Cheapest dancing flame teardown

[@tonynicholson3328]

New ABBA song 'You are the dancing flame, cheap and lame, money down the drain.'😅

[@jimmytvfclassic]

😂 love it

[@piconano]

😂

[@Gengh13]

LOL

[@Space_Debris]

How clever😊

[@pantherplatform]

This comment is a super banger!

[@DIYuntilDAWN]

I have swapped out the LED in ones like these to a purple color to make "ghost candles" for Halloween decorations.

[@assassinlexx1993]

Wonder if you painted eyes on them? To put in a pumpkin 🤔

[@DIYuntilDAWN]

@@assassinlexx1993 I painted them grey and hung them from fishing line so they appeared to be floating in air.

[@TheZombieSaints]

Well done! Have you posted pics/vids of them anywhere? Would love to see them in action.

[@nyetloki]

Post a video!

[@theelmonk]

I've only seen the flickering led ones. The moving piece is a huge improvement.

[@acmefixer1]

This is kind of like the pendulum thing from several days ago. The use of a circuit to add motion to a gewgaw. What I'd like to see is Clive going back to his Joule Thief, and replace the 3 LR44s with a single AA cell, rectify and filter the output of a Joule Thief and use the LED to shunt regulate the voltage to approximately 3V. Basically a garden light with a flickering flame. Use a Ni-MH and a solar cell and we have -- the eternal flame that's lit even in the rain! 😮😮😊

[@arturismagilov3285]

Then you will have to isolate everything with varnish, and the LED with a transparent tube with transparent glue, and also insulate the coil, and the batteries in a waterproof capsule ...

[@POVwithRC]

​@@arturismagilov3285relax

[@Quickened1]

That officially has to be my favorite fake candle effect ever! From a distance, you might not be able to discern it's fake...

[@EssGeeSee]

Just need to find them now.

[@imbw267]

That coil looks like a budget buzzer

[@Alan2E0KVRKing]

I always use the 5v to 3.3v modules to make battery LED lights, USB powered. Sometimes adding a resistor to fine tune the brightness. Fit the module into the battery box to keep it all safe/clean. Then you still have the switch and the option to return it to battery power in the future.

[@nyetloki]

The non ballasted led seems like a feature instead of cost savings. The flicker thats caused by the coil being pulsed so the impedence of the batteries cause the line and the led to drop, gives it a more candle like glow. Stablizing the line with a stronger power supply may be counteractive to the look.

[@deslomeslager]

Correct. I am using a 3.3'-ish voltage, a LiFePO4 battery. It went in a 2 AA battery powered Led flame candle (but more sophisticated than the above). Next to the LiFePO4 I have an empty AA shell, with a 100 ohm resistor. Now the flikker is super realistic, as the light goes out every time the coil is powered. And the duration of the LiFePO4 is nice and long (my version also has a 6 hour times, 6 hours on, 18 off). In December I will have them in operation again .. ..

[@dean5263]

Great point, I questioned this phenomenon before I read your comment.

[@jhill4874]

That glitch may be on purpose. It's like when a real flame dims down on occasion.

[@timsampson5229]

As it happens, I've just got back from 'Candlelight Concert' in a church in County Durham UK. The church floor was filled with, maybe, 2000 electronic candles. It was very effective and the only lighting in the church for the performance - a string quartet playing Queen songs (also very good). I did wonder how the wobbling wick was achieved. Now I know! Thanks Clive.

[@nightcatarts]

I do like things that combine mechanics and electronics. This is a great way to randomise the flame effect compared with running a program.

[@jamiegreenham4140]

When I first saw it I genuinely thought it was an actually flame. A great affect for how much tech is actually used.

[@richardwernst]

OK, time to hook 5v USB to the circuit after removing batteries and adding resistor before the LED to see if the blob chip tolerates is... :)

[@fluffyblue4006]

Good to know. I would have glued a 3D-printed candleholder to the bottom of that thing, with a 3xAA battery holder in it. Or attach a USB cable with one dropper diode. This thing clearly needs a resistor. Not for just the LED but for the whole thing. If you'd power this candle like any LED, with an appropriate series resistor, the LED will cap the voltage for the blob. And yes, there should indeed be a flame-coloured led in there, instead of a cold-white one.

