DOT-it

DOT-it, retail $9.99 (www.amazon.com...)
Manufactured by (unknown) for Osram Sylvania (www.sylvania.com)
Last updated 08-02-07




The DOT-it is a small light that you stick in any place that needs light - behind your car seat, on the inside of the car door, under the kitchen cabinets, in the closet, in the tent, on the boat, in the garage, in a shed, on a backpack, on your bicycle, etc.

It has three white LEDs powered by three AAA cells in its mainly-aluminum body; with the same flattish circular shape as and of approximately the size of a hockey puck.

It has a sticky bottom, so you can stick it on virtually any clean flat smooth surface without tools or screws.

United States visitors to this website may have seen television commercials for the DOT-it; you can use those commercials and this web page to formulate your own opinion about this product.


SIZE



The DOT-it comes *almost* ready to use; pull the little plastic tab out of the edge of its base first to establish its electrical connection.

On the back of the DOT-it, there is circular piece of brown paper. Remove it to expose the sticky material. Stick the DOT-it wherever you need a little light: behind your car seat, on the inside of the car door, under the kitchen cabinets, in the closet, in the tent, on the boat, in the garage, in a shed, on a backpack, on your bicycle, on the wall behind the toilet, on the wall above the urinator, etc. Be sure the surface you stick it to is clean, or the DOT-it may unexpectedly fall off.

Test it on painted surfaces (like walls) first, to be sure it will not peel or remove the paint when you take it down to change its batteries.

Press the center of the window in front of the LEDs firmly and then release it to turn it on; do the same thing to turn it back off.

Yes, it really is as easy as that.



To change the batteries, remove the DOT-it from wherever you stuck it, and turn it upside-down. Using a small phillips screwdriver, unscrew and remove the three screws from the back, and set them where you won't lose them. Remove the disc from the back of the DOT-it, and set that aside too.

Remove the three used AAA cells from their chambers, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert three new AAA cells, orienting them according to the polarity markings embossed in the bottom of each battery chamber.

Place the disc-shaped lid back on, orienting it so the screw holes in it line up with the threaded receptacles in the DOT-it for the screws.

Screw the screws back in; being careful not to overtighten them.

Finally, stick the DOT-it back up where you removed it from.

Current consumption measures 54.7mA on my DMM's 400mA scale.
That equates to ~18.233mA per LED.




Photograph of the front of the unit, showing the LEDs, reflectors, and lens.

This product is meant to be used as a household lighting device in a dry area, not as a flashlight meant to be used, thrashed, trashed, and abused; so I won't try to flush it down the toilet, bash it against a steel rod or against the corner of a concrete stair, let my housemate's kitty cat's ghost go to the bathroom on it, run over it with a 400lb Rascal, or perform other indecencies that a regular flashlight might have to go through. So this section of the DOT-it's web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

The light emitted by the DOT-it is a cool white, with just a touch of blue tint. This is a perfectly normal characteristic of 5mm white LEDs though, and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about.

For the purposes of this web page, I stuck it to the inside of my door, which was painted with a slightly greenish white paint.
No problems to report as of yet (01-09-06).



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 34,400mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by a fan of the website and was received on the afternoon of 01-09-06.

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: 01-10-06
I have had the DOT-it stuck to my door for 24 hours now, and I had no problems removing and reapplying it; the paint on the door did not come off.


UPDATE: 01-14-06
I have had the DOT-it stuck to my door for 48 hours now, same results as yesterday.


UPDATE: 02-01-06
I have had the DOT-it stuck to my door for 384 hours now, and when I went to check it, it was gone!!!
I don't know where it may have rolled, so I can't check it for you.


UPDATE: 02-01-06
No, you aren't seeing things. Yes, a same-day update.
I found the DOT-it lying on the floor at the foot of my bed, lying face-down. This means the adhesive backing on the unit has not been queered, so I stuck it back on the door right after testing it for correct operation.


UPDATE: 03-22-06
I have decided to rate the DOT-it 4½ stars and place it in The Trophy Case on this website.


UPDATE: 04-08-06
Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the white LEDs in this product.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.

When I removed the product from my door to obtain this spectrum, a small amount of paint from the door was removed and was seen on the sticky surface on the back of the DOT-it. This was completely expected though, so I will not be derating the product based on this.


UPDATE: 08-02-07
I heard the sound of something heavy falling to the floor; I saw my cane move so I figured whatever had fallen would be right there by the cane tip - and it was. It was my Sylvania Dot-It. It had fallen to the floor, but landed on its side between my cane and the night table, so the adhesive backing on the Dot-It was not queered.


PROS:
Handy size and shape
Decent brightness
Uses batteries that are common and relatively inexpensive
No tools needed to hang it wherever


CONS:
Adhesive backing can lose stickiness after several battery changes


    MANUFACTURER: Unknown
    PRODUCT TYPE: Portable stick-up lamp
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 3
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot with dimmer corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Press center of bezel on/off
    CASE MATERIAL: Aluminim body with plastic front and back
    BEZEL: Metal; LEDs and reflectors protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 3xAAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 54.7mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Splash-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: 3xAAA cells
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





DOT-it * www.amazon.com...






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