Inside a wall mounting, LED path light (with schematic)
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- Опубликовано: 3 янв 2021
- A cheap wall mounting light that can be used for lighting paths, floors or walkways without glare.
Like many modern LED lights, this unit should be considered disposable. If it fails the whole unit will have to be replaced or repaired.
Construction is quite nice, the light level is OK for a pathway at night and the PCB has some level of hackability. Either changing the LEDs for a different colour, using your own design of PCB or just changing the dropper capacitor to 100nF or 220nF for a lower intensity light.
Here's a link to the CPC page for these lights in the UK:-
cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pel0...
They do a few different sizes.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of RUclips's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty. 
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I used to come just for the electronics (Clive is better than I am at the electronics) but now I just hang around for that lovely accent and beautiful voice. He's like a great storybook narrator - maybe he missed his vocation?
@Marc Draco - I was *_SO_* disappointed he didn't post a video on Christmas Eve with him reading "The Night Before Christmas". :(
@@OAleathaO Ooooo..
@bigclivedotcom (I hope I did that tag correctly) that's a wonderful idea. I'd certainly pop a few $ in the pot to hear that!
Water in cables. I've experienced that. During a few weeks of rainy weather, my router suddenly died. I went to take it off the wall and water dripped out of it. Since I live with family, I thought one of the kids had been messing with it and somehow spilled water on it. (Don't underestimate the power of the dark si... I mean kids). They are creatively and brilliantly destructive) So I bought a new router, and forbade the kids from even thinking about it. (Again, their existence depends on the destruction of expensive things. Even their thoughts are disastrous) A few days later I check the router and I step in a wet spot. I was about to unleash some biblical apocalyptic rage and hellfire upon the miniature humanoid demons, when I came to thr realization that it was now mounted too high for them to reach. So I disconnect the router and leave the cables hang there. I take it and use air to blow the water out in hopes that it is not yet damaged. I come back to soak up the water and I see a drip hit the floor. And another,, and another. ... ... One ethernet cable was dripping water about a drop every 5 seconds or so. The cable was dry. But it was one that was routed outside of the house, up to the second floor and into a window for a computer upstairs. The rain was getting into the cable from a break in the jacket and by capillary action was flowing down and then back up into the router. New cable, routed through some unused ducting and to the room stopped the water ingress. And another new router since the previous one did die a few days later.
It wasn't the kids at all, but I still don't trust them.... Those little undeveloped appendages, and their wicked schemes of the destruction of anything they encounter... Probably out there doing rain-dances and shit, anyway...
The problem with any "twisted pairs" type cable is that there is plenty of air gap for water to flow down. Air dielectric coax is even worse. I have seen water flowing through those rather than being a drip every few seconds type thing. You can make them completely waterproof but it costs a fortune. EG the cabling systems used on submarines between the outer hull and pressure hull.
Roof mounted TV ariels are good for that too and will invariably kill the connected electronics if its gets that far.
I believe outdoor network cables are gel-filled so there isn't space for water to flow. If an installer used regular indoor cables outdoors I would not be happy.
@@eDoc2020 Cat 6 are
Generally, if you drill holes through external walls at a slight angle and have a drip loop outside you can deflect some water ingress, although if it's already ingressed into the cable that won't really help. Outdoor ethernet cables are gel-filled to prevent water ingress in the event of a damaged cable.
I like how the photos of the circuits look 3D on RUclips. it's like you've somehow found giant versions of components.
I guess he must photo them on the same bench so the highlights & shadow angles look right - it's a nice effect.
buying stuff to take apart. I belong to that Guild.
(looks at pin badge and tie clip collection)
It turns out it's often getting it back together again that's the hard bit.
I started at 8 years old when I disassembled my parents mechanical alarm clock. It never went back together...
@@thomas316 ...ah, I remember completely dismantling a lawn mower with my friend (we undid some of the screws with our thumb nails!) ...and the look of dismay on his dad's face when we sheepishly admitted that we couldn't put it back together
@@handlesarefeckinstupid yes sir, that's an all different kind of engineering putting stuff back together.
9:22 Who else thought for a second Clive was going to probe the photo?
Alla time. I can't tell the photos from the PCBs :-)
I have accidentally probed the photo in the past. In many instances it would be a lot easier than some of the tiny PCBs.
