BOGO LIGHT FLASHLIGHT

BOGO Light Flashlight, retail $25.00* (www.bogolight.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown) for SunNight Solar Enterprises (www.sunnightsolar.com)
Last updated 06-24-09




* When you buy one for $25.00, you'll receive one, and a second one is shipped to one of a number of different charity organisations which you can select when you make your purchase.

The BoGoLight ("BOGO" stands for Buy One Give One) is a solar-rechargeable flashlight that has six white LEDs in its business-end, is powered by three NiCd or NiMH AA cells, and is recharged by a large solar panel on its side.

According to their website:
The BOGO Light is a scientific, eco-friendly breakthrough that is making an impact worldwide. From Cairo to Cape Town, from the Caribbean to the Amazon, it is improving the lives of individuals, families, and entire villages by replacing costly kerosene, candles, and disposable battery flashlights with an affordable, long lasting, solar flashlight.

It comes in a large red plastic body, and it has an O-ring or gasket on the barrel just behind the bezel (head) made out of a GITD (glow-in-the-dark) compound.


SIZE



To use the BOGO Light, you'll need to feed it the included rechargeable AA cells first. Turn the unit so the solar panel faces downward. At one end of the rectangular door you see near the center, there is a phillips screw. Unscrew & remove it with a medium phillips screwdriver, and set it aside.

Lift the battery door off, and set that aside too.

Insert one of the included rechargeable AA cells in the compartment designed for one AA cell, orienting it so the flat-end (negative) (-) faces the spring for it.

Insert the other two AA cells in the other compartment, orienting them so their flat-ends (negatives) (-) face the spring for them in that chamber.

Place the battery door back on, being certain that the orange gasket does not get caught or bunched up; then screw in the screw you removed earlier.


Press & release the button on the barrel to turn it on.
Press & release the button again to turn it off.

Yes, it really is that easy.

The BOGO Light has a momentary or "signalling" mode; just press the switch button more lightly (before it clicks) to turn the product on and hold it there to keep it that way; release the button to turn it back off.

The BOGO Light comes with a beefy, moulded-in clip with a spring-loaded latch. This latch opens to accomodate things up to ~0.25" thick, so it can be clipped to many ropes, pants belt loops, etc. for easy carriage.



Lay the BOGOLight solar panel-up (as seen in the example photograph directly below) in direct sunlight.



Fully charging the batteries should take eight to ten hours.


A photograph showing how I have the BOGO Light tilted toward the sun.
It receives ~30 minutes of direct sunlight per day here during late-spring through early-summer.



A photograph showing the unit stood on the deck railing; it receives an additional 15-20 minutes of filtered sunlight per day in this location during late-spring through early-summer.

A full charge is reported to provide four to five hours of operation.

Current usage measures 86mA on my DMM's 4A scale.

I'm running a battery discharge analysis on the BOGO Light Flashlight.
Assuming I don't bump something and queer the test, the machine should poop out a chart on the day of 05-09-07.

(Update 05-09-07): I started the test at 7:02am PDT; it's now 5:08pm PDT and it's still at the same intensity level.
Like that insipid rabbit in the battery commercial, it keeps going...and going...and going...yes, this is a GOOD thing!!!

Battery disacharge analysis
Here is the battery discharge analysis.
It ran from 7:02am to 6:36pm.
As you can see, it operates for ~11 hours 10 minutes (to 10% intensity) per charge.
And I used the 800mAh cells that were furnished with the BOGO Light, not some others.


Battery disacharge analysis
And here's a battery discharge analysis after the BOGO Light was charged *OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT* on 05-30-07.
Looks like it runs for just 50 minutes to 10% intensity.

So, the lesson here is to always charge your BOGO Light in direct sun. Although just laying it solar panel side up is sufficient, a better charging method would be to orient the solar panel toward the sun at least two times throughout the day: once around noon and again around 5:00pm.



The BOGOLight is made almost entirely of plastic with a big glass thing in its side; therefore, "The Smack Test" is really not appropriate here.

The packaging does state that it is waterproof though (it reads "Waterproof and Shock Resistant" on the front of the package), so let's try "The Toliet Test" on it and see what happens...


Here's proof that I *REALLY* did "The Toliet Test" on it......and O NOOOOOOO!!!!!! IT'S NOT WATERPROOF!!!!!!!!!
After letting it bob around in the cistern (toilet tank) for one minute, I dried the outside off with some store brand nasal tissue, and found no water at first...but I could hear water sloshing around inside when shaking the unit, and water droplets could be seen coming from the tail end of the flashlight - where the spring-loaded clip is located. I found considerable water inside after this test; now I have the batteries out and the unit is now being dried out.

Just in case this was a fluke, I'll throw it in the toilet again after it dries and I reassemble it, and see if it springs a leak again.

(Update 05-07-07:) I performed "The Toilet Test" again, and the BOGO Light failed again. Not to the same degree it failed the first time, but water drops were evident when the unit was shaken after drying off the outside with nasal tissue.

The lens was fogged up inside when I went to take the measurement with known fully-charged batteries; removing the four screws from the front of the bezel allowed me easy access to this window so I could wipe the moisture away and take the measurement.

