COLEMAN LED CAMPSITE
MARKER LIGHT

Coleman LED Campsite Marker Light, retail $5/pack (www.coleman.com...)
Manufactured by Coleman (www.coleman.com)
Last updated 02-14-11




These are small and discrete LED marker lights, designed to be affixed to tent doors, tree branches or leaves, backpacks, bags, and etc. to help you locate such items in the dark, in the great outdoors. They are called Coleman Campsite Marker Lights, but I'll probably just call them Markers or Marker Lights for the remainder of this page. They come two to a pack, with six button cells included - three for each light.

These are small little guys, and they come with batteries included.

They come equipped with a spring-loaded clasp that can pivot on its axis about 170°; combine this with the 360° visibility of the light itself, and you can pretty much get full visibility anywhere.


SIZE



To use the Markers, first remove them and their included batteries from the package. Slitting the package down the side ought to do the trick here. Install the batteries, and you'll be ready to roll.

To turn the Marker on, twist the bezel (head) clockwise (as if tightening it). And to turn them back off, twist the bezel counterclockwise (as if loosening it) just over 1/4 of a turn from the fully tightened position. If you want to be absolutely, positively, 100% certain that the Markers will not "go off" in your camping bag or box, unscrew the bezel another 1/4 of a turn from when it first turns off.

The Markers come equipped with a spring-loaded clasp; this clasp not only has powerful jaws, but those jaws have two sizes of "teeth" on both parts. So you can clip them to just about anything they'll fit on, and they'll stay put, regardless of how strong the wind is blowing.

This clasp is also outfitted with a small metal ring; you can use this to affix the Marker to a keychain or similar article.



These markers require three GPA76 button cells (also known as L1154, V13GA, AG13, GA13, AG76, GPA76, GP76A, 675HR, LR1154, and LR44) for power. A set of them is included with each light.

To change the batteries, turn the light upside down (so the bezel faces the floor), and unscrew and remove the tailcap. Tip the bezel in your hand to remove the three dead batteries. Stack three new GPA76 cells on a table or other flat surface, flat (+) positive side down, and lower the bezel straight over the cells. Slide the light to the edge of the table, and put your finger there so the batteries just don't fall out. Invert (flip over) the bezel, and remove your finger. Screw the tailcap back on, and back it off slightly when the Marker springs to life. Finally, dispose of or recycle the old button cells as you see fit.

Advertised battery life is 20 hours.

Consumes 32mA using the DMM's 2A scale.
Using this scale helps minimise shunt resistance error and provides for a +-1mA resolution for low-current measurements.

I'll be starting a battery discharge analysis at 6:00pm PDT tonight (04-26-04). Since I cannot use my regular battery discharge analysis machine because this product does not emit enough light, I'll just turn it on and note when it quits or becomes too dim to be usable.
I checked exactly one hour into the test (7:00pm PDT), and it's just as bright now as it was when the test started. I'll report a runtime sometime tomorrow (04-27-04). 2:00pm PDT will be the 20 hour mark.

OK, it's now 7:00am PDT "tomorrow", and the light has dimmed significantly. I don't believe it is bright enough now to serve its intended use - as a campsite marker. This is exactly 13 hours from the time I turned it on. That 20 hour advertised figure is probably for intermittent use, not continuous use.



Marker Lights appear to be resonably durable and quite weather resistant. Common flashlight accidents should not break them. They are helped by their small size, so they should just shrug off falls to dirt or pavement; they could become broken if they're stepped on or run over with a wheelchair though, so please try not to do that. And please don't get in your truck and run back and forth over one...it would look up at you with its beady little LED and wonder why you're murdering it.

The product is advertised as being weather resistant. There is an O-ring sealing the bezel and tailcap; this appears to be rather tight fitting, so it should do its job rather well.

The battery changing procedure could be a bit of a pain in the toilet muscle, but it's not difficult by any means. As long as you can find a flat surface to stack the cells on, battery changes should go relatively easily no matter where you are or what you're doing. You can stack the cells in the palm of your hand if no flat surface is available.

The spring-loaded clip appears to be easy and intuitive to use. I don't think anybody will have any problems here. But this is my 2¢; your results may vary.


Here's a picture of the clip on the bottom of the product; you can decide for yourself if it's too difficult to use or not. ;-) Squeeze the handles together (on the right side in this photograph) to open the jaws; release the handles to close the jaws.

The LED in the tested units appears to be a yellow-green GaAlP (gallium aluminum phosphide) type. These LEDs aren't super bright, but they aren't super dim either. The Marker is not designed to be a blindingly bright "eye killer", it's designed to be a marker light. So please do not be alarmed when you find the LED not as bright as those used in LED flashlights and other LED lighting instruments.



Picture showing the unit lighted.
Light isn't quite as yellow as the photograph made it appear.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this marker.


Spectrographic analysis
Same as above; newer spectrometer software & settings used.



Spectrographic analysis
Same as above; yet newer spectrometer software & settings used.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.






TEST NOTES:
Test units of these marker lights and a flashlight were sent by A.W. of Coleman, and were received on 04-08-04.

She also had the following to say:

Coleman offers a full line of flashlights in various types and styles. Some are more suitable for camping, while others - such as the rechargeable styles - are more suitable for household use.

The GPA76 button cells (also known as L1154, V13GA, AG13, GA13, AG76, GPA76, GP76A, 675HR, LR1154, and LR44) are common, inexpensive, and easily available.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Very inexpensive ($5 for two)
Reasonably durable construction
Weather-resistant at very minimum


CONS:
Dimmer than expected
Battery changing can be fiddly if you need to do it in the woods


    MANUFACTURER: Coleman
    PRODUCT TYPE: Marker light
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm yellow-green LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel on/off
    BEZEL: LED protected by textured plastic dome
    BATTERY: 3x GPA76 button cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: 6x button cells (three for each light)
    WARRANTY: 5 years

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Coleman LED Campsite Marker Light * www.coleman.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.