SAUCE LIGHTORB

Sauce LightOrb
Color Kinetics, 'Sauce' consumer products, price $20.00
Last Updated: 08-18-09


Color-changing Light



The Sauce LightOrb is the baby brother to the larger Sauce LightWasher accent light. It features three LEDs, and its different programs can be accessed using a handy wheel & a "press-to-activate" dome over the LEDs.

The little Orb is the perfect size & brightness to use as a cool color changing nightlight.

It plugs directly into a 120VAC outlet, and splashes your wall & ceiling with ever changing colors while using just 3 watts of power - less than half the power used by an ordinary nightlight!

Regarding the photograph above: I received the LightOrb sometime in 2001; its first "photo-op" was in August 2009, so it does not look new and pristine anymore after all these years.


size Size



The LightOrb comes in an attractive, but once again difficult to open retail blister pack. Remove your LightOrb from the package, and once again (to steal a phrase from a popular TV commercial), plug it in, plug it in!!

The LightOrb has five different modes (four actually do something) and several effects you can apply to each mode. To access these modes, just push the milky translucent dome.
  • Color wash - smoothly cycles through the rainbow.
  • Random color - flashes random colors on your walls.
  • Fixed color - the LightWasher stays a single color of your choosing.
  • Dimmer - the unit glows a whitish cyan color that can be set to a brightness of your choosing.
  • Off - Turns the unit off.

Press the dome once for color wash, twice for random, three times for fixed color, four times for dimmer; the fifth press turns it off.
Once you have a mode you want, rotating the grey outer wheel changes the effect on that mode. The changing of an effect is announced by the light very briefly winking off, this lets you know to be ready to quit turning the wheel when you reach an effect you like, or continue spinning until your desired effect does come up.

The dome/wheel combination is a quick and easy control method, and requires no training and no fussing with rows of tiny DIP switches.



Since the LightOrb plugs in, there will be no discussion about batteries.



This is an interesting and eye-catching little light.
Plug it in anywhere you want some color in your life: the bedroom, bathroom, living room, den, hallway, or wherever you have an outlet and a need to be creative.
Do you have a dull dorm room? Put one or two of these in there and say goodbye to your dreary surroundings for good.
Liven up parties and holidays, perk up that colorless can, or spice up that dreary, windowless kitchen like so many of us apartment dwellers have.

Since this is not meant to be a portable product like a flashlight, some of the "punishments" they receive will not be bestowed upon the LightOrb. Treat this guy as you would a nice nightlight, and it should reward you with many years of cheerful, colorful lighting effects.

It is not water resistant, so keep it away from splashing sinks, stoves, showers, tubs, garden hoses, lawn sprinklers, and other sources of splashing water.
If it falls in the toliet, you're probably screwed. If you're too embarassed to send it back, the best thing you can do is open it up, run fresh water through it, and set all the pieces in a warm place to dry for about a week. Then put it back together. It should be fine after that.

The LightOrb uses 3 LEDs (1 red, 1 green, and 1 blue) to cast its soft and gentle glow. A transluscent plastic window spreads and diffuses the light so the colors mix properly.



Emitting red light.



Emitting green light.



Emitting blue light.



Emitting white light.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the product emitting red light.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the product emitting green light.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the product emitting blue light.
That "hump" in the green is because the product does not fully extingush the green LED before the red one comes on.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the product emitting white light (all three LEDs energised).
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.




Video clip on YourTube showing the LightOrb active in "color wash" mode at the default speed.


This clip is approximately 2.29567 megabytes (2,309,892 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twelve minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.



One feature I like is that you can adjust the various effects with the dial around the rim, rather than having to push & hold in a button.
This wheel allows you to dial in - exactly - the specific color you want (in Fixed Color mode) and the exact brightness you want (in Dimmer mode).

When the Orb is first put in Dimmer mode, it is at full brightness. Spinning the dial either way dims, reversing the direction of spin brightens it back up. YOU can choose how bright YOU want it, and not have to settle for just two or three "factory" settings.

When your LightOrb is set in Fixed Color mode, use the wheel to change the color to whatever suits your fancy. Did you just spin the dial too far and miss your color? No problem - just spin it the other way a bit and the light "backs up". (It also behaves this way in Dimmer mode). You don't have to cycle through every color again with this handy wheel at your fingertips.


For Color Wash and Random Color, the wheel adjusts the speed of each effect; you can make the colors change faster or slower to suit your wishes. With these two effects, it does not matter what direction you turn the wheel; the effect will change the same way regardless; but it IS speed-sensitive, so you can give it a fast spin and not have to wait like you would with a single-button control.


TEST NOTES:

I received the LightOrb sometime in 2001, and it has always been presumed that the cleaners stole it when I had that (Crash Course in) Brain Surgery (there I go thinking about the metal band Metallica again!) in 2002, but it inexplicably turned up inside the night table drawer on the afternoon of 08-16-09 while I was looking for something else that required spectroscopy.

These are for INDOOR use only, and must not be used on a dimmer circuit. As with any nightlight, plug them in only in an exposed outlet, not one covered by curtains, blankets, stacks of cardboard boxes, or piles of dirty wash.

They're available in places where Sauce products are sold; a list of these can be found on my review of the LightWasher.

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.





PROS:
UNIQUE
Good looking case
Easy to learn & use
Brightness appropriate for intended use


CONS:
Not waterproof, so avoid dropping in sinks, tubs, and toliets. Use the same care as you would with any AC powered appliance. :)
If used in a bathroom, plug into a GFCI (ground fault circuit interruptor) outlet.
***MUST NOT*** use on a dimmer circuit!!!
Does not produce white light in its adjustable brightness mode.


        MANUFACTURER: Color Kinetics
        PRODUCT TYPE: Color-changing LED nightlight
        LAMP TYPE: LED
        No. OF LAMPS: 3 (1 each red, green, blue)
        BEAM TYPE: N/A
        SWITCH TYPE: N/A
        BEZEL: Translucent plastic dome protects LEDs
        BATTERY: N/A
        CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
        WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Light splatter-resistance only
        SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
        ACCESSORIES: None
        WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

        RATING:
        Star rating



Sauce LightOrb * WWW.CKSAUCE.COM








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