LED Lights

[TallPaull]

I've heard great things about the brand "Hong Kong" LED Rope lights for a portable house. Anyone know where you can find them? I searched online but came up short. Figured I would check with all of you.

[harvey lee]

Many issues with product from King Kong lights.

You can find quality LED lights right here with no issues if you have a problem. These are all tested before they are shipped out.

http://www.outdoorprostore.com/led-ice-fishing-lights.html

[fishwater]

I've never had an issue with 'those' lights, however, there are way better lights available from more reliable sources. Do some looking for super bright flexible led and you should find some options for 12volt light bars. I've ordered the same general light design as 'those' lights and they have a nice high gauge wire.

[dairyman]

fish--------where did you get that strip of lights that you have pictured

[fishwater]

I got them online. The Luminator LEDs sold by OPS has a thicker gauge wire too, pretty much the same deal with a longer lead and alligator clips pre-attached. The red and black leads are only about 18" on the light pictured above. The only advantage to searching out super bright flexible led lights would be to order custom lengths, or for some specific configuration - you're not really going to save any coin.

If you really want to see a cool light, look for waterproof rigid led bar... those babies are neat, but more expensive (3x.)

[Augusta]

I have never heard of any "issues" with the Hong Kong lights. Heck, I have two portables set up with them and they work great.

[DTro]

I could care less what light you buy, matter of fact, I made my own cheapo x-mas light post a while back that I bought at Target. But no doubt there have been several issues with the Hung Kong lights. I’ve heard everything from partial lights not working, to the whole strip not working, to bad customer service, to not even receiving your lights.

For me, when I’m unsure of something I prefer to walk into a store and physically buy something that I know I can return or exchange if needed.

However, if I know exactly what I need, and/or trust the source it’s coming from I would prefer to have is shipped to my door than running around looking for what I need.

[OnAFly]

dtro - I'm the same way. I would rather hold whatever I'm buying in my hand than order something off the internet. I also made a 40 LED strip out of two packages of battery powered Xmas lights I got at Men ards for a grand total of about $14.

I also just like to tinker with stuff, so converting the two smaller 6V strips into a big 12V strip was kinda a fun little project.

[Casey Sunsdahl]

I have two sets of the hong kong lights from a few years ago.. have to fix the wiring about 3 times a year due to the very very small guage wire.. Very small...

I would get my LED lights from the outdoorprostore next time..

lots of good reports on those.

[fishermatt]

The Hong Kong lights were what helped me invent The Luminator LED Light that is available in the OPS. I really liked those lights, but the wire was super small and hard to work with, so I found a different Manufacturer and made special arrangements to have a light made to my specifications that I am patenting.

So an even higher quality light is available in the US right here on Fishing MN Outdoor Pro Store. Customer Service/Warranty is Here in Minnesota instead of 10,000 miles away over email.

[fishwater]

so I found a different Manufacturer and made special arrangements to have a light made to my specifications that I am patenting.

I'm really surprised you can patent thicker wire and alligator clips - absolutely no offense intended, just making an observation.

[fiskyknut]

Many moons ago here on FM, like 03 or 04, I mentioned on a few threads/posts a place called 'platinum lighting inc' where a guy can get the good stuff. 12 volt rope lite kits that work great in the cold. You can get them in many lengths.... 10, 20, and 30 foot strings of light emitting diodes if I remember right, and these can then be cut and wired up in 6 inch increments to whatever length you like.

Pretty sure the company still exists. My lites still work after all these years, they have/had an excellent product very similar to a few 'new' ones out there today.

Get a few guys together and buy a long string, iffin you're handy, it's simple too btw, you can whip out whatever length roped string of lites you'd like and these ones do hold up to the elements.

Never tried the other brands but these Platinum lighting brand are the cat's meow.

fiskyknut

[broman]

Anyways, I bought my rope light but would suggest buying my LEDs from the outdoorprostore because of the local service and the fact that they are already hooked up with clips.

[wishing for walleyes]

I have 3 sets of Hong Kong lights and i added thicker wire and used electrical tape to hold all the wires to my poles in my portable.I also added 3 toggle switches which work really nice.

[Quetico]

I had nothing but issues with ken at Best Hong Kong. I order 2 strips. They sent 1. Took a months before the second arrived. By that time 1/4 of the first strip was completely dead. The second strip arrived 1/3 dead. I tried to return the entire set-up for a refund and they instead shipped some some tiny part they say will fix the dead lights. They refused to do a return.

Now I'm waiting for a buddy to get time to soder the tiny parts on to see if it will actually fix the issue. Hoping it actually resolves the issues.

Personally go with a local place. If ordering from the net make sure they stand behind their products. Hong Kong does not. Deal with a place in the US for ice fishing LEDs.

[BartmanMN]

Does it matter if I solder thicker gauge wire onto the hair like wire that some lights come with? They aren't meant to be run off the tiny wire are they?

The wire that it came with looks like my 2 lb gamma for cripes sake.

[JimBuck]

Those wires are way tiny. I beefed mine up and reinforced the connectors and haven't had an issue with them.

[DTro]

LED lights draw very little amperage, that is what makes them so great. So the small wire is fine to run them. The only thing the larger wire helps is with durability.

[BartmanMN]

OK, thanks. It is easier to attach spades and such to thicker wire.

[Kodiak]

just cut the "tiny" wire short, solder in some thicker wire and run them through the tubes.

[marine_man]

Or be sure to put in some sort of strain relief on the wire.

What I've done in the past (and will be doing again in the near future) is to splice a piece of heavier gauge speaker wire and solder it to the wire leadout from the LED light. Then, when I zip tie the speaker wire and light to the house, I create a S-curve with the speaker wire that extends from the light maybe 6", then loops back to the start of the led, then runs to the corner of the pole on the house. That way, if my wires would ever get pulled they'd pull on the heavier speaker wire first before the lighter LED provided wires.

I really, really like the illuminator lights, but really like a lot of light in the house when I need it, and like the tube style LED more than the Christmas light style lights offered in the OPS, but the illuminator isn't quite long enough for what I like without buying multiple ones.

marine_man

[wishing for walleyes]

I have mine the same as marine_man except i used electrical tap instead of zip ties.I had zip ties on but noticed the cut off end was tearing the fabric of my portable.