Next generation LED candle?
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Although these have been about for a few years now, I've stalled with buying one to take apart because they were initially overpriced for what they are. Their claims of being the most realistic candle effect didn't justify them being more expensive than the dancing flame type LED candles.
Now they are at a more sensible price I bought a couple and took one apart so we could see what's inside them. It turns out there's not a lot inside.
Now I just have to find a source of this newer generation effect LED, as all the ones on eBay are unnatural colours with a lurid pulsing effect. Or maybe just reincarnate an old project which ran a standard warm LED from a PIC microcontroller with a similar effect. I sharpened a glue stick in a pencil sharpener for the flame and drilled a 3mm hole for the LED, and it gave a very similar effect to this one.
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This also keeps the channel independent of UA-cam's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators
I was working in e-commerce a while back for a shop that sold these candles, I took a fair amount of photos messing around with them and managed to alarm at least one of my friends who thought I was playing with a real candle. They work really nicely with candle holders that you don't want to ruin with fire or wax.
It actually looks pretty nice. On the camera at least. The color looks very close to a real candle, and the "flickering" effect is also pretty on par with what you'd expect from a real candle.
I agree, the ftlickering is quite convincing.
I was wondering if the chip in the LED is some kind of random number generator... and if it modulates the current the package draws so you could put an ordinary LED in series with it (at higher supply voltage) such that both would rlicker.
I think it's following a loop of intensities.
@@bigclivedotcom Yeah, I keep forgetting how much RAM can be stuck into tinier and tinier packages these days. Still like to see the series test some day, but I can't find such toys near me.
Where’s this from?
@@bigclivedotcom ...I read that as "intestines" and became utterly confused.
When I was a child i visited a castle, to make the ceiling chandelier lamps looking like candles they used custom made ones.
They were looking like this one but they also had a way to wabble the flame similarly to other candle you see online magnetic stem and an electromagnet.
They told me that they were so exclusive and expensive like around a couple of 100EUR for each candle/lamp.
Now cheap one are coming up everywhere for everyone.
You unlocked a memory from my childhood!
Such a shame we missed all the destruction action. I look forward to seeing dismantling and ultimate destruction. The best one to date for me was the lithium battery pack with the nail and hammer in the garden.
I agree. I like to see the Vise of Knowledge in action, or at least a hefty set of pliers.
While the effect looks good on camera my mind started wondering if it would be better to use a joule thief circuit to power the led. Shame this candle cant be retrofitted with one. Time to break out the 3d printer!
Wotch ya mince pies, the light is cumin back!
Finally my brother can no longer blow my birthday candle ever again!
They sell flickering LEDs now. The flame effect I had was done with PWM I believe.
I'd love to see a 10x10 array of these LED on a badge to see if the flickering is according to some preprogrammed loop state or if it's some kind of capacitive trigger subject to component variation.
AliExpress did you say?
I think it's a loop. It would be nice if it used a randomiser.
@@bigclivedotcom I guess these use a white noise generator, so pretty random. The tri-color LEDS (slow and fast types) use a real program that runs on a slightly shifted speed per LED, so they all start the same colour and same change, but slowly drift from each other. After a few minutes there's no pattern to be recognized anymore.
Another Enlightening Chat. did I detect a note of sadness having to crush the candle and cut open the flame? you've dissected tonnes of electronics, with gusto at times, this was the first note of sadness, after all , it was a very nice candle.
I prefer things to be hackable, but when glued shut to the point you have to break them apart it spoils that aspect.
i like it
Top tip: when the wires are that thin, fold the stripped end back over the insulated portion, then put the clip round the lot.
🤣Big Clive putting the heart on almost every comment except a few special
@@knucklecorn A valid strategy for increasing your youtube earnings. Brings commenters back to watch more. One could argue that he'd be daft not to.
@@BrianG61UK Knowing Clive's character, he really likes a comment he puts a heart on. I'm a viewer since his channel was quite niche and unknown.
I must say that the candle itself doesn't look super realistic, but the light it gave off was pretty good. Like the halos in the camera it made would be what I'd expect from a candle.
Maybe for future ones you might consider lighting a real candle too for the sake of comparison?
