[TenTec] Way Off Topic, But...

[Stuart Rohre]

Kim, and the group,
This is a problem I think all of us who put up Holiday tree lights 
experience at one time or another.

After several years of helping a non ham friend with her tree lights, I 
confirmed what had my suspicions up.

This tree came with a multiple AC outlet cable wrapped around the tree 
trunk.  Disconnect points were where the sections of the tree plug 
together.  Standard import 120 volt two prong sockets and plugs with one 
side wider than the other to preserve polarization.

She kept losing strings up and down the tree.  One time they would work, 
next year they did not.  She bought more strings and simply overlaid new 
strings by used the plugs on them to piggyback on top of the outlets ie 
two strings into each other's plug and one of those into the main outlet 
cord.

This year, I put an AC voltmeter on the factory cord wrapped around the 
tree.  It indicated about 3 volts!  Further, the quality or lack of it 
in the two prong string plugs means you should not piggy back two plugs 
into one extension cord receptacle.  I told them not to use the factory 
cord or wrap ANY AC cord around a tree trunk, even on these artificial 
trees.

Cleaning up the wiring, after tracing the strings left from year to 
year, we got a set of good lights, using several drop cords to balance 
out the loads.  The cords were run vertical, close to the trunk but on 
the back side of the tree, and I advised, NO WRAPPING cords around the tree!

I also did one more step in trouble shooting.  The plugs on the factory 
  strings of lights have a shutter on one side of each plug that covers 
two tiny cartridge fuses, one in each side of the AC line.  These are 
behind the prongs of the string plug.  While some looked like they were 
not fully seated level, they all checked out good using an ohm meter 
with the AC plug pulled from any others and AC shore power.
Carefully FULLY close the shutter on each fuse compartment after testing.

I have changed very few of the miniature bulbs over many years of use, 
in both my trees and friends'.  Usually the blinking strings are the 
first ones to burn out a bulb.  No doubt due to off-on surges.

Hope this solves someone's frustration.  Sometimes you can bend the flat 
prongs to get a better grip on its mating socket, but I Have had to take 
flat blade screwdrivers and bend the receptacle contacts closer to each 
other as well.

-Stuart Rohre
K5KVH