Xmas Lights (cheap)

[everthewatcher]

Yes, even though the spelling is different, somebody is going to pronounce ukca in the same manner as the yucca plant (minus the y, of course) and cause endless more confusion. Why, you would then ask, is the Universities Central Council on Admissions (UCCA, usually pronounced as above) certifying products. . Too many uccas, I think.

Will the true one be referred to as the Vera UKCA, which will be pronounced verrucca?

 

[everthewatcher]

Oh aye? So that's how they get around charges of forgery is it?

FWIW, the markings look like the former rather than the latter.

The incorrect variant on the right is often found on kit from reputable manufacturers that is fully compliant. It's clearly too much trouble to check.

 

[MikeSh]

So what's going on? Well they're not ordinary LEDs - they're blue LEDs with a phosphor on the die just like white LEDs, only in this case the phosphors are single colour. I'm now making an informed guess that the red phosphor is the least efficient as it's the furthest colour shift from the blue light that's exciting it.

Or maybe it's just BH is slightly red colour blind ...

(I've noticed in the last 10 years or so that my central vision (cones) is less sensitive to blue than the outer (rods). It may always have been so, or it might be age related, but the prevalence of blue led indicators has made it apparent - like the blue ring on a FOX box.)

 

[everthewatcher]

I must admit you've got me there. I've never heard of red LEDs being anything other then red LEDs.

It's certainly been the case on all the multicolour strings I've looked at in recent years and I see no reason to do it differently as it's only a variation on the way white LEDs are made. And they now come in all shades of white from 6400K through 2700K and beyond down to a golden white.

 

[Black Hole]

Anyway, you should report them as a fire hazard before someone's house burns down.

They won't though, I've already explained that.

 

[EEPhil]

Oh aye? So that's how they get around charges of forgery is it?

I couldn't even see the difference (ignoring the squares) until I put the image in Photoshop and discovered the distances between c and e. Most punters are not going to get a measuring device to check that spacing. The China one could be legitimate - it may meet the standards - and they've just got the spacing wrong on the logo, or it could be a forgery. Some reputable UK body needs to test the lights to be sure.

 

[EEPhil]

Or maybe it's just BH is slightly red colour blind

Don't remember reading any reports of him driving through red traffic lights.

 

[Black Hole]

If approaching rapidly I'd be blue-shifted.

 

[Deleted member 473]

I couldn't even see the difference (ignoring the squares) until I put the image in Photoshop and discovered the distances between c and e. Most punters are not going to get a measuring device to check that spacing.

I think that's the idea.

 

[MikeSh]

If approaching rapidly I'd be blue-shifted.

Would that make you Blue Hole then?

 

[Black Hole]

Most punters are not going to get a measuring device to check that spacing

I don't find it difficult to tell - now I know what the difference is. The official version is clearly wider spaced than the Chinese version, so all you are really looking for is whether there is an obvious gap.

 

[trog]

Will the true one be referred to as the Vera UKCA, which will be pronounced verrucca?

I think we all know what a fraudulent UKCA mark will be called.

 

[Deleted member 473]

The incorrect variant on the right is often found on kit from reputable manufacturers that is fully compliant. It's clearly too much trouble to check.

How do you know?

 

[Deleted member 473]

Would that make you Blue Hole then?

Just tell him not to approach you too fast and too close. Black Hole has a tendency to distort everything when approached.

 

[everthewatcher]

How do you know?

Which? That it's compliant or too much trouble to check?

 

[Deleted member 473]

Compliance. It's the sort of statement BH usually pounces on.

 

[Black Hole]

That must have caught me off-guard. The consumer has no evidence of compliance other than the CE mark, and without examining the original test report or design file (which can be forged, especially if it's just a copy - you would then need to follow the paper trail back to the certification house) there is little proactive enforcement of CE marking. The whole system relies on end-user complaints to the likes of Trading Standards, and individuals approaching Trading Standards are directed to Citizens Advice for a referral, which then has to go through umpteen stages of due diligence... I know - I've tried it (in a case of denial of consumer rights).

It's the directors of a company who should get it in the neck if non-compliance is proved (basically, whoever signed it off), and we know how slippery they can be when it comes to the bottom line.

 

[everthewatcher]

Compliance. It's the sort of statement BH usually pounces on.

Would a declaration of compliance in the manual be good enough?

 

[Black Hole]

If you were incorporating a product into your own product and had to declare conformity on your product, would you take a "declaration of compliance in the manual" as sufficient for your design file?

 

[everthewatcher]

If you were incorporating a product into your own product and had to declare conformity on your product, would you take a "declaration of compliance in the manual" as sufficient for your design file?

Possibly not, but a) I'm talking about a finished product and b) it's been a long time since I had anything to do with CE compliance.