Is the Shakelight flashlight (which uses the Faraday principle instead
of batteries) as good as I hear? Any drawbacks?
Seem pricey to me for what you get.
I see many imitations on the market. Are any of them as good?
I grabbed a couple "imitations" at the local Walgreen's (two for
ten bucks) and they're OK.
They come in a box with no obvious way to tell who makes them,
and all the text is in Direct Translation From Some Chinese Dialect
To English By Someone Who Speaks Neither; near as I can tell the
brand name is "THE NEW PRODUCT COME INTO THE MARKET" and below that
text there's an illo of the thing shining a beam onto more text:
"Environment-protective torch for 21st century". (There's a list of
"Features" on the side of the box that reads as if you're _supposed_
to laugh out loud while reading).
The light itself is in what looks and feels like a fairly strong
clear plastic case with rows of little bumps down the sides, and
it's easy to see the two CR2032 batteries in it...
Still, take the batteries out (unscrew cap, pluck lens _with
o-ring_ off, shake until guts slide out in one piece) and you still
get a good ten minutes of light after a minute or so of shaking
which (considering the circuit comprises the induction coil, diode
bridge, 5.5V .2F cap paralleled with the batteries, and a 150 ohm
load resistor for the single bluish-white LED) ain't too shabby.
And not just "enough light to find a real flashlight with"
either; I can see across the street with it.
IMNSHO a decent stocking stuffer, even if the box looks like a
deliberate stereotyped Oriental-product joke.
Mark L. Fergerson