POWER POD

Power Pod, retail $7.99
Manufactured by (Unknown) for Bell & Howell (www.bellhowell.com)
Last updated 02-26-08




This is the Power Pod by Bell & Howell. It is a portable light fixture that has two incandescent illuminator heads that swivel (one, the other, or both can be used as needed), and is designed to be mounted where you need some extra light without the expense or hassle of hiring an electrician to install a traditional bulb socket & wiring.

It is designed so that batteries & bulbs can be changed without removing the unit, so a fairly permanent installation is possible if desired. It comes with four screws (for doing just that) and two self-adhesive hook-and-loop (Velcro) fasteners for a less permanent installation or for when you do not feel like having screw holes where it is mounted.

Both illuminator heads have faceted reflectors so the beam emitted by them is a bit wider and less "ringy" than the beam emitted by a traditional incandescent flashlight with a mirror-smooth reflector.


SIZE



To use the Power Pod, feed it first (see directly below), and THEN you can go light up that dark "cubberd".

Using the four screws or the two pieces of hook-and-loop material (all provided), hang the Power Pod where you wish: inside a dark cupboard, under the sink, in a dark closet, etc.; even behind the toilet if you wish. If you're mounting it on a vertical surface (such as on a wall or on the inside wall of a cabinet or cupboard), just try to be certain that the side of the unit with the little string with plastic "pull" attached to the end of it faces downward.

The mounting plate rotates 90° to the right (as the Power Pod is facing you); there is a detent (stop) at the 45° position as well.
This means you can rotate the Powerpod up to 90° without removing it from the wall or cupboard interior.

To turn the Power Pod on, just gently pull on the string until it stops and then release it.
Do the same thing to turn it off.

Alternately (or if the string somehow becomes broken), press & release the grey button located at the lower edge near the center of the Power Pod. Do the same thing to turn it off.

Below and to the right of the button you'll find a slide switch.
Sliding it all the way to the left causes just the left-hand illuminator to operate when the unit is activated. Positioning this switch at the center allows both illuminator heads to operate, and sliding it all the way to the right allows only the right-hand illuminator to operate.

Both illuminator heads can be swivelled a bit. Just grasp the illuminator head where the white plastic body meets the transparent plastic window, and push or pull it to aim it in the desired direction. You can adjust one or both illuminator heads in this manner.



To change the batteries, on the front of the unit is a battery door. Lift up on its topmost edge, remove it, and then place it on the living room floor so the hungry, hungry "vaccuummnne" cleaner will greedily gobble it up, then get the brush roll jammed so that the cleaner begins to emit a delightful squealing sound, then begin to produce that "burning vacuum belt" odour...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

If necessary, remove & dispose of or recycle the four used AA cells from the compartment.

Insert four new AA cells into the compartment, orienting them so their flat ends (-) negatives face the springs for them in each chamber.

Place the battery door back on, and be done with it.
Aren't you glad you didn't throw that battery door to the hungry, hungry vacuum cleaner now?
Not only did you save the battery door, you will not have to purchase a replacement vacuum cleaner belt either.

You can also use the Power Pod with an AC adapter (not included) that produces 6 volts DC at at least 800mA (current rating is not specified; this is my best guess at what would be safe here).


Because this is an incandescent product, sooner or later you'll need to change a bulb...here's how to do it.
  1. Turn the light bulb cover (transparent "lens") counterclockwise (as though loosening it) approximately 0.5 inch until it stops.
  2. Remove the light bulb cover (use a butterknife to help if it does not lift off with your fingers), and set it aside.
  3. Unscrew the burned out light bub and throw it in the garbage can.
  4. Screw a new bulb into the socket.
  5. Place the light bulb cover back on, then turn it clockwise (as though tightening it) until it stops.
Well, {vulgar term for intercourse: four letters, starts with "f" and ends with "k" }!!!
I could not accomplish the bulb change.
I tried both illuminators, but was not able to unscrew the bulb in either one.
So not only could I not do this, but I cannot tell you exactly what type of replacement bulbs you'll need.



The Power Pod is meant to be used as a household lamp in a dry area, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, trashed, and abused, so I won't try to drown it in the cistern (toilet tank), bash it against a steel rod or against the concrete floor of a patio, let my housemate's citty kats go to the litterbox on it, run over it with a 450lb Celebrity motorised wheelchair, stomp on it, use a large claw hammer in order to smash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout, with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; and the cannonada is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or perform other indecencies on it that a regular flashlight might have to have performed on it.

So this section of the web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight that was born to be a flashlight and nothing but a flashlight.





Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 173.1cd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the incandescent bulb in the Power Pod.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.






TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 12-04-07, and was received on the afternoon of 12-06-07.

Product was made in China.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Unknown
    PRODUCT TYPE: Stick-up / screw-on lamp
    LAMP TYPE: Incandescent screw base bulb
    No. OF LAMPS: 2
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot w/dim corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton/pull cord on/off
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; lamps & reflectors protected by plastic windows
    BATTERY: 4xAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Light splatter-resistance at maximum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Velcro fasteners, 4 screws
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Power Pod * www.bellhowell.com






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights, LEDs, and other products appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.