Big love to you, BC. You're one of us, or we're one of you, s'all good
I keep getting caught out with the photos when Clive starts to talk about the other side of the board and gets another photo instead of flipping over the ‘board’ we’ve been looking at for the last few minutes...
It's good when that happens, count how many seconds of looking at the meter it takes to realise.
As you said - water can go along cables. I was very surprised to see water coming out of the bottom of a telephone cable during a rainstorm. At first I assumed it was getting in along the outside of the cable, but when I looked carefully it was definitely coming out of it. Not exactly like a tap, but enough to do damage to the floor boards. The engineer wouldn't believe me - but he did renew the cable and he fitted a new junction box at the top. I am sure that was where the rain got in.
I've probably told this story before, but once when our then VHS player failed after a rainstorm I discovered that water had been running down the inside of the coaxial cable and into the tuner!
@@zh84 I've found the same thing when I worked as a TV repair technician, air dielectric cable makes great water pipe!
There are car manufacturers having problems with motor wiring that drain oil through the copper of the wires into the electronics.
Very expensive failure.
@@CyberlightFG Well damn, would've never thought of that..
It is amazing to see water getting wire the cable into the potted control unit of an electric vehicle charger....
Clive: Hello Ebay seller from a far off land, I'd like to buy this!
Ebay Seller: Hope you enjoy your product.
Clive: Yes, I will! I'm going to torture it and open it's little case to capture its soul!
hahaha CPC is one of their major electrical suppliers
@@TradieTrev It's the same company as Farnell and Element14.
I like low glare outdoor lighting like this, it provides light where it's needed and helps to reduce light pollution. I wonder how many of these will fill up with water when used outside. I think I'd want drain holes in the bottom of the clear cover, though that might make the live parts a bit exposed, someone might poke a paperclip in there!
Might get moisture in
I had water come down the TV aerial coax and write off a Philips V2000 VCR many moons ago. It actually filled the lower metal tray - imagine my surprise as I lifted up the VCR! Since then, I always use a moulded patch cable in-line with the aerial which will stop water making it all the way into valued stuff.
I’ve never had any equipment fail due to a leaking co-ax, precisely because I used a moulded “patch” cable as you describe.
In the mid 80's ,3 days after I was married I moved 1200 and got my 2 full time as a electrician apprentice and ended up working with my dad who at that time had been in the trade for over 20 years and the first time we dealt with weather proof boxes he showed me to tear a quarter inch tear in the gasket where the bottom screw is. He said they always fill up with water so always put in a drain... lol . He was right every service call I went on that had a weather proof box with a intact gasket would be full of water.
This reminds me: in post-Soviet countries air conditioning was introduced fairly recently, and to this day there are plenty of new split system installations in which technicians simply forget that _condensation exists_.
(One of the most remarkable examples in Moscow can be seen at 1935 Komsomolskaya metro station, an architectural heritage, but which has a staff room in the middle of the station with two air conditioners poking out, each having a plastic bucket taped for condensation collection (periodically emptied by staff)).
Typically if it isn’t submerged or moving through water, or has water literally spraying near it, a gap in the seal at the bottom or a small tube wedged between it should almost be mandatory
I deal with "Waterproof" security cameras and have come to the same conclusion. It doesn't matter how well sealed the ones under large overhangs or on the North side of buildings are, eventually there will be water in them. Better off to put in a way for the water to drain out. Ones with built in heaters to stop condensation just make the situation worse. We had one that collected a 1/4cup of water in it every week until we disabled the heater. Of course this one was nice and high on the side of the building so had to use the longest, shakiest ladder to get to.
@@markkayser426 it’s one of those situations where water drops erode exposed seals, and having a lip or shield just leaves somewhere for moss or whatever it is to grow and eat the seal
Upon seeing the preview i actually thought it's a light for indoor use like the ones put under beds for floor lighting at some mid-range hotels.
Fitted six of these lights in the garden during the summer... had to replace every one of them under the warranty as the seals weren't doing their job. Cable entry is from the rear, inline with (and no stress on) the seal. They look great when they work :)
I decided to use solar powered led lights in my garden. It saves getting the mains to them and they look to be sealed. I will do a strip down when the first one fails! Thanks for a great video. I like them all.