[@elvinhaak]

Love it! Almost as realistic as an original one (that is still cheaper). I have those 'fake' ones here (were given to me) with only LED to have that 'flashing' effect... I guess even cheaper but not really dancing. For the environment, I think the real deal is better then this one with 3 botton-cells that will be trown out after a short while.

[@ChristieNel]

Very neat! I use a deep orangey colour for my candle "lanterns" and the colour looks stunning.

[@j--r]

I love how you are essentially the Ashens of cheap consumer electronics. We need to get you a goofy intro like his, even if only for a one-off gag.

[@decee1157]

Actually pretty smart that they use the internal resistance of the cells for the LED as that means when the coil is energized the voltage drops slightly and gives that flickering effect!

[@dino6627]

If they added even a small value resistor, it would be better. Would make battery last longer, avoid chance of over-driving LED with new cells and enhance the flicker.

[@xenaretos]

I have a wee "kerosene lamp" style thingie with this module, although it's powered by 2 AAs instead. Interesting to see it reviewed.

[@zanchirou-Helix]

ahh i remember first videos on those , thanks to info from you i started to take apart broken ones i found when working at cementary and getting some base components and some for possible gold recovery later XD

[@snowdaysrule]

The store near me had a 6 pack of flicker flame tealights on clearance for $1 and each one contained a CR2032 lithium cell. I bought like 3 sets and took them all apart lol!

[@keithking1985]

I prefer these type of flame over the flickering LED type. I think it was yourself Clive that had a video were you made one from an old battery clock coil and pendulum and with paper for the flame..

[@bigclivedotcom]

Not sure if I did the paper flame one, but I did do a clock circuit mod on one.

[@MortenVindingSvendse]

Wow we have come a long way since I ran around in Beth Bad and Beond on a trip to US, to get the original Luminara candles, some 10 years ago. Remember they where around $30! But the original Luminara is very life like, and runs on 2 D cells, giving them 500 hours of burn time! And they are remote control able. Wonder if the blob chip could have input for a remote receiver 🤔

[@DairyAir]

Dude, I could see you having so much fun, working at a daycare/after school program… I can see “Big Clive, with 6-8 little heads, around a table, taking stuff apart…”

[@lohikarhu734]

they might have used the phosphor LED to get a high enough forward voltage to run the 3 V directly, since a tiny blue LED could have close to 3 V forward voltage..

[@richardbriansmith8562]

Awesome Video Big Clive🙂

[@craignehring]

Very cool Fun to see taken to bits

[@paulkocyla1343]

There have been flickering LEDs around that used surplus melody modules - so the LED was driven instead of a speaker and flickered. Maybe this blob is also something like that, and they just replaced the speaker with a coil that pseudo-randomly deflects the "flame".

[@weerobot]

Wow Looks Real..

[@d.t.4523]

I would buy one in a torch flame blue color. That would look nice. Thank you. Keep working, good luck.

[@rebokfleetfoot]

i have 3 of those that actually have a wax body, very convincing, i often worry some guest will try to light it :)

[@bigclivedotcom]

I have some red wax ones that stain everything they touch.

[@MortenVindingSvendse]

Some of my kids actually did that! Not very popular then, when they where $30 and only available from USA! (original Luminara type).

[@toddhodgson2130]

What if... flickery candle + candle blinky LED hack?

[@realflow100]

I have a really fascinating suggestion you could try. A home-made battery out of soldering wire. baking soda. and distilled or deionized water Make a coil-spring of soldering wire. in a small container. Best is no-flux with highest lead content you can get your hands on. Add baking soda to saturation. using distilled or deionized water (tap water CAN work but is not the best) Then charge it at about 20mA for a while. Discharge it and charge it several times. As many as you like. I recommend a low discharge rate of 5-15mA to start with. You'll see the capacity gradually increase every time. Slow charge is the way to go. You'll get the most "capacity" stored in the battery this way. Having the electrodes closer together helps with discharge current to a point. Less voltage drop. Its a lead-tin-solder alkaline battery! it really works and its super fascinating! String several together and you can run an LED for hours You can also try different electrolytes or mixtures. Baking soda is one. epsom salt is another that works. as well as Alum. You can even hook up a joule thief circuit to one to extend the runtime to even longer. and use only one cell to drive an LED for example. Or even several LED's

