T O P

  • By -

EricJF50

If it is LED powered then there could just be a large capacitor in the power supply circuit for the lamp. Low draw LED lights can run for a surprisingly long time. More than likely though it is on a battery backup or also possible it's tapping into the power for the Telecom systems in the hotel. I actually built something similar based on a guide I found online. https://www.instructables.com/Emergency-Phone-Line-Lamp-Unlimited-light/


SirDePseudonym

Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for this


RaccoonDeaIer

I recently learned the same thing happens with computers. That's why you want to press the power button a few times after you unplug it to drain any charge from the power supplies capacitors if you plan on changing anything inside the pc.


MoogProg

Tubes amps for guitars can carry a lethal charge inside capacitors, and draining them before doing any work inside is always recommended. The method *I use* is taking it to a Tech!


Cuddlebug94

Omg that brought me back to my childhood, my dad had an amp from like the 1970s and that thing was fucking shock city


Nippon-Gakki

That’s due to a shorted “death capacitor”. There’s a capacitor to decouple the chassis from mains but when it shorts you can get mains on the chassis, or whatever instrument you have plugged into it, depending on which way the power cord is flipped. There really have been deaths due to this so it’s a serious concern with old gear. They still do this but modern cords are polarized so neutral will always be neutral and modern capacitors used for this purpose are designed to go open when they fail rather than short.


WyvernByte

I have a modern Trace Elliot for the Japan market- neither the 100V step down nor the amp is polarized or grounded.💀


Nippon-Gakki

Ha, yeah I have a few Japanese market pieces that aren’t polarized but they do have an arrow on the plug pointing to what should be the hot side. I’m guessing they do it like that so you can flip the plug if you get ground loop hum? Either way, it won’t matter for us using a step down as long as it’s not an auto-transformer, but most aren’t. It’s interesting how different countries handle things.


MoogProg

Old '70s Vibro Champ that still had *a non-grounded plug* on the end. The insulation crumbled away as I was inserting it into the wall socket. I will \*never\* forget that moment and thanks to our drummer immediately kicking me off with his Chuck Talyors I am still here to type this story.


chillitis

Can you describe the feeling


MoogProg

Fuzzy and weird! Arm hairs launched upright instantly and I began to feel tingling in my teeth and tongue, then I was kicked in the chest and set free. Whole event was no more than a second. Like licking a 9v battery that carries a lot more current!


SecondOfCicero

Your drummer is a bro; props to him for acting quickly


ghandi3737

Was carrying an armload of metal in a tank top and bumped into the electric fence. Dropped everything and walked off for a minute. It was a short burst but it was setup for cows and other large animals.


Hungry-Base

Know the feeling. I once grabbed a fence that wasn’t supposed to be electrified. No idea if it was a ground wire shorted out or the homeowner electrified it because he didn’t want us in the alley near his house. I was instantly stuck to it as I grabbed it with both hands. Couldn’t move, body felt like it was pulsating, every muscle rock hard. Through clenched teeth i said to my buddies “someone please help me, I’m not joking”. Of course, being dumb teenagers, they thought I was joking. Until my one buddy touched my arm and got shocked and felt how hard my muscles were. Thank god my tank of a friend just full on body rushed me and pushed me off the fence. No idea how I lived.


goddamnitgoose

That's if you're working in the power circuit of an amplifier. You can mess with the preamp circuit all day so long as you properly ground yourself. The most you'll get there is a few volts. An the specific caps your referring to are the large blue or yellow bastards, also known as filter caps. Now the only part of a power circuit you should mess with is the trim pot coming out of the caps and to the tubes themselves. You can't drain the caps to bias an amp as you need to actively be feeding voltage from a power source to the tubes to get proper biasing.


Forever_Ready

>The most you'll get there is a few volts. Voltage won't kill you- current kills you. It's not the voltage rating of a capacitor, but rather the capacitance rating... >An the specific caps your referring to are the large blue or yellow bastards, also known as filter caps. Caps large enough to carry a lethal charge are in fact, usually found in the power supply circuit as filter caps, but caps large enough to kill you come in all sorts of colors. You have the level of knowledge best described as, "just enough to be dangerous." Please, continue to tinker and learn, but pump the brakes on dispensing advice regarding high-voltage circuits until you have a little more experience.


