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ENCHANTED FIREFLIES

Enchanted Fireflies, retail from $75.00 (www.enchantedfireflies.com...)
Manufactured by Enchanted Fireflies (www.enchantedfireflies.com)
Last updated 08-27-10

These are LED "fireflies" that supposedly look and behave like the real thing. Since we don't have firebugs in Sacramento CA. USA (these insects are indiginous to the east coast of the US only), I cannot compare them with the real thing and tell you how they compare. I grew up in Juneau AK., lived in Seattle WA., live in Sacramento CA., and have been to several cities in California and Oregon during the summer, but fireflies do not live on the west coast, so I've never seen them.

Enchanted Fireflies Lights consist of a series of long wires (it comes as a ribbon cable; you pull each firefly away as needed) with white or yellow-green LEDs on their ends. Each LED is also connected to a microcontroller, so the LED on the end of each and every wire will blink and fade like the light on the end of an actual firefly's butt. Each LED is individually addressed, so they don't just all fade on & off in unison (together).

I was furnished with the XC-24 Light Packages (in Astro White and Yellow-Green) along with the AC/DC controller and the solar rechargeable cell holder/controller.

The XC-24 light set consists of a 24 foot long ribbon cable with 24 LEDs at the end; the ribbon cable is designed to be peeled away so the LED on the ends of that wire pair can be placed exactly where you want it. If you don't want to use *ALL* of the Fireflies, you may just leave the extras on the ribbon cable and place the end of the cable where it will not be seen.
And these lights are UL Listed

just to add frosting to the cake.

The company advertises the Enchanted Fireflies as "Inspired by, and reminiscent of real fireflies".

Above two photographs provided by AJ at Enchanted Fireflies and were used with permission.

SIZE

Plug the ribbon cable into the receptacle for it on upper surface of the AC/DC unit or on the bottom of the solar cell unit. This plug is polarised; look for a raised section on one side of the plug, and orient it so it goes into the slightly larger opening on the inside of one of the walls of the receptacle.

If you're using the AC/DC unit, place that unit in a sheltered area; away from rainfall.

If you're using the solar cell unit, place it somewhere where it will receive direct sunlight for at least several hours a day. Orient the face of the solar cell so that it more-or-less faces the sun, but keep it at an angle to help protect the plug at the bottom and the switch on the back.

After plugging the ribbon cable in, begin by finding an appropriate home for the control box or solar panel.

Peel the Firefly you want to use away from the ribbon cable (two consecutive wires at a time; each Firefly uses two), and stick it through plants, bushes, fence slats, or wherever.
Do this until you either run out of Fireflies or until you have the area you want Fireflies in filled to your satisfaction. If there are any Fireflies left over, just leave them at the end of the ribbon cable, and tuck them out of sight. Please do not simply cut them off - if you do that and later find you want more Fireflies, you'll be SOL.

You can also use them indoors - in wedding cakes, flower arrangements, large potted plants, etc.

It is advised that you keep the ribbon cable concealed; if it is not, during the daytime, somebody might mistake it for a snake or other poisonous creature and subsequently become confused or even attempt to kill it with a (conveniently-placed) shovel.

Most real fireflies tend to remain near the ground, and by installing your Enchanted Fireflies the same way, it will be an easy task.

On the AC/DC box, rock the rocker switch so its left side goes down (as the cable is at the bottom). This turns the Fireflies on.
Rock the switch the other way to turn the Fireflies back off.

On the solar box, slide the slide switch on the back to the "AUTO" position - the Fireflies will then automatically turn on just after sunset and turn off just before sunrise. You need not use this switch again unless you wish to, or if you're removing the Fireflies to protect them from a tornado or a hurricane - or if you have an earthquake and would prefer not to see the pretty little lights at & after nightfall - though this would be a rather uncommon (if not downright rare!) occurance.

The solar box has a photoelectric cell on it (at the center of the top); this is what automatically turns them on at nightfall and turns them off in the morning. If you need to test them during the day (such as when installing them), placing your thumb over the photocell should allow the Fireflies to turn on. If that doesn't work, a small piece of black electrician's tape placed over the photocell ought to do the trick here...just don't forget to remove it when you're finished.

The solar cell unit only needs to be placed in a sunny location in order to charge its batteries; this is a completely automatic, hands-free process.

