I absolutely love your videos. I just replace the dry rotted garland on my grandfather’s bubble light tree watching your videos. Anyone who can laugh at themselves like you do are my kinda people.
Just wanted to say thank you. Thanks to your advice on buying Vintage Bubble lights I was able to find and get a Vintage 1940s Noma C6 Biscuit base Bubble light set with Glass Slugs off of Ebay. They were in Mint condition. With orginal Box they all work and look great. So thanks agan.
Scott, love your enthusiasm. Nice to see others excited about vintage Christmas lights. You are correct about the Alps light bases, as the recessed versions worked better. The other bases are just typical Alps lights. Also the Renown lights were originally one solid color, then they introduced the two-tone version later, and the tri-color version was later still. The plastic quality of the tri-colors is superior to early versions and they could be bought with the flame tip tubes. These are highly sought after. Good job. Hope your Clemco survived!
Hi Jeff, It's always nice to meet a fellow collector. Glad you enjoyed the videos. I wanted to help new and young collectors that are starting to collect. I found quite a few that thought they were going to start "stealing" Shooting Star bubble lights from Ebay, only to discover they got the none Shooter ones, and paid way to much in the process. I am surprised to meet collectors as advanced as yourself. Most have already joined together in groups like the Golden Glow. Anyway, I am a member of a facebook group that is called Christmas Lighting Of Yesterday And Today. Many of the country's serious (and not so serious) collectors are there. We try to post things and help others as well. You should check it out. You will need to request to be let in, but they will let you in pretty quick. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ Enjoy!
Hello Scott I have watched all you videos fora number of years . You have a GREAT voice and when I hear it I think of Christmas . Your voice is so friendly . Did you ever think of saying at the beginning or the end HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS ?
LOL, I'll see what I can do. I am too worried about getting all the info into the video in the shortest period of time. My upload speed here is Glacial at best!! LOL But thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoy them.
I also have colonial lights. They are all in the box and look like new. They were my mothers. I know she had them in the early 60s. Im 64 and can remember them even as a very small child.
If you don’t wanna have any melting problems at all, for example, if you wanna leave them on all day long without a dimmer, make sure that you find these bubble lights with the filament incased in resin not plastic mainly the Alps versions are the only ones are in case in resin, but there might be some other versions of bubble lights that might have bases that are made in resin
We take them out and tip them upside down or even lightly shake them to get them started. Works good but unfortunately sometimes shaking also shakes the filament out so be careful.
Hello. Thank you for the history of the lamps in your part 1 and 2 videos. My mom had these in the 70's and I loved them. Cleaning out her house in 2019 when she passed away, I found a box of these lamps. My sisters thought I was crazy to keep them but I love nostaligia. My box is the original box, it looks like and I have 9 Nooma Biscuit (I think you called it) however, mine aren't crimped. I also have one of the Royal Crowns in yellow and yes, I have a small break at the top base. I also have another kind that looks kind of warped and I don't see it in one of your videos but I'll take another look and see. I do not have a cord or anything to plug them in with. What can I use? I'd love to see if they work and possibly use them. Thank you again for the videos!!
Hi There, I am glad you like the videos and found them helpful. In order to help you find the correct strand/string to put your lights into, I will need to see your bubble lights. It sounds like you have C6 or miniature base/series bubble lights. but I will need to see them. You can send me a picture of your bubblers to c6lites@gmail.com and then we can get you set up with the correct strand. If you truly have Noma biscuits they are C6 series lights and all bulbs will have to work on the strand, in order for them to light. But later you mention a Royal Crown and that is a C7 bubble light, that one can be tested in a candelabra base socket or a night light. Anyway, send me your pics and I will help you out.
What about the 120V lamp in the background candolier with the [gorgeous] magenta/violet base and the blue bubble tube? That is, probably, the prettiest lamp in your collection!
Glad you like them. The magenta Radko bubble lights are really beautiful, actually all of his colors are nice. Sadly they used really bad light bulbs that were rather dim, so they tend to dissappear amongst other lights and they also don't tend to be very good bubblers. BUT I too think that they are one of the prettiest bubble lights ever made.
