What do you mean? Do you mean it is like low-level inkjet printers, they got sold at lower than their original cost so consumers buy cartridges/refills, and they make money out of that and the printer ? I think there is a term for that; loss leader. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader
igrewold, it's not quite a loss-leader as the supplies aren't proprietary as with printers. Anyone's battery could be used, so there's no point in taking a loss. Besides, there's certainly not what Clive paid for it in materials here.
Edge illumination like this has been used for simple electric clocks: the clock has ten sheets of plastic stacked in front of one another, each with a different digit engraved on it, and they are illuminated in turn. It worked well enough in the days before cheap bright LEDs - "Techmoan" has a video describing a clock of this kind he made from a kit - but it's certainly not an efficient way to spread the light.
It's a widespread technique, LCDs too. Front light in Gameboy Advance SP, backlights in most other displays. You can get edge-lit ceiling lights too just for super slimness.
My nearest sainsburys has fitted edge lit plastic panel ceiling lighting the panels project into the room vertically out of the ceiling and must be using LEDs... they look like they've been 'frosted' by scoring quite coarse lines into the plastic... it looks a bit nasty and industrial tbh - it's effective tho.
Yup. Just like Duracel bought out Ever Ready and almost immediately closed the super factory at Tanfield, County Durham. The purchase was to prevent direct competition in the battery market but they also had themselves a well known UK brand name. That name is pushed onto consumers with similar plasticy products at inflated prices. Thanks for this - it stops us being conned into over spending!
John Gotts, yeah they are, a lot of devices come with them like my ROKU boxes, and Sticks all came with Duracell brand AAA's for the remotes. I usually get RayoVac as they seem to last as long, and are usually cheaper. far as Rechargeable they are still expensive, as I have a pair of Micro USB Lithium Ion AA batteries in my Xbox 360 controller I use with my gaming PC, and even getting them off eBay on the cheap they cost me $18 USD shipped for the pair, and split Micro USB charge cable.
I still prefer Energizer 9V's when I need a primary cell for something. When they're completely dead you can take them apart and the top is easily reusable as a 9V battery connector for building my own devices (10mm LED with a resistor and a small slide switch, inside a small gob of stick epoxy, all mounted onto one of those old battery end pieces makes a great flashlight).
Yeah, the price is entirely down to marketing. People will assume it's good, because of the brand. ....and they'll still think it's good once they've used it, because they don't know any better.
No! It's a replica of a TV series prop - that's why it's so expensive! LOL - Just like that other terrible movie I actually can't remember, but the used one of those Poundland book lights (you know the ones that unfold when you push a button) as a communicator. Heck even Star Trek used a disposable razor as a comms device (oh and Star Wars used Hypodermic syringes made in England for the Princess Leia probe scene!) I hate it when I recognize everyday objects in movies used as some sort of sci-fi prop!
Sometimes when your image is a little washed out or the focus a bit soft when using a mobile device it is just due to some oil/fingerprints on the camera lens, so your fine focus issue might have resolved, or at least improved, with a simple cleaning of the lens with either some suitable cleaner/solvent or a clean microfiber cloth. Just an observation from person experience as it is so easy to get fingerprints on the cameras of modern mobile devices! As always, thank you for the very enjoyable content you share with all of usM
Reminds me of Ever Ready bike lamps of the 70's huge, taking C or D cells. A tiny bulb and lasts for an hour or so at a brightness that made you invisible at 2 metres. Just a way to sell batteries. May the slip into the darkness quietly and leave the world a better place.
I went out and bought eneloop pro AA and AAA cells in bulk, and now we use them in absolutely everything. If only I'd known about the Ikea specials beforehand! The other cells we use are LR44 and CR2032 button. I just wish there were relatively inexpensive rechargeable versions of these that could match the performance of the non-rechargeable ones. I know rechargeables exist but they cost a fortune and I'm not sure about the performance.
I know the SEGA Dreamcast uses a CR2032R(rechargeable) battery in the system for it's clock settings, and they seem to last several years before dying, and needing to be unsoldered, and replaced, but you are right they are not cheap compared to a normal CR2032.
I bought Fujitsu AA batteries on sale for a good price. Fujitsu now owns the Japanese manufacturing plant that eneloop used to use. I buy the plain versions, not the pro. I don't need the higher capacity, I can't think of anything that would benefit from it.
Rechargeable CR2032's (LIR2032) are available very cheaply, I got mine from AliExpress and I got a USB charger from eBay. With how cheaply you can buy CR2032's it's going to take a good while to break even, but I just prefer not to use disposable cells.