[@dcallan812]

Nice little flame effect. It's just ready to hack with a different LED and power supply. I wouldn't mind getting a few and adding some "candles" to my Xmas tree, with a central power supply. Nice video 2x👍

[@scottgray6276]

The head of props and one of the electricians at SCT were determined to come up with the PERFECT stage candle….I’m not sure how far they got…

[@RambozoClown]

This one be a good one for electronupdate to do a decap of. The silicon is probably simple enough to really see what everything is doing at a low level.

[@309electronics5]

Dont think its a microcontroller. Probably just a purpose built chip that pulses the coil by an internal clock circuit. I managed to make a few using a few transistors a few years ago but i dont have the design anymore but using raw transistors is possible

[@markfergerson2145]

Aren’t those LR44 cells nominally 1.5V apiece making the total 4.5V, again nominally? Might be worthwhile scoping the power rails. I bet they start at 4.5V and sag as the coil is pulsed. If you have a really high Z probe, looking at the coil voltage would be interesting. Alternatively, those near field phone charger toys you were playing with were terribly inefficient but a receiver circuit with a high efficiency red LED might give a nice visible indication of the pulse timing.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The LED will be trying to sink as much current as possible, so the high impedance of the cells will probably result in a voltage of 3V.

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

we were handed these in the office once, so we put them on every desk, turned them on and turned off the lights. it was so cool!

[@elvinhaak]

And how long do the batteries last for?

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

@@elvinhaakI think it lasts days (some people forgot to turn it off and it kept glowing the next day). They're very low power and 2xAA batteries, so their capacity to power drain ratio is very high.

[@obelixer9751]

"these" are not powered by 2x AA.

[@christophermorin9036]

I have a version of this that is the old design and is just a counterweighted flame. Needs air currents to move. Put it relatively in the path of a fan and it's actually quite convincing from a distance.

[@nomusicrc]

If it's running off of 3 button cell batteries wouldn't it be 4.5 volts

[@ariedemuijnck]

The LED may contain an internal resistor for current stabilisation. You could try measuring the I-V curve.

[@wchaz3697]

Wouldn't 3x LR44'S be 4.5V?

[@lordpitnolen2196]

Idea could be adopted for "candles" on Christmas trees.

[@capitalinventor4823]

I have a couple sets of three candles per set similar to this. Each set came with a remote control that lets one turn the candles on/off, set a timer for a number of hours, turn the candle effect on or off, and change the brightness. Thankfully they use AA batteries so that I may use rechargeable batteries. I'd hate to think of the waste if I was using coin cell batteries in them. Because they are remote controlled they are always using batteries unless one explicitly turns them off using the switch on the bottom. From further than a meter they look pretty good though I can hear the clicking from the plastic piece that makes the flickering hitting something. It's not loud but noticeable in a quiet room.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

I seen these many times, So how much voltage do the blob take?? I guess the only way to find out is to connect a power supply and crank up the voltage stupid until it pops

[@WiggyVideos13]

Get yourself a hot toddy, Sir Clive 🤧🥃

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Curious if you could design an overly complicated driver consisting of old-school logic gates. LFSR perhaps to generate a psudo random stream of bits to wiggle the candle flame?

[@bigclivedotcom]

I have pondered using a microcontroller to generate an LFSR stream of random bits to a candle coil.

[@wolfgangmcq]

IIRC somebody a few years ago discovered a flickering LED that was playing "happy birthday" at high speed to create the effect! Presumably it was the nearest chip they had to hand that output a stream of random-looking PWM, but hooking a speaker in series gave a very disconcerting result.

