@Jeff_the_Coaster_Guy posted:I'm sure @gunrunnerjohn can shed some light on this, and let me know the reasoning behind the constant current modules.
Sure, I can list a few factors.
- Flicker-free lighting. With no capacitor, LED lighting flickers more than incandescent because the LED extinguishes immediately, the incandescent bulb has a short fade time due to the hysteresis of the filament heating.
- No DC bias on the track. Since the module uses full-wave power, no DC offset is imparted onto the transformer output. This may or may not affect operation of other items powered from the same transformer.
- Adjustable intensity. I and many other folks find that a direct connection of the 12V strips is way to bright for realistic lighting in passenger cars.
- Potentially a longer life from the LED's as the peak reverse voltage across the LED strip may indeed exceed the peak reverse voltage specification of the LED's.
FWIW, I did the exact same thing as you propose with the then more expensive LED strips about 12-13 years ago. I quickly discovered I didn't like the excessive flicker and the super-bright lighting. I could correct the brightness with a series resistor, but there was no way to control the flicker without a capacitor.
You're not the first guy to come up with this rational, and my feeling is that if it works for you, go for it. It didn't work for me, so I came up with something better, at least IMO.
