[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent
to the cited author.]

In article ,
says...
On a related note can someone recommend a brand of LED xmas lights that are
as bright as typical miniature incandescents? I bought some last year but
they are noticably dimmer. I always put white lights on the roofline of
the house (using clips so each is positioned just so) and it looks nice.
But I'm one of those people for whom incandescent light looks yellowish so
white LED's look great--really really white--plus they look different than
anyone else's lights. I want them brighter though.

I have some ForverBright sets. The 35-light sets are a single circuit.
I put a bridge rectifier in a small outlet box with a combo
switch/outlet. The rectifier came from my junk box, and is a giant 1.5"
or so square with a bolt hole through middle, way overkill. You could
obviously use something much smaller. Just don't forget a fuse rated at
or below the rectifier's rating.

Running off of unfiltered 120V DC, it is noticeably brighter, and no
obvious flicker. You could string several sets together. The newer sets
also have a nicer green. One set is older, and the green is dim and sort
of that puke lime-green color.

Be careful of longer sets. I have a 70-light set, and it is basically
two 35-light sets connected with opposite polarity. Running on DC, it's
one half or the other lit. I haven't looked close at it yet to see if
it's possible to reverse one circuit so it would be DC friendly.

Some sets run off of a transformer. They probably work similar to the
above. You'd just need a DC supply at the right voltage and current.

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