Alladin Power Hand Charger Amazing!!

[Free]

I just got my Alladin Power Hand Charger and was totally surprised at how well it works as an emergency flashlight.

First the charger. It is a comfortable, ergonomic hand crank. Yes it is plastic but it feels solid. The gearing inside does not slip when cranked like other hand cranks I have tried and it is reasonably comfortable to use.

I have not fully tested it as a cell phone charger because my cell phone is fully charged but I see no reason why it won't work.

Now the Amazing part! It comes with a little LED flashlight that plugs into the hand charger. It is about the size of a Photon but round not flat. It has a small hole which you could probably run a string through it to hang it around your neck. It weighs about the same as the Photon, about 6 grams.

It only takes about 10 to 20 quick cranks on the hand generator (about 10 seconds) to fully charge up the flashlight. Then you pop it off the charger and it gives reasonably bright light for 1-2 minutes.

About half the brightness of the Photon but a more intense beam so you can see it in the center of the Photon beam.

After its initial brightness dims IT JUST KEEPS GOING!!! I was reading in total darkness with it long after 5 minutes.

It slowly dims over time but I was still using it to read my watch after 30 minutes!! At that point it is about the brightness of a Pal light in the always on mode. I can't tell you how long it will run at that brightness because it is still glowing after 40 minutes now.

Keep in mind this was after cranking for only about 10 seconds!!!

I believe that this is what you guys were trying to achieve with the Emergency Flashlight project and more. Once charged, this thing is so tiny you can hold it in your mouth to perform tasks.

There is also a little voltage regulator that plugs in and about doubles the size of the little flashlight but extends the run time a bit more.

Well, I just looked at it and it is still glowing after 45 minutes!!

Here is a link to buy it for $19.99 less than 30% of the retail price. I just ordered 2 more. I figure you could charge up several of these little lights in under a minute and have several times the light output.nullAlladin

I asked and they have about 80 of them left.

 

[Free]

You can take the hand generator apart with a tiny hex but it looks like the elepool circuit and light may be glued together or require prying apart and possible breakage.

 

[Mike]

I'll be curious to see how long the gears last. Give it a workout and see if it's any good.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Well, I didn't want to wait till they ran out, so I picked up the phone (an extremely rare thing for me to do)

and ordered one for myself.
If I get the money order out in today's mail, I ought to have it in about two weeks.
Will let you (all) know what I think of it.

 

[Free]

Just an update. I now have three of these. They come with little plug in modules called "voltage regulators" that contain the "elepool" circuit. I charged up all three lights and voltage regulators. I then plugged one light into 2 regulators and one light into 1 regulator. The third light remains with its own charge.

I found what I expected to find with this experiment. The light that was plugged into two voltage regulators burns brighter/longer than the single which burns brighter and longer than the light without the voltage regulator back up.

This charger and light is so cool that you could buy a handfull of the lights and charge them all up in less than a minute. Then you have the option of multiple led lighting that lasts a decent time period.

 

[Free]

I don't know if charging the led without the regulator would damage it. I do it that way all of the time and no problems yet.

Also I have been putting the charger through it's paces the last few days and it hasn't slipped on me yet. It seems reasonably well built. I kind of doubt that it will pass Craig's punisment tests though??

I like having more than one led to charge up for more versatility.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Free,
I just got mine and I concur. It charged my cell phone just as if it were plugged in to the car lighter socket...I see what you mean by brighter light with more converters -- you could do that if you got three Aladins, evidently the LED unit and the regulator unit both have a capacitor or battery, since the (already) glowing LED (alone) glows more brightly when it's plugged into the (charged) 'regulator' unit, alone...
..what do you suppose is happening to the LED when you are cranking it without the regulator? Damaging it possibly I wonder...? I'll need more DC-DC cords to try using it to run my CD player, also my Koss Model 11 radio has a six volt DC input option, think it can do it? Only a watt or so coming out, it says..mmm...

 

[SteveY]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I just got mine and I concur. It charged my cell phone just as if it were plugged in to the car lighter socket...I see what you mean by brighter light with more converters <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Ted

How long do you need to squeeze the charger to charge the cell phone?