Pook365 I'm not saying CR2032R batteries are expensive, just more so when compared to normal CR2032's that can be had in bulk just as cheap from a US seller on someplace like eBay without having to buy from Aliexpress.
I imagine a cleaning lady at a hotel calling the police after seeing a mess of dismantled electronics in the trash, thinking someone made a bomb trigger from the parts.
Eneloops are still too expensive to justify putting inside low-drain devices e.g. remotes, clocks etc. I can get 30pk Varta alkaline AAs (Made in Germany) at the hardware store for a fraction of the price for the Energizer/Duracell/Eveready branded AAs. Decent brands like Varta are less likely to leak over time, otherwise I would've gone for even cheaper generics. I use Eneloops for night lights, and disposable lithium AAs for 'mission critical' items like an ANR aviation headset. 18650 & Xiaomi powerbanks for the torch/flashlight and alkaline AAs for all other applications. If I travel to a place where powerbanks are banned on aircraft I'll buy a pack of generic alkaline AAs and use those to charge my devices.
I've been using the same Eneloops, AA and AAA for many years now, in both high and low-drain devices and have saved money in the process. Also I'm not adding primary cells to landfill or risking cheap cells leaking in my devices. I would suggest using a high-quality smart charger with the Ni-MH cells though, they make all the difference. I have Eneloops that get heavy usage in a flashlight that are still going strong after almost a decade.
ALDI or LIDL* frequently have packs of LSD AA and AAA batteries, they're less than £1 each. *They're about 50metres apart, so I always go in both...so can never remember where anything came from :)
We don't have IKEA here in New Zealand unfortunately, or Aldi and Lidl for that matter. Everything in NZ is expensive, and even more so now that Dick Smith (the only retailer that discounts Eneloops) went under, and the Chinese sellers now won't ship batteries via the post (so no more cheap 18650s). AmazonBasics could be an option I guess, although I hear stories of worsening quality with the Chinese made ones. They're about US$2 each shipped from the US ($15+$5 p&p for black 8pk, $25+$7 p&p for white 16pk) so they're a bit too close in price against the Eneloops for serious consideration, especially right now with the NZ dollar tumbling rather rapidly against the greenback. For your reference a 30pk Varta AAs cost the equivalent of US$10/£7.75, and I recently scored some cheap no-brand 30pk Alkaline AAs for US$3.30/£2.60
Best way to make it better is to buy aluminium tape, and stick it on one side to bump light strength to one side... Or just replace LEDs to more powerful... 😉 Or modify it to night light that you put on table, you can but some glitter on all edges to add nice effect.
It is very hackable, you can make the emergency escape safety signs with this lights and stickers. Of course it will need some better circuit, but it will be still cheaper than real thing. If it is not good enough for safety signs, any other signs are possible to create with this and mount it on ceilings. I like it.
Before LEDs were common, I got a fairly decent Energizer torch/flashlight that ran off 2xAA and used a filament light bulb. It threw a powerful beam of light a fair distance away, and it was quite waterproof (rubberized overmold, ring seal and tight screw). There were also the flashlights my relatives used at their country houses, ran off a 3r12 battery, might have been Duracell. Both where obviously built to guzzle batteries.
Is Energizer and Duracell "dead" brands? I thought they where still going fairly strong. I admit this IS a cheap branded item and agree Kodak, Polaroid e.t.c. are alive in name only. Edit: Oh and i bought one of these for our caravan awning a couple of years ago. It works a treat and has a pretty good spread of light. The panel reminds me of light guides i used to design for MP3 players where we had to evenly illuminate a touch sensitive panel with a single side firing LED. Its done with either tiny pyramids or cones molded onto the plastic OR the negative of the same shape molded INTO the plastic.
I don't think it's accurate to call them dead brands in the UK either, but they're certainly not doing as well as they did. I think the rise of the pound shop was terrible for them. Four Duracell AA's for £4 is a hard sell, when you can buy ten Sony or Kodak branded batteries for £1. In recent years Duracell made their Simply Duracell batteries to complete at a lower price point. They look appealing - two Duracell batteries for £1. So people buy them when they think they need that extra Duracell run time they've told us so much about. Sadly, they're not better than the ten fir £1 batteries. (Sorry, this was terribly long)
These seem to be the same style as the model that was popular at Walmart because they were relatively bright while still being inexpensive. And of course given the brand, it's understandable why it'd go through batteries. I'm also still surprised they still use separate LEDs instead of a COB strip. I've seen some no-name lights at hardware stores for putting on shelves or tool cabinets that have that, and those were for under $10. (Might be better off buying one of those instead of the diffuser panel deal.) Also went through batteries quick, but they weren't awful when considering they're fairly bright.