Drill a hole in the bottom to let water out and use some RTV silicone sealant like permatex (meant for motors) where the wires go in after cleaning with some solvent. Permatex has one that is a seal all gasket maker, I forget the exact name at the moment. Most mechanics will know.
@@johnpossum556that's more or less exactly what I did - each unit has a small weep hole and the entry is beefed up with a sealant. So far, so good :)
Another great vid, always a treat to see cool lights to give me ideas of what I should put in the garden, definitely interested in something like this
Was watching your channel while doing a soldering project and seen this came up. Anyways I just wanted to thank you man your channel has so much knowledge and I'm just getting into soldering more than a few caps and wires to old consoles and such. You teach in such a simple and understandable way
Interesting design. I like how the cable comes in through the back/side like that; it theoretically should help if the light was mounted either facing down or up.
You never cease to impress me.
this channel's so flicking cool
dissecting gadgets
learning stuff
dank
Big Clive is the man
@@peterhealy545 So say we all.
Yup! I've been following Clive since he appeared in short trousers way before Fanny Flambeaux!
Have learned and laughed a shed load over the years.
Go check out AvE (disassembly), and This Old Tony (assembly), please :-)
It looks like an interesting candidate for a project box!
Love your videos!!
Weatherproof, Waterproof, = Furphies... Path lighting sounds like a great idear ... with low voltage!
She's a lovely little fitting. Must admit Clive I've repaired a few led drivers where they all had to match a certain style.
With obsolete equipment repair becomes a viable option.
You should design your own pcb and build it so you have a spare and it would be interesting for us to watch you install the components on it
He should totally redesign it such that the LEDs are in parallel. That way if one fails the whole thing doesn't die. ( and use a common LED package that could be easily replaced. )
New requirement for politicians, posting their browser history on the ballot.
BigClive 👍🏻
Nice little fitting, I can see these being used for both indoor and outoor purposes. They'd be fine for lighting things outside, as well as corridoors inside. They also look to be of good quality. Just a shame that most LEDs nowadays are coming as disposable fittings, that are ultimately destined for e-waste at the end of their lifespan.
I have very similar lights but lower profile, sold by TLC as step lights. They've been in use now for 3 years with no failures, mounted on the walls of our driveway.
Hi Clive,
Hack that case... it's crying out to be hacked into a battery powered light ( with your own custom board ). bolt it to a double blanking plate and place batteries ( 18650's) inside a ceramic back box. small charger board for recharging. You get the idea...
best regards
Simon
Clive you should take a few of the lights and mod with Near UV lights with filters so that only things that have optical brightness or the correct colors in them will light up on the path way during Halloween
👍 retro fit with RGB (slow rotation) look cool👍
If they fail so often you have to invent your own quick-change system, then I wouldn't want them in the first place!
It would be nice to see a version that used LED type 12v festoon bulbs for easier repair, though.
But they probably don't expect (or design) the power supply to really outlast the LEDs anyway....
A low voltage version of that thing should be easy enough to find. Garden lighting in the US is almost always 12VAC.
Clive, you often refer to the ‘Power Factor’.. please can you do a video explaining what you mean ? Ta V much.. love the channel .
You got a mention on a video I watched on John AudioTech channel earlier.
This might help - he explains it rather well. ruclips.net/video/Bo0MGZKhPrs/видео.html&ab_channel=FoolishEngineer If you fancy something more in depth, then this is pretty good too! - ruclips.net/video/0f7YkVorOmY/видео.html&ab_channel=GauravJ-TheElectricalGuy
@@phils4634 I got as farcc V8 as the beer analogy- took a wee sip and forgot the rest !!
I understand it simply as the difference between the power a device draws from the supply and the power it can deliver in its function
( I.e the internal losses)
But I’d like to see Clive explain it
Maybe he should use real beer instead of a graphic
It works much better that way
@@leewot I tend to regard it (incorrectly) as the ratio of useful power to total power - a sort of efficiency thing. PF will become far more important if and when we all start using smart meters, which can measure true and apparent power,(and charge for the apparent power), so everyone will have an incentive to buy good power factor devices (or install active power factor correction!)
The LEDs look like mischievous cats
Already thinking this would make a useful up-light in suitable circumstances.