The AC/DC unit does require charging; plug the small plug on the "wall wart" power supply into the female receptacle on the left side of the controller. Plug the larger end into any standard (in north America anyway) 110 to 130 volts AC 60Hz receptacle.

I'm not certain how long the charge cycle takes; but suffice it to say that it will be at least several hours.

To change the batteries in the solar unit if it becomes necessary, turn the unit so the solar panel faces down.
You'll see a raised platform; unscrew & remove the four phillips screws from this platform, and set them aside. Gently lift the back of this platform off, gently place it on the ground, and kick it into the garden so the hungry, hungry praying mantids will think it's something yummy for their insect tummies and subsequently strike at it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

This is what you should see now:

Here is what a praying mantis looks like.
I found this guy on the morning of 09-08-06 clinging to the basket of my scooter.

Charge the unit in the sun for as long as practical (at least eight hours), whether you know if the batteries are charged or not. As my former housemate might have said, "just to be sure it's Westinghouse".

To change the batteries in the AC/DC unit if it becomes necessary, turn the unit so the large female connector faces up.
Unscrew & remove the four phillips screws from the top, and set them aside. Gently lift the back of this platform off (don't pull too hard; the power wires will remain attached), and set that aside (near the controller box itself) too.

This is what you should see now:

Remove the three bad NiMH AA cells from the compartment, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert three new 2,500mAh AA NiMH cells into the chamber, orienting each cell so that it's flat-end (-) negative faces the spring for it in each chamber.

Place the lid back on, and reinsert & tighten those four screws.

I've heard that the battery life of the non-solar unit (the AC/DC unit) is 2 to 4 hours of actual "on" time.
This probably equates to 2 hours for the XP-24 unit and 4 hours for the XP-12 unit.

From the person who actually makes these, comes this:

"The AC/DC units when fully charged will last, a good 48 hours, because we use 2500mAh batteries. It has very low consumption like 200ma.
Batteries quality and one is important: weight of battery.
Ours is above 25 grams. We only use None-memory type batteries, and the best on the test benches.

The solar unit, is same as above. I left a solar unit accidentally in my car, and that unit did not have photograph cell, so it did not shut off, nor was charging and it was working a bit over 2 days. Also, I lent a sample to a large swimming pool/landscape contractor, who complained that the solar unit died on him after 2 days(his family loved it). Reason was: its a unit that was a sample for plastic fittings and not actual working unit that charge and discharge as the unit you have now. Again batteries plays a big factor in all this, mind you, we use 24 lights. Magic, works 2 days max with 12 Lights.

At my kid's pre-school, the unit(ac/dc) sometimes forgotten to be charged at night, and the lady told me: "AJ, I charge it 2 times a week (5 work days), it never died, but sometimes I forget and charge it, and I charge it ONCE A WEEK, there for it is not working sometimes Sorry". That is what Ms. Sophia told word per word."

This product is meant to be used as a decorative fixture, not a flashlight meant to be abused thrashed, and trashed. So I won't throw them against the wall, stomp on them, run over them, swing them against the concrete floor of a patio, bash them open to check them for candiosity, fire them from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again

- candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout, a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or a pack-of-cards-sized instrument that Fergy Fudgehog uses), send them to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon them punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them.
So this section of the web page will appear significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

I was also given express written consent (not just implied oral consent) to perform some of the more potentially damaging tests. Apparently, the only thing that can really go sour during an accident during installation is that the batteries might pop out of their holders if the battery box/controller is dropped. And if this happens, simply unscrewing the top off the battery box, reinstalling the dislodged cell(s), and screwing the lid back on should make things as right as rain.

I dropped the battery box in this exact manner onto a concrete sidewalk on the evening of 10-26-07, and no malfunctions were detected. I also somewhat manhandled the Astro White set (pretending I was pissed off at it and slammed it around needlessly), and again, no malfunctions were detected.

Photograph of an individual Firefly.

Photograph of the AC/DC unit.

Photograph of the solar unit.

Spectrographic analysis of the yellow-green LEDs in the yellow-green FireFlies set.

Spectrographic analysis of the white LEDs in the white FireFlies set.

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product in action.
This clip is approximately 2.6 megabytes (2,684,332 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twelve minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the yellow-green Fireflies in a bush at night.
This clip is approximately 3.5 megabytes (3,573,684 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eighteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

Only 4 of the 24 Firefllies were used here; I made this particular installation in the dark.

