Hello all,
I am a new member and this is my first post. I am starting to amass a good collection of LED lights.
I recently ordered a camping UFO-type light from stuffgeek.com (located in Hong Kong). I bought 2 24-LED + 3-LED lanterns (they look a bit like a smoke detector). I had read someone else's review on this site I believe of a similar light (this one had 20 or 24 lights and a hole in the center).
I ordered my lights on Jan 25th and they got here (Seattle) Feb 5. The lights were $12 USD ea. and shipping (air mail) was only $3 dollars! I bought my lights after someone said they put out an amazing amount of light. This is an understatement IMHO. I refer to this light as a "miniature sun".
I don't have a digital camera or else I'd take pictures and post them. I might get a friend to do this for me.
As for the specifics:
The lantern uses 4aa cells. I put in fresh duracells. I saw the innards of another similar light and I believe this is almost the same - 4 arc circuit boards linked together with wire connectors, but this one has a separate board w/ 3 LEDs in the center. The soldering is cheap, but so is the lantern. I'm not complaining. I was disappointed when I went to fire up my 2nd lantern and it didn't work. I discovered that 2 of the + connectors for the battery had already rusted or oxidized a bit. I scraped them off with a knife and all was well. I checked the other light - no rust.
I had my lights on for about 2hrs last night and didn't notice any flickering, etc. I did notice that when I touched the rubber on/off switch it felt a bit warm after only a few minutes of use. After several minutes, you can feel an overall noticible warmth through the plastic case.
I have a Cabales 6W 3D cell 2-LED flashlight and a 3W Streamlight 51008. The beams on the flashlights are obviously more directed, but still they manage to light a good sized area from the ambient spill. If I aim my 6W at my ceiling (white, 9ft), while I am holding it at chest level, I can see everything in a 10-15 foot radius. Not good for reading, good enough for blackouts.
I also have a FreePlay wind up lantern (the one that looks a bit like a lighthouse) and it puts out a small amount of light. I'd have difficulty reading by it. But it's my emergency flashlight when I can't recharge batteries.
When I put my UFO light on a table in my bedroom (aimed at the ceiling), the 24 LED mode lit up the room more than my 6W light. A nice even light. Very white, no noticible blue tint. I could see the colors of every obect easily in the room. When I turned on the second one, I could easily read a book and the light output was that much better.
I only bought 2 lights to see if I liked them and - wow! I love them. My friends who know little about LED lighting gasp when I turn on my latest treasures.
As for the type of LEDs, I really can't say what type they are, but my guess would be nichias. There appears to be a small gold die maybe 2mm square with two silver wire connectors on it. The die seems to be close to the surface of the LED lens.
I should also mention that the switch works as follows.
click on - 3 center LEDs light.
click off
click on - 24 outside LEDs light.
click off
Even with 3 LEDs, it's brighter than my FreePlay lantern. Enough that you could read by it comfortably if it's hanging 3 feet above you.
The package says it has a 30hr runtime (also has many, many unintentionally funny spelling and grammatical errors).
I tried to find the elusive River Rock land an Osram (sylvania) Golden Dragon lantern. I tried the Target stores in (WA) Redmond, Issaquah and Bothell - no dice.
I read on CPF that the Osram is available online from WalMart. I might still get one, but for now - I will probably use more of the UFO type lights because you can hang them up and you don't get the annoying glare (I bought what I thought was a RR lantern but it only has a 0.5W nichia and the light is blinding when I look at it, the light doesn't really go where I want it).
Oh yeah, don't look at the lights on this lantern when they're on (even though you want to). You'll get an instant headache and after image of a ring of fire for 5 minutes or so.
All in all, I'd recommend StuffGeek.com. Their website is really slow, so be patient! Right now, it's down or I'd post a link to the product.
I'm thinking of getting a 48 LED UFO light next. Does anyone know how it functions? I'm guessing:
on 12
off
on 48
does anyone know?
I can't wait for the next big power outage!
BTW, I'd also like to point out that while I LOVE LED lights, they still don't have the warmth of incandescent or halogen. I do notice that if you combine the two, the light is better and less artificial looking. Maybe time for a DIY project...