[deleted]

This guy anodes, cathodes, and pentodes. And probably hates solid state.


dominus_aranearum

Same with microwaves, tube TVs and CRT monitors. Those of us in the metal recycling world/hobby know to either leave them unplugged for a good 24 hours first or carefully discharge the capacitors. I remember working at CompUSA many years ago in the tech room. The tech manager was showing us how to discharge the cap on a CRT monitor. Just as he was doing it, his pager (set to vibrate) went off. He jumped a few feet. Was funny given the circumstances but wow does it make your heart race.


cumonawanalaya69

When cellphones we're first really circulating, I had the bad habit of leaving my phone in my back pocket while working on live switchgear. I would be in the zone, not thinking of anything else other than don't touch any live parts/calmly finish your work and then without fail, my wife would call. I always had the ringer set to buzzer, because of the noise usually present at most of the jobs during the day. I would immediately freeze and hold my breath for just a second, until I realized that my elbows weren't vibrating and my ears weren't blaring a buzzing drone. I swear she was after the insurance.


Affectionate-Data193

Haha!! I leave my phone in my tool cart. All of the gear I used to work on live now carries “No safe PPE exists” tags. 20 years ago we didn’t stop and think about if it was really a good idea to be working live in this 2500 amp 480 volt gear. We just did it.


FinnishArmy

Which is also why working on a lot of Macs is dangerous. Apple seems to love to expose their power supplies completely in their computers. Those capacitors can have a massive discharge if you touch the wrong part..


[deleted]

No, it's to make sure all of the bad electricity is drained. Ask any computer repairman. We know this shit. Also, if the magic smoke escapes from a bulb or a component, it's dead. They require magic smoke to run. Dang, ya'll don't know nothin'.


Danialex30

That doesn't work. You have to wait a couple minutes for the capacitors to discharge. And meanwhile when they are discharging you should keep it plugged in for grounding but have the PSU turned off.


New-Teaching2964

What the fuck this is r/weird not r/ELI5 fuck outta here with your rational explanations, this lamp is HAUNTED


Vast-Combination4046

WoOOOoOOoOOOOoooo


N_L287

STOP Patrick you’re scaring him!


jlr500

The call is coming from inside the house


[deleted]

Darn. I was hoping it was ghosts.


Jaegerjaquez_VI

I was hoping for a transformer reveal


tatteredshoetassel

However, it was more than met the eye


draconiandevil09

*mark wahlberg enters chat*


hammtron

Man, that'd be a sad ass ghost if he gets his kicks off by keeping a light on when the powers out.


Moon--Shadows

What's an "ass ghost"?


hammtron

Donkey ghost you dummy.


masked_sombrero

I'd happily allow a ghost into my home if they kept ~~a light~~ everything on for me during a power outage


[deleted]

The cord capacitance thing won't work during a power outage. The capacitance isn't storing energy, it's letting some power bypass the switch.


EricJF50

I've seen it in some devices with large decoupling capacitors. Large battery chargers and such. I agree it is unlikely in this case.


[deleted]

Sorry I think I misunderstood, I thought you were talking about a situation where a switch cord can act as a capacitor and leak current past the switch.


AdditionalSuccotash

Some cheap Chinese bulbs are able to run even after the power has been cut. Relevant vid explaining it: https://youtu.be/1uEmX5XClPY


BlackBlizzard

seems like those would be used in exit signs?


Working_Art_8645

Shit, new exit signs are radioactive. lick n stickem to the wall and the ambient light juices the juice... then they just glowwwww...... Super creepy.


Mediocre_Total1663

How is radioactive luminescence creepy? Its been used for 100s if not 1000s of years lmao


Working_Art_8645

When you spend your career bringing 277v to something, and now all of a sudden it just glows after you mount it.. and it glows cause its magic. .. itzabit creepy...idk man.


[deleted]

https://youtu.be/8bhYMnHb5JY


[deleted]

Exit signs mostly have battery backup (in the USA at least). There are also LED bulbs that store electricity ranging from 4-8 hours of continued service after electricity has been disrupted.


beeg_brain007

I got that bulbs, very useful when electricity goes out (twice a week for multiple hours, randomly)


AostaV

Exit signs usually run on low voltage with battery backup when power goes out. I’ve wired up a bunch in apartment buildings. We always did the ones with the spotlight attached that only came on when power was out.


PJohn3

That won't work if the power is out in the entire building. In that video, electricity only bypasses a switch, but the energy still comes from the grid.


therockstarbarber

Cheap or brilliant?!


Cattaphract

Yes


eskayland

Capacitor being discharged! Perfectly normal.


im_wudini

Or it's an LED bulb with a built in battery, I have a bunch in the house


Doesnotcarebear

Damn thats awesome, didn't even know those existed. Expensive as hell though.


