Poundland Xmas cock-up.
Added 2018-09-21 23:48:39 +0000 UTCThey've done it again! Last year they brought out a dodgy charging lead styled as a string of lights. Many of them had a fault where the first LED would get the full brunt of 5V with no current limiting and often fail instantly with a loud crack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkv2pEqf5VI
This year they have a similar set with just six lights and an even worse fault.
Comments
She got it replaced. I thought the replacement was the same and decided to check it out with the meter and removing some of the heat shrink around the first led. But this time there is a 50 ohm resistor somewhere between the usb positive and the first led. I’m not sure where they have the resistor, could be in the usb plug moulding, it’s not visible on the wire. It stays lighting at least.
Denis Looby
2018-09-28 19:07:10 +0000 UTC(It's Dealz on the Isle of Man too.)
Big Clive
2018-09-27 02:40:09 +0000 UTCOn a plus note, they're hackable. I reckon you could have a section of any parallel lights you like spliced in and twisted round the main cable with the addition of a bit of heatshrink and a 100 ohm resistor.
Big Clive
2018-09-27 02:39:33 +0000 UTCMy wife arrived home with a set of these from Dealz(Poundland’s brand in Ireland) today. I was eager to plug them in to see what would happen. Visual inspection showed no likely resistor locations. So plug in and they light nice and bright, then the first led flickers and then the whole lot goes out and that was it, dead in about 5 seconds.
Denis Looby
2018-09-26 23:08:05 +0000 UTC<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz-ndgC6BJ4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz-ndgC6BJ4</a>
Big Clive
2018-09-25 00:00:42 +0000 UTCClose. Yihua 502D. Not perfect, but fixable. I made a video about it.
Big Clive
2018-09-24 23:59:45 +0000 UTCVIHUA 5020? (Trying to read the label)
2018-09-24 17:03:39 +0000 UTCShunting. They didn't last long enough in situ to corrode. Got a couple of good head units though. Used one to make an LED flame bulb solar light of my own in a vapor proof fixture. I am happy for that!
Michael Thompson
2018-09-23 22:05:38 +0000 UTCWas it the classic crappy LED shunting out all the others or corrosion?
Big Clive
2018-09-23 20:20:23 +0000 UTCStrings. Two sets died early (leds)
Michael Thompson
2018-09-23 15:45:10 +0000 UTCStrings or stand-alone?
Big Clive
2018-09-23 15:23:24 +0000 UTCI had a rough time with cheap solar lights this year.
Michael Thompson
2018-09-23 09:16:57 +0000 UTCIt would be interesting to try with a Quick Charge 2 or 3 charger, where the charger bumps the output voltage up to 12V with compatible devices.
Seán Byrne
2018-09-22 22:50:04 +0000 UTCThis gives you an excellent opportunity to show the public how to make the LEDs last (insert a resistor in a wire). As in "How to de-chicken the latest Poundland X-mas LEDs"
2018-09-22 09:21:32 +0000 UTCyup, found it, ordered it cheers!
Neil Tonks
2018-09-22 04:19:45 +0000 UTCFeatured in another video. It's a USB power supply with analogue meter.
Big Clive
2018-09-22 04:17:08 +0000 UTCwhat was the device you plugged it into at the end??
Neil Tonks
2018-09-22 04:08:30 +0000 UTCBest reply!
John Carr
2018-09-22 03:06:08 +0000 UTCI am confused?? I didn’t see a single rooster in the video?
Lostngone
2018-09-22 03:00:56 +0000 UTCThe charging cable is separate from the LED string.
Big Clive
2018-09-22 01:40:58 +0000 UTCWhen they work properly they're actually quite a nice phone charging cable. They just seem to have problems training the workers at the factory that makes them.
Big Clive
2018-09-22 01:37:06 +0000 UTCSo... who are these marketed towards? 6 LEDs on a tiny ass cable with a timed life
2018-09-22 00:26:37 +0000 UTCvery smart people made these
God 420
2018-09-22 00:24:13 +0000 UTCI guess a resistor would cause too little voltage coming out of the other end, so it wouldn’t be much of a charge lead. Surely they don’t think that the device being charged would create enough of a resistance to keep the LEDs alive?
evilution
2018-09-22 00:16:52 +0000 UTC
