SOLAR LIGHT

Solar Light, retail $16.95 (www.ledtronics.com/ds/SLR-bike-red-001/)
Manufactured by (Unknown)
Last updated 10-14-11




This is a flashing LED bicycle taillight with a twist: it is recharged by the sun during the day so there are no disposable batteries to fuss with or forget.

It has two red LEDs that flash at an approximately 3.3Hz (3.3 flashes per second or 200ą10 flashes per minute) rate; it also has an "auto off" function that turns the unit off approximately 40 seconds after it last detects any vibration. So if you forget about the switch, no biggie. (See 04-12-08 update on this...oops!!!)

From the web page at LEDTronics, comes the following text:
    • Use it as a safety flashing light at night for bicycles, baby carriages, strollers, carts, backpacks and walking sticks.
    • Carry it on you while jogging, walking, hiking, inline skating — make yourself visible
    • Have it on their backpacks while your children walk home from school at dusk.
    • Mark your tent or dangerous areas around the campsite.
    • Have it with you while skiing or hiking in winter conditions to signal when lost in storm or an avalanche (even without sun, solar battery lasts up to 10 hours).
    • Keep one in your emergency kit at home or one in the glove box of your car in case of fire, flood or earthquake, for use as a signaling device.



SIZE



To use this product, affix it to the handlebars, seat post, or rear wheel pylon of your bicycle according to the back of the packaging material or this light's web page on LEDTronics, and THEN you can go ride at night.

On the underside of the product at the center and behind the red lens, there is a small black pushbutton switch.
Press & release it once to turn the unit on, and press & release it again to turn the unit off.
Yes, it really is that easy.



This product is entirely solar-recharged, so I do not have to tell you which part to remove, throw in the bicycle path so it can be mowed down & subsequently destroyed by another bicycler, and then rather emphatically tell you not to.

Charge time is stated as 3 to 5 hours, and runtime per full charge is stated as 10 hours.



The Solar Light is intended to be used as a bicycle taillight, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, trashed, and abused; I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the {vulgar term for feces}bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform with a large readout, with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; and the cannoņata is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that I might inflict upon a flashlight.
So this section of the Solar Light's web page will be substantially more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight who's sole purpose in life is to be a flashlight.
It will be handled in a manner consistent with how the average consumer would handle it.

Although this unit is supposed to have a photoelectric "day/night" switch, I have not yet gotten it to function - but the on/off button on the product's underside appears to function properly.

The vibration switch also appears to function as intended; if no movement is detected within exactly 38 seconds (timed on a clock with a second hand on it and with the unit turned on via the button on its underside), the unit turns itself off. It turns itself back on as soon as vibration is detected again.
Even very gentle to at most casual handling is sufficient to turn it back on - this tells me that the act of simply pedaling away will do the trick here.

According to the packaging materials, the vibration sensor is present on the model JH-011, and absent on the JH-011-1.
This is marked as the JH-011-1, but the vibration sensor appears to be present here.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".

Image is not that great for two reasons:
1: Product is flashing, not steady.
2: Light output isn't huge.



Product shown illuminated.



Product shown affixed to my cane.



Product shown affixed to the steering arm of my electric wheelchair.
The rubber insert on the mounting ring was removed, allowing the mount to fit the larger-diameter handlebar.
There is no pole or pipe on the back of this chair for rear-mounting as might otherwise be desired.



And here is a photograph showing the light mounted on the left-side seat armrest pylon on my wheelchair -- this time it is facing rearward like it is intended to be used.

Light is very easily removeable in ***ANY*** mounting configuration, eliminating all possibility of theft.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this light.


Spectrographic analysis
Same as above; "baseline" of the chart is lowered to zero this time.

I'm uncertain why this chart reads a shorter wavelength than the one above; the only
possibility that I can think of right off the bat is that the angle of incidence differed.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.



Video showing the product activated and flashing.