Air dielectric coax cable is a swine for letting water in. It was common some years ago for a new aerial installation to act as a conduit for rainwater to seep down into the back of the telly, sometimes with interesting results.
I ponder this seeing some of thoe fancy led acrylic twisty type pendants etc , no way you could repair those easily if they pack up, and as for the price !!
Honestly something like this would benefit from having say a custom PCB made, that would convert them to low voltage. Then you can easily replace them as they burn out if need be.
That's easy enough to do if you make a circuit diagram. You can get prototype PCB's for peanuts these days.
Why on earth would you bother? For £5 buy another one. How often do you expect it to fail.
@@JimWhitaker You are utterly missing the point. The OP was talking about running them on low voltage.
@@gordonlawrence1448 So all you want is the housing, but the housing isn't actually waterproof? That's a fail, immediately.
Thanks for your valuable input.
@@theskett You are the fail. Read the OP dummy.
That warning is common for a line-powered device. I don't see that ever going away.
I've got a variant of these, can't recall the brand. 6 of them in use in my house (110v), not a single failure since buying them 12 years ago. Even the one that the puppy used in teething.
Hi Clive
I’ve followed you for years, I’ve taken things apart since I was a kid to see how they work.
But this last year my power brick for the Xbox computer broke and a new 1 was £90 , because of times atm and money I decided to open it and found 3 capacitors bulging... I ordered them from Amazon and bought a solder iron ( had trouble with that at first) seemed too hot and the solder ran off of it like rain water on a polished car, but I persevered ( it’s a Draper iron that glows red hot if you turn the lights out) then after that the tv started playing up , to start with was making a high pitched sound, then after a few weeks to a month the screen would be “weird “ until a video or whatever started playing, then it got to a point where the classic giving it a “tap” to work would take place after a time that wouldn’t work but if you kept trying it would turn on after about 7 pm ( presume the temperature made a difference) .. after about a week of that it gave up.. we have no money so I took it apart and found 11 capacitors bulging.. I’ve replaced them at the cost of about £6. I stood back and plugged it In and it’s all fine and has been for a couple of months now .
Sorry for the long story there..
I’d like to know if there’s a way to contact you , cause I have a project for my little girl but the colour lights and things she wants I’m not sure without playing around with leds I can do ..
Kind regards Carl
Looking at the schematic, you could remove 1 of the 4 resistors, raising the resistance from 50 ohms to 66.7 ohms which would decrease the light a bit but increase the longevity of the leds a bit of you could manage with a bit less light. Love your channel. Take care. Tootles... Wade
Decreasing the red capacitor's value would be the most effective way to reduce the light's power rating.
@@bigclivedotcom yup, probably help the power factor a bit too !
And thanks for the subtitles for those of who (can barely) speak American English (but I do speak cat and dog).
To waterproof your outdoor cables:
1. Hold the conductors with vice-grip pliers.
2. Slide the jacket away a short distance.
3. Remove vice-grips.
4. Put on disposable gloves.
5. Apply CLEAR Gorilla Glue to the wires and fillers then manipulate to assure complete coverage.
6. Slide jacket back to original position.
Perhaps the "top" wire position would be for mounting sideways to illuminate steps?
In the schematic varistor has neutral side leg at the wrong side of a dropper capacitor._
No, it doesn't. You wouldn't want a varistor across live and neutral at the supply, it's not a home surge protector. The dropper cap would be protected thru its load and a fuse, if it got that bad, it wouldn't matter anyway.
The PCB layout shows the MOV before the dropper capacitor, whereas the schematic shows it after.
I'm using a similar lamp, mounted upside down close to the roof (~25 cm) for ambient lightning in my "office".
I'd probably sand down the lens on the inside, so it's more diffused.
Then I'd rip out the PCB and superglue in a lamp holder for a 12v 5w festoon bulb (often used for car license plate illumination).
Then I'd power all of them with a safe 12v transformer located indoors somewhere.
This way you wouldn't have to have mains cables running outside, you'd get the better quality of light, and the lamps would be replacable. If you used osram ultralife lamps, they'd probably last many years without needing a replacement anyway.