A mercury vapour streetlight bulb was on nearby; this pretty much queered the
movie, but if you're reasonably observant, you can see the Fireflies fading in & out.

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the Astro White Fireflies in a bush at night.
This clip is approximately 2.9 megabytes (3,086,242 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fifteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

Only 7 of the 24 Firefllies were used here; again, I made this particular installation in the dark.

Again, a mercury vapour streetlight bulb was on nearby; this pretty much queered the
movie, but if you're reasonably observant, you can see the Fireflies fading in & out.
They may be more visible than the yellow-green Fireflies in the above movie clip are.

TEST NOTES:
Test units were sent by A.J. of Enchanted Fireflies on 10-14-07, and were received at 8:47am PDT on 10-26-07.
Two of the units are "keepers"; the other parts included must be returned fairly soon.

Minor milestone here: At 8:47am PDT, this is the earliest delivery I have ever received.

The "wall wart" charger has the following specifications: 1. Regulated wall power supply
2. Input: USA/Canada compatible (120VAC 60Hz)
3. Output 5VDC +/- 5%
4. Current (ampere) sinking capability: 0.1A (Minimum 0.5 Watts)
5. Output Connector either 2.1 or 2.5mm, right angle barrel connector, center positive
6. UL/CSA Approved
7. RoHS

The entire Fireflies set is RoHS-compliant, not just the charger.
This simply means that heavy metals like lead, mercury, or cadmium are not to be found anywhere in the units' construction.

Enchanted Fireflies are made in the United States.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.

UPDATE: 11-20-07
I have boxed up the solar controller & the "other" brand of fireflies for return...hold on, there's somebody nocking on the door...OK, it was Federal Express coming to pick the box up: 2:42pm PST 11-20-07.
Since I still have Fireflies and the AC/DC controller, I do not have to add that dreadful "

" icon next to its listings on this website.

UPDATE: 11-21-07
By request of the manufacturer, I have started a battery discharge analysis of the Enchanted Fireflies.
I am using Powerex brand 2,200mAh NiMH cells for this test.
The batteries are now charging, and the test will be started tomorrow (Turkey Day 11-22-07) morning.

UPDATE: 11-22-07
The battery discharge test is on hold - at least for the very near-future.
The reason is that the Fireflies no longer function. I emailed my contact at Enchanted Fireflies to see if I'm doing something incredibly stupid or if I need to send the AC/DC control box back for warranty repair or replacement. Because the warranty is essentially bulletproof, I will not be derating the Enchanted Firebugs...er...uh...Fireflies because of this.

UPDATE: 11-26-07
The AC/DC controller box was picked up by Federal Express at 3:46pm PST this afternoon for return to my contact at Enchanted Fireflies.

UPDATE: 12-03-07
I have heard from my contact at Enchanted Fireflies that the Fireflies will soon be available in an "incandescent" (golden white), and possibly in greenish-white as well.

UPDATE: 12-08-07
The Enchanted Fireflies will soon have diffused LEDs instead of transparent, water-clear ones. This will serve to increase their already wide viewing angle even more.

UPDATE: 02-07-08
I received the AC/DC controller box yesterday afternoon; I also received a +5 volts 300mA AC adapter/charger (a component I did not receive earlier); I verified that the Fireflies worked on AC power, and after fiddling with the batteries with a short time (the cells had shifted & become dislodged during shipping), also verified the unit functioned properly on battery power.

UPDATE: 02-08-08
The AC adapter/charger does not disengage the batteries while connected, so the product can be used while charging the batteries, and if it's on AC power and there is a power failure, the Fireflies will continue to flash & blink on battery power.

UPDATE: 02-08-08
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The manufacturer of Enchanted Fireflies stands behind their products 100%, no bull{vulgar term for feces} whatsoever!!!

UPDATE: 02-09-08
I'll be starting a battery discharge analysis beginning at 10:00am PST today.
I cannot use the CBDSRDM (Computerised Battery-Destroying Satanic Robot Death Machine) because of the highly intermittent nature of the Fireflies; instead, I'll be observing the set manually until it quits working or when the LEDs become so dim as to be unusable.

UPDATE: 02-10-08
Batteries are still going strong after more than 20 hours.
I'll keep my eye on the set and post regular updates here.

UPDATE: 02-10-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
Batteries are still going after almost 30 hours now.
As I stated earlier, I'll keep my eye on the set and post regular updates here.