***FLASHING IS MUCH MORE REGULAR THAN IS SHOWN ON THIS VIDEO!!!***
This is because the camera and human eye work in totally differing ways!!! Flashing is extremely regular in reality,

This video is approximately 2.21556734673 megabytes (2,263,624 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eleven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

That sound you might hear is an episode of "Drake and Josh" playing on the boob tube.
This product is not sound-sensitive; the sound may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

***VERY IMPORTANT!!!***
The flashing is -=MUCH MORE=- regular than what is shown in this movie clip.
My camera's frame capture rate is simply not up to the task of accurately capturing the flashing.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by J.P. of LEDTronics 0n 03-25-08 and was received on the afternoon of 03-27-08.

It is not known where this product was made.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I wanted to publish it on this web page.
Included in the packaging material was a small slip of paper with Oriental printing on it, so there's an extremely high degree of probability that the light was not made in the United States.


UPDATE: 03-28-08
I made a trip to the bank & the store this morning (8:40am to 9:35am PDT) with the Solar Light affixed to the steering arm of my electric wheelchair, and did not see the unit turn off even when the solar cell was irradiated by direct sunlight. The vibration sensor functioned properly however.


UPDATE: 03-28-08
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
Here is a photograph of the little piece of paper in the package with the Oriental printing on it:


I have no inea what this reads, or even if I have the writing upside-down or rightside-up.


UPDATE: 04-01-08
No, this is not an April Fool's thing.
The mounting bracket swivels in the Y-axis (vertically) on 28 to 32 detents total; this allows you to direct (aim) the light pretty much where you want it.
Depending how the bracket is mounted, it can have up to a 360° range of motion; however, in practical use, expect a range of motion in the neighbourhood of 140° or thereabouts.


UPDATE: 04-12-08
The vibration switch has failed on this unit; it stays on even if left totally undisturbed for 5+ minutes.
This switch has failed in the "on" position, so the unit still functions via the pushbutton switch.
This product has not been abused in any manner; it has been treated the same way it would be treated by the average consumer.


UPDATE: 04-13-08
The vibration switch functions *SOME* of the time, but not *MOST* of the time.
I tested it last night, and got the auto shutoff to engage once, but not in subsequent tests.


UPDATE: 05-16-08
The battery in this unit is - for whatever reason - failing to charge, even though the unit has been exposed to direct sunlight for a prolonged period, and the unit was tilted so that the solar panel was facing the sun almost directly. I have emailed my contact at LEDTronics about obtaining a replacement; and a replacement is now on the way.


UPDATE: 05-21-08
I received the replacement mid-afternoon yesterday (05-20-08), so now this evaluation can continue.


UPDATE: 05-24-08
Replacement unit appears to function properly - including the photosensitive (day/night) switch.
While I was waiting for the pharmacy at Long's Drugs to open yesterday, I could start the unit just by placing my hand over the solar cell, thus blocking illumination coming from fluorescent lighting fixtures in the ceiling.


UPDATE: 06-13-08
I went to disengage the light from my electric wheelchair after charging yesterday, and found a white strip of paper covering the solar panel. Here, let's show you with a photograph...snap...click..and it's off to the Fotomat we go...



This was a very easy fix, requiring nothing more than a small phillips screwdriver and a moment of my time.
There was what I believe was a part number on one side, and the other side was sticky...so I stuck it to an interior location where I thought it belonged, and reassembled it...good as new again.


UPDATE: 06-20-08
The product continues to function properly.


UPDATE: 07-10-08
I just now realised why the two spectra on this web page differ so much...they aren't from the same unit - oops!!!
The first one is from the original; the second is of the replacement.


UPDATE: 07-19-08
I measured the exterior temperature after the unit had been in direct sunlight for a couple of hours. Temperature measured 141°F (60.6°C) with an ambient temperature of 89°F (31.7°C); these readings were taken near 4:00pm PDT.





PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Unknown
    PRODUCT TYPE: Solar rechargeable bicycle taillight
    LAMP TYPE: Red LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 2
    BEAM TYPE: Medium flood w/artifacts
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on product's underside, vibration switch, photoelectric switch
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; LEDs protected by transparent, red-tinted prismatic dome
    BATTERY: Internal 2.40 volt 80mAh NiMH battery
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Yes, weather-resistant
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: Bicycle seatpost attachment, smaller pole/post attachment
    SIZE: 50mm wide, 78mm deep, 32.5mm long
    WEIGHT: 45 grams
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Solar Light * www.ledtronics.com/ds/SLR-bike-red-001/






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