That is a good question that I have never really paid attention to. But as far as I know the 9's were only straightline. I have an empty early 1920's box from Propp that had a straightline, 9 light set in it originally. I have been waiting to find that set so that I can make that boxed set complete. I believe that most 9's came with the bubble light sets as straightline. I do believe that some cheaper sets came with 8 light round sets though. Anyway, I will post this question on a great facebook page that I belong too and see with the smarter than me people say. You might want to check the page out. It's called Christmas Lighting of Yesterday and Today here is a link to it. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ You may have to ask to be let in , but they will let you in rather quickly. It's a fun site with guys that have way more knowledge than me.
OK, I asked the guys on the faceook page and they said that there were 9 light Loop sets done for cheaper or lesser bubble light sets. A lot of expense went into making the straighline sets and therefore they were sold at a higher price point. The lesser loop sets sold for less money.
The C6 base was made by Royal in the 1950's and I believe they are just called bubble light candoliers. The red one that is C7 was made by Christopher Radko about 15 years ago and they are called Bubble Brite Candolier., they are often just listed as bubble light candoliers.
I am not sure exactly what you are asking??? But yes, I guess you can plug a dimmer into anything including a power strip. Now what you plug into the dimmer will matter. Dimmers are rated for just so much wattage to pass through them. So the cheap $15-17 dimmers that have a slide switch, that are normally sold in Lowe's, Home Depot and other big box stores, will only handle 300 watts. So if you are planning on plugging in 5 sets of C7 bubble lights into one of those cheap 300 watt dimmers, it should handle it, but I have found that long usage of those dimmers will burn them out quickly. So you need to figure out how many watts you will be running through the dimmer. C7 bubble lights can use up to 7 watts each bulb. Many people say they are 5 or 6 watts, but you are safer planning on the higher number. So most C7 bubble light sets are 7 sockets on a set, so 7 Sockets X 7 WATTS = 49 total watts. 5 sets of seven lights X 49 Watts will equal 245 Watts. So a 300 watt dimmer will handle that. Just keep in mind that running almost 300 watts through that cheap, Chinese made dimmer will probably over heat it and begin the burn out, of it. If you are using c6 bubble lights then the math will be 6 Watts (I am running high with this number too) most folks say they are 4-5 watts, but planning on 6 watts will keep you well within range. Then most C6 sets are 9 sockets, so 9 sockets X 6 Watts = 54 watts total per set. 5 ....C6 sets X 54watts each will equal 270 watts total. I hope this helps. If you need more help, you can email me at c6lites@gmail.com
My wife and I were looking for bubble lights for sooo long and never found anything but the cheap remakes and 1 at a time. Today we found a stashed away box at an estate sale full of around 80 different Noma lights. But we are wondering if anyone knows of a ready to go replacement LED bulb that can be purchased for these
Hi there, Glad you found the real deals. Now you must realize that LED light bulbs do not put off enough heat to make the tubes bubble. I know of a fella that is trying to remake old style bubble lights with LEDs He has made a modern LED bubble light engine. He claims that they light with a warm looking incandescent style color and heats the tube to around 140 degrees. Problem is you have to solder the wires on to the "engine" and then they only operate on 12 volts. So you would need to individually supply each one with 12 volts (not and easy feat). I just bought 4 of the engines from him, but I have yet to even try them, so I can't speak to their viability. I am a Xmas lighting dweeb, so I know how to play with this kind of junk LOL. Anyway, the engines can be found at his site campbellinvent.com/shop/ols/products/led-bubble-light-engine Also, many of us dweeby Xmas liters can be found at a facebook page Christmas lighting of Yesterday and Today. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ The guy that sells these modern LED style bubble lights can be found there and you can always converse with him. He loves talking about this stuff. Personally, I like using old incandescent lighting. I enjoy the warmth of the lights. I am not a huge fan of LED. Good luck
Wonderful videos about a beautiful part of Christmas lights history. You must be the world's expert!.. God Bless You and Merry Christmas.
Great job Scott, since I was a kid I always was fascinated with bubble lights. Keep up the good work.
I absolutely love your videos. I just replace the dry rotted garland on my grandfather’s bubble light tree watching your videos. Anyone who can laugh at themselves like you do are my kinda people.
Thanks Bernie, I am humbled by you kind response. I try to take a rather dry subject and make it fun. Glad you like the videos.
I love bubble lights if it was up to me I will have them up the whole year. ❤️❤️❤️
You can, I have them up all year long. Some folks use them in night lights.
