These very minimalist G40 (40mm diameter) lamps seem to have a reputation for failing quite regularly. The drive circuitry is the simplest I've ever seen, but has failure built in as usual.
While the E12 festoon seems popular in other countries it is rarely seen here due to our higher voltage potentially causing tracking/flashover issues in the small lamp holders. These ones are punched in parallel onto two core cable, but with clearly visible holes in the base. I've seen this stuff strung vertically and horizontally outdoors here, fully exposed to the rain. It'll be interesting to see how it fares in the weather.
I'd strongly recommend you don't handle these holders while they are wet. Especially with a 220-240V supply.
In the video I did the dooby test and put a capacitor in series with the entire string. The built in resistors mean the lamps share the current evenly if they are identical lamps. To get a good (reduced) intensity you will need a capacitor with a value of at least 1uF for short 230V strings, or more if using 120V strings, or more than one plugged end to end. A safety resistor of around 1 Megohm will need to be put across the capacitor to discharge it when the power is turned off.
Any reduction in intensity will result in much longer lamp life - mainly by reducing the strain on the internal resistor.
With a lower value capacitor these simple lights still work at greatly reduced intensity, and even longer life. The capacitors are standard metalised film type with a rating of 400V (230V AC) or 250V (120V AC).
The AC filaments are odd. I may have to use AvE's copper swing-press to x-ray one.
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