anyone ever use one of those shakable flashlights...

[GoingUp]

You shake it to charge it... dont need to ever replace batteries or bulb?

Link

I am thinkin about gettin my dad one for fathers day... how well do they work? Anyone have any experience with one?

 

[MisfitsFiend]

i've seen one before, but have never used it...

 

[ojai00]

my brother bought one from sharper image. i wanted to see if it worked but he took it out looks pretty cool though...hehe

 

[GoingUp]

anyone else?

 

[LeStEr]

Sounds neat. Anyone know if they work very well?

 

[loup garou]

I was thinking those things could cause a whole lot of embarrassment. Imagine walking into a dark room and seeing some guy shaking a cylindrical object furiously. "AAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "I'm just charging my...oh...."

 

[nj]

Yeah I bought one from HSN during a deal (like for $5) ... It's a neat gimmick, but the charge doesn't last very long. If you're working on something it's just plain annoying to have to shake it every 5 minutes. It gets dim pretty quick too.

I put it near my medkit (I got for $5) and my forever radio (I got for $5) and my OTHER forever flashlight that you wind up (of course, $5) just in case the big one hits Seattle or something.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: nj
Yeah I bought one from HSN during a deal (like for $5) ... It's a neat gimmick, but the charge doesn't last very long. If you're working on something it's just plain annoying to have to shake it every 5 minutes. It gets dim pretty quick too.

I put it near my medkit (I got for $5) and my forever radio (I got for $5) and my OTHER forever flashlight that you wind up (of course, $5) just in case the big one hits Seattle or something.

So is it actually worth a fathers day gift? Can you shake it longer and get more of a charge out of it?

 

[RossMAN]

What if I want 5 minutes of decent flashlight power (so I can see in the backyard when taking the dogs out), how long do I have to shake it for?

 

[nj]

It's useful in an emergency, like flipping the breaker or keeping in the back of the car in case of a flat. It's a fun gift too ... I just found it annoying how fast it lost it's charge.

I thought the forever radio (solar and windup) was much cooler.

 

[filmmaker]

I had one for a little while and used it until I realized that I look like a dumbass swinging it around to get it to charge.

 

[nj]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What if I want 5 minutes of decent flashlight power (so I can see in the backyard when taking the dogs out), how long do I have to shake it for?

Like 20-30 seconds. I think I did a side by side comparison in the last thread about this and found that my tiny LED keychain flashlight gave about the same amount of light. Those things last forever too.

 

[WolverineGator]

It's a great novelty item to take on campouts, etc. It works. The capacitor only holds enough charge for 5 minutes, so it does not good to shake longer than about 30 seconds. I wish they put a larger capacitor so I could shake it for a minute or two and have 10-15 minutes of light. That would be really useful.

After about 4 minutes, the light will dim. It's annoying if you're trying to read a book! Beam is very focused. It'll only light up what you point it at, unlike a regular flashlight. It's worth $15, but no more IMHO.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: WolverineGator
It's a great novelty item to take on campouts, etc. It works. The capacitor only holds enough charge for 5 minutes, so it does not good to shake longer than about 30 seconds. I wish they put a larger capacitor so I could shake it for a minute or two and have 10-15 minutes of light. That would be really useful.

After about 4 minutes, the light will dim. It's annoying if you're trying to read a book! Beam is very focused. It'll only light up what you point it at, unlike a regular flashlight. It's worth $15, but no more IMHO.

Well, go get you some BACs (big-ass capacitors) and a soldering iron, and get to it! We'll all be here eagerly awaiting your report!

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink

Originally posted by: WolverineGator
It's a great novelty item to take on campouts, etc. It works. The capacitor only holds enough charge for 5 minutes, so it does not good to shake longer than about 30 seconds. I wish they put a larger capacitor so I could shake it for a minute or two and have 10-15 minutes of light. That would be really useful.

After about 4 minutes, the light will dim. It's annoying if you're trying to read a book! Beam is very focused. It'll only light up what you point it at, unlike a regular flashlight. It's worth $15, but no more IMHO.

Well, go get you some BACs (big-ass capacitors) and a soldering iron, and get to it! We'll all be here eagerly awaiting your report!

Get a Maxwell ultracapacitor. Should work great.

 

[wyvrn]

I have one, got it as a present. The LED is focused and does not light a large area. The charge lasts for about 4-5 minutes, which isn't bad. Cool thing is I will never have to buy batteries or bulbs.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
I have one, got it as a present. The LED is focused and does not light a large area. The charge lasts for about 4-5 minutes, which isn't bad. Cool thing is I will never have to buy batteries or bulbs.

So did you like it as a gift?

 

[wyvrn]

Sure it was a nice gift. I love gadgets.

 

[RossMAN]

Is HSN.com (using a coupon) the best place to buy one of these?

I just need 5 minutes of light.

 

[Sukhoi]

It's just a magnet sliding back and forth through an inductor.