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BIL-LITE S.U.L.

Bil-Lite S.U.L., retail $19.95 (www.asseenontv.com...)
Manufactured by Q Lighting (www.bil-lite.com)
Last updated 03-28-08




Wel, thuh kompenie thaat maiks thuh Bil-Lite S.U.L. kant spel thuh werds "bill" orr "light", but they still make a decent product.

The "S.U.L." stands for Sport Utility Light

This is a white LED flashlight that is designed specifically to be clipped to the bill of a baseball hat. It can be rotated on both its X and Y axes, so it can shine its white light in just about any direction.

It has a white LED behind a positive (magnifying) lens, so it produces a circular beam with virtally no sidespill. And it powers that LED with a pair of CR2032 lithium coin cells.


SIZE



To use the Bil-Lite, clip it to the bill of a baseball hat. The unit can then be rotated side-to-side and tipped up & down.


Photograph of the Bil-Lite clipped to a baseball hat.

To turn it on, slide the little black switch on the back of the unit to the left.
To turn it off, slide the little black switch on the back of the unit to the right.



To change the batteries in the Bil-Lite, just follow these steps:
  1. Turn the round top piece counterclockwise ~1/4 of a turn until it stops, and lift it away.
  2. Carry it to the dustbin (garbage can), turn around, walk the other way, and set it near the Bil-Lite.
  3. Remove the two used CR2032 cells (use a sharp-pointed knife if necessary) from the compartment.
    Dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.
  4. Place two new CR2032 lithium coin cells in the compartment, orienting them button-side (-) negative down.
  5. Press the circular battery door back on, and (while still pressing) turn it clockwise until it stops.


It appears at least reasonably durable, and it is. Even though it is of all-plastic construction, its small size means it should be tough. So I administered "The Smack Test" on it. When I performed that terrible smack test (fifteen whacks against a concrete sidewalk: 5 smacks against the top, 5 smacks against the left side, and 5 against the right side), no damage whatsoever was found.
No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected either.

(Update several hours later) O NOOOO!!!
It has mysteriously dimmed, as though operating from just a single cell (battery). When the cells were metered, one of them reads very low. A short time later, I determined that the (+) positive contact on the inner wall of the battery compartment had shifted down slightly, causing the topmost cell (battery) to short out. Gently prying this contact slightly upward with a screwdriver restored proper operation.
Whether or not this was due to "The Smack Test" is simply not known.

Water-resistance is very poor at best. When the end with the LED & lens was suctioned, air had no problems whatsoever in passing through. There are no environmental seals (like O-rings) visible on it, therefore water, milk, diet vanilla Pepsi, cold (or hot) coffee, urine, ice cold fizzy root beer, disposable douches, disposable enemas, tranny fluid, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, brake fluid, motor oil, or other liquids could get inside. So please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, snowbanks, puddles of skunk pee, tall cold glasses (or short lukewarm glasses) of milk, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, root beer floats, toilet bowls, cisterns, sinks, cups of coffee (hot *OR* cold), fishtanks, dog water dishes, old yucky wet mops, wall-mounted porcelain urinators, puddles from leaky water heaters, near busted garden hoses, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found.

A little rain or snow probably wouldn't hurt it though, so you need not be too concerned about using it in lightly to at most moderately bad weather. To the best of my knowledge, there is no circuitry inside other than the switch and possibly a resistor.

If it fell in water and you suspect it got flooded, disassemble it as you would for a battery change, dump out the water if necessary, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or so just to be sure it's completely dry inside before you reassemble and use it again.

If it fell into seawater, got thrown into a glass of milk, if it fell in a root beer float, if somebody squirted a Massengill brand post-menstrual disposable douche or a Fleet brand disposable enema at it (and hit it with the douche or the enema), or if somebody or something peed on it, rinse all the parts out with fresh water before setting them out to dry. You don't want your light to smell like seaweed, sour milk, flowers, fresh butts, or rotten piss when you go to use it next. Besides, salt (from seawater, disposable douches, disposable enemas, or uranation), lactic acid (from moo juice), glycerol (from antifreeze), or sugar (from root beer & ice cream) can't be very good for the insides.

The unit can rotate 360° on its X axis (horizontally (side-to-side)) and ~200° on its Y axis (vertically (up & down)), so it can be directed (aimed) pretty much anywhere you need light.



Beam photograph (first sample) on the test target at 12".
Measures 31,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph (second sample) on the test target at 12".
Measures 37,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.

Those rectangular graphic things in the upper left quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Atari ''Tempest''
Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

That graphic toward the right is:
A "BIG SCARY LASER" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk

Below the "Big Scary Laser" poster is a calendar my sister gave me.

That clock to the right of the "Big Scary Laser" poster is an Infinity Optics Clock.

And those faint green spots are from a Laser Stars unit.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this light.


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








TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased from a catalogue on 02-01-08, and was received on the afternoon of 02-10-08.

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


UPDATE: 03-28-08
I ordered an Ultra Light from the Herrington Catalogue website at this URL, and it turned out to be another Bil-Lite S.U.L.


PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Q Lighting, Inc.
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small clip-on flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Circular medium spot w/no corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Slide switch on/off on back
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; LED protected by magnifying lens
    BATTERY: 2xCR2032 coin cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Splatter-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Bil-Lite S.U.L. * www.asseenontv.com...






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