LITEPRO QUASAR

Litepro Quasar Ultra Light, retail $9.95 (www.pocketlights.com/quasar.asp)
Manufactured by Litepro LLC (www.litepro.com)
Last updated 11-05-07




The Litepro Quasar is a very cool little light that fits on your keychain. It features a bicolor LED which can glow white or violet, and it has an RF surveillance (bug) detector that will detect frequencies in the range of 400MHz to 2.4GHz; a range of frequencies that are often used by audio and video surveillance devices (bugs). It lets you know of a bug's presence by blinking a small red LED just behind the switch.

It is powered by two CR2016 cells, and attaches to your keychain with a medium sized split-ring or the spring-loaded lobster claw on a swivel; this allows you to have faster access to the light if necessary.


SIZE



The Quasar is almost ready to use as soon as you remove it from the package. All you'll need to do is carefully but firmly pull the clear tab out of the flashlight; this prevents unwanted activation of the Quasar in the package. Grasp the clear tab, slowly pull it straight out of the flashlight body, and dispose of it as you see fit.

To use the Quasar, press and release the button on top of the flashlight body 1 to 4 times, according to how you want to use the flashlight:

1 press turns the Quasar on with white strobe, red LED blinks constantly.
2 presses gives you white solid light; red LED blinks 5 seconds and then will act as a bug detector.
3 presses gives you NUV strobe.
4 presses gives you NUV solid light.

Finally, 5 presses turns the Quasar off.

This button has a clicking action to it that you can feel and hear, so there's no chance for error as to how many times you pushed it.

To use the Quasar as a surveillance detector, press the switch twice, and allow the red LED just behind the switch to stop blinking (this takes 5-6 seconds in the sample I have; other users have reported this takes as long as 15 seconds). Hold the Quasar so the keychain attachment hangs down and the switch faces you, and wave it around any areas you suspect a bug to be. If a bug is detected, the red LED behind the switch will start blinking, letting you know that a surveillance device has been found. I tried making a call on my cellular telephone, and the Quasar's red LED started blinking as soon as I hit the "Send" key on the telephone, so yes, it really does work.

The NUV LED function can be used as a "money detector", causing the anti-counterfeitting strip in US paper money to glow.

The Quasar comes with both a split-ring and a spring-loaded lobster claw clasp. This clasp is on a swivel, so you can easily turn the light around so the switch can more easily be reached when you're fumbling with a keyring full of jingling keys.



To change the batteries, unscrew and remove the four phillips screws in the bottom of the case with a #0 or #00 phillips screwdriver, and set the screws aside. Lift the bottom half of the flashlight's casing away, swinging it toward the tail using the tail ring as a hinge. Remove the two expired cells, and recycle or dispose of them as you see fit.
Insert two new CR2016 cells into the flashlight body, flat (+) positive side facing up. Be sure you get both cells under that "wire" you see in the flashlight body. Swing the lower half of the body back into place, and screw the screws back in.

This is not a difficult battery change by any means, but you do need to pay attention to what you're doing.

Battery life is stated as "12 hours". I assume this is with the white or NUV light running in continuous mode. But when you "assume", that makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me", so I guess I'd better not do that.



The Quasar appears to be at least somewhat durable; enough so that having it on your keychain isn't likely to break it. But I don't think it would do very well if violently slammed against a wall or floor, or if it's stomped on. Since this is a donated sample, and not something I can easily get replaced, I won't intentionally step on it or violently throw it at one of those porcelain wall urinators to see if it breaks open or not. But if I accidentally step on the Quasar or drop it in the toilet or something, I'll of course post my findings on this web page.

Is is not waterproof or submersible, so if it falls in water or otherwise gets wet, take it apart (as you might for battery changing) and allow the parts to dry in a warm, dry place for a day or two. No guarantees here, but I think you'll be ok.

I think the best aspect of the Quasar is that built-in surveillance device (bug) detector. If you suspect the room is bugged, and you have an idea where the bug is, the Quasar should find it. It's a bit like being James Bond 007; waving the Quasar around and finding a bug. Might be in a vase, planter, or flowerpot, might be in a cabinet, might be in a drawer, might be under a table or chair, etc. ;-)

The pushbutton on the top of the flashlight has a clicking action to it that you can both feel and hear; there's no question as to when the light is on and what mode it is in.

The two LED beams emerge from the Quasar at an angle, rather than straight ahead. This is perfectly normal with a two-chip LED like this, and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about

More later...let me just FTP this page up for the time being...



Beam photo (white) at ~12".
Measures 7,370mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photo (violet/NUV) at ~12".
Wavelength is too short to measure.
Wavelength is estimated at 405nm.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the white portion of the LED in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the violet portion of the LED in this flashlight.
That hump near 795nm is a second-order reflection from the spectrometer's grating, and may be ignored.


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product flashing when a cellular telephone rings.
This clip is approximately 4.5 megabytes (4,668,878 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty two minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

You can see the red LED blinking, followed by the sound of the cellular telephone ringing.



TEST NOTES:
Test sample was sent as a donation to the site by a website fan and was received on the afternoon of 05-01-04.
I decided to review it before putting it on my keychain for EDC (everyday carry) use.


UPDATE: 05-02-04
I have heard from a fan of the website that the Quasar may be able to detect "wi-fi" installations. When he receives his Quasars, he's going to test this theory. I do not have a "wi-fi" installation, so I cannot test this for myself.


UPDATE: 02-01-06
The Quasar is no longer being manufactured; its maker, Litepro LLC has closed its doors.


PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Litepro LLC
    PRODUCT TYPE: Keychain flashlight/money detector/RF detector
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm bicolor (white/violet) LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Varies, depending on LED color selected
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off/mode change on top of flashlight body
    BEZEL: None
    BATTERY: 2x CR2016 cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Very light splash-resistance only
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries, medium split-ring, lobster claw attachment
    WARRANTY: Limited lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Quasar Ultra Light * www.litepro.com






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