National Emergency Flashlight

[Caligvla]

(Moderator note: oversized pic removed IAW CPF Rules. Feel free to repost it after resizing according to those rules.)

In Japan, every hotel room is required to have a flashlight provided for emergency use. I took a photo of this one at the Hotel Okura in Kyoto.

It's made by National, a sister company of Panasonic, also owned by Matsushita. It was nice to see this vintage light still in use in pristine condition. It has a very cool feature as soon as you pick it up off of the cradle it turns on.

Posted for your viewing enjoyment!

 

[MikeSalt]

Very Retro!

Good job I am not due to go to Japan in a long while. There would be such a temptation to take it off, slip in some ROP-like components and carefully place it back. Would be a laugh when the maintenance guys looked down the reflector to test if it still works.

In all seriousness though guys, don't mess with emergency equipment.

 

[Mike V]

Please repost the picture.

I'd love to see it.



.

 

[Caligvla]

(Moderator note: oversized pic removed IAW CPF Rules. Feel free to repost it after resizing according to those rules.)

okay I reduced the size...

 

[paulr]

Thanks! Great pic.

 

[arjay]

Nice pic! I remember having a flashlight that looks exactly like that while growing up, but without the cradle and colored blue. If I can remember correctly it has a silver swith with a red button on it's side with three settings on-off-momentary on(press red button).

 

[Caligvla]

Nice pic! I remember having a flashlight that looks exactly like that while growing up, but without the cradle and colored blue. If I can remember correctly it has a silver swith with a red button on it's side with three settings on-off-momentary on(press red button).

This one had no switch at all, as soon as its off the cradle it turns on and stays on... kinda neat. designed for emergency use.

what is pretty cool, you can see its a pretty old design and its in perfect condition. It just shows you how considerate the Japanese are, if the same light was in an American hotel it would be stolen, if it was in an Italian hotel it would look like it had gone through WWIII, if it was in a Chinese hotel it wouldn't work...

 

[Tachikoma]

if the same light was in an American hotel it would be stolen, if it was in an Italian hotel it would look like it had gone through WWIII, if it was in a Chinese hotel it wouldn't work...

If it had been in Italy it wouldn't have been worked, but, if functioning, the flashlight would have been stolen and the cradle vandalized...

 

[mwaldron]

if the same light was in an American hotel it would be stolen

If it was in an American hotel it would be emblazoned with the Hotel's logo and a sign on the door would say something to the effect of: "Please enjoy our amenities during your stay at our hotel. If you find you'd like take some home with you feel free to do so, we will add them to your bill as follows. Flashlight $25. Towell: $10. Bathrobe: $35."

Don't laugh too hard, with the exception of the flashlight I was once in a hotel with that posted on the door. It was an upscale place too as I remember, somewhere around $200/night 5 years or so back.

Oh, did I forget to mention the official flashlight would be a 1xAAA Maglite Solitare. Anything with a battery larger than that could be used as a weapon and anything with more light output could accidentally hurt a guest's vision and cause a lawsuit against hotel management.

Maybe NDI is onto something with their HOT COFFEE STRONG LIGHT warning.

 

[jufam44]

Great photo-The best I've seen is a Mag 2D in the Ritz in NY, and that's because we were on the top floor.

 

[Zenster]

This one had no switch at all, as soon as its off the cradle it turns on and stays on... kinda neat. designed for emergency use.

what is pretty cool, you can see its a pretty old design and its in perfect condition. It just shows you how considerate the Japanese are, if the same light was in an American hotel it would be stolen, ...

Oh I don't know; I don't think the Japanese are being so considerate.

I'm willing to bet that THE reason for it having no switch at all and turning on when taken off the cradle is to make it worthless as a flashlight so it wouldn't be stolen.
I mean, why would anyone want a flashlight that stayed on all the time, and was probably worth less than a buck to start with?

When it came time to check out, my preference would still be to take the towel rather than the flashlight. :twothumbs

 

[Caligvla]

Oh I don't know; I don't think the Japanese are being so considerate.

I'm willing to bet that THE reason for it having no switch at all and turning on when taken off the cradle is to make it worthless as a flashlight so it wouldn't be stolen.
I mean, why would anyone want a flashlight that stayed on all the time, and was probably worth less than a buck to start with?

When it came time to check out, my preference would still be to take the towel rather than the flashlight. :twothumbs

It's part of the emergency design, you don't want to have to fumble for a switch in the dark.

 

[Zenster]

It's part of the emergency design, you don't want to have to fumble for a switch in the dark.

But wait a minute; how do those people who aren't smart enough to turn on a flashlight, find the flashlight in the first place?

But, you could be right. I know that when I'm in a hurry, it takes me sometimes several minutes to figure out how to turn on a flashlight.
I pity those poor hotel guests who, unclear on how to turn on a flashlight, also have trouble turning on the room lights or flushing the toilet. :naughty:

 

[Caligvla]

But wait a minute; how do those people who aren't smart enough to turn on a flashlight, find the flashlight in the first place?

But, you could be right. I know that when I'm in a hurry, it takes me sometimes several minutes to figure out how to turn on a flashlight.
I pity those poor hotel guests who, unclear on how to turn on a flashlight, also have trouble turning on the room lights or flushing the toilet. :naughty:

Not everyone is as nimble as you are, Japan has a disproportionate amount of elderly who don't instantly know how to work things like we do. If you are in your 90s, on a nice little leaf peeing trip in Kyoto and an Earthquake hits and the power is out, just being able to grab a flashlight at your bedside and not having to fumble around in the dark to find the switch could mean a lot in an emergency situation...

 

[coldsolderjoint]

.... If you are in your 90s, on a nice little leaf peeing trip in Kyoto...

What is a leaf peeing trip?

 

[pathalogical]

That's a nice looking light. You shoulda modded it !!!

 

[One2gofst]

What is this leaf peeing AND do I have to go to Japan to partake?

 

[Caligvla]

What is a leaf peeing trip?

When you go to look at the Momiji turn brilliant red... Leaf Peeping is popular just about any where with cold weather and trees...

 

[Braddah_Bill]

I remember having a light like that at work many years ago, but it had the Panasonic name on it. I thought it was really cool at the time and just had to pull it off the cradle just to see how it worked. The cradle had a plastic wedge in the center the went through the body of the light and separated the batteries from making contact.

I had to really fight the urge to take it home......cool light.




Bill

 

[Caligvla]

I remember having a light like that at work many years ago, but it had the Panasonic name on it. I thought it was really cool at the time and just had to pull it off the cradle just to see how it worked. The cradle had a plastic wedge in the center the went through the body of the light and separated the batteries from making contact.

I had to really fight the urge to take it home......cool light.

Bill

Yeah there are many National products in the USA rebranded Panasonic... The execs are Matsushita felt it wasn't appropriate to export a product with the name national on it... So you will only see the National brand in Japan, where it really is a "National" product.