How not to charge with magnetic cable

Kitchen Panda

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I've been using an Olight S2R Baton II for several months now and it's been excellent - maybe a little bulky for dress pants, but otherwise very handy to have in a pocket every day. Last night I clipped the magnet cable onto it to top up the charge (I like the way the cable jumps into place like Luke's lightsaber) and observed the red light indicating it was charging. IN the morning...red light still there? Slid the charging cable off and noticed a quarter was stuck to the end of the S2R. The drawback to carrying it in your pocket is that everything ferrous in your pocket sticks to the magnet.


Bill
 

jon_slider

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Mar 31, 2015
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noticed a quarter was stuck to the end of the S2R. The drawback to carrying it in your pocket is that everything ferrous in your pocket sticks to the magnet.
thank you
learned something new today

Canadian coins with a P are nickel plated on steel blanks.
otoh, USAmerican coins do not have a ferrous content.


you have iron coins, eh?
 
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mr_postit

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May 12, 2021
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Interesting, I have an S2R as well but I've never found ferrous powders to inhibit charging... maybe I just don't encounter Iron regularly in my day to day life lol.
 

thermal guy

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I had a light I use to pocket carry many moons ago. Damn if I can remember what it was but I pulled it out of my pocket turned it on and nothing. Checked the battery it was fine. Figured it died. When I went to look at the head I saw a dime press fitted perfectly in the bezel. Live and learn 😁
 

Kitchen Panda

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thank you
learned something new today

Canadian coins with a P are nickel plated on steel blanks.
otoh, USAmerican coins do not have a ferrous content.


you have iron coins, eh?

Neat! I did not know that. Even your "nickels" aren't nickel! (mostly!). I don't have any recent US coins handy, but I did plunge the Baton into the jar of leftover US coins we have accumulated over the years ( for quite a while US coins would show up in change in Canadian stores) and none of them stuck. I also tried our jar of miscellaneous coins and found, for example, even a 1977 500 lira Italian coin stuck strongly, as did a 1 French franc, and a 5 Euro cent piece from Sweden. Again, I don't have a lot of recent European or Asian coins - a Hong Kong 5 dollar coin didn't stick,for instance. A UK 1 pound coin weakly stuck to the flashlight - fell off under its own weight.

All Canadian coins for about 20 years are on plated steel cores, or have substantial nickel content...so us Canadian Baton users should keep our money in a different pocket from our lights. I got quite a jolt when I found the pennies made since 1997 (and discontinued here since 2012) would also stick to a magnet. And I have one Toronto Transit Commission token (un-dated) and it doesn't stick, either.

The things you learn on the flashlight forums....

Bill
( I can get my coins fresh from the Mint, which is about a 10 minute drive from here!)
 
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idleprocess

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decamped
Neat! I did not know that. Even your "nickels" aren't nickel! (mostly!). I don't have any recent US coins handy, but I did plunge the Baton into the jar of leftover US coins we have accumulated over the years ( for quite a while US coins would show up in change in Canadian stores) and none of them stuck. I also tried our jar of miscellaneous coins and found, for example, even a 1977 500 lira Italian coin stuck strongly, as did a 1 French franc, and a 5 Euro cent piece from Sweden. Again, I don't have a lot of recent European or Asian coins - a Hong Kong 5 dollar coin didn't stick,for instance. A UK 1 pound coin weakly stuck to the flashlight - fell off under its own weight.

The only steel US coinage I'm aware of are 1943 and 1944 pennies. Otherwise they switched in 1982 from primarily copper to copper-plated zinc in the face of copper prices that would make their copper content worth more than the coin itself. 1965 saw the end of silver in the dime and the quarter. Since 1946 the nickel has been 75% copper/ 25% nickel.
 

Kitchen Panda

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The only steel US coinage I'm aware of are 1943 and 1944 pennies. Otherwise they switched in 1982 from primarily copper to copper-plated zinc in the face of copper prices that would make their copper content worth more than the coin itself. 1965 saw the end of silver in the dime and the quarter. Since 1946 the nickel has been 75% copper/ 25% nickel.

Yep, I think the Canadian dimes changed from silver to nickel some time after 1967 (Centennial coins were still silver), and recent ones are nickel-plated steel. We haven't had new pennies struck since 2012 and they don't even circulate any more. It would be madness to sell for 1 cent an amount of copper that was worth 1.5 cents as scrap! Canada,too, used steel coins during WWII as well as something called "tombac" , which displaced copper with zinc.

Best,

Bill
 
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