Flat, mains voltage LED tape.
bigclivedotcom 7:10
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I bought some of this mains voltage (240v) LED tape to take a look at. It's very similar to the mains voltage LED tube-light used in Christmas lighting in that it uses a common rectifier to convert the mains to unsmoothed DC which is connected to two bus wires that run the length of the tube/strip.
Sections of LEDs and resistors wired in series are then tapped off that bus so the tube/strip lights along its full length, but can usually be cut every metre and capped.
In this case each metre has 60 LEDs in series with 22 330 ohm resistors spaced amongst the LEDs to limit the current. It's obvious that each metre of strip can be cut in half to use it on lower voltage like 120V.
Power dissipation is roughly 5W per metre and the current is about 22mA per metre section.
I thought the rectifier box was moulded onto the cable, but it's not. It's just clipped together and while that's a downside for outdoor use, the chunky rectifier and fuse inside was a pleasant surprise.
The lack of smoothing means there is a slight flicker that may be noticeable in peripheral vision and certainly cause the iPad's camera issues at the end of the video.
Sections of LEDs and resistors wired in series are then tapped off that bus so the tube/strip lights along its full length, but can usually be cut every metre and capped.
In this case each metre has 60 LEDs in series with 22 330 ohm resistors spaced amongst the LEDs to limit the current. It's obvious that each metre of strip can be cut in half to use it on lower voltage like 120V.
Power dissipation is roughly 5W per metre and the current is about 22mA per metre section.
I thought the rectifier box was moulded onto the cable, but it's not. It's just clipped together and while that's a downside for outdoor use, the chunky rectifier and fuse inside was a pleasant surprise.
The lack of smoothing means there is a slight flicker that may be noticeable in peripheral vision and certainly cause the iPad's camera issues at the end of the video.
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