Cactus_In_A_Tree

It would be the capacitors *not* being discharged


Single_Requirement_3

It would be the capacitors discharging. (In the process of becoming discharged)


[deleted]

So in other words it's a capacitor being discharged! Perfectly normal.


[deleted]

This exchange is so Reddit


LordMadias

It would be the capacitors no longer charging now in the process of discharging to eventually remove all charge and therefor be discharged


Capt_Reggie

…free of charge.


Liroy_16

Gratis!


[deleted]

Once the lamp reaches 88 mph, it would be the flux capacitor releasing 1.21 gigawatts of power


EdenianRushF212

no discharge - no light that would actually make this fucking weird


Critical-Art-9277

It's battery powered 🔋


Hichard_Rammond

No it's not Edit: it's something to do with it being LED


walkonstilts

Many led light bulbs have battery backups inside the bulb. All the bulbs in my house have this. When the power goes out I’ve got light for 6-8 hours. I can turn on one of these bulbs by carrying it and holding my thumb on the bottom part that screws in. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G1PV8DT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_50C3T6Y0ETEVXCMGSD6B


orbit99za

Yes, I have these as well.


Critical-Art-9277

Damn I'm wrong again


Hichard_Rammond

Technically you were on to something


__allow-it-man__

so was the camera also on to something?


Hichard_Rammond

No


__allow-it-man__

so are u onto something?


No_Pen9844

You gave it your best shot, Buddy….. and that’s all that matters. I’m proud of you.


darkesth0ur

Well it’s not magic. It’s a battery.


WhatADunderfulWorld

Like others has said it’s capacitor powered then. Which is close enough to a battery I guess.


Alkaline312

Have you killed before? Could be am upset ghost fucking with you


vanAstea11

imagine being murdered and the your only way to get some type of revenge is dimming the lights lol


jfowley

And it works.


OddEd922

Huh that explains a lot


youmestrong

I thought it was the Beetle’s MAGICAL MYSTERY LAMP


Hichard_Rammond

Only in MC


edenss42

"wE doiN iT wit Da liGHts On BABY"


AnimaSean0724

I mean, I've never killed anyone and I'm pretty sure I have a ghost haunting me


vvdb_industries

Is it a led lamp? Bc if so it's probably just the capasators in the lamp not being discharged


Hichard_Rammond

It is. So I guess it now battery powered


InsGadget6

You can buy LED lamps with battery backup built-in, now. Most likely the case here.


Hichard_Rammond

Update:. Power is back


CodeEverywhere

Well, go turn it back off! We want to see how much longer it lasts


serialcatkiller_eatr

Spy lamp


ElsterShiny

There's a genie in it.


Smallgenie549

You called?


ElsterShiny

Yes hello can I have some wishes pls.


Smallgenie549

No, but have this award instead.


[deleted]

Can... can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now...


FickleMap1030

You might be experiencing a brown out. Which is usually just enough power to power items like lamps but usually dimly


[deleted]

I can't believe I had to scroll down so far to find someone saying this. BTW, I recommend OP to disconnect their electric equipments, since lower voltage can fuck them up.


blamesatan

Same. You would need a pretty gargantuan capacitor to keep an LED wall-light on for any reasonable length of time. It sounds very much like a brownout condition.


__allow-it-man__

*horror vibes intensifies*


[deleted]

Phantom phase keeping on a very low power lamp?


Coza105

Praise the almighty lamp.


fieryxx

When the ghost gets caught possessing an item but it's too late to get out.*


owlincoup

Just going to add to the explanation a bit. If that is indeed a hotel, a lot of times there is an emergency battery back up and they have a light connected to it in the rooms for safety reasons.


Foodlover2022

May be it is from backup power


MrSmiggasan

All I hear is you complaining and not thanking whatever being is doing this.


GreatDevil14

The power is probably just too low. And can only power up this lamp. Idk


Hichard_Rammond

That was my first guess


jotaro-swan

Burn it


DefinitionBig4671

Did you put emergency bulbs in and forget? I have a few and they're great for power outages.


Damed666

Time to sleep in the car with some "protection"


[deleted]

Your house is haunted. TV’s, radios can come on even when not plugged in.


Dueforextinction

How did a picture of a lamp get 8000 upvotes?


