Strobe Failures

S

Some Guy

New member
I bought xenon strobe lights in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017. The ones I bought in 2012 from www.winterlandinc.com are still going strong with a low percentage of failures. The ones in 2014 (from www.creativedisplays.com?... can't remember for sure) were okay for a few years, but are few are starting to fail. The ones bought in 2015 and 2017 (from DIY LED Express) have been dropping like flies, but their warranty/replacement/refund policy has been good at least.

They all look pretty well the same with the usual white base and screw into a C9 socket. The ones I bought in 2012 were supposed to flash about 100-120 times per minute and held up to their rating, and the ones in 2014 and 2015 were supposed to be 180 flashes per minute and were about that range, but the 2017 ones were supposed to be 180 times per minute but were closer to 120 flashes per minute in reality.

I'm kind of frustrated with the quality of strobes the past few years. How have others fared with their strobe purchases over the last few years and where did you get them from?
 
I get strobe failures every year AND I get pixel failures every year too. Buying extra spares is normal process as far as I'm concerned.
I will say the reliability on both seems to have gone down in the last year or two. However the price has come down too. Probably not a coincidence... :hmm:
 
I think that as strobes ages, their ability to deal with extreme temperatures declines -- you're in BC -- has the weather changed appreciably over the past year or two?
 
dirknerkle said:
I think that as strobes ages, their ability to deal with extreme temperatures declines -- you're in BC -- has the weather changed appreciably over the past year or two?
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I'm in the Lower Mainland which has some of the warmest winters in Canada. It didn't get any colder than about -5C (23F) this past season. We usually don't get much colder than that either.
 
pixelpuppy said:
I get strobe failures every year AND I get pixel failures every year too. Buying extra spares is normal process as far as I'm concerned.
I will say the reliability on both seems to have gone down in the last year or two. However the price has come down too. Probably not a coincidence... :hmm:
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Where have you bought your strobes in the past? Any advice on what worked well and what didn't? The year you bought them would give you bonus points! :)
 
Some Guy said:
Where have you bought your strobes in the past? Any advice on what worked well and what didn't? The year you bought them would give you bonus points! :)
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I wish I could give you a specific answer but I buy them wherever and whenever I see them on sale. Mostly the same places you mentioned.

As far as what worked and what didn't, all I can tell you is that all my strobes are xenon not led. I tried led strobes and they don't have the same pop and wow factor for me even though they may last longer. You might try some LED strobes to see what you think. I didn't like them as much but they probably last longer.
 
pixelpuppy said:
I tried led strobes and they don't have the same pop and wow factor for me even though they may last longer. You might try some LED strobes to see what you think. I didn't like them as much but they probably last longer.
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Why would I want something I don't like as much to last longer, LOL!?!
 
I've had a high percentage of strobes go each year. This year I got a late start testing the lights and found that about 1/3 of them didn't work...must have been a rough storage year for them.

Anyway, by the time I got around to it the led strobes were the only one's available. I got them here:http://www.diyledexpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=88&products_id=63.

I have to say that I really didn't notice a difference between them and the regular strobes except that none failed during the display this year. We'll see about whether they make it through storage next year but so far I'm happy with them.
 
Living in Houston I lost a few my first year, and noticed that there was always moisture inside. I ended up drilling two 1/8" holes about an inch apart on the ends of the strobes and then hanging them, so that any moisture that got inside, would run out. After 6 or 7 years of use, I've only lost 3 more out of about 50 bulbs. I think I bought some from Chuck that first year, and some from Todd the next year. I didn't use them this year, but testing what I have left is on the to do list as I always have an AC channel open for strobes.
 
The whole problem is these are "curtain strobes". They are made for indoor use. And our hobby is always searching for the cheapest option so we use them. They don't fit a C9 socket well, condensation collects inside, the boards tend to fail under this abuse they were not designed for. So till a better option comes around we are stuck with them. FYI the 3/4Watt led strobes from acl are great but they may not have another group buy.