The horizontal flame is a bit of a giveaway
Wonder what a hexaputer panel loaded with those LEDs would look like? 🤔
@BreatheScotland Very odd, this isn't making the cut under "Top", have to hit "Newest" to see it. Can't say "bee you are en" now maybe?
So where did you get it from? How long would you estimate the led would last and was it worth the cost? Unfinished business here. No cicuit board but no real answers either.
These look great - so much so I bought a 20 pack of tealight candles with this LED in them and hot-glued them in a bundle at staggered heights, paralleled them all with 32 gauge magnet wire (almost invisible to the eye) and powered them with an old USB phone charger. I now have an island of flickering tealight candles on my mantle that looks awesome!
Hi, where did you get the candle from please
Glad you could shed some light on this LED light
This one did look quite convincing. If I am in the market for a LED candle, this would be the one.
Was this from Poundland ?
Alas no. It came from a local retailer. But I think Aliexpress may have them.
Ah hawp tae god if ye fin' yin o' thae fin' candles at a local retailer, then ah hawp tae god ye dinnae dae tae it whit he dane 'n' ruin it, tearing it tae bits sae it wull ainlie be fit fur th' garbage fur cryin oot loud
@BreatheScotland yes I did :))
It's rather effective. It's also amazing what they can cram into a 3mm LED these days.
I guess you mean the silicon functionality they 'bother' to put in in terms of market sales? I guess setup and production costs are getting cheaper as time goes by for 'hybrid' modules like this. The flashing LED type has been around for quite a while, for example. Much the same build technique I would guess?
@@jam99 Yeah, but it's still amazing when you think about it. :)
Damn I want a whole string of these for next years Christmas tree. If only the leds could be bought.
They seem to be available from Ali Express under "flickering LED"
@BreatheScotland True. I saw a few there with product videos that looked similar if not the same as the one in the video.
We have similar recent candles (2xAA battery and plastic tube). The flame effect is realistic and pleasing, even over the long-term. There must be a lot of tricks: LED colour, random brightness & timing, and the frosted plastic flame housing. They were expensive but I can't over-emphasize how much people enjoy them.
strangely I go nuts trying to find the right glass container which enables a good smooth draw for a tea light and also protects from stray air currents in the room - a dead steady flame being the near-impossible desideratum
The newer "premium" candles have evolved and gotten pretty good!
@@MyMy-tv7fd the volcano or hurricane lamp style globes raised up a centimeter or two would work perfectly
@@infernaldaedra thanks good thinking
Surprisingly a nice candle, compared to the flickery crap that is the norm (I bought & dismantled a bunch of some from poundland during pandemic year 1 cos they were crap, one even had used the new fangled "invisible solder" too!), this one seems rather realistic, and as for that "crash", could it be a "hidden feature" where you briefly turn it off and back on to go between two modes (Flicker vs. Static-on)? would be neat if it was... :)
It does look quite nice! If we could find those particular LEDs, I'd love to attempt designing and 3D printing a version of this that's rechargeable with USB. Maybe with a little switch.
A panel of these could be used for bigger effects, they may also come in different sizes.
Looks like you could fit a small vape battery and charging circuit in the stem.
We've always used these at Christmas, but the flickering flame effect also helps with "feeling warm", while saving on gas consumption. I'd really like to break free of the need to buy batteries, too.
These are probably great for candle chandeliers. Don't have to worry about a fire hazard anymore.
They are good suspended in the air by a thin cotton thread. A Harry Potter floating candle !
They should also integrate some sort of heater so that besides having candle light you can also burn your fingers !
And set fire to curtains.
Did I miss the price?
I hate AAA cells not much capacity
Nice tear down
What looks to be these on AliExpress, first found (could be available from multiple sellers) - 2 pcs 37.48 SEK w/ 8.79 SEK shipping.
Divide by about 12.8 for UKP
Also found 12 pcs w/ remote (unclear if more than on/off, remote has buttons for dimming, mode: candle/light, and timer: 2/4/6/8h in addition to on/off for 270 SEK w/ 14 SEK shipping
I've ordered similar looking ones from AliX to see if they are similar.