Honestly, waterproof or not, the water should leak out the back where the gland is. Seems actually pretty nice! If it were available in 120V, I'd buy them.
most of my old DJ Equipment came from CPC lol
Another interesting item from China via Pro-elec via CPC:-)
Heck, if permitted, I'd probably put it on a junction box with blank plate even outdoors, or you'll have an awkward shaped shadow on your siding when they go out of production.
The case looks like some manky 1970s hotel room light
Its just missing a wood effect sticker around the edge 😂
CBB22 cap. is rated for DC voltage. A higher rated voltage, e.g. 630V or more, should be used in an 220VAC circuit.
Have larger version on the patio.... Badly installed and leak a load...replaced about 1/2 of them within 1 year...
Water ingress...
Figure: Industrial presssure transmitter with atex housing (the big ones with display), mounted on an area with generous roof,
with a propperly crimp atex cable glans, the cable also had it's "drip loop" in place.
And when it failed it was full of water,
we were kinda puzzled until we found a smallish 2~3cm rip on the wire's external jacket,
arround 25~30m on an exterior cable tray connecting to the "pcl room"...
We had that with water finding it's way into a cable through sheath damage and dribbling out the base of a rack.
6:00 images of the sucker board
I think it is worth it for the enclosure. I would take out that LED board and replace with a piece of LED strip and run it at 24V DC
The case looks great...I would like to use just the case to make some low voltage (12VDC) path lights out of them :)
Absolutely worth the money for the case alone.
@@bigclivedotcom It remains a Chineese mystery. How do they sell 500W 12V power supply for the price of the case of that PSU ?
Just watched an ElectroBoom video (for the first time i think). You were mentioned in it, i can't believe the amount of times he just got an electric shock in one video. Lol. It was hilarious funny. oops. It was funny. He was visiting the UK and testing out the UK plugs and sockets. (As you do)
That's his schtick and it gets old real quick.
@@johnpossum556 thought it was a bit odd when i was watching it...
@@jrsc01. To be fair, they're not *all* deliberate. Most are, but the Jacob's Ladder video one and a few others was real.
I am only a DIY guy myself, however have done a fair few fixes, from my experience with out door electric one of the problems can be condensation, the bigger the unit and hotter it gets the worse it will be, i always look at ducks necks on a job and it scares me when its people like SKY or BT who have run a lead from the gutter to 2 feet above the ground and not bothered.
There are two other versions, slightly larger and with higher output.
well this ought to clear out that inventory :-) ...I'd go for 120V iterations!
Do they do a low voltage version ?
I wonder if these could be integrated with the dusk sensor you reviewed a couple weeks ago and maybe a dimmer slide? That way you could have them come on automatically but also trim the brightness to make them comfortable as night lights in the hall or stairwell?
i bet these lights slow those kids down running from the swimming pool. Lol
perhaps it is water proof but not moisture proof so as humidity enters it condenses with temperature drop to water over and over till the thing is about filled. then the waterproofing holds the water inside.
Can't see these things lasting that long in Australian weather, the heat will kill it. When installing an antenna, I put a loop in the coax of around 100mm (the tightest loop the coax would allow). I've had no problems with water ingress. Another solution is to put a drip ring on the cable by using a cable tie.
Love the dissection of products, have learned a lot - I think...
Have you ever done / considered doing the same to outdoor Christmas decoration lights , snowflake effect etc...?
I do.
I sometimes wonder why the 'breathing' problem of moisture ingress isn't avoided by the incorporation of a small membrane in the housing to allow for expansion and contraction of the eclosed air. Simple and cheap to implement surely?
This is done, e.g. in ECU devices. But it is not really cheap.
@@goamarty Use a soft enough housing material, like bag-thickness PE might do it, but then you'll need a separate layer of harder material to stop mechanical damage.
The issue is that you add £0.20 to the component cost and that puts the manufacturing cost up by about £0.30. The margin for the manufacturer then puts that up to £0.50. Distribution puts that up to £0.75. The retailer margin puts that up to £1.50+VAT. So to an average consumer adding a £0.20 component adds in real terms about £2 to the buy price. They will just go elsewhere and get cheaper.
@@goamarty Thanks for enlightening me. I had in mind something along the lines of a simple blind grommet with a thin wall which should be inexpensive both to produce and fit, though it would be essential to ensure that the enclosure was fully airtight.
