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	Info Section Home
	Information About Lights
	Uncommon Lights
	Christmas Light History
	Power Ratings For lights
	Wiring Diagrams Of LightSets
	Decorating Tips

Uncommon and/or Old Lights:

All the lights on this page are hard to find and in some
cases are not made anymore. The dates listed are the
approximate decades in which the lights were made. Many of
these have became collectors items. This page only shows
some of the more common versions, it is by no means a
complete history. Info on these lights is very limited and
somewhat hard to find


a 'x' means I don't have the image...yet

Miniature lights with screw-in bulbs:
The same size as standard mini lights, but the bulbs screwed into their sockets,
instead of pushing in.

1960's (no longer made)

BiPin Miniature Lights:
just like standard push in bulb miniature lights, but the bulb holders (base) had
2 pins. these were better than the standard lights made today - there was not near
as many loose bulb type problems)

1970's (no longer made)

Miniature Twinkle Lights
every other bulb flashed randomly, this caused the other half of the bulbs to go
bright and dim. In many sets the bulbs blinked very fast, and were fairly bright.
A few sets had dimmer and slower blinking bulbs, and were more pleasing to look at.
[simulation of blinking]
1980's (disappeared from most stores in
  the 90's, brought back in 2003)

Safty Fuse Bulb:
looks like a mini flasher bulb, but instead of a red tip, it had a green tip

1980's (no longer made)

C6 Sized Lights:
The same size as many flashlight bulbs, these sets were wired like miniature
sets with screw-in bulbs. When one light burned out they all went out. The sets
usually had 8 bulbs.
Don't be fooled by the so-called 'C6 lights' sold in stores today - they are nothing
more than oversized standard miniture lights

1920's - 1960's (no longer made)

Figure Lights:
C7 sized base
C6 sized base
At the time these were made there were no plastic bulb covers, so the bulbs
themselves were shaped like many of the plastic covers today. EX: Santa, Birds,
fruit, etc...

1940's (no longer made)

Fluorescent Christmas Lights:
Bulbs looked whitish when off, and were colored when on (like standard Fluorescent)
All Fluorescent lights require a ballast, I'm not sure if the ballast for these was
inside the socket or the bulb
(no other info)
(I have never seen a set of these)

1940's (no longer made)

Color Changing Lights:
The individual bulbs changed colors. Like the fluorescent lights, these looked
whitish when off. Inside the external 'bulb' was another bulb that contained 2 or
more filaments. The glass around each filaments was painted a different color. Each
section blinked giving the appearance of changing colors.
(I have never seen an actual set of these)

1950's (no longer made)

Flickering Flame Lights:
C7 sized base
Instead of a filament the bulbs contained 2 metal plates shaped like a flame. The
bulbs were filled with neon gas, when power was applied, light would move around
the metal plates.

1980's (disappeared from most stores in
  the 90's, brought back in 2001)

Bubble Lights:
C7 sized base
C6 sized base
miniature
The bulb was hidden in a plastic case, the case also held a glass tube filled with
methylene chloride that would bubble when heated.

[note - images not to scale]
C6 - 1960's (no longer made)
C7 - 1960's (disappeared from most stores in
  the 90's, brought back in 1999)
Mini - 1980's (disappeared from most stores in
  the 90's, brought back in 2001)

C9 Chaser Lights:
The bulbs were the same size as C9 bulbs, but that's where the similarities end.
These were nothing more than oversized miniature lights! The bulbs pushed in --
just like standard miniatures, and the set was wired in the same way. Sets were 40
bulbs (10 bulbs for each of 4 channels, 12v bulbs).

[bulb placed in
a set of white
wire lights to
show it as a
mini base bulb]

1980's (no longer made)

C7 Chaser Lights:
See C9 Chaser

1980's (no longer made)
a note on C7/C9 chaser lights: you may see somethind
like this at some stores....its not the same, the
newer ones are just a C7 or C9 cover over a standard
mini bulb

Loop sets:
C6 sized base
miniature
The set was wired as a loop instead of a straight line

1920's-1970's

.

Thanks to Dan O'Reilly for providing some of the info on this page

This page and the images on it (c) 1999 - 2004 James K