UPDATE: 02-11-08
Batteries are still going strong after 45 hours.
I'll keep my eye on the set and post regular updates here.

UPDATE: 02-11-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have now been in continuous operation for exactly 48 hours (two full days), and show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.

UPDATE: 02-11-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have now been in continuous operation for almost 55 hours (two full days plus seven hours), and show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.

UPDATE: 02-11-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have been in continuous operation for over 58 hours now, and still show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.

UPDATE: 02-12-08
The Enchanted Fireflies have been in continuous operation for over 68 hours now, and still show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.

UPDATE: 02-12-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have been in continuous operation for 72 hours 15 minutes (over three days!) now, and still show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.

UPDATE: 02-12-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have been in continuous operation for 78 hours 37 minutes (close to three and a half days!) now, and still show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out. They're still operating at maximum candiosity...er...uh...maximum intensity (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again

- "candiosity" is the state of a piñata's candy content; the higher the better).

UPDATE: 02-13-08
The Enchanted Fireflies have been in continuous operation for almost 92 hours now, and ***STILL*** show no signs of dimming or otherwise pooping out.
Like that insipid rabbit on the battery commercial, they keep going, and going, and going...

UPDATE: 02-13-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
It is now coming up on 95 hours (almost four days) and the silly things are still plugging along!!!

UPDATE: 02-13-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have now been operating for over 96 hours (more than 4 days) now, and they're still going strong.

UPDATE: 02-13-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
The Enchanted Fireflies have now been operating for over 101 hours (significantly more than 4 days) now, and they're showing no sign of stopping.

UPDATE: 02-13-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, YET ANOTHER!!! same-day update.
As of 6:00pm PST, the Enchanted Fireflies have been operating for over 104 hours (significantly more than 4 days) now, and they're showing no sign of stopping.

UPDATE: 02-13-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, YET ANOTHER!!! same-day update.
As of 8:14pm PST, the Enchanted Fireflies have been operating for over 106 hours (significantly more than 4 days) now, and they're ***STILL*** showing no sign of stopping. This will be my last update for today, because it's getting close to bedtime.

UPDATE: 02-14-08
As of 5:07am PDT, the Enchanted Fireflies have been operating continuously on battery power for over 115 hours (almost five days!)!!!
I was certain I was going to see the set dark this morning, but they're still operating at what looks like maximum intensity!!!

UPDATE: 02-14-08
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
As of 7:43am PDT, I think the batteries are finally starting to give up the ghost. I have determined this by observing the set "looping"; where the same set of Fireflies fades on, then all simultaneously extinguish - cycle then repeats with the same Fireflies. This tells me that battery life is approximately 117.5 hours - that's four days 21.5 hours (not quite five full days)!

UPDATE: 02-21-08
The solar-powered Fireflies are said to be weatherproof, and should easily withstand temperatures ranging from -40°F (-40°C) to 180°F (82.2°C).

UPDATE: 02-23-08
The solar controller units (two of them) have been run over with a Chevy 1500 truck, and they sustained no major damage; only some rather minor cosmetic-only scratches & scuffs were found!!!

UPDATE: 03-03-08
The Enchanted Fireflies website is offline for one, maybe two days, so if you wish to visit it, please be patient.

UPDATE: 03-31-08
The Enchanted Fireflies website is now back online, and it really *DOES* look nice.

PROS:
Durable construction
Bright enough to be seen in subdued lighting, yet not overly bright
Uses rechargeable cells, not disposable ones
You need not use every firefly in the set; unneeded ones can be tucked away

CONS:
None that I have yet discovered

MANUFACTURER: Enchanted Fireflies
PRODUCT TYPE: Simulated fireflies
LAMP TYPE: 3mm wide-angle LED
No. OF LAMPS: 24
BEAM TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Rocker on/off (AC/DC unit), slide switch auto/off (solar cell unit)
BEZEL: N/A
BATTERY: Three AA NiMH cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER RESISTANT: Fireflies themselves are weatherproof; controllers are weather-resistant
SUBMERSIBLE: No
ACCESSORIES: 3xNiMH cells, "wall wart" power supply/charger
WARRANTY: 2 years (UNLIMITED)

PRODUCT RATING:

(No, you aren't seeing things. That really is six stars up there!!!
This is only the second of three of the best products to have landed in my lab in the last 14 years!!!)

Enchanted Fireflies * www.enchantedfireflies.com...

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