@@gordonlawrence1448 OK, OK, it was a stupid suggestion and you have shot me down in flames. As always the bean counters overrule the engineers to the detriment of the end user but, hey, they sell more when you have to replace a water-logged one a day after the warranty expires.
You'd be surprised how much you have to tell electricians. I used to work in the oil field and among other things provided technical support for our instrumentation and sensors on oil tanks and oil pumps. I quite often had to talk the field electricians(Actual journeymen electricians) how to use multi-meters to test for continuity and current sensing through 4-20 mA sensors.
👍
Yes but they need one of Daves (EEV Blog) "Solar roadways" to power them lol.
Just out of curiosity... In the IoM are you considered UK, or somewhat EU affiliated for Customs purposes? Just wondering as to your future One Hung Lo acquisitions...?
Luxembourg is watching!
Bearing in mind what it was like removing the cover when its not on the wall, once it has been mounted and the cover snapped back on, what are the chances of actually removing it again without damage?
" 50 OHM's "...A small housing estate.
Hmm ... this is not a aluminium PCB. Normally the 1,3W have to spread over the whole surface. This FR4 PCB have only some cooper tracks on the surface.
0,1W per little LED ... I think the got pretty hot. :-/
Regarding the "Don't touch PCB after connecting power" warning - CPC are the consumer / retail arm of Farnell. Jokes about qualifications aside, they have to assume they are selling products to random people in the street who are unqualified and unskilled. Given the likelihood of condensation, I wouldn't want one of these outside without some sort of guard earth. Good luck getting a replacement circuit board.
Was wondering, for a path outside would it be better to run full mains voltage out through the garden and drop voltage at every liight branch or just run a low voltage feeder circuit that connected to mains inside the house?
Something that confuses me about this lamp is the fact they had so much space in that box to allow for squeezing in some LED tape of one's own supply with a certain, standardized width. With the fact they could had just made it so the strip was press-fitted using push-pad contacts, it would had allowed for a smaller board and cheaper construction if it were sold without the light, since people have to open it for poking around inside anyway and this seems aimed at "Prosumer" use.
You can waterproof anything with enough silicone RTV.
Nope. Water always wins.
From splashing yes, but not the pressurized ingress from heating overnight then cooling in the dew forming morning air.
Ah, I have a 3 LED bike light and one of the LEDs is always lit, albeit very dimly. It draws so little current that the two CR2032s powering the light will last the winter.
From this video I think I can assume the LED is fed by a faulty resistor, or it's shorted. I'll take look now I know what to look for
Doesn't your bike light have an On / Off switch? If the switch is set to Off, and the LED still lights, the problem is the switch or some kinda short (not the resistor).
Could you drill a tiny hole in that clear plastic cover& mount it so it drains if water does get in.
I've done that in the past & used a snippet of candle wick to stop spiders getting in but allowing water to drip out.
Sounds counterintuitive to drill a hole but if water does trickle in down the cable it helps to let it out before it gets deep enough to short anything important.
It's fairly usual to put a U-bend in the cable prior to the equipment, and puncture the sheathing there. Any drippage lands on the floor, is $0.
@@theskett Splendid idea! A small hole at the bottom of the drip loop.
Carefulling though! Just the sheath!
"Just the loop, and only for a minute..."
Gotta love that vocabularity-foraging Canuckistanian, AvE :-)
[I'd apply some pink hockey tape, if I was less Limey :P )
@@theskett Haha! Yup! I've had it in that vice for years! Just the tip, mind you. And only for a minute!
I sense a kindred soul. Thanks for making me belly-laugh, do continue the good work :)
Can you get one of does wallplates with leds to check it? I seen a lot of people complaining of burning and fire hazard but i can't find any reference to the circuit the device is using
The case is very nice, could you use it for another project or build a better light in it that is more durable or serviceable?
It's certainly a very useful case.
I wonder if somebody at CPC watches this channel?
maybe ill make my own pcbs for this
Tbh I’d lower the big cap value a bit to be more forgiving to the leds
One of these days, Clive is going to measure the resistance of something on the picture of the circuit board, rather than on the actual circuit board. 🤔 Just because it’s so tempting (and photo-realistic)!
I did actually do that on video once.
Talking of cables and water...