I am a new member and this is my first post. I am starting to amass a good collection of LED lights.
I recently ordered a camping UFO-type light from stuffgeek.com (located in Hong Kong). I bought 2 24-LED + 3-LED lanterns (they look a bit like a smoke detector). I had read someone else's review on this site I believe of a similar light (this one had 20 or 24 lights and a hole in the center).
I ordered my lights on Jan 25th and they got here (Seattle) Feb 5. The lights were $12 USD ea. and shipping (air mail) was only $3 dollars! I bought my lights after someone said they put out an amazing amount of light. This is an understatement IMHO. I refer to this light as a "miniature sun".
I don't have a digital camera or else I'd take pictures and post them. I might get a friend to do this for me.
As for the specifics:
The lantern uses 4aa cells. I put in fresh duracells. I saw the innards of another similar light and I believe this is almost the same - 4 arc circuit boards linked together with wire connectors, but this one has a separate board w/ 3 LEDs in the center. The soldering is cheap, but so is the lantern. I'm not complaining. I was disappointed when I went to fire up my 2nd lantern and it didn't work. I discovered that 2 of the + connectors for the battery had already rusted or oxidized a bit. I scraped them off with a knife and all was well. I checked the other light - no rust.
I had my lights on for about 2hrs last night and didn't notice any flickering, etc. I did notice that when I touched the rubber on/off switch it felt a bit warm after only a few minutes of use. After several minutes, you can feel an overall noticible warmth through the plastic case.
I have a Cabales 6W 3D cell 2-LED flashlight and a 3W Streamlight 51008. The beams on the flashlights are obviously more directed, but still they manage to light a good sized area from the ambient spill. If I aim my 6W at my ceiling (white, 9ft), while I am holding it at chest level, I can see everything in a 10-15 foot radius. Not good for reading, good enough for blackouts.
I also have a FreePlay wind up lantern (the one that looks a bit like a lighthouse) and it puts out a small amount of light. I'd have difficulty reading by it. But it's my emergency flashlight when I can't recharge batteries.
When I put my UFO light on a table in my bedroom (aimed at the ceiling), the 24 LED mode lit up the room more than my 6W light. A nice even light. Very white, no noticible blue tint. I could see the colors of every obect easily in the room. When I turned on the second one, I could easily read a book and the light output was that much better.
I only bought 2 lights to see if I liked them and - wow! I love them. My friends who know little about LED lighting gasp when I turn on my latest treasures.
As for the type of LEDs, I really can't say what type they are, but my guess would be nichias. There appears to be a small gold die maybe 2mm square with two silver wire connectors on it. The die seems to be close to the surface of the LED lens.
I should also mention that the switch works as follows.
click on - 3 center LEDs light.
click off
click on - 24 outside LEDs light.
click off
Even with 3 LEDs, it's brighter than my FreePlay lantern. Enough that you could read by it comfortably if it's hanging 3 feet above you.
The package says it has a 30hr runtime (also has many, many unintentionally funny spelling and grammatical errors).
I tried to find the elusive River Rock land an Osram (sylvania) Golden Dragon lantern. I tried the Target stores in (WA) Redmond, Issaquah and Bothell - no dice.
I read on CPF that the Osram is available online from WalMart. I might still get one, but for now - I will probably use more of the UFO type lights because you can hang them up and you don't get the annoying glare (I bought what I thought was a RR lantern but it only has a 0.5W nichia and the light is blinding when I look at it, the light doesn't really go where I want it).
Oh yeah, don't look at the lights on this lantern when they're on (even though you want to). You'll get an instant headache and after image of a ring of fire for 5 minutes or so.
All in all, I'd recommend StuffGeek.com. Their website is really slow, so be patient! Right now, it's down or I'd post a link to the product.
I'm thinking of getting a 48 LED UFO light next. Does anyone know how it functions? I'm guessing:
on 12
off
on 48
does anyone know?
I can't wait for the next big power outage!
BTW, I'd also like to point out that while I LOVE LED lights, they still don't have the warmth of incandescent or halogen. I do notice that if you combine the two, the light is better and less artificial looking. Maybe time for a DIY project...
