Where are the multi-function Christmas lights?

Factual Questions
1

Hi everyone. I’m talking about the strings of lights with the little control box that gives you about 15 different options for how the lights will behave (chasing, twinkling, etc.). If I recall correctly, they came on the scene in the early 90’s and were pretty popular until the icicle lights hit the market. This year, it seems to be the “swag lights” that are being pushed. Anyway, the multi-function lights were still always in stores for those of us who liked them. I can’t find them anywhere this year (I’m in Pittsburgh BTW).

Although they were advertised as indoor/outdoor, they never lasted very long for me as outdoor lights. I would always lose at least one color within a couple of weeks. For that reason, I gave up on them as outdoor lights last year. I still like them for the indoor Christmas tree though, and I’m starting to wonder if they were pulled from the market for any particular reason. I have one fully functional set that I plan on using on the tree but if they were discontinued for starting fires or something, I’d like to know so I can just get rid of them. If they were discontinued due to the fact that people were disappointed in their performance, or just didn’t like them, I’ll go ahead and use them again.

Sorry if anyone considers this OT, but I’m really wondering where the heck these things went.

Mike

2

I looked for Christmas light recalls. There have been two massive recalls -
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98041.html
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00042.html
As far as I could tell, this was not a problem with multi-function lights, but with particular manufacturers. You can look at these recalls and see if they apply to your lights.

The first recall describes lights that sound very shoddy. For example, they have “no fuse.” The second recall says it does not include lights with the UL label.

If you are looking for a new set of these, try looking at stores where you don’t normally shop for decorations. Walgreens and Hobby Lobby, for example. They might be carrying a different brand of lights than the bigger stores.

Remember to always unplug your lights before you go to bed or leave the house!

Merry Christmas!