EXTENDED LED
SEARCH STICK

Extended LED Search Stick, retail C$9.00 (www.radioshack.ca...)
Manufactured by Nexxtech for Radio Shack Canada (www.radioshack.ca)
Last updated 02-13-07




NOTE: There is a Nexxtech website, but as of 05-21-04 it is still under construction. So I provided the Radio Shack Canada URL in its place.

The Extended LED Search Stick (hereinafter, probably just called the Stick) is a mostly metal device with a white LED on the end, protected by a plastic diffuser. The Stick is extendable, from just over 6" to just over 26". It turns on when you extend it, and turns off when you retract it. What could be easier?


SIZE



To use the Stick, feed it first (see below). Extend the Stick as little or as much as you want to turn the LED on; retract it all the way (until you hear a clicking noise) to turn the LED off.
There is no conventional switch to {vulgar term for intercourse} with, or to trigger unexpectedly.

To extend the Stick, grasp the base (where the pocket clip is) in one hand, and the clear plastic portion in the other. Pull straight apart until it's at the length you want, or until it stops (fully extended).

To retract the Stick, grasp the base with one hand, and pull the sections down one at a time, starting with the lower section and working your way forward. When all the sections are just about retracted, push straight down on the clear plastic LED portion until it clicks into the base and the LED goes off.



To change the batteries in your Stick, turn it so the LED portion faces the ceiling. You'll see a milky white ring between the two chrome pieces near the top. Grasp the stick below this ring, and hold it firmly. Unscrew the bezel (top of the Stick, above where the milky translucent plastic ring is). When the bezel is off, throw it away...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Tip the open end of the barrel of the Stick into your hand, and dispose of or recycle the three LR41 button cells that come out.

Stack three new LR41 button cells on top of one another on a desk, table, or counter. Stack them so the button-end (-) negative of each cell faces up. Lower the open end of the barrel over the cells, and slide the assembly to the edge of the desk, table, counter, or what have you. When you're sliding it over the edge, place a finger over the opening so all those batteries don't just fall out and clatter all over the floor. Invert (flip over) the Stick's barrel, still holding your finger over the open end. When the barrel is facing open-end up, remove your finger. Screw the bezel assembly back in place, and there, you're done.
Aren't you glad you didn't get rid of that bezel now?

Battery life is not known, but the advertised battery life is 1 year at 10 minutes a day of use - about 60.8 hours total if I did the math correctly.



The Stick should be at least reasonably durable, in that it won't just fall apart on you when you use it. When extended, the functional construction appears to be like the telescopic antennae on 1980s ghetto blasters, so it could become broken fairly easily if abused. But it costs only $9 Canadian, so it's not like you'd go broke if you busted one of these things every now and again. If you're so inclined, rescue the white LED before you throw the broken unit in the garbage can.

Water-resistance appears minimal at best; you should not use one of these where it could fall into a sink, toilet, or bathtub. If you use your Stick in one of these locations, be sure the water is drained or lidded (covered) before you introduce a Stick into the area. If it receives a light splash, dry it off with some bungwipe as soon as you can, and you ought to be alright.

Since this product does not appear exceptionally sturdy or water-resistant, I'll spare it the punishments of being whacked against a steel rod, running it over, stomping on it, or trying to drown it in the toilet.

The "beam" that comes out is diffused, but somewhat irregular. So you won't want to use it like a regular flashlight unless nothing else is available at the moment, and the Stick is all you have available to you. It is perfectly fine though, for the types of jobs for which the Stick was intended to perform.

There is a magnet on the side of the bezel (LED-end) which can be used to pick up nuts, bolts, screws, etc. (any ferrous object weighing up to 1kg) or to hang the light on a ferrous metal surface when not in use. This magnet does put a "hole" in part of the beam pattern, but this is not objectionable as long as you don't try to use this like a conventional flashlight. The magnet's positioning at the end of the light, where the light comes out, is very favourable in my opinion.



"Beam" photo at ~12".
Measures 980mcd.

Note: "Beam" is diffuse, and the low reading is quite
normal and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about.

Used a Meterman LM631 light meter for this test.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the LED in this product.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from WWW.TWO-CUBED.COM.



TEST NOTES:
Sample was sent to me by a website fan (R.T.) in Ontario Canada, and was received on 05-21-04.
As of 05-21-04, this product is currently only available through Canadian Radio Shack stores.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Useful product for what its intended purpose is


CONS:
Somewhat fragile construction - when extended anyway
Not waterproof or submersible
A bit dimmer than it could be


    MANUFACTURER: Nexxtech
    PRODUCT TYPE: Extendable magnetic LED wand
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Extend/retract baton for on/off
    BEZEL: Clear plastic cylinder protects LED
    BATTERY: 3x LR41 button cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Very light splatter-resistance only
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





Extended LED Search Stick * www.radioshack.ca...






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