Please note that this was ***CLEAN*** water - the test was conducted in the toilet's cistern (tank), not the bowl!
The cistern contains potable water; you can actually drink it if necessary - assuming of course you do not use an in-tank bowl cleaner.
So the BOGO Light Flashlight did not need to be disinfected after this test.

I have since heard from Mark B. at BOGOLight that he agrees - the packaging should be changed to read "water-resistant" and not "waterproof", but these lights have seen service in jungle-like conditions (very high humidity) and have not failed because of it.

One very minor improvement I would suggest (if it does not raise the cost of the product or compromise its structural integrity) is to make the orange plastic parts out of a "day glow" material; this material fluoresces (glows) a bright orange when exposed to radiation from ~360nm in the UVA band to ~560nm in the yellow-green band. This would make the flashlight easier to see & subsequently find in low light conditions. I know that there is already a glow-in-the-dark O-ring, and that this (the suggestion of making the orange plastic from a "day glow" compound) is probably nitpicking, but this is my suggestion, and I'm sticking to it.

(Update 05-28-07:) This question just begs to be asked. Since this flashlight was designed to be used in the developing world, and therefore, would be used every night, how long will it produce light if it's cloudy or rainy outside?
So, over the next several days, I'll run it down to below 10% intensity, then charge it for one full daylight cycle (late-May) in an area that's shaded but still exposed to sky, then finally perform the semiautomated battery discharge analysis on it to see how long it runs to 10% intensity.
Expect this to take at least three days: one to discharge the flashlight to below 10% intensity from its current State of Euphoria - er - uh - state of charge (there I go thinking about the heavy metal band Anthrax again!!!), another to charge it away from direct sunlight, and the third to perform the battery discharge analysis on it.

(Update 05-28-07:) O no!!!! The equipment I use for battery discharge analyses is malfunctioning...best I can do here is to examine the hardware tomorrow (05-29-07) and see if I can figure out what's going on.

(Update 05-29-07, 5:52am PDT:) That equipment is functioning once more..so now I'll discharge the batteries until the light level falls below 10% intensity, then tommorow, charge it out of direct sunlight for one full daylight cycle, then the day after tomorrow, see how long the product produces light to 10% intensity.

(Update 05-29-07, 10:28am PDT:) The BOGO Light has now dropped to 10% intensity, so I'll set it outside tomorrow morning at sunrise (or tonight after sunset) in a location that is exposed to sky but will receive no direct sunlight. I'll take it back inside either before sunrise on the morning of 05-31-07 or after sunset on the evening of 05-30-07 and run a battery discharge analysis on it on 05-31-07; publishing the resulting chart on this web page later the same day.

(Update 05-30-07:) Last night after sunset, I placed the BOGO Light outside on the railing; exposed to sky but where it cannot become irradiated by direct sunlight. So tomorrow morning, I'll start that battery discharge analysis (to 10% intensity) that I've been harping about as of late. The only way this test could become queered is if some dimbulb used a large mirror to direct sunlight directly on the solar cells for at least fifteen minutes.
Although the chance of this occurring is not mathematically zero, it is ***EXTREMELY*** improbable at worst.

(Update 05-31-07:) Ok, the battery test was started at 7:12am PDT.
Assuming I don't bump something & queer the test, the machine should poop out a chart later today, which I'll publish on this web page directly below the chart that is already there.

(Update 05-31-07:) Looks like it runs for just 50 minutes (to 10% intensity) when charged for one full daylight cycle out of direct sunlight. So you'll definitely want to recharge this product in direct sun.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 72,600mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
Remeasured at 91,600mcd with known fully-charged batteries.



The GITD (Glow In The Dark) O-ring around the bezel.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.



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



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by M.B. of www.BOGOLight.com on 05-01-07, and was received on the afternoon of 05-07-07.


UPDATE: 07-23-07
I have decided to rate this product 4½ stars and place it in The Trophy Case on this website.


UPDATE: 10-12-07
Remeasured current usage at 86mA on my DMM's 4A scale; this gives less shunt resistance than the 400mA scale would have, and gives a closer to realistic reading.


PROS:
Never have to buy disposable batteries for it
Never have to buy bulbs for it
Solar rechargeable - no cords or wall warts to screw with, break, or lose


CONS:
Not waterproof as indicated on the package - it *IS* water-resistant though
Could be a LITTLE brighter, but it's not *THAT* bad.


    MANUFACTURER: BOGOLight
    PRODUCT TYPE: Solar rechargeable LED flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 6
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot w/soft corona; slightly irregular perimeter
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off/momentary on barrel
    CASE MATERIAL: ABS plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; LEDs & reflector protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 3xAA NiCd or NiMH cells, labelled as 800mAh
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 86mA
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: A rather emphatic     NOOOOO!!!
    ACCESSORIES: 3x rechargeable AA cells
    SIZE: 8.5" x 2.5" (body), 3.625" (head)
    WARRANTY: 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





BOGO Light Flashlight * www.bogolight.com...






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