Just wanted to say thank you. Thanks to your advice on buying Vintage Bubble lights I was able to find and get a Vintage 1940s Noma C6 Biscuit base Bubble light set with Glass Slugs off of Ebay. They were in Mint condition. With orginal Box they all work and look great. So thanks agan.
No problem, enjoy the fun of vintage lighting.
Scott, love your enthusiasm. Nice to see others excited about vintage Christmas lights. You are correct about the Alps light bases, as the recessed versions worked better. The other bases are just typical Alps lights. Also the Renown lights were originally one solid color, then they introduced the two-tone version later, and the tri-color version was later still. The plastic quality of the tri-colors is superior to early versions and they could be bought with the flame tip tubes. These are highly sought after. Good job. Hope your Clemco survived!
Hi Jeff, It's always nice to meet a fellow collector. Glad you enjoyed the videos. I wanted to help new and young collectors that are starting to collect. I found quite a few that thought they were going to start "stealing" Shooting Star bubble lights from Ebay, only to discover they got the none Shooter ones, and paid way to much in the process. I am surprised to meet collectors as advanced as yourself. Most have already joined together in groups like the Golden Glow. Anyway, I am a member of a facebook group that is called Christmas Lighting Of Yesterday And Today. Many of the country's serious (and not so serious) collectors are there. We try to post things and help others as well. You should check it out. You will need to request to be let in, but they will let you in pretty quick. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ Enjoy!
Hello Scott I have watched all you videos fora number of years . You have a GREAT voice and when I hear it I think of Christmas . Your voice is so friendly . Did you ever think of saying at the beginning or the end HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS ?
LOL, I'll see what I can do. I am too worried about getting all the info into the video in the shortest period of time. My upload speed here is Glacial at best!! LOL But thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoy them.
I also have colonial lights. They are all in the box and look like new. They were my mothers. I know she had them in the early 60s. Im 64 and can remember them even as a very small child.
Omg I love your videos, thank you so much!
If you don’t wanna have any melting problems at all, for example, if you wanna leave them on all day long without a dimmer, make sure that you find these bubble lights with the filament incased in resin not plastic mainly the Alps versions are the only ones are in case in resin, but there might be some other versions of bubble lights that might have bases that are made in resin
However, if you do you wanna find bubble whites with plastic bases, make sure that you get yourself a dimmer outlet timer outlet works too
I have some bubble lights by noma, and they have clips on them. Still in the box.
We take them out and tip them upside down or even lightly shake them to get them started. Works good but unfortunately sometimes shaking also shakes the filament out so be careful.
Hello. Thank you for the history of the lamps in your part 1 and 2 videos. My mom had these in the 70's and I loved them. Cleaning out her house in 2019 when she passed away, I found a box of these lamps. My sisters thought I was crazy to keep them but I love nostaligia. My box is the original box, it looks like and I have 9 Nooma Biscuit (I think you called it) however, mine aren't crimped. I also have one of the Royal Crowns in yellow and yes, I have a small break at the top base. I also have another kind that looks kind of warped and I don't see it in one of your videos but I'll take another look and see. I do not have a cord or anything to plug them in with. What can I use? I'd love to see if they work and possibly use them. Thank you again for the videos!!
Hi There, I am glad you like the videos and found them helpful. In order to help you find the correct strand/string to put your lights into, I will need to see your bubble lights. It sounds like you have C6 or miniature base/series bubble lights. but I will need to see them. You can send me a picture of your bubblers to c6lites@gmail.com and then we can get you set up with the correct strand. If you truly have Noma biscuits they are C6 series lights and all bulbs will have to work on the strand, in order for them to light. But later you mention a Royal Crown and that is a C7 bubble light, that one can be tested in a candelabra base socket or a night light. Anyway, send me your pics and I will help you out.
What about the 120V lamp in the background candolier with the [gorgeous] magenta/violet base and the blue bubble tube? That is, probably, the prettiest lamp in your collection!
Glad you like them. The magenta Radko bubble lights are really beautiful, actually all of his colors are nice. Sadly they used really bad light bulbs that were rather dim, so they tend to dissappear amongst other lights and they also don't tend to be very good bubblers. BUT I too think that they are one of the prettiest bubble lights ever made.
Great video Scott!
Question. Are all 9 socket c6 cords the straight line type or are some the circular type as well?
Thanks so much!