I've seen these in the USA. I'd never use one for their intended purpose. As a computer repair person, I'd use it to lay flat and have the light shine up in a cone or field of light if I am head and arms in a cabinet or something working... But, there are better lamps for that, like rechargeable traditional lanterns and such (granted, they cost more). Also, you can put Enerloops or Energizer li-ion batteries in something like this. Typically, way branding works on things like this is that a Chinese manufacturer has an item that they are looking to sell and "Western markets" won't typically purchase it under the Chinese name, so they get a highly regarded Western brand to put their name on it (thus instantly gaining sales because ONLY of the "has an %insert Western brand here% so it must be good philosophy" a lot of people have).
One can make a lantern, with a glass bottle or jar, and 3 or 4 AA batteries(in wood holder or held by tape), a bunch of White LEDs, wires, switch(es), reflective material like the inside of a bag of chips...etc.
Next do what's inside this Chinese fire extinguisher I once saw. It said 'DO NOT USE IF EXPLODED' and 'DO NOT OPEN WITN KNIFE' although you may need another fire extinguisher, as it may catch fire.
Thanks for the teardown - you aren't the props master for a show called Altered Carbon are you? I spied this lamp 28 minutes in to episode 7 and thought - yup that's the same one I saw BigClive teardown!
Energizer AKA Every Ready started to die in 1981 when Hanson Trust took over the business, Life support machine was turned off in 1996 when the last and largest uk factory at Tanfield Lea, Stanley, Co. Durham was closed down. The old Tanfield factory is only four miles up the road from me.
Energiser was a company that made their money selling disposable batteries. If I was going to make this into a rechargeable lantern, I would buy a cheap vaping pen and gut that for the lithium cell. There would be room in the battery compartment to tuck the charging lead inside when not in use. With a 600mAh battery, and the resistors changed to give 25mA per LED at full brightness, it should give 6 hours of light on a full charge.
I saw it at a local supermarket and it looked so good... :( This needs a few modifications, maybe a lithium battery, charging circuit, boost circuit for a steady brightness through the battery life and usb charging. That would make it way better. Maybe replacing the led strip with something with more leds too.
Imagine designing a proper circuit that does things right, open-sourcing it as "CliveLight," and sitting back while 873 Chinese manufacturers crank them out in 32,000 different form factors.
yeah zombie brands... least the circuit board was held in with screws rather than being heat staked which is what I was expecting to see. This sort of stuff seems to end up getting heavily discounted after sitting on the shelves for a couple of months.
*Large businesses should have someone who's sole task is to study names for their products, and work out how they will be corrupted to mean something they didn't intend. Eveready has always been known as Never Ready by me, as was the H Samuel Neverite wristwatch from long ago.* _(Eveready being a name under which Energizer trades, & I've seen these branded Eveready)_
Well it's not entirely bad, i thought it will be worse, there are screws (not some glued plastic), the batteries aren't soldered to thin easily-breaking cables, so it's nice. I wonder if they have a more expensive model, but with an option to plug in a charger and with rechargeable batteries inside. That would be nice.
I got one very similar, same battery compartment, that doesn't have an upper frame is was marketed as a reading help at night. the glass is clear and you can just lay it on the book page and read.
It's the closest shop. I'm not even sure where the nearest Poundland is here. There used to be a local one but it's been converted into a small Sainsbury's.
For the first time in my life I disagree with Big Clive. I have had one of these for a couple of years and I am surprised how often it is just the right tool. It’s the fact that it just chucked light out everywhere that makes it useful. It doesn’t blind you,, you don’t need to aim it at what you are working on, and your fingers don’t get in the way of the light. Don’t get me wrong changing the batteries is annoying for about 10 seconds about once a year.
Clive can you please test to see what voltage it will use the cells down to? Oh I suppose you don't have a variable power supply with you.. Maybe a follow-up when you get home? Cheers.
Seems like an evolution of their "LED4AA4" light (palm-sized, kind of reminiscent of the late model Tricorder from Star Trek DS9/Voyager) that I have had for some years now, infact I modified it yesterday with warm white LEDs as the cold-white ones were getting weak having been used a lot... :)
strangely that they still don't make in masses an emergency exit ceiling lanterns using this completely ready to expand for other uses product-model, maybe it's complete opposite - they used the emergency sign model for this product
He gone all blair witch project on us! I personally like products that take a decent number of AA cells. , i expect the design worked when the diffuser was a multi layerd lcd type thing,then the cost shaving excircise turned it into a slab of abs.
