Tell if LEDS are full wave?

[mcangeli]

The wife picked up some LED Snow flakes from Garden Ridge, and no where on the box does it say that they are full wave or half wave (for that matter).

Is there a way to tell if they are full or half wave?

[dmaccole]

The fact that there is no mention means they're probably half-wave.

If when looking at them straight on you don't see the flicker, try moving them into your peripheral vision (or, simply turn your head). Many people can only see the flicker through peripheral vision.

If that doesn't do it, try moving the lights quickly from side-to-side; some people can really see the flicker that way.

But if you can't tell, then does it really matter?

\dmc

[tbone321]

Many retail boxes don't say either half or full wave because many don't have a clue as to what that means anyway.  What you can look for are key words like high intensity or low flicker which also indicate full wave strings.  As DMC suggested, you can also look for the flicker.  For many it is far more visible if you turn your head while looking at them or move the string while looking at them.  If you see an intense flicker while doing that then they are more than likely half wave. 

[mcangeli]

Thanks guys. Pretty sure what she bought is half wave then... but hey, half beats no wave right? 

[PJNMCT]

But if you can't tell, then does it really matter?

Yes. If you want to dim them.

-Paul

[dmaccole]

But if you can't tell, then does it really matter?

Yes. If you want to dim them.

Paul:

I beg to disagree.

I have been dimming half-wave LEDs for three seasons now and I defy anyone to tell me during the show whether they dim "correctly" or not. They ramp up and down nicely and don't look bad at all. I own some "full wave" LEDs that I bought this season that don't ramp well at all, especially at the low end (but I haven't tried adding snubbers to them -- that's an experiment for the off-season).

It's becoming clear to me that every make of LED string is different in how it looks and works with an SSR. There appears to be no consistency even within the same maker's products during the same season.

Put the string in question on an SSR and ramp -- if it looks OK, it's OK.

\dmc

[PJNMCT]

Sounds like you have the experience with them...I don't - yet. Just speaking from what I understand other's experiences to be.

-Paul

[Dennis Cherry]

Have used full and half wave LED's in my display for 3 years also.

Come over and tell me which a Full and Half Wave, you will be surprised how wrong you can be.

The mindset on LED's will be hard to undo.

[rrowan]

Have used full and half wave LED's in my display for 3 years also.

Come over and tell me which a Full and Half Wave, you will be surprised how wrong you can be.

The mindset on LED's will be hard to undo.

I bet I could tell if they are plugged into a Original Lynx if they are 1/2 wave or not. Since its a PWM controller and not a phase controller. Plug in the lights one way and it works and they don't if switched around.

Cheers

Rick R.

[tbone321]

If I lived near you I would take that challenge.  I am not saying that your half wave lights don't look good becaue many of them do but if you know what you are looking for you can see the difference.  The high quality half wave ones also dim well and on par with the full wave versions but the low quality full wave tend to dim much better than the low quality half wave ones do.

[Gary]

I agree with dmaccole. I use all LEDs, and I'm not exactly sure if they are ALL half-wave, but some are since the flickering is more noticeable on them... and they all dim fine.

However, the dimming did get more linear when I changed the light curves using the Express Config Utility. Actually, I think it was the lone C6 option there (just a few spaces below the Default) was that looked good on all my light channels using different types/sizes/numbers of lights from various manufacturers. All the other ones made things look worse... notably at the top and bottom ends of brightness levels.

[rrowan]

If I lived near you I would take that challenge.  I am not saying that your half wave lights don't look good becaue many of them do but if you know what you are looking for you can see the difference.  The high quality half wave ones also dim well and on par with the full wave versions but the low quality full wave tend to dim much better than the low quality half wave ones do.

Trust me on the Original Lynx if the 1/2 waves are plugged in the wrong way in they don't work. It was a poor attempt at a joke.

I am sure I can tell the difference between lights on and blackness.

Cheers

Rick R.

[tbone321]

LOL, yes, I bet that you could tell the difference between light and dark.  If the older Lynx was only triggering on one half of the wave at some levels and it was the wrong half then a half wave string would not light at all.  This may also happen to the guy in the Wallmart thread if he uses my idea about using a standard wall dimmer to test them and it also only uses half of the wave at lower levels and uses the wrong half.

[RJ]

The original Lynx did not have a wave to send half of. It was a DC dimmer that ran on AC power.

RJ

[jnealand]

Mark, you have been by my house this year.  Did you see any issues with my LEDs?  All mine come from big box stores locally.  Many from Home Depot, others from Lowes, Garden Ridge, Hobby Lobby, and even Big Lots.  I have had very few problems with any of the lights, dimming, rust or flickering except that which was caused by the wireless problem that was just fixed.  Only my roof lights still have some flicker because I decided I was not going to climb up there just to flash the firmware.