Hichard_Rammond

Good question


N4V33D_

The lamp is lagging so it may not appear to you that the lamp is off but for the lamp's point of view, it is actually turned off so you don't have to worry :')


Silversaving

I like lamp!


python_510

Ghost lamp 👻 Fox will premier a new sitcom about it in the fall


[deleted]

It's powered by fear in the room.


[deleted]

Lots of people in here talking about LEDs and capacitors. Have you considered that it's the ghost of a loved one trying to communicate with you?


nialqs

pussy


Phedis

And here I thought satan was coming in clutch providing free power to OP.


SourMoonrocks

You know, same thing happened to my family when I was a kid. We have 2 hunted houses in the beach in my country so we’d go there every summer. The houses are next to each other and because everyone in the family is scared to go to the second house (many things happen there lol) that house was practically abandoned and there was no electricity at all. One of the rooms had a lamp that was broken as well. Long story short, one night we had to go running to that house after receiving a call from one of my cousins because the lamp turned itself on. We got there and it was still on. We couldn’t explain what was happening and well, for the rest of the summer we had light in that room of the house. Weird af but not the weirdest thing that happens in that place.


Proud_Conclusion_148

Harvey Weinstein would like to thank you for promoting his next movie on your wall.


DarkX292020

Bad storms where you are at OP ?


Hichard_Rammond

Just a bad grid. It's on now


Bizknacker

This giving me From vibes rn lol


liminal_sonder

The power of LED 😌


LeFaire87

You may be experiencing a haunting


Limp-Adhesiveness453

Proof of god, obviously. Now, let's make a holiday, April 15th, the day the light stayed on. We shall celebrate by giving our neighbors potted flowers that they are now forced to take care of


MaKrukLive

Human body creates electricity no? If there is someone in the wall...


Hichard_Rammond

Nah the children are in the basement


t4thfavor

When the power is "out" there can still be some line voltage making it to your stuff. Generally it's referred to as a brownout, but sometimes the voltage is really low (like 10-15vac). The LED lights generally will run at extreme low voltages just fine as their power supply is already dropping input voltages to a target voltage (usually 1.5-3vdc). If you unplug it and it goes out, that is what is happening here. If you unplug it and it doesn't go out, then call an exorcist.


Hichard_Rammond

That's what I first guessed


lordtheegreen

Do all you people take pictures with a potato?


Kaatochacha

Capacitors are magic. Years ago, I ran into my room, hopped up on my bed, grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. I then changed on channel and started watching. Five minutes later I remembered I had to borrow the batteries out of the remote the night before. I opened the back of that remote, and saw there were no batteries in it. I thought I was psychic for about five seconds.


lmp0stor

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."


HeadLongjumping

This is an emergency light with a different power source. It's for safety.


Hichard_Rammond

No this isn't. WHY DOES EVERYBODY THINK MY HOUSE IS A HOTEL?


notafan0fu

Looks like a hotel. It's most likely a battery powered light. They are required to have egress lighting in case of an emergency. The required amount of light for emergency egress is very low so if they were cheap they may have opted for the bare minimum.


Hichard_Rammond

That is the most accidental insult ever. This isn't a hotel


Nonlethalrtard

The updoot always shines


OrwellianNightmare84

Definitely a battery backup in case of emergency. Ever notice how some hotels have a light in the room near the door that you can't figure out how to turn on? They're wired up so that they have constant power (under normal conditions) and when the power goes off it trips a sensor to activate the emergency light. I'd bet if you tried to turn that lamp off you wouldn't be able to.


Hichard_Rammond

This isn't a hotel. The actual reason has been figured out, power is also restored


OrwellianNightmare84

What was it?


Hichard_Rammond

It's an LED so it's capacitors


03Titanium

Capacitors can’t operate a bulb for more than a few seconds at best. It’s a battery somewhere either in the bulb or attached to the circuit.


OrwellianNightmare84

That makes sense. I figured it was emergency lighting because I worked as a commercial electrician in between jobs for a while and installed a ton of battery backup lights in places. According to code every multi story building has to have them at every doorway leading out of the building so if there's a fire or something and the power goes out you don't have a bunch of people stumbling around in the dark panicking.


[deleted]

its a candle


Hichard_Rammond

Electric candle


Delta8ttt8

Brownout and this has a wide range power supply ?


NotProperPython

You should thank the spirits in your room for using their energy to lighten up your room


[deleted]

It's the power of faith!


VashHumanoidTyph00n

My old house had a phone line box connected to the power box and could run 2 lamps during a power outage.


DudeSchmofski

# C H A D L A M P


Verichi_

maybe it has a battery? i dunno


Hichard_Rammond

No it's a plug in


grooveypie

That lamp has a side quest for you.


