SPINWHEEL SPIRAL

Spinwheel Spiral, retail $19.99 (www.wallgreens.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown)
Last updated 08-15-10




I saw this product at Wallgreens yesterday in the Halloween decoration aisle, saw that it had LEDs in it, and realised that I must have it for this website sakes!!!

This is a decorative household lamp that - in my opinion - would look great in your house regardless of what holiday it is: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Gay Pride Day, Independence Day, etc.

It has ten 5mm LEDs on two "petals" that rotate; and provides you with numerous patterns that are neat to watch.

It is labelled to have a "large 8" display".


SIZE



To use this product, just take it and its included AC adapter out of the box, plug the plug on the end of the adapter's cord into the receptacle on the bottom of the lamp, and plug the larger rectangular portion into any standard household 110 to 130 volts AC 60Hz receptacle (in the United States).

Press and release the button on the front of the lamp's base to turn it on, and do the same thing again to turn it off.

A sticker on the box and another sticker in the instructional material reads: "TO PROTECT INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DO NOT OPERATE CONTINUOUSLY FOR MORE THAN 24 HOURS".
This tells me that thermal management of this product may be less than desirable - under normal circumstances, ICs can be operated continuously for an unlimited period of time.



Because this product is designed to be operated from AC power only, this section is not necessary.



This is a decorative lamp meant to be used as a household lamp in a dry area, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, and abused, so I won't try to drown it in 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 pee pee on it, run over it with a 400lb Rascal, or perform other indecencies on it that a regular flashlight might have to go through. So this section of the web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

The only thing that pisses me off about the Spinwheel Spiral is the advisory to keep it turned on for no more than 24 hours at a time. It's a very nice looking product that I'd like to have on all the time. I'll keep it running for longer than 24 hours just to see what happens...please stay tuned.

(Update 10-03-05 8:18am PDT): I've had the product operating for no less than 36 hours continuously now, and have no malfunctions to report.

(Update 10-03-05 10:22pm PDT): I've had the product operating for no less than 50 hours continuously now, and still have no malfunctions to report.

(Update 10-04-05 7:52am PDT): I've had the product operating for just less than 60 hours continuously now, and still(!) have no malfunctions to report.

(Update 10-04-05 7:44pm PDT): I've had the product operating for just less than 72 hours continuously now, and still(!!!) have no malfunctions to report.

(Update 10-05-05 6:21pm PDT): I've had the product operating for just less than 94 hours continuously now, and still(!!!) have no malfunctions to report.
Unless the unit fails for malfunctions, this will be the last update regarding this situation.

(Update 10-08-05 8:54pm PDT): O o, it's starting to poop out.
Not the IC, but the electrical contact(s) between the petals and the stationary part of the fixture.

See that small blank space on the left of the display, at the 9:00 position?
This blank space stays there regardless of what pattern the lamp is displaying.

(Update 10-11-05 6:53pm PDT): The dark space on the left side comes and goes; the unit has not gotten worse or even totally pooped out yet.




Photograph of the product in subdued lighting.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the red LEDs in this product.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the yellow LEDs in this product.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the green LEDs in this product.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the blue LEDs in this product.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.



Quicktime movie (.mov extension) showing some of the Spinwheel Spiral's patterns.
This clip is approximately 3.0 megabytes (3,109,544 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fifteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

*** IMPORTANT!!! *** This clip shows gaps in the light's display that do not exist.
This is due to how the camera records images, which is very different from the way your eyes work.


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product working again (different camera).
This clip is approximately 5.219 megabytes (5,306,966 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.

That sound you hear in this clip is the product itself; this was largely remedied with the application of some WD-40 to the motor shaft.

*** IMPORTANT!!! *** This clip also shows gaps in the light's display that do not exist.
This is due to how the camera records images, which is very different from the way your eyes work.




A video clip on YourTube showing this product in operation.

*** IMPORTANT!!! *** This clip also shows gaps in the light's display that do not exist.
This is due to how the camera records images, which is very different from the way your eyes work.

This clip is approximately 19.099843454758 megabytes (19,300,452 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ninety five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




A second video clip on YourTube showing this product in operation.
This time, music from the coin-op arcade video game "Space Harrier" by Sega from 1985 was used.

This product is not sound-sensitive; the music can be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

*** IMPORTANT!!! *** This clip also shows gaps in the light's display that do not exist.
This is due to how the camera records images, which is very different from the way your eyes work.

This clip is approximately 53.555421856235 megabytes (53,707,156 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than two hundred sixty seven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased at Wallgreens on 09-30-05. It was in the seasonal aisle set out with the other Helloween decorations. I saw that it had LEDs in it, so I purchased it.

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.

The AC adapter is labelled to output 4.5 volts DC at 300mA.
Center of plug is positive (+), barrel is negative (-).


UPDATE: 01-29-09
The switch on my unit appears to have pooped out - the unit stays off unless the button is very firmly pressed and held down at a specific angle. I'm going to attempt to repair it because I really do like the product.


UPDATE: 01-29-09
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The problem was not actually the switch; it was the contact board that connects power to the "good part" buried up inside the unit. Flipping this board over and refastening the screws that hold it in did the trick.

I also removed (or "tried to remove", as one of the allen head screws would not come all the way out) the disc-shaped back of the Spinwheel Spiral, and douched the motor shaft with WD-40 in an attempt to eliminate or reduce the noise it was making...needless to say, with an approximately 95% reduction of that noise, I'd call my efforts successful.


PROS:
Very nice to look at
Multiple patterns


CONS:
Can be a bit noisy after awhile


    MANUFACTURER: Unknown/not stated
    PRODUCT TYPE: Decorative LED lamp
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 10 (2 blue, 2 green, 2 yellow, 4 red)
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on base
    BEZEL: Plastic; LEDs protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: N/A
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: No
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: AC adapter
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Spinwheel Spiral *






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.