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Skunberg said:
FYI the 3/4Watt led strobes from acl are great but they may not have another group buy.
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What is ACL an acronym for? AusChristmasLighting.com? I quickly looked on their web site, and I saw some kits, but I was looking for something that I just screw into a socket, rather than screwing around with assembling! :lol: Before kids, I had more time to assemble boards, now I direct my Christmas lighting hobby "me" time toward assembling yard display that I can't buy.
 
Some Guy said:
What is ACL an acronym for? AusChristmasLighting.com? I quickly looked on their web site, and I saw some kits, but I was looking for something that I just screw into a socket, rather than screwing around with assembling! [emoji38] Before kids, I had more time to assemble boards, now I direct my Christmas lighting hobby "me" time toward assembling yard display that I can't buy.
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Yes ACL is AusChristmasLighting. The last group buy they were assembled and sealed. 30 cm apart on a string. Great strobes but we may not see them again. Smaller forum with different goals sometimes, being summer on that side of the line and different thoughts of what a light show should be and how to do it sometimes. I'd like to get a couple more strings.

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What about a DIY strobe? Get some circuit boards made up for some little led strobes order a bunch of parts and make them your self. Your not going to make them cheaper than what you can buy them for, but you could make them better.
How about a 12 volt version and controlled by a pixel controller?
 
DaleP said:
What about a DIY strobe? Get some circuit boards made up for some little led strobes order a bunch of parts and make them your self. Your not going to make them cheaper than what you can buy them for, but you could make them better.
How about a 12 volt version and controlled by a pixel controller?
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This is how the ACL strobe started. After hashing it out for 6 months they had a board with 3 led option, many hardware options and endless programming options. Even added options while collecting for the group buy. While many people got just what they wanted, many more had trouble with mismatched options, smd soldering errors, smd identification errors, programming errors. With all the options it was almost impossible to help people with problems. The next year ACL strobe 2, one board, one led, one program to adjust strobe speed. Still a kit with the smd issues, but some members volunteered to build the board and program for a small fee. This round went much better and people were happy. After a couple years comes the ACL strobe 3. Although it's not called 3 as it's basically still the version 2. They moved to a 3/4 watt over the 1/2 (more difference than you would think), programmed for random flash with in a range, 5vdc on and off (5vdc is the ACL favorite), prebuilt and epoxy sealed. The only option was 15cm or 30cm spacing on the string (30cm being the most common). My favorite. So if you have read this far, don't make the same mistakes. [emoji4]

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Do you know if they share their design files and sources?
Skunberg said:
This is how the ACL strobe started. After hashing it out for 6 months they had a board with 3 led option, many hardware options and endless programming options. Even added options while collecting for the group buy. While many people got just what they wanted, many more had trouble with mismatched options, smd soldering errors, smd identification errors, programming errors. With all the options it was almost impossible to help people with problems. The next year ACL strobe 2, one board, one led, one program to adjust strobe speed. Still a kit with the smd issues, but some members volunteered to build the board and program for a small fee. This round went much better and people were happy. After a couple years comes the ACL strobe 3. Although it's not called 3 as it's basically still the version 2. They moved to a 3/4 watt over the 1/2 (more difference than you would think), programmed for random flash with in a range, 5vdc on and off (5vdc is the ACL favorite), prebuilt and epoxy sealed. The only option was 15cm or 30cm spacing on the string (30cm being the most common). My favorite. So if you have read this far, don't make the same mistakes. [emoji4]

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I bet they would, I believe David_AVD was contact for the board design and for the last group buy they used a fellow called Ben Brown (ACL member) to get them made in China.
They have the design schematic and hex files in their wiki: https://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/ACL-Strobe-Mk2
As mentioned by Skunberg, the Mk3 is basically a finished product with the board/LED/jacket all enclosed with epoxy for waterproofing.
As a side note, David also made a power board for driving these strobes that helped make them look more random: https://auschristmaslighting.com/threads/power-control-pcb-for-acl-mk3-strobe-strings.9982/
I have the older Mk2 with the .5W LED, still haven't put them in display as of yet...LOL
 
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