Christmas Light Faders?

S

Steve Reinis

Guest
Any way to build a moderately priced light fader for Christmas lights using
a straightforward circuits and components? I've been finding $400+ devices
meant for industrial signs, etc that handle 20+ amps per circuit, but I only
need a few amps switched/faded so I can have some trees in my yard fade
between blue and white using C7 and C9 christmas lights.

For years I've been gathering dysfunctional strings of mini "chaser" lights,
lopping off the lights and wiring on receptacles so I can plug in individual
strings of 100 count mini lights, but this year I want to use C7/C9 strings
and they pull too much current for these 'lightweight' devices to switch
without burning up.

Any sources of schematics?
 
"Steve Reinis" <noemail@all.com> wrote in message news:<bopvga0bj3@enews1.newsguy.com>...
Any way to build a moderately priced light fader for Christmas lights using
a straightforward circuits and components? I've been finding $400+ devices
meant for industrial signs, etc that handle 20+ amps per circuit, but I only
need a few amps switched/faded so I can have some trees in my yard fade
between blue and white using C7 and C9 christmas lights.

For years I've been gathering dysfunctional strings of mini "chaser" lights,
lopping off the lights and wiring on receptacles so I can plug in individual
strings of 100 count mini lights, but this year I want to use C7/C9 strings
and they pull too much current for these 'lightweight' devices to switch
without burning up.

Any sources of schematics?
Click to expand...
How about beefing up the 'lightweight' controllers you have? They
probably use little 1-amp TO-92 cased triacs to drive the strings
of mini lights. Just replace the little triacs with 4 or 8 amp
TO-220 cased devices, mounted off-board (may need a heat sink on
each) and wired to the controller where the existing triacs came
from. You may also have to add wire jumpers to the board to
supplement any traces that carry the full load current.

Mouser Electronics http://www.mouser.com has a selection of Triacs
& heat sinks. (No minimum order and reasonable shipping charges.)
They have "Logic Triacs" & "Gated Triacs" listed. The only difference
I can tell is in the gate current - the Logics are 3-5 mA, and the
Gated are 10-25 mA. You would need to get data on the existing
triacs in your controller to determine what type to get, but since
they are probably driven from a CMOS microcontroller, the "logic"
triacs with their lower gate drive requirements would be my choice
if I couldn't locate data on the existing ones.

Mike
WB2MEP
 
Hey!

Thanks for giving me a good idea to work with. I tried using the controller
to drive plain ole relays to switch the heavy loads, and that worked great
for simple flashing on and off patterns, but I had a brainfart and then
realized that it won't work for actual fading.

I've got a few of these controllers - I think I'll open one up and see if
there is enough room to maneuver with my lousy soldering skills.

Thanks,
-Steve (Never thought of an external, beefier triac.)

mike appenzeller <michael.w.appenzeller@lmco.com> wrote in message
news:dc8bba1c.0311111641.6a64999@posting.google.com...
"Steve Reinis" <noemail@all.com> wrote in message
news:<bopvga0bj3@enews1.newsguy.com>...
Any way to build a moderately priced light fader for Christmas lights
using
a straightforward circuits and components? I've been finding $400+
devices
meant for industrial signs, etc that handle 20+ amps per circuit, but I
only
need a few amps switched/faded so I can have some trees in my yard fade
between blue and white using C7 and C9 christmas lights.

For years I've been gathering dysfunctional strings of mini "chaser"
lights,
lopping off the lights and wiring on receptacles so I can plug in
individual
strings of 100 count mini lights, but this year I want to use C7/C9
strings
and they pull too much current for these 'lightweight' devices to switch
without burning up.

Any sources of schematics?

How about beefing up the 'lightweight' controllers you have? They
probably use little 1-amp TO-92 cased triacs to drive the strings
of mini lights. Just replace the little triacs with 4 or 8 amp
TO-220 cased devices, mounted off-board (may need a heat sink on
each) and wired to the controller where the existing triacs came
from. You may also have to add wire jumpers to the board to
supplement any traces that carry the full load current.

Mouser Electronics http://www.mouser.com has a selection of Triacs
& heat sinks. (No minimum order and reasonable shipping charges.)
They have "Logic Triacs" & "Gated Triacs" listed. The only difference
I can tell is in the gate current - the Logics are 3-5 mA, and the
Gated are 10-25 mA. You would need to get data on the existing
triacs in your controller to determine what type to get, but since
they are probably driven from a CMOS microcontroller, the "logic"
triacs with their lower gate drive requirements would be my choice
if I couldn't locate data on the existing ones.

Mike
WB2MEP
Click to expand...
 
"Steve Reinis" <noemail@all.com> wrote in message
news:bos2la020l6@enews3.newsguy.com...
Hey!

Thanks for giving me a good idea to work with. I tried using the
controller
to drive plain ole relays to switch the heavy loads, and that worked great
for simple flashing on and off patterns, but I had a brainfart and then
realized that it won't work for actual fading.

I've got a few of these controllers - I think I'll open one up and see if
there is enough room to maneuver with my lousy soldering skills.

Thanks,
-Steve (Never thought of an external, beefier triac.)
Click to expand...
The other option, using the controller to drive solid state relays may work
too, but the larger triac idea is likely better. I suggest mounting the
triacs separately on a piece of perfboard with heatsinks, the gate wire can
be fairly small, but use beefier wires for the other leads.
 
http://www.cantekmetatron.com/Default.htm

They have an ML-480 controller with nice effects.
 
Steve Reinis <noemail@all.com> wrote in message
news:bopvga0bj3@enews1.newsguy.com...
Any way to build a moderately priced light fader for Christmas lights
using
a straightforward circuits and components? I've been finding $400+
devices
meant for industrial signs, etc that handle 20+ amps per circuit, but I
only
need a few amps switched/faded so I can have some trees in my yard fade
between blue and white using C7 and C9 christmas lights.

For years I've been gathering dysfunctional strings of mini "chaser"
lights,
lopping off the lights and wiring on receptacles so I can plug in
individual
strings of 100 count mini lights, but this year I want to use C7/C9
strings
and they pull too much current for these 'lightweight' devices to switch
without burning up.

Any sources of schematics?
Click to expand...
Go with PWM - Assuming your using LED's, or even standard lights will work.
go grab a cheap PIC and get someone to program it for u, have it drive
something like a 3055 mosfet. Or u could use the 'lightweight' device to
drive a power transistor?
 
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