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fairy lights...
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:04 pm
by wibble_puppy
...ok, ok, i know
well i would quite like to have fairy lights in my van, so there
it seems to me that i can't just get some household fiary lights and take the plug off and plug them into a cigarette lighter, can i? different voltage and all that?
i don't like the rope lights which are sold for use in big truck cabs.....
anyone help me here?
juliet
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:24 pm
by minor_hickup
Perhaps if you could find the type that run off a transformer? Then you could either find a set that uses 12v DC or use a set with a lower voltage and a transformer from the cigarette lighter that will lower the supply to that needed by the lights.
But where will you light your cigarettes?
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:50 pm
by bigginger
If you can find an 'old style' set which just end in a plug, they're wired in series so that each bulb only recieves a low voltage - if one bulb goes, all of them stop working. If you found a set with 20 bulbs, then each is 12v - rewire them in parallel and they should be fine on 12v, with the advantage of staying working when one bulb blows.
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:08 pm
by les
................ok, ok, i know
Yes, you've gone too far this time, get a grip!
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:10 pm
by Onne
What you need are neon tubes Juliet! Come in all sorts of colours
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:13 am
by JustinMinor1000
Onne wrote:What you need are neon tubes Juliet! Come in all sorts of colours
Yeah and chrome that back axle Jack it up ...
Oh and did I mention spinners ?
Pimpin ..
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:05 pm
by bigginger
JustinMinor1000 wrote:
Oh and did I mention spinners ?
Pimpin ..
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooough!
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:19 pm
by Kevin
i don't like the rope lights which are sold for use in big truck cabs.....
Well they often have Christmas Trees with fairy lights in the cabs so they should be available, looks like you need to visit yout local laybye and ask
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:00 pm
by wibble_puppy
guys thank you for all your brilliant ideas - keep em coming - kevin i am loving the layby theme
i really am a little bit serious about this............ sorry les
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:13 pm
by Kevin
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:38 pm
by bigginger
WHat was wrong with what I said? It's not hard to do, honest
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:27 am
by wibble_puppy
bigginger wrote:WHat was wrong with what I said? It's not hard to do, honest
nowt! yer a geeeeenius man
it was exactly the kind of idea i was looking for - i just wondered if there were other ideas out there
......
.......... like kevin's battery powered set - that really could be a goer as well
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:35 pm
by lowedb
Bear in mind the ones for trucks are 24v, not 12v that you'd need.
Using a low voltage 12v set would be fine, but most I have seen use 18v or 24v. Even though the transformer outputs are often AC, you wouldn't normally have a problem using DC, as bulbs don't care, and if it has an electronic sequencer they turn the AC into DC anyway. If you get a set that work on DC, make sure you wire them the right way round (unless it's just bulbs).
As for 'transformering' them down, sorry won't work. Transformers only work on AC, and cars are DC. You'd have to invert the DC to AC first.
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:04 pm
by minor_hickup
What about the ones for charging phones? Don't they have to alter the voltage?
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:27 pm
by chrisd87
Yes but they won't use a transformer - probably a switched mode power supply instead, or some kind of inverter.
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:01 am
by minor_hickup
Oh right, i should have remembered you need AC for a transformer from GCSE physics, its all coming back now!