Please let us know in the describey (or maybe a separate video?) if you find a source for the bare LEDs; I think these would pair nicely with an adjustable switching regulator (3-3.6V) for a dimmable LED candelabra or chandelier.
I can't wait for candle that have 512 led 3d matrix chips shaped like cone, accelerometer, gyroscope, sound meter and pressure sensor so it react to not only movement but also wind in the room to give realistic flame movement. Oh also speaker that give really light sound of cracking flame. And of course bluetooth connection to phone so you can light it remotely
I presume it will only work while the AAA cells are delivering well over 1v each - pity as a single AAA plus Joule Thief might have made better use of disposable batteries - or perhaps one of those small Lithium Ion cells from an E-cig though, again, you wouldn't want it drawing current much below about 3v.
Let me get some tools..... So many times I've said that and used my shoe.
My, how times have changed. About 20 years ago, I built a flickering candle effect for a production of "Juno and the Paycock". It used a BASIC Stamp, driving 4 MOSFETS, to flicker 4 model railway grain-of-wheat bulbs, which were embedded in a silicone flame shape. Lots of work, but it looked great.
I remember visiting Disney World's Haunted Mansion in 1981. The chandeliers had flickery bulbs, obviously incandescent back then but quite a convincing candle flame effect. Each bulb seemed to flicker independently. I wonder how they did that in 1981? I think they either had a wiring setup with enough channels that it looked random, or possibly circuits like yours but with a simpler microprocessor or even hard wired logic with no microprocessor.
You forgot to say "the light is back" I'm so disappointed! Hahaha that hands down is my most favourite Clive moment!
The animation there is very smooth... Why did it take so long to get that realistic? :D Its not rocket science...
We build some pcbs for a similar product.
The guy said he doesn't make them realistic anymore because the people tried to light them not knowing they were electronic
Everything inside the LED.... time to bust out the microscope and do a Ken Shirriff style reverse engineering of the silicon.
The only thing keeping it from looking realistic is the moving flame effect.
I bought some of these, they turned out to be remote control, and all six are linked to one remote, sort of defeated what i was trying to do, which is sell some lamps as a hobby, they'd be better for me with no remote, just a switch, they do look pretty good, with the remote you can alter all of the brightness levels etc.
you can sometimes listen to the led's programming by shining it on a solar cell connected to an audio amplifier.
Simple idea. Also an LDR in series with a small battery should work. I used a non-contact probe like the one from Paul Carlson.
Just needs rechargeable battery and USB charging port and I am sold
That was really a nice effect.
"Was" past tense, until the fah pie-eatin' basturd took it to bits !!!
His mum was like, "Clive 'tis why we canno' hav nic hings...."
He wis forever tearing hings tae bits as a bairn ...
Ralfy tried tae halt 'im bit didnae succeed
Noo whaur does it end, ah ask ye? whaur does it end?
A trick I use, is to bend the thin wires back on to the insulation, and clip the alligator clips on to the insulation.
If an alkaline aaa is 1200mAh, 2 should last 400 hours in one of these or over 2 weeks. LiFeS2 batteries should power it for over 3 weeks.
I bought one of those automatic IR detector foam soap dispensers on ebay after you tore it down to show the remarkable pump mechanism 2.5 years ago on here. It's been used 5-10 times a day every day since and the original Li batteries are still going strong. A single 32oz $9 bottle of castile soap diluted to 1/2 strength is still 1/3rd left after as many years refilling the unit when needed.
I used one of these LEDs from a smaller candle in my "Lost Treasure" build: ua-cam.com/video/lVRS24nYYw0/v-deo.html - it still works quite nicely and is a neat effect with the little statue.
OD is too small for me 😝
We also have a bunch of candles like those ones. Ours also has a timer function that turns the candle off after six hours but turns the candle on at the same time you turned it on (so it must have 24h clock/counter). Pretty "spooky" when for example five candles turn on by themself one by one at 5pm ( in the same phase you turned them on ), and one by one turn off at 11pm. And yes, they look pretty realistic.
Please to put it in line with a speaker? 😂
From a distance, or on the other side of a curtain, it looks real enough.
