Cheapest meteor lights on AliExpress - with schematics

Описание: A look at the cheapest set of icicle/meteor lights I could find on AliExpress. They do work, but the power supply is maybe just a bit basic. However, they are easy to adapt to use a USB power supply of known quality.

The circuitry in the meteor strips themselves is pretty streamlined. I'm not sure if it's a dedicated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or a special purpose microcontroller. It has a built in 3.3V shunt regulator for use with a wide range of voltages. The chip cuts off at just under 3V, with the current dropping to about 100uA. It handles reverse polarity without issue.

The LEDs are not multiplexed and use very low resolution PWM for the dimming trail. They rely on the speed of the falling pulse of light to hide the simplicity of the effect.

The tubes are thin plastic, and the end caps appear to have the wiring injection moulded in. They are glued on well and were quite hard to get off.

It appears the chip may be a TM1834 meteor effect chip made by Titan Micro Electronics.

I bought these from AliExpress (not a sponsor). Here's a link to the listing:-
https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/100500...



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