Since Energizer and Duracell appear to be still active brands that manufacture batteries, at least, I suspect that Kodak and Polaroid are more likely the true dead brands, as the original companies now appear to be defunct and therefore the names and branding can be applied to generic products.
i have an old weather ready type of this brand seems to work fairly ok. even though package says it would last 30 days on a set of 4 D cells. not sure as i never tried that theory but under normal use i just use well crummy low cap rechargeable 2500mAh D cells of their brands. and keep the alkaline ones in storage for when power trouble can happen when i cant recharge them if they get low.
nimh never beat alkaline in the US market, so energizer is very very far from dead. only recently has lithium started making its way into products that cost under $50, I think mostly spurred on by flashlights and vapes oddly enough. they're the only ones using off the shelf rechargeable lithium cells over here.
I take it you all have other brands that are more popular there? Here in the USA about all ypu can get off the shelf is Energizer or Duracell alkaline btteries, around $10 for a dozen AA/AAA cells. Rechargeables are hard to find (near impossible since RadioShack closed) but when you do they are usually something like $10-$20 for a 4-pack of NiMH AA cells and die very quickly left on the shelf. More popular for stuff left sitting is stuff like Energizer e^2 Lithium primary AA/AAA cells that do better than any for sheld life but are rather expensive around $8-$10 for 4 pack. After my adventures in rechargeable batteries I have found plain alkalines seem to be the best bang for the buck and remove them when not in use.
i know about the losses... but the difference are just too much, the thing has been glued shut with the aluminum housing so I couldn't take it apart to see what's the cell rating
My experience with power banks tell me: there's a factor of roughly 0,60-0,66. So a power bank with 5000mAh labeled (from reputable brands/sources) should be putting out 3000-3300mAh at 5 Volts
But you must consider that powerbank are desgined to charged phones, which also use li-ion/lipo battery and have step down converter so, in fact it isn't just measuring capacity at 5V. Only loss is sum of efficiency of power bank step up covnerter and phone charger step down converter. For example: powerbank with li-ion 1000mAh got step up covnerter with efficiency 0.9 phone charger converter got also 0.9 efficiency So, you could drain from power bank 1000mAh * 3.7V * 0.9 = 3.33Wh Your phone battery will "receive" 3.33Wh * 0.9 / 3.7V = 810mAh Or for simplicity 1000mAh * 0.9 * 0.9 = 810mAh
I expect better than that for £15. Rather surprised at Sainsbury to be honest. I suppose you could mod it if you wanted to. I have a small edge lit lcd tv, i might think about doing something with that.
When a battery manufacturer sells an electrical device, often something like a flashlight, it is only for one purpose: you want to give the consumer a reason to use batteries;) The technology of such a lamp is often very simple. Of course, such devices are NOT intended for rechargeable batteries unless the manufacturer sells rechargeable batteries themselves. Somehow I'm not surprised. I wouldn't buy a lamp from a battery manufacturer.
I had a thought... Who do you think makes the most from battery sales in the UK - Duracell, Energizer or Poundland? Volume vs profit margin. I've no idea
Pook365 goto companies house website and take a look at their accounts and report back. Thanks for volunteering! Poundland AAs, at least in my neck of the woods- all say "heavy duty", but they're all zinc and only good for remotes. I hate to be a shill but the name brands do put out a lot more current than generics. It's just I only consider Duracell a name brand now.
That's a very good point. I think a lot of stuff coming out of Ikea, Lidl etc. are actually rather good quality for the price. They actually have a reputation to uphold.
All this stuff you've been able to get now you're off the island, you bringing anything back with you? I don't like lights that have a disperse filter, it blocks more light than it let's out
It's not very good. However, your video, is very good. I'm super glad(scow) to have found your channel ... a hell long while ago. Go. Take apart more good old new cheap crap!
Name brand Alkaline batteries are a complete rip-off. Same battery selling in Mexico for $0.10 each. It crosses the border and it becomes $5 for 4! The factory is in Mexico, but as soon as it crosses over the border, it's suddenly 10 times the price, and its not because of some tariff! Same deal as big pharmaceuticals.
Their is a Rocket brand sold all over Mexico, the 9v are not exactly cheap and don't last very long. I hate 9 volt batteries and try to avoid buying devices that use them if possible.
