Newbie Question about full/half wave LED strings

[EdNetman]

I have read on these and other forums, that the LED strings should used with LOR should be Full Wave or "dimmable" and NOT have any of those special patterns built in.

 

I found these at Costco today but I can't figure out how to tell if they are full wave or not.

 

(Link are to Amazon because I used the app to scan them so I could read the desciptions)

 

Sylvania Stay-Lit Platinum LED Indoor/Outdoor Christmas String Lights
by Sylvania
Link: http://amzn.com/B0163FRLD4

 

and

 

Sylvania Stay-Lit Platinum Multicolor LED C-9 Indoor/Outdoor Holiday Lights - (50 lights per string)
by Sylvania
Link: http://amzn.com/B00ORR4W88

 

 

Would these be OK to use with a CTB16PC?  If not, what would work?

- Examples prefferably on Amazon because I have Prime shipping.

 

Thanks!

~Ed

 

[Al Saunders]

Hi Ed,

 

There is a very good explanation further down in this forum topic titled full wave half wave. I doubt those are full wave as I have only seen full wave LED's be sealed bulbs and those look like removable bulbs. I'm no expert but they don't look full wave. You may want to search online vendors you see/hear about in these forums. For that Amazon price you can get 100 warm full wave LED strings for a few cents less.

 

That being said, I and many others use some half wave LED's in our displays. I have some from Big Lots and even QVC! They work but just are a bit "choppy" on slower fades up or down and sometime don't twinkle or shimmer as well as full wave LED's do. If you are doing fast fades or just on and off you would probably be fine with those lights. The full wave LED's I use dim/fade smoother and they are also sealed bulbs so there is much less chance of moisture getting to the bulbs. Hope this helps.

 

Later,

Al

[gmacw]

I agree with Al.  these don't appear to look like full wave.  Not that full wave or half way can be determined visually but I'm guessing they're half wave.   Before I switched over to all commercial hermetically sealed full wave LEDs that I but from Paul at creative.  I had leds that were removable like these appear to be.

 

These more than likely will still capable of dimming and twinkling but can be very noticeable to the human eye.  Full wave to half wave is simply how many times the lights turn on & off in a cycle.  In most cases half wave lights will cycle on & off 60 times a second while full wave will turn on & off 120 times a second.  By full wave doubling the on time it allows fuller ability to dim, shimmer etc. etc.  FYI... I find the commercial lights to also be much brighter than these types....

[EdNetman]

Thanks for the great information guys! I found some good deals on full wave lights from Amazon and they have Prime shipping. I'm just going to verify how many strings I need then order later tonight.

The funny thing is that the professional series full wave lights cost the same amount as the half wave ones from Costco!

[dgrant]

Just FYI, stay far, far away from "Martha" lights available at Home Depot. They do not dim at all and there have been reports of fires associated with controlled use. I personally have not seen that happen but I have some and they will not dim. Probably just fine for on/off usage.

[EdNetman]

Holy Cow! Thanks for the heads up, I'm staying away from those things for sure.