[@Term-0]

@@wolfgangmcq That is pretty funny and also displays a lot of enginuity

[@Stefan-oh4fr]

The flickery flame type use a musical card chip with the LED connected to the piezo speaker pin, perhaps this one connects the coil to it, although you would expect it to form a speaker with the magnet ;)

[@stewartpalmer2456]

Mr. Clive, I would be interested in seeing the blob chip built out with discrete components. I would like to see the oscillator circuit please.

[@goiiia3774]

I would like to look at the signal on the coil with an oscilloscope.

[@Lumibear.]

PLEASE could you get on your 3D printer and try making a version of the flame that’s a semi-transparent fully rounded shape, not the usual flat opaque one that only looks right from one angle. Getting the weight distribution right will be tricky but I’ve always wanted to see if it can be done, as it’s the one thing I dislike about these things.

[@madeintexas3d442]

No excuse me please during the disassembly on this one for sure. Lol.

[@SigEpBlue]

Thanks, I hate it. 🤣 Seriously, a stack of three LR44 cells?! You only do that when you want to make _sure_ your client/customer absolutely, positively knows you hate their guts.

[@Steezey7]

Wait, why?

[@MattyEngland]

​@@Steezey7because they are expensive and don't last long.

[@dino6627]

That was my first thought also, there is no excuse not to use AAA cells in a thing of that size. A single AA would be preferable though.

[@debgreentree]

Thank you again again

[@TomCee53]

I had a pair a few years ago in a taper form factor running off two AA cells. I can’t render what color led, but they were very realistic beyond a few feet.

[@charleshepplewhite7384]

Yup, you still need an oscilloscope, and then you could test your 1 in 4 theory. Love the show

[@twocvbloke]

I'm sure they're working on cutting out more bits and pieces to cheapen it some more, heck, I once got a flickering LED candle from Poundland where they used bluetooth solder, completely wireless connectivity, didn't work though, probably hadn't been paired properly... :P

[@coondogtheman]

3 LR44 button cells are 4.5v not 3v. That's ok I had one of these wired to a 2 C battery holder and it ran for months on a set of them. I am going to wire a 2 AA battery holder to it.

[@reoproedros]

those devices , might work good enough if we pair them with that remote charging technology of transferring power it would make it easy to put many candles in different positions how much current does it draw ?

[@GannDolph]

could you simplify it further by placing a candle flicker 5mm LED in series with the coil, powered by 5v USB? The coil current would pulse with the candle flicker LED and the coil would limit LED current to just about the right amount. no blob chip, no other resistors, just two components..

[@weaselbox6746]

ok this is too cool...i love the flamies candles but this is just really different, simple too! . its fun and you can relax and not burn dahn the house! yay! : o )

[@garymucher4082]

Cheaply built, yes, but the effect is nice. Interesting how they accomplished that flickering look.

[@umbrellacorp.]

Nice little night light. But I wish it worked with USB instead of watch batteries.

[@bigclivedotcom]

That hack can be done with resistors.

[@Kudos1799]

Obviously minus any remote control features?

[@repairitdontreplaceit]

maybe the led glitch is when the magnet fires ?

[@brucepickess8097]

"Magnet Fires" ??, coil energises.😏

[@jhsevs]

Does using a dimmer increase lifetime of modern led bulbs? Especially the planned obsolescence designed bulbs?

[@MortenVindingSvendse]

@@mattquinn-caledoniantelevi2522right the electronic is just as stressed but the LEDs will be less stressed when it’s dimmed

[@jhsevs]

I guess the answer depends, so I’d love to see a video on it! Or on how to save money by not having to replace lights and other electronics all the time/have a safer house that doesn’t burn down as fast

[@matthewcondon1985]

I just got a set of 5 of the larger dancing flam candles today from a thrift shop. I put batteries in and all of the flames move, but no light. I can look in and see the led is just barely lit. Have the leds gone bad? Can they be replaced? Edit: I think I just found them on Amazon. Maybe them should have a remote? Maybe I need the remote to light them up? I have some led tapers that have a remote that looks the same as the one on Amazon. I’ll have to dig that out of Christmas storage to see if it works on them. I can always return them if they don’t work.

[@berndeckenfels]

We have some with similar mechanical construction but bigger and with IR remote BTW flames are yellow ,)

[@tyronenelson9124]

I think that blob chip has a couple of transistors and resistors in it?

