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Termyn8or -> RE: Need Technical Advice For Xmas Light Mods (11/22/2009 10:37:49 PM)
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Not that hard if you get the volt and watt rating off the bulbs. What you describe indicates the bulbs are in series. As such first, how many are you using and how many not ? If you are using half of them it is the same thing as plugging them into a 240V supply instead of a 120.
Now let's say for example that the original whole string had 12 lights in series. Now assuming they are say five watts each, you know they are in series so they must be 10 volts, with those figures you can extrapolate the current drain. Then it is a simple matter to just use a resistor except for a few things. For one it is a waste of power, and for two because of the waste of power it will dissipate significant heat.
Even if you do this, note that resistance measurements will do no good. You need to know what the resistance is when they are lit up, and it is quite a bit different than what you would read on an ohmmeter. But the whole idea sucks.
What I would do is go get the cheapest light dimmer I could find, at a DIY type store or even a dollar store in some cases. Just turn it down until the brightness matches. Much easier and more energy efficient.
A modern light dimmer works by subtracting voltage, and when dimmed any fluctuations in line voltage show up more prevalently. This is the only disadvantage. I mean when your compressor starts this string will dim more than the other strings. For a small fee I can design something to eliminate that effect, but really, why not just hide the bulbs you don't want seen ? Clear it up all in one fell swoop.
T
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