commuting lights

garethquinn

I noticed a vendor making a rechargable light that plugs into the USB port on a computer. Can anyone tell me who the manufacturer is and more importantly is the light any good

Thanks for your help.

Gareth

whyamihere

They're made by Smart. Frankly, they seem like a gimmick, and not worth the money. The battery's a mere 0.14Ah, which is appalling. You'd be better of getting a light which takes AA batteries and getting some decent rechargeable AAs (Vapextech do 2900mAh batteries, which are fantastic).

lost_in_thought

Also, unless I manage to leave it turned on, the AA batteries even in my rather high-powered cateye front light seem to last forever... even the cheapy ones!

I seem to recall seeing a battery charger that claimed to be able to recharge non-rechargeable batteries too - whether or not that is true remains to be seen!

downfader

lost_in_thought wrote:

Also, unless I manage to leave it turned on, the AA batteries even in my rather high-powered cateye front light seem to last forever... even the cheapy ones!

I seem to recall seeing a battery charger that claimed to be able to recharge non-rechargeable batteries too - whether or not that is true remains to be seen!

I put some "dead" rechargables in a cateye 5LED light to drain them... the light was on for nearly 2 days before it killed the batteries :shock: 8) Batteries and LED lights are incredible now if you buy a proper set.

There was a charger for non-rechargables but I think it was withdrawn from sale. Just too many types of battery about and it caused issues. Its best to recycle old batteries properly... if you can ever find anyone who takes the damn things. :?

Specialized Needs

downfader wrote:

Its best to recycle old batteries properly... if you can ever find anyone who takes the damn things. :?

Sainsbury's do (or did?) plastic freepost envelopes for recycling batteries - bright orange, obviously. DL size (the "A4 official letter folded in 3"-type size, for the less technical). Now we keep them in a drawer in the kitchen, fill one up gradually, then pop it into the post box. You should find them near the battery or film end-of-aisle displays.

Much more convenient than saving them up for the odd trip to Auchan in Calais...

... but not as fun

Stuart

downfader

duncedunce wrote:

downfader wrote:

Its best to recycle old batteries properly... if you can ever find anyone who takes the damn things. :?

Sainsbury's do (or did?) plastic freepost envelopes for recycling batteries - bright orange, obviously. DL size (the "A4 official letter folded in 3"-type size, for the less technical). Now we keep them in a drawer in the kitchen, fill one up gradually, then pop it into the post box. You should find them near the battery or film end-of-aisle displays.

Much more convenient than saving them up for the odd trip to Auchan in Calais...

... but not as fun

Stuart

Cheers, I'll keep an eye out for those.

elevensees

i got one of the usb rechargable lights in a sale not long ago for about £6, it doesn't seem a bad light, pretty bright with a bluish circle beam and really lightweight. It's probably not great to see by, but I intend sticking it on my helmet to replace the edinburgh co-op headlight that I lost in an accident a few weeks back. I'm at a desk all day and I've already got a long usb cable that will let me recharge it whenever i need to. I wouldn't use it as a main light, although it wouldn't be too bad for a short journey, but the more things lighting you up the less excuse everyone has for not seeing you.

ChrisLS

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Catey ... 360031622/

...this is the best commuting light, at a reasonable price, I have used to date, and I've tried a few over the years...

marcba

For another type of light (and price...), NiteRider sells the Minewt USB (but I haven't seen this model on european sites so far).

Crapaud

whyamihere wrote:

... 2900mAh ...

Could you explain this arcane terminology please.

My current (no pun intended) rechargeables claim 130mA and are distinctly dimmer than throwaway alkalines in my Cateye Microhalogen. Would the Vapextechs be 10 times as powerful, give 10 times the runtime, or a combination?

£13 looks good value for a charger and 4 cells.

SBothwell

Explain in how much detail?

2900mAh is the capacity of the battery in milliamp hours normally measured optimistically by the battery company at C/10 or even C/100 discharge rate (e.g. for the mentioned capacity, if discharged by drawing a current of 290 mA the battery should last for 10 hours).

The general point is that bigger numbers are better - the higher the capacity the longer the battery will last in a given device, and also the higher the current the battery can reasonably supply without the voltage dropping significantly.

I doubt your existing batteries are 130mA - that is a current, not a capacity. They are more likely to be 1300mAh, which is to be honest pretty poor for a rechargeable NiMH battery although it appears to be very popular in supermarkets etc.

Vapextech make well regarded batteries, and 2900mAh is probably overstated but is still amongst the highest capacities available in AA with the current state of the technology. These should give at least twice the runtime of your current batteries and possibly a little more brightness as they will hold their voltage better.

The newer rechargeables may not be as bright as alkalines for the first 15-30 minutes (depending on current drawn by the bulb), but alkalines rapidly drop from their initial voltage, and keep dropping, whereas NiMH rechargeables hold a pretty constant voltage over the discharge cycle.

[Summary - if it was my light, I'd buy the Vapextech batteries...]

Crapaud

SBothwell wrote:

Explain in how much detail?

2900mAh is the capacity of the battery in milliamp hours normally measured optimistically by the battery company at C/10 or even C/100 discharge rate (e.g. for the mentioned capacity, if discharged by drawing a current of 290 mA the battery should last for 10 hours).

The general point is that bigger numbers are better - the higher the capacity the longer the battery will last in a given device, and also the higher the current the battery can reasonably supply without the voltage dropping significantly.

I doubt your existing batteries are 130mA - that is a current, not a capacity. They are more likely to be 1300mAh, which is to be honest pretty poor for a rechargeable NiMH battery although it appears to be very popular in supermarkets etc.

Vapextech make well regarded batteries, and 2900mAh is probably overstated but is still amongst the highest capacities available in AA with the current state of the technology. These should give at least twice the runtime of your current batteries and possibly a little more brightness as they will hold their voltage better.

The newer rechargeables may not be as bright as alkalines for the first 15-30 minutes (depending on current drawn by the bulb), but alkalines rapidly drop from their initial voltage, and keep dropping, whereas NiMH rechargeables hold a pretty constant voltage over the discharge cycle.

[Summary - if it was my light, I'd buy the Vapextech batteries...]

Thanks, SBothwell, that's sufficient detail. Though I thought that I was going to have to ask for an explanation of the explanation at the start.

My cells are 1300mAh, it says so somewhere else on the battery.

So, basically I can expect around twice the runtime for any piece of equipment.

Cheers!