[@BlackheathTownhouse]

Power it from a discarded vape battery

[@CanizaM]

The glitching is part of the flickering effect!

[@dean5263]

When the voltage switches through the coil, does it create a voltage drop and ultimately a flickering (dimming) of the LED in synchronous with that timed pulse?

[@jmr]

That's pretty cool.

[@leiferickson3183]

I am amazed that it is cheaper to make an "electromechanical flicker" over just a couple LED's pwm'ed. I think this looks better though.

[@curtishoffmann6956]

More stuff videos from BigClive! Next up, crappy UAP alien tech!

[@mikehibbett3301]

Fur sure, I'd stick a small mcu on there instead, and just make use of the low cost mechanics. Imagine a room filled with these, controlled by a low cost bluetooth module... :) Go buy all the stock!

[@dustincole7067]

I thought that the batteries put out 4.5 (3 cells)?

[@bigclivedotcom]

They would if their internal resistance didn't limit the current.

[@phonotical]

Don't you have a multimeter to test the frequency with you? Button cells are never a good look in my opinion

[@elvinhaak]

I guess, if you have a USB-supply, add a ' around 100 ohm' resistor and a diode that you rip out of some old electronics, you will have a working one with maybe some special effects due to extra flicker ;-) Especially if you put this just inline with the current power-input. Not worth using new components...

[@jamiejoker118]

Modifications needed USB and better LED come on get your bits out lol 1k for led 5.2 down to 3v dropper u can do it 😊or convert it to a solar garden light candle for in the window

[@hugolandheer7008]

3xLR44 = 4,5 Volt? Oh wait... The diode limit it to 3 volt... That's almost short-circuit! A resistor would improve the lifspan.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

was hoping you would put 5v to it

[@markedis5902]

Can we see a customised one please ideally usb with a nicer led

[@RedFathom]

wonder what it would look like with a flicker led.

[@maicod]

isn't it 3x1.5V=4.5V ?

[@Bleats_Sinodai]

if I were to power this off USB i'd simply use an LM1117 3.3v regulator module.

[@EssGeeSee]

I’ll take a dozen!

[@trevorhaddox6884]

Time for someone to delid that ASIC, bet it's similar to the solar flower one.

[@309electronics5]

Electronupdate can do that but idk if he still does it

[@Science-Vlog]

Stungun teardown please, i can't get them here..

[@bigclivedotcom]

They're illegal here. But they work by using a simple single transistor inverter to step the voltage up through a transformer and charge a capacitor that is then dumped by a spark gap through the primary of a steel cored high voltage transformer to create the high current and voltage pulses.

[@Science-Vlog]

@@mattquinn-caledoniantelevi2522 i tought uk is similar to usa

[@der.Schtefan]

Isn't it that the purely flickering candle lights use a music chip to output a seemingly "random" signal, which in fact is just happy birthday?

[@scheitinjebroek]

Our dollarstore sells a 12 pack of LR44 for just 1€

[@TheSaemiProduction]

That DRING at around 5:22 ... I thought my BMW had an error again!!!

[@ntfshard]

Once I tried to convert Christmas led light with same 3 batteries to usb and completely burnt it. Initial idea was to 3d print a 3 battery sized stub to put it instead of battery and wire usb cable with resistor inside... And I made mistake in current limiting

[@user-nd7rg5er5g]

This is probably going to be me soon enough haha. I can't stand batteries and seek to convert them to USB as well.

[@smrp1984]

Blob Chip!!

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Aww! You ruined it! 😂 Too bad they don't use rechargeable batteries.

[@kapegede]

Isn't 3x LR 44 in series = 9 volt?

[@hardware4computer]

one LR44 is 1.5V

[@dollarama8652]

wait until they hit Dollar stores :)

[@profixfrp]

Good morning 🌅

[@StormBurnX]

Nifty!

[@RS-Amsterdam]

The problem now .is....how can I set a house on fire with this fake candle .😂

[@bigclivedotcom]

Gasoline and a match. The candle is just for drama.