We have some similar ones, a set of 6, only they come with a remote to turn them on, adjust brightness, and even turn off the flicker. I have to say, I really like them. And if you turn them all on at once, their flicker rates all differ, so they’re not all flickering as a synchronized group.
Interesting. I was wondering what kind of circuitry would make the LED flicker... nada! zilch! it's all in the teeny tiny part!
Like it, very nice.
✌♥️🇬🇧
I had a power cut in a storm about a year ago and ended up using an LED candle to navigate my house. Took me right back to the 1980s .... Ahh - galvanized dustbins, saturday morning cartoons, smoking in public places, BMX, Casio watches and dog shit on the pavement. Those were the days!
Would that be white dog shit?
seeing the thumbnail the thought crossed my mind: oh, Clive is in very metaphorical mood calling multi-purpose tools "candle".
Call me old school but I prefer real candles.
If you use a photo-diode detector connected to an oscilloscope, you can maybe see how the LED is being driven, assuming it is some sort of PWM, and not linear control. I used the same trick to see that a bar code scanning laser had a carrier frequency of around 100kHz (ambient lighting flicker rejection).
You could even detect if it is being driven by a "happy birthday" chip! Could ac-couple it into a small audio amplifier and listen to the tune being transmitted by light. That would be fun 😀
How interesting, I’m always thrilled to get a new style of LED myself, imagine this one in a string of Christmas lights, can’t wait for that!
What candle is this? Amazon, for example, just shows the older style of LED candles.
These are Flickabrights. I bought some similar looking ones on AliExpress and they only have standard flicker LEDs in them.
"Cut through the flame" I like that sentence for some reason.
I’ve just bought a pack of 6 of these and done the video, then I saw this, I’m glad I got them now as I liked them too.
How much could you boost this you think?
Like I'd like to know if I could use one as a night candle for walking around the house in the dark
It's more for decorative effect. You might have to improvise a custom extra bright candle.
The color and effect looks a lot like the flickering IKEA candles. I actually would want to try one to see if they match.
I really like the IKEA ones. They can be quite convincing from a distance or out of the corner of your eye. Haven't had one fail yet so haven't had an excuse to take one apart.
I never knew LED's could have embedded integrated circuits inside of them. I recently took apart a flickering led candle and was surprised when the only things inside were a battery and an led!
it has been around for quite a while - starting, I think - with blinking/flashing LEDs
If you have some magnification, you can normally see the tiny IC in the encapsulation, next to the LED chip and joined with super fine gold wires.
Normal LEDs only have one chip inside.
@@DisorderedArray I actually did this! I have a stereo microscope so took a look at the led under 30x magnification and could see 3 gold bond wires.
@@DisorderedArray I remember seeing what looked like a silver metal bowl half full with some type of white epoxy-like material and then a square "floating" on top the epoxy with the 3 gold bond wires coming off of it. There may have been additional contents below the square within the epoxy but I couldn't tell as the visibility through the epoxy material was poor.
Finally such a "candle" with AAA batteries, and not with ridicilous priced button cells. Now if that one would be shorter, it'd be perfect
Seems ideal for crowded vigils.
I could see using a AAA sized lithium ion cell in this with a AAA sized spacer with a resistor in it
Looks pretty authentic, and a quick survey of the "usual suppliers" indicates these are very affordable 🙂 Might get a few in for "emergency romantic occasions" (power cut with "added romance" might appeal to The Mrs!)
Kodak™ batteries ? ( thinks , he's been to Poundland™ , Ho - Ho ! ) ..... FYI .. the " tea light " LED candle lamps are also very realistic , ( powered by Lithium coin cells ) ............. DAVE™ ............
The big question is does its brigther than the real one or less brigther?
It's more for ornamental use than illumination, so not as bright as a candle with a big flame.
The flickering led is based on quite complex mathematics and you can google the article. i was amazed
it couldn't be simpler 😃👋
Dobbies sell these
I saw candle lamps dipped in silicone and shaped like flame.
Do they have a version where the wax is melted a bit to simulate being used? Seems like a decent idea to have; it is simulating a candle after all.
Somewhere in this 'kingdom' of mine I have some LED candles that have an 8 hour ON and 16 hour OFF timer.
This was great, I just put the batteries in at sunset and they would operate for 6 months on AAA cells.
