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Old 30th Nov 2019, 1:01 am   #470
broadgage
Nonode
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
Posts: 2,129
Default Re: Vintage Christmas Tree lights

"Starting the voltstick search the other end" tends not to work well with sets of 20 or more series lamps.
Such sets often consist of a single long wire from the plug to the most distant lamp, with the lamps in series along the other wire.
If this long wire be connected to mains live, then a voltstick tends to light on any lamp due to the proximity of this "always live" conductor.
This wire therefore needs to be connected to mains neutral, either permanently via a polarised plug, or when required via a reversible plug.

Sets of 8, 10, or 12 lamps are more often in a ring or loop arrangement and polarity is unimportant, simply start from either end.
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