|
Detailed
Information:
While working on this review I had my flashlight tuned into the local FM rock station to provide some entertainment. Whenver the volume started to drop I'd just give it a few cranks and it would go for a few more minutes. I was actually surprised at how well it worked! Luckily I wasn't in distress, or I could have hit the button for the siren to alert anyone in the area. Plus if my cellphone went on the fritz I could charge it up with the included cable and adapters. Hmmm... did I forget anything? Oh yea, and it's a flashlight too!
The body of the Radio-Light is made of yellow plastic with ridges molded into the sides to assist with gripping. The crank used to recharge the internal batteries folds against the back. Unfold and spin to charge the unit. The rear of the light has openings for the speaker and the controls for the light, radio, and siren are on the top and one side of the light. By the way, the siren is, for all intents and purposes, utterly useless in my opinion. The radio works very well. The light works pretty well, too.
The front of the light contains a clear plastic lens with a central magnifying lens just in front of the two 5mm LEDs inside. The two LEDs are surrounded by a silvered reflector which helps project the light forward.
Output is in the form of a nice central spot and a wide surround. The light has a very bluish tint as it fairly typical of 5mm LEDs. Output is also surprisingly bright and adequate for general close range tasks.
In addition to all the other features, this unit comes with a cable and adapters for powering a cellphone or other small electronic device.
The switch for powering the light on and off, as well as the switches for tuning the FM radio rest on top of the light and are simple click switches. To turn the light on and off just click the switch. To tune in a radio station, turn on the radio with the side volume/on/off switch and hit the scan button repeatedly until you find a good station. To start over from one end of the FM spectrum hit the "reset" button. Unfortunately all of the buttons on the top are raised and are therefore subject to accidental activation. A slide switch near the rear activates the siren.
The unit is not water resistant. Avoid getting it wet.
Ergonomics: The light is very boxy and really is not designed to be comfortable, but it isn't difficult to use.
Batteries are not needed for this light since power is generated by spinning the crank on the back. Internally there are rechargable batteries that take the charge from the cranking. These batteries are not made to be user replacable and I have not yet disassembled the unit to see how difficult it would be to do so.
Accessories include a power cable and cell phone adapter.
What I Liked: Decent output, lots
of other features.
What I Didn't Like: No water resistance.
Conclusions: A good little multi-function light. Provides light, cell phone power, radio and a rather useless siren.
|