Thank

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Steve Y -- probably a very long time! The way I imagine using it for the cell phone, is if I run out of battery while away from any other charging source, and I desperately need to make a call, I would then crank the Aladdin with one hand and dial with the other for the duration of the call -- I don't think I'd want to use it to charge the battery from empty to full -- unless I needed hand therapy, or something...

 

[Free]

This is what the instructions say:

"A basic guideline for preliminary charging duration would be 3 to 5 minutes stroking, at a continuous rate, for a typical cellular phone which operates within the range of 3.6 to 7.2 V."

"Note: the objective of the preliminary charging is only to restore the minimum required voltage level of the battery to activate the cellular phone. Further charging is needed in order to make or receive calls."

So I think the bottom line is, it could save your butt in an emergency but I wouldn't plan on it for daily use....unless you want really big forearms

 

[Free]

I just thought I would add that the instructions also recommend against charging the phone while using it due to possible voltage fluctuations.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

oh really? thanks! I didn't notice that warning. (luckily though, my Nokia seems to have survived the experience)

 

[Mike]

I don't think charging while using the phone would be any problem (as long as you really have the battery in the phone). I think the battery would act like a huge capacitor and voltage fluctuations would be negligible.

 

[KenBar]

I have Audiovox Tri-Mode phone and it will not give enough power for it without white knuckles. This is using the elepool. If I go straight into the adapter from the Aladdin, I can get enough to make it work. ???? It is a digital phone forced in analog mode ( needs much more power ). I threw away the instructions... When did it say to use the "elepool"?
BTY, the elepool has 2 caps inside just like the light which has ONE cap.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I'm still waiting for my Alladin... will be interesting to see if it charges up my Ericcson digital at all.

This fone uses a 3.6 Li-Ion 1.4aH battery that gives about 160 hours of standby and 5 hours of yakking time. (at 50 cents a minute, I'm never going to come close to talking the battery dead!!!)

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Free:
I just got my Alladin Power Hand Charger and was totally surprised at how well it works as an emergency flashlight.

It only takes about 10 to 20 quick cranks on the hand generator (about 10 seconds) to fully charge up the flashlight. Then you pop it off the charger and it gives reasonably bright light for 1-2 minutes. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Boy you really weren't kidding... I just got mine, and it's really pretty amazing.
Your description was right on target.
The hand unit is considerably smaller and sleeker than I expected.

Just for kicks, I connected an ordinary red LED to the generator and gave it a SLOW pump, the LED lit brightly and the leads were hot, with a quick pump the LED exploded.

The instructions give the power output (likely an averaged value) of 1.6 watts, but the generator itself can probably generate many times that on a peak basis; the reasoning behind the Elepool device.

Judging by the instructions, the Aladdin was geared exclusively to cellular phone users; but this could be used as a survival aid too, provide you keep it dry (insert disaster of choice that knocks out mains power for an extended time).

 

[Free]

I took a digital picture of the instructions to send to Ken. If anyone wants to see them I will post them here if some one will tell me how??

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Here are some preliminary measurements on the Aladdin.

Generator by itself: 20+ DC volts peak, no load, with an "average" (fairly brisk) pump speed.

Elepool: Hooked it up to a constant current lab supply, charged it until the red light began to glow, then disconnected.
Measures 10.1 volts open circuit.

Using this as a guideline, without ripping it apart I'd guess it uses a pair of 5V supercaps in series.

I don't know what's inside of the flashlight, but I think someone has already disembowelled theirs and posted some pictures.

Since this is the only one I'll be able to get, I'll leave the dissection and autopsy to someone else with deeper pockets.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

For the benefit of those who have not seen the Aladdin and have no idea what the %*#!@ it is, here is a picture.

The cigarette lighter plug is a good reference as to the size of the whole thing.
The hand unit is about the size of a good sized hole puncher for office papers, and the handle folds flush against the body and can be locked down with an integral clasp.

 

[mekki]

Hi. Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I ordered a couple of these and had lots of fun fooling around with them ie. standing on street while talking to girlfriend inside, while furiously cranking the Alladin, balancing the 2 cables and holding the phone!

Unfortunately, my regulator-dealy died on the second day. I plug the light and regulator in and crank, but no light. Without elepool, light! I emailed Alladin, and they promptly replied that a replacement would be mailed. That was only a week ago so I expect it here next week.

Silly Question: How do you open the regulator up? Just reef on the seam?

Thanks