Mains voltage LED tree-topper with schematic.

An interesting animated LED star that I stumbled across on eBay. The circuitry is interesting because the main control chip is obviously a dedicated LED flasher with the capability to regulate its own supply voltage and switch higher voltage loads. Presumably open collector style outputs, but more likely to be FET based.

These are quite hard to find on eBay. There are quite a few different types including dull battery operated ones, traditional tungsten lamp ones and then the more interesting 31 LED versions, sometimes referred to as LED pentagram tree toppers. Here’s a starter link to one listing, but I recommend you shop about to find them in the region of $8.

If you do the hack to reduce the intensity then please remember that the circuitry in these is referenced directly to the mains voltage and could give a shock if touched.

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