Color-Changing Christmas Globes, retail $TBA (www.wallmart.com)
Manufactured by (Unknown) for Gemmy Industries (www.gemmy.com)
Last updated 12-03-20
I know it's mid-June, but what flashaholic could resist testing Christmas lights, no matter what time of year?
This is a set of six color-changing LED Christmas lights. Each globe has an RGB LED (or seperate red, green, and blue LEDs) inside; these all do a color fade routine in unison (together) when the switch is turned on.
You can operate the lights with three AA cells or from an AC adapter (both are included); decorate with them as you would ordinary Christmas light sets.
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Remove the control box and the cardboard box with the AC adapter in it by using scissors or a very sharp knife to cut the thick plastic ties holding them to the underside of the plastic inner container these lights are shipped in.
Unplug and get rid of the "try me" switch from the black control box, and remove the rubbery stopper from the on/off switch on the control box before you use these lights. They will come on as soon as you unplug the "try me" switch; this is perfectly normal and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about. Turn the switch to the "off" position before going farther; you don't want to waste those batteries ya know.
Decorate with these lights the same way you would decorate with other Christmas lights. Hang them on the front of the fireplace mantel, hang them in a window, put them in your Christmas tree, etc., or just hang the suckers off your dorm room ceiling for that holiday feeling all year 'round.
If desired, plug the small plug on the end of the AC adapter's cord into the receptacle for it on the control box, and plug the rectangular thing into any 2- or 3-slot household AC receptacle that outputs 110 to 130 volts AC at 60Hz.
Slide the slide switch on the control box to the "on" position to turn the light set on, and slide the switch to the "off" position to turn the light set off.
To change the batteries when necessary, use a medium phillips screwdriver to unscrew and remove the screw just to the left of the latch on the battery door. Press in slightly on the battery door's latch, swing the battery door out, remove it, gently place it on the floor, and kick it under the Christmas tree that you're always forgetting to water so that the hungry, hungry carpet beetle grubs (larvae) will think it's something yummy for their insect tummies, find out otherwise, and then proceed to uranate on it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.
Remove the three used AA cells from the battery compartment if necessary, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.
Install three new AA cells in the battery compartment, orienting the flat-end (-) negative of each cell with the spring for it in each chamber.
Place the battery door back on, bottom end first, and press down on it until it clicks into place. Screw the screw back in, and there, you're finished.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that battery door under the dead, dead Christmas tree now?
Due to the way the product was constructed and how it functions, I am not able to furnish you with a current usage value.
This light set is meant to be used as a decorative light set in a dry area, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, and abused, so I won't try to drown them in the toilet, bash them against a steel rod or against the corner of a concrete stair, let my housemate's kitty cat go to the bathroom on them, run over them with a 400lb Rascal, or perform other indecencies on them that a regular flashlight might have to go through. So this section of the web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.
Whenever power is applied, the globes always start out blue. They then cycle to red, then to green, then back to blue, then to several other intermediate colors (more than one LED or color chip is on at once). The globes may display a white color at some point, but I have not watched them long enough to make that determination.
The dwell time (the time the product stays the same color) is approximately three seconds. Then the globes gracefully and gently fade to the next color.
Photograph of the light set lighted up.
Spectrographic analysis of the red LEDs in these lights.
Spectrographic analysis of the green LEDs in these lights.
Spectrographic analysis of the blue LEDs in these lights.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.
Quicktime movie (.mov extension) showing the set's color-changing properties.
This clip is approximately 4.6 megabytes (4,880,288 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.
Video on YourTube showing the product's color-changing action.
This clip is approximately 15.444523845290 megabytes (15,685,206 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than seventy seven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
Video on YourTube showing how I have the Color-Changing Christmas Globes hung in my room for the holidays.
This clip is approximately 5.362354892454 megabytes (5,586,107 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty seven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by a website fan, and was received on 06-04-05.
The AC adapter outputs 6 volts DC at 500mA.
Center of plug is (+) positive; outer barrel is (-) negative.
Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.
UPDATE: 06-12-05
I left them on all night, and didn't encounter any failures or malfunctions. But none were expected. Not much of an update, eh?
UPDATE: 06-13-05
When I turned the set on this morning, all the globes came on green and stayed that way. But when I power-cycled it (turned it off and back on), it resumed normal operation.
UPDATE: 06-14-05
When I turned the set on this morning, nothing at all happened - all of the globes stayed dark. But just like yesterday morning, when I power-cycled the set (turned it off and back on), it resumed normal operation.
UPDATE: 06-15-05
Not much of an update here, but the set operated properly when I turned it on this morning. After two consecutive days of malfunction at power on, they worked correctly this time.
UPDATE: 06-25-05
When I turned the set on this morning, all the globes came on green and stayed that way. But when I power-cycled it (turned it off and back on), it resumed normal operation. This is exactly what happened on 06-13-05; see the update for that date to read about the exact same thing. The set worked properly from 06-15 through 06-24.
UPDATE: 06-29-05
When I turned the set on this morning, all the globes came on purple and stayed that way. But when I power-cycled the set (turned it off and back on), it resumed normal operation. Because this is now happened several times, I *will* add it to the "CONS:" section below when I rate this product.
UPDATE: 07-01-05
When I turned the set on this morning, all the globes came on green and stayed that way. But when I power-cycled it (turned it off and back on), it resumed normal operation. Since this is now known to be a regular occurance, I don't think I'll need to update this web page with any additional occurances.
UPDATE: 07-11-05
I have taken note that these lights malfunction approximately every third time they are turned on; that'll probably knock no fewer than three stars off the final rating.
Suffice it to say that due to these malfunctions, this set will not receive Trophy Case placement on this website.
They are very pretty though, so the lowered rating you see at the bottom should not discourage you from purchasing them.
UPDATE: 12-29-10
I really do love these lights, and they have functioned properly ***EVERY SINGLE TIME*** I've used them since Christmas 2005 (that's five full years now!!!), so their rating will be going up significantly and they've earned a spot in this website's Trophy Case!!!
I have received a number of emails lately asking where these lights can be obtained; I'm very sorry to report that I simply do not know.
PROS:
Rather pretty to look at
Dual-power option (AC or batteries) available
Seems at least reasonably durable
CONS:
Set can "freeze up" at power-on; power cycling fixes it.
MANUFACTURER: Unknown
PRODUCT TYPE: Color-changing LED Christmas light set
LAMP TYPE: RGB LED (I believe)
No. OF LAMPS: 6
BEAM TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Slide on/off on controller
BEZEL: LEDs surrounded by transluscent white globes
BATTERY: 3xAA cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER RESISTANT: Light splatter-resistance at maximum
SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
ACCESSORIES: Batteries, AC adapter
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated
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