That is a good question that I have never really paid attention to. But as far as I know the 9's were only straightline. I have an empty early 1920's box from Propp that had a straightline, 9 light set in it originally. I have been waiting to find that set so that I can make that boxed set complete. I believe that most 9's came with the bubble light sets as straightline. I do believe that some cheaper sets came with 8 light round sets though. Anyway, I will post this question on a great facebook page that I belong too and see with the smarter than me people say. You might want to check the page out. It's called Christmas Lighting of Yesterday and Today here is a link to it. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ You may have to ask to be let in , but they will let you in rather quickly. It's a fun site with guys that have way more knowledge than me.
c6lites Thanks for the input Scott.
I’ll check it out.
Mark
OK, I asked the guys on the faceook page and they said that there were 9 light Loop sets done for cheaper or lesser bubble light sets. A lot of expense went into making the straighline sets and therefore they were sold at a higher price point. The lesser loop sets sold for less money.
c6lites Scott thanks so much for looking into this for me! I did join the group btw. Looks awesome!👍🏻
think you meant gasket material. I used some for my old motorcycle, it is grey in color.
What is the base that you have them all displayed on called?
The C6 base was made by Royal in the 1950's and I believe they are just called bubble light candoliers. The red one that is C7 was made by Christopher Radko about 15 years ago and they are called Bubble Brite Candolier., they are often just listed as bubble light candoliers.
Where can I find a dimmer switch? ,
Can you put a dimmer on a power strip with 5 sets of bubble lights
Thanks Scott
I am not sure exactly what you are asking??? But yes, I guess you can plug a dimmer into anything including a power strip. Now what you plug into the dimmer will matter. Dimmers are rated for just so much wattage to pass through them. So the cheap $15-17 dimmers that have a slide switch, that are normally sold in Lowe's, Home Depot and other big box stores, will only handle 300 watts. So if you are planning on plugging in 5 sets of C7 bubble lights into one of those cheap 300 watt dimmers, it should handle it, but I have found that long usage of those dimmers will burn them out quickly. So you need to figure out how many watts you will be running through the dimmer. C7 bubble lights can use up to 7 watts each bulb. Many people say they are 5 or 6 watts, but you are safer planning on the higher number. So most C7 bubble light sets are 7 sockets on a set, so 7 Sockets X 7 WATTS = 49 total watts. 5 sets of seven lights X 49 Watts will equal 245 Watts. So a 300 watt dimmer will handle that. Just keep in mind that running almost 300 watts through that cheap, Chinese made dimmer will probably over heat it and begin the burn out, of it. If you are using c6 bubble lights then the math will be 6 Watts (I am running high with this number too) most folks say they are 4-5 watts, but planning on 6 watts will keep you well within range. Then most C6 sets are 9 sockets, so 9 sockets X 6 Watts = 54 watts total per set. 5 ....C6 sets X 54watts each will equal 270 watts total. I hope this helps. If you need more help, you can email me at c6lites@gmail.com
My wife and I were looking for bubble lights for sooo long and never found anything but the cheap remakes and 1 at a time. Today we found a stashed away box at an estate sale full of around 80 different Noma lights. But we are wondering if anyone knows of a ready to go replacement LED bulb that can be purchased for these
Hi there, Glad you found the real deals. Now you must realize that LED light bulbs do not put off enough heat to make the tubes bubble. I know of a fella that is trying to remake old style bubble lights with LEDs He has made a modern LED bubble light engine. He claims that they light with a warm looking incandescent style color and heats the tube to around 140 degrees. Problem is you have to solder the wires on to the "engine" and then they only operate on 12 volts. So you would need to individually supply each one with 12 volts (not and easy feat). I just bought 4 of the engines from him, but I have yet to even try them, so I can't speak to their viability. I am a Xmas lighting dweeb, so I know how to play with this kind of junk LOL. Anyway, the engines can be found at his site campbellinvent.com/shop/ols/products/led-bubble-light-engine Also, many of us dweeby Xmas liters can be found at a facebook page Christmas lighting of Yesterday and Today. facebook.com/groups/1731759127043838/ The guy that sells these modern LED style bubble lights can be found there and you can always converse with him. He loves talking about this stuff. Personally, I like using old incandescent lighting. I enjoy the warmth of the lights. I am not a huge fan of LED. Good luck