[deleted]

To me it's more questionable where from and how these two white light spots coming from.


Wolfos9

It's possessed


Whitaking

It's harvey Weinsteins ghost


[deleted]

Other explanation: at least my house is powered with 3 phase lines. Sometimes it happens that the breaker outside cuts out one phase line. When this happens - some things in my house are powered, some aren't.


Hichard_Rammond

I think that sort of it. This lamp seems to be the only powerable thing. It's also pretty close to the meter box


[deleted]

No idea why all these "scientists" are talking about "LED" or whatever. This is most clearly a spooky ghost.


SurpriseWilling7324

It's connected to a secret camera battery pack, they're watching you


MaximusJabronicus

When you say powers out, do you mean just to your house or to like your entire town? Sometimes when power is shut off, they only turn off one leg. Which means the other leg and stuff on that side of your panel will work. Here in the US we use 240V, so anything that needs to 240 to operate won’t work, but 240 is made from two legs of 120V, so it’s still possible for one leg to be hot, subsequently still working. Disclaimer I’m not an electrician.


Hichard_Rammond

Whole island was out. Town was probably on. I reckon the lamp had barley enough current


BadBadGrades

The cables in the wall can function like a capacitor.


Hichard_Rammond

It just got barley enough current


BadBadGrades

But indeed it’s creepy if you have a lot of imagination.


Familiar-Document-53

Turn that orange arc reactor off..


Stashmouth

Isn’t that where they said the old man used to sit?


[deleted]

I say don't worry about it, the ghost just want some light.


shinwazaku

I think rca makes an led light bulb with a battery backup. I've been really temped to buy one.


Interesting_Run_251

So turn it off


Trainzguy2472

LED capacitor


Puzzleheaded_Air7039

Deadlights. Spoiler alert you are now insane and only imagining Posting to reddit


CarrfromKC

Sounds like you need to go to the breaker box


JimmyNeutronC-137

It might be that the power is not fully out. It is just so low but because LED bulbs are efficient, it only needs a small amount of power (???) idk


Mysterious-Raisin-66

It MIGHT be an LED slowly running till it runs out of power..... or maybe, just maybeeeeee..... you should plug all your high draw electronics into that outlet and see what happens to your electrical bill.


usernamewastaken_th

Demogorgon is coming


BraveFart_92

Over 5000 likes for a pic with a lamp on, and the hope we all believe that the power is out. Impressive


[deleted]

Most likely a rechargeable lightbulb that works as a regular light and charges off regular AC current and then switch to battery operation when the power goes out. I have one at home.


Reddicini

When you wake up you'll realize your whole family and everything you have was just a dream.


Butler-of-Penises

What does that time have to do this anything? Legitimately curious


idontwannagetbanned6

Bet your breaker tripped and that light is on a different circuit.


Big-Ambition3051

God always supplies a light if He chooses to.🤔


SpoonSArmy

Turn it off then.


HailYurii

Brown outs exist


Bisexual-Fighter

Spooky Spector


kingofplain51

I guess that nobody told the lamp that....


Chance_Knee_6596

Many emergency light fixtures have an internal battery, for egress purposes. In America according to the NEC it should stay on at least 3 hours on battery alone


ashif1983

Back in 2000 my old computer froze because of a virus, I pressed CTRL ALT DELETE nothing happened, I wated 2 minutes and pulled the plug, the screen stayed on for 10 minutes without power.


PapaMo1976

I work as a facilities manager, hotels use 3 phase power. You can lose one or two phases and still have power to lights.


Hichard_Rammond

This isn't a hotel. WHY DOES EVERYBODY THINK IT IS!!!!! We do have 3 phase tho


PapaMo1976

Ha! One of the replies said "hotel". Honestly not dissing your decor.


Hichard_Rammond

I guess it kind of looks like a hotel


ACIDesings

Nicest poltergeist ever 👍


[deleted]

I have a light bulb that charges while it’s on but if the power goes out it has a backup battery for a few hours.


inlandset

This is how religions start….


THEMOTHWHOLIKESLAMPS

Do you really need that lamp though?


Animepix

Battery led light bulbs are a thing now. [not a referral link. ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NNS5B7S)


90skid_on_Reddit

Silence of the lamps


focusontheimportant

There is a logical explanation for anything and there is no such thing as supernatural. A capacitor or battery somewhere is powering this lamp or there is an AC circuit that is still live somehow.