How long do they last if you put the batteries in at sunrise? 😁
@@stepheneyles2198 prolly the same . The idea is they turn ON at dusk when I need them and OFF during the day.
You sound almost disappointed, Clive! How do you feel about the progress in lighting technology? Do you feel that the simplification takes away from it, or do you enjoy seeing how minimal they can get? Thanks for the countless hours of education, mate. 👍
I was hoping there was going to be a small PCB. It's very hard to work out if any of the flickering/candle LEDs sold online have this more subtle style.
I would love a few of these LEDs for fun projects. Could easily slap it into a 3D printed enclosure with a button cell for unlimited holiday tat!
I have to say, it is a small thing, but I am actually a big fan of this "innovation." I have always found the flickering in traditional candle LEDs to be far too aggressive and not realistic to a real candle in a room with relatively still air. A welcome change, in my opinion!
The battery lasts about 5 days with no visible brightness loss in my calculations with generic AAA alkaline cells. Not too terriffic IMHO. They should make these so you can connect them to a bus bar with a USB plug. I'd put in Eneloops or LADDAs, which should last more than a week but glow a bit dimmer, then the light will get pretty weak for another week.
Soon they'll be advertised on UA-cam as 'The electric candle that's taking social media by storm' or something like that.
I think they could have made it better if they had put a colour gradient on the flame - either just red towards the top, using this yellow LED, or blue-yellow-orange from the bottom to the top with a more white LED.
You like this one i see....Ummm any chance on getting to see if there was a "chip" in bedded in the LED?...I liked it too...Thanks DVD:)
It's usually a separate chip inside the LED package.
@@bigclivedotcom Thanks for the clarity..DVD:)
If they had an auto-timer I'd be buying.
Makings of a new Department of Villainy display? 🤡🔥💯😈💩🍆🤣🤡
Hi Clive. Have you got a po box for me to send you something potentially interesting? I bought two pir motion sensor light bulbs. Standard b22 fitting and it's just a light bulb that you leave switched on and it comes on when you walk under it. Then goes off after 30 seconds of not sensing movement. From Amazon. But when I received it the bulb was in bits. I've managed to put it back together and it does work. But there's no way I'm trusting it especially as you're leaving the power to the light socket on all the time. Just thought it would make an interesting video and if it's safe 🤣
Mine are more realistic it has a chip controlling af long COB led and the flicker is really great.
Sometimes they flicker alot and other times it dont do it as much. That make the very realistic,with flicker op and down.
The name is UYUNI led candles.
Had them about 2 years know.
See them on youtube they are great.
I'm disgusted that you didn't do a schematic, how are we supposed to know how it works without a schematic??? 🤣🤣
Just kidding, it looks candle'esk but I don't think it would fool anyone up close. It would probably be good in a window, as one of those lightsfor a family member who's away or has died to remember them.
Makes me wonder what the 'waveform' is, if any. Maybe they changed it to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" this time!
Plastic body dipped in wax.
Yay !
Even impossiblier to recycle.
I have crazy idea: install bunch of these LEDs in my old car as dashboard lights and mainly instrument cluster lights...
One moment please, then suddenly bits and pieces everywhere!
Our man Clive. Luv it..
;)
At last! - a 'tail light' with NO fluff burn hazard . . . we do live in truly wondrous times . . . waxed too : )
After spending a lot of time here under candle power (rolling power cuts in Zaporizhzhia Ukraine due to constant rocket n missile attacks 😔), it'd be nice to see how much actual light these put out and how long the batteries last.
"You can crash the LED"
Yep we're in 2023 alright
Would love to see a whole bunch of these in a setting like a church, Probably look awesome...cheers.
Our church has a bunch of these that don't flicker, but they're remote controlled, which is nice if you don't want to be changing batteries all the time or climbing up on the windows to switch off 30 of them.
top contender to be retrofitted with a discarded single use, cylindrical, vape battery and USB recharge optional
Hi Clive. This is crying out to be modified with one of your reclaimed vape batteries.
Power out in N.E. Ohio after work. Lit all the candles i had. Then this video dropped. LoL
There's never a micro controller around when you need one. At leat it has batteries. Good luck!