1 is already 1 to many 😂
Bahh humbug! If I, a devout aethiest, can celebrate christmas then you have no excuse 🤪
I stopped decorating for Christmas probably 2 decades ago. I had a real tree and then an artificial tree. Being in an apt I just don't feel like decorating. For some of us, this is a difficult time of the year. By the way. The windchill outside here for most of the day was -40c.
@@GregM Well it's not compulsory 🙂My view is seeing as it is going to happen anyway and festivities are part of the occasion then may as well enjoy it even if it is against my religious non beliefs 😂 And I get to have fun with electronics making my own lights
Thanks daddy, but how do we change the sequence (unless Santa detours via B&Q for a screwdriver)?
Hmmm, aye.... well........
That was a nice simple little circuit to work on for us simple types 😜 and I may need to watch it again but, am I right in saying you took the rectifier out of the power supply (it would be great to see how you do that) but in the light driving unit is another rectifier to convert the ac to dc anyway ? 😮
Maybe I need a Richard hand drawn circuit diagram 😅
yeah, the lights' control box called for 24V AC and had its own rectifier inside. It's not common for something to specifically ask for AC that's not the typical wall voltage, so he needed to hack another psu to access just the step-down transformer inside (to get the lower AC output. I think the light box wants stepped down AC for a couple reasons - 1. It doesn't need a transformer or hefty power components if the AC is already at the level it needs (this saves weight, space, and cost). 2. It doesn't want an already processed DC input because it needs the raw pulsed DC the bridge rectifier provides before the filter stage to have a means of easily commutating (turning off) the thyristors (commutating on a steady DC circuit can be a pain - adding several components to make it happen, so having a ready means to cut off the thyristors naturally available 50x/sec reduces complexity and therefore cost by a lot. It also means that the lights are gonna have an ugly 100Hz flicker, but not too many people are actually bothered by that (I'm one of the unfortunate exceptions, sadly lol). It also has a filter stage to provide 24V smoothed DC to the control chip, separate from the pulsed DC it uses for the lights' output.
It's actually pretty clever. I've not seen something say "yeah just give me the stepped down AC and I'll handle the rest" before as a cost saving measure. Simple enough circuit to trace easily, but interesting to learn about!
@@VAC-u1r And you are 98% correct in 2.
You are well on your way to understanding electronic circuits! apart from the detail that pulsed DC from a bridge rectifier is gonna be 100Hz not 50Hz but then you correct that later anyway so was probably a typo. Also the microcontroller runs on 3.3V DC not 24V DC. It does this by charging the electrolytic capacitor by a 27K resistor. The resistor forms a potential divider with the microcontroller (load) itself and relies on the current drawn by the controller (i.e it's resistance) to effectively provide the correct voltage to it. That is why the 3.3V is wobbling around a bit due to the current drawn not being stable but is is close enough to be within tolerance of the controllers required Vcc. This could of course be fixed by using something simple like a zener diode. But still well done on your analysis and a merry Christmas to you🎄
when did you buy those then the 70's very retro
They are LED xmas lights and we didn't have that in the 70s I was there! I would say I probably bought these in the late 90s
Does Santa change in to some form of skimpy Santa suit, unlike the thermal and waterproof one he needs when visiting us in the UK. Waterproof being the biggest requirement. 🙂
Yeah he wears shorts and his cheeky little elv-ettes wear bikinis... or less as is quite normal here
All that component testing for nothing. Well, we got another diagnostic test lesion.
I fixed it and that is nothing?
What hairy hands! ... Are you a werewolf, by any chance? 🤣
All that poking around with a multimeter? ... First thing you check is the fuse, and if the lights are receiving power, then check the connections are sound.
It was the connections.
Poking around with a multimeter and all the head scratching was a massive waste of time. Start at the beginning. Not the middle!
that adapter looked nice and safe NOT
bahh humbug lol