It worse than just rain water getting in at the top of a cable run. If you leave a rubber cable outside long enough, eventually the rubber will start to absorb moisture. Capillary acton will cause the water to run along the length of the cable. If it does not find an exit (say the ends are sealed) when you cut into it, the water will come out under pressure like a little hose pipe!
And yes, you have to try to use every trick in the book to try to keep water out, or at least, arrange for it to drip/flow down away from the electrical/electronics to the bottom of the case and then out a drain hole. This includes rain/water traps, bringing cables into the bottom of enclosures and making sure the outer sheath is cut off just above the bottom of the box, but not too far up. And where possible having air vent holes to reduce the likelihood of the day/night heat/cold cycle causing condensation to build up. Co-ax is definitely a contender (after conduit) for being an effective hose pipe, but telecoms cables, network cables and any other where there is an air gap can also cause problems. The best laugh is when you come across waterproof/weatherproof light fittings mounted in such a way that they become baths, and fill up with water until eventually either the RCD trips out or the conductors corrode away causing a failure.
0:07 I thought you said I want to take it to bed.
Is it possible to underdrive those leds to prolong the life of them?
Yes. By changing the red capacitor for a lower capacitance value.
large Clive, the warning isn't for electricians, it's for insurance companies (they know about amateurs).
R3 and R4 are the opposite orientation of R5 and R6, how do you suppose that happened?
Obviously it's not handmade, maybe there is a reel of those 200 ohm on each side of the pick and place and this board is from the center of the panel so it's taking half from each side.
Any ideas?
It really depends where this board is assembled. In China, there is always cheap labour. They would use such 'manual pick & place machine'.
Why in the schematic is the bridge rectifier always so big?
To spread the positive and negative ends apart to match the power rails. It's a lazy rectifier.
Could be modified to use a 5v COB by the looks of it, not a bad looking enclosure.
I wonder how easy it is to get the cover off once it is screwed to the wall??
Generally they're quite easy to remove from a solidly-anchored base. It's when they're floating freely that things get difficult.
Seems like removing the covers would bust off the detents; so I'm certain I could *remove* the cover, but doubtful that it would ever latch on again.
Who spotted the mistake in the circuit diagram? VR1 Metal Oxide Resistor went to neutral before the capacitor and resistor, not after them. :-)
Oops!
@@cambridgemart2075 Ach, he's done that many, we can forgive the little mistakes like that. We all do it.
It's the correct way to connect the varistor across L (via the fuse) and N. Check the app note for any varistor if you are interested. One good example is Littelfuse an9767.
@@mancave7879 yeah, but look at the diagram he drew, it wasn't like that! A very easy diagram slip up to make, I was just pointing it out.
Yes, the varistor in the schematic does not match the actual layout.
Something tells me that warning message is on there because on an accident someone kept repeating
Mr. Clive!
Maybe you will answer a question - I currently have ~60 feet of SMD5050 lights around my 270sq foot apartment. I think it's 30 diodes/meter.
Would going 60 diodes/meter brighten up the lighting, or not? Would I need more then one control box if I did that?
(edit here's what I bought: www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0823Y81JX/ ... the 65.5m/600 LED's.)
OR would a COB style with neon tube be better?
It depends on how bright each LED is. LED tape usually (but apparently not in your case) comes with a light output rating in lumens, ideally that's what you should compare by.
Going to twice as many LEDs per meter would probably put out twice as much light, but it really depends on the specifics.
Now you have to buy spare light fittings, not just bulbs.
Less power usage, much more waste.
Well, those landfills in China aren't going to fill themselves...
10:49, do you know mehdi from electroboom?
To push service forward: you know that the designer wants to get most out of these LED's, so they push the current. Why don't you measure the current, and lower it by (e.g.) taking away one of the four 200Ω resistors, making its total 66.6Ω. Gets you a few years more use out of it. In the old filament days that was not done, but one of the good things about LED is the colour doesn't change with changing power, only the intensity.
Lowering the value of the capacitor would have the most effect on the current. 100nF or 220nF would still give good light and much longer LED life.
@@bigclivedotcom OK, I focused on the resistor, could you explain why lowering the cap is better than raising the LED resistor ?
Maybe I answered my own question. Lowering the capacitor just allows less into the circuit from the start. Why put in more when you don't need it ?