Hi all,

I've been looking all over for an answer to this and cannot find anything. I'm building a lamp that has a "flame effect" flicker circuit wired up into it. Now that part works great (and the 6x 30w bulbs look very fire-like), but I want to install a bypass switch so that i have the option of turning the lamp on with flicker or on (full power) without flicker. It would be the same as having a dimmer wired to a lamp and then installing a bypass switch so that in one position (of the switch) it is dimmed and in the other it is full power.

I know the dumb way to do this which I suppose is to install 2x on/off switches to each lamp. One to accept or deny the voltage coming from the flicker box and another to do the same from a separate power input (without flicker). The opportunity for user error is high with that though and sounds possibly dangerous. This is a 120v project. The bulbs are 30w each (6) and the flicker circuit is 120v as well.

I know just enough about wiring to get myself in trouble so I wanted to humbly ask the good people on this forum for some advice!

 

All you need is a spdt switch on each bulb,

If you want to switch them all at once use a relay with 6 sets of change over contacts, or two relays in parallel.

 

Seems to me it would be easier to put the switch in the flicker circuit (no schematic, no details), controlling all bulbs simultaneously at a low power control point.

ak

 

I don't know how the AC flame effect is done, but with DC you control a MOSFET with a low power PWM signal. I think I posted such a thing in Completed Projects. All you'd have to do disconnect the PWM signal, and the pull-up resistor would turn the load on to full brightness.

I'm sure we could do something similar if we could see the schematic.

 

Thank you all for your input. I managed to find a schematic for it. I'm guessing that installing a 3-way switch would likely control that. Does that look right? Now if I wanted to add a dimmer to control the non-flicker circuit where would that go?

 

At the high power level, a SPST switch across each TRIAC (from MT1 to MT2) will short out the TRIAC and turn that lamp on full. Connecting a dead short across a TRIAC does not stress it in any way.

At the low power level, it's impossible to say without the PIC code, or a statement from the author about the functions of pins 3 and 4.

ak