clenaghen Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I have some LED lights (small trees) that are powered by a DC adapter (wall plug style). I didnt realize that they were DC powered when I bought them. Question I have is can I control these off of my LOR controller and fade/twinkle/flash without damaging the DC adapter? I tried searching for this on the forum and couldnt find any reference to lights running off a DC adapter.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskernut Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 General information I have seen on this forum is that they wont last long in that manner. On and Off should be OK but they wouldnt be expected to handle fades or twinkle type input voltage changes very well.Based on what I have read here, I have never tried it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clenaghen Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 Thanks for the reply. I am no electrical engineer, but I would imagine that it would be hard on a DC adapter to be varying the input voltage. Beyond going with a DC controller, not sure if I can implement them into my display, besides in a static manner. Guess I could try, and if they fail, then I know. I got them last year in an after-Christmas sale, so I didnt spend a lot on them anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascop Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I have two sets of twig looking things with LED's on the ends. There are three twigs to a set. They have the transformer plug that converts to DC. I ran them last year for over 6 weeks and for about a week or so this year with no problems. They are turning on and off, shimmering, etc.I figure LED's are supposed to last 100 years and if I cut their life in half, oh well. I will never know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clenaghen Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 Excellent! Sounds like the same kind of thing I have, so I'll give it a shot and see how it works!Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan C Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Dimming and shimmering the lights is unlikely to harm the LEDs. However, it may destroy the transformer in the "adaptor plug". The waveform that the LOR boards output when dimmed can cause overheating and failure of the transformer windings.Regards,Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmturner54 Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Rule of thumb is do not use shimmer, twinlke, fade for controlling transformers. Simple on/off commands are ok at 100%. I have 2 sets of twinlking stars that have AC adapters for power. I control them in on/off only. Have been using them for 3 years.Not to mention the possible damage to the xfmr with shimmer, twinkle and fade, the counter EMF that is produced with a xfmr could damage your channel/triac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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