I graduated to LiPo batteries. Even my AA and 9V batteries are now LiPos. Here are some Google search strings of what I have; Soshine 650mAh 9V 6F22 Rechargeable Battery + Smart Intelligent Ni-MH Li-ion Battery Charger. SORBO 1.5V 1200mAh USB AA Rechargeable with 1Hour Quick Charging. Load tested them at 200mA/h and they are not bullshitting on capacity, which is refreshing.
Yeah, 9V LiPos are great. Not particularly more expensive than alkaline 9Vs and, obviously, rechargeable. Mine even have USB connectors (so I can just plug them in where I charge my phone) and LED indicators on the side.. I haven't capacity checked them yet but they seem to last pretty well as several months later, they are still on 2 out of 3 LEDs. Best thing is when they are dead, they just need recharging where I tend not to keep 9Vs around so if a regular one dies, it's off to the store.
Hi Clive, just wondering if making the videos where you are now would be easier if you recorded them Ashens style. It could mean that you could sit in a chair. Also how's the beer doing? If you've had the time...
It's an odd world, some successful RU-vidrs just want to tell us about how rich they are and how many Lamborghinis they have. ...and then there's Ashen's filming on his knees in front of an old sofa. (Don't worry, I don't watch those channels)
Yep - this is a light pipe, and light pipes are fine in laptop backlights, and a couple of other indicator light type uses, but hopeless for a lantern, Energizer seem to be stuck in the early '90s or something. Thanks for reverse engineering it anyway Clive....in the bin it goes :o)
At least it doesn't have an optional power adapter that connects directly to the batteries, exploding them if you leave your discharged batteries in there when you plug it into the wall.
Nine out of ten NiMh cells I see sold anywhere around me are still not the long shelf life version in any way shape or form, which makes them unsuitable for 90% of the recurring low-drain uses one might want to use them for - and 90% or the remaining gadgets considers them almost immediately depleted (or don't start at all) as they expect alkaline primaries. So those alkalines sure still get an awful lot of use around here...
Im new to the world of electronics. I saw your video on the basic electric components. May i email you i need help with a basic project. Im i want to learn to make led signs to supplement my income because things have been hard for me financially. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me. The way you explain things is great!
You always say you can charge NiMH cells a thousand times, have you ever had a NiMH cell that actually lasted anywhere near a thousand times? All my NiMH cells died in 100 charges or fewer (even when using slow chargers).
It depends on the batteries and they've got better over the years. Old Eneloop's (for instance) were only rated for 400 cycles, but the newer ones are up to 1000. I've no idea how many times they've been charged, but I've used the same four GP rechargeable AA batteries in my XBOX controller since it was new - 10 or so years. Two sat in the charger and two in the controller.
In a way the actual "slow" chargers can even be worse. The better way is what many people refer to as a "smart charger" now, but basically as the cell chemistry transitions to full there's a dip in voltage of a few mV. This was easier to catch with NiCd but if the current is sufficiently high and charger measuring sensitive enough it can pick that up and stop charging. Obviously they also tend to have both voltage and heat detection cutoffs as well in case its missed to still terminate the charging proces timely (although not at the ideal moment), in a dumb slow charger you'd inevitably be overcharging as well. My current preferred charger hasn't missed the termination spot yet with batteries in good working order. Most chargers will after that still keep doing a "top off" charge though, but for LSD batteries (Low Self Discharge) ideally you wouldn't want that. Generally you need at least between 0.5C and 1C charge currents to detect the -dV/dt dip (1C being fill the battery rated capacity in one hour). This way I've had the same exeperience as the other two who replied, batteries last very long and when doing actual capacity and IR tests haven't degraded much even after well over 100 cycles. There's also a few that I haven't been able to keep track of since I got them years ago before the fancier chargers and measuring gear, but those first generation Eneloops are still going strong as well. Is your NiMH experience from before or after Eneloops showed up on the market? and how exactly did you charge them?
Well, my first rechargeable cells were NiCd, that should indicate the time frame. The last cells I tried before giving up were Duracell AAs I bough some 7 years ago. I never personally used Eneloops, but my roommate had them in a wireless mouse and they went to shit in about 6 months (that was 4 or 5 years ago). Although he's always been an idiot, so I'm inclined to blame him for that. I went through a bunch of chargers. No brand names (or at least not international ones). About 15 years ago I got a fast charger (2A for AA, 850mA for AAA), that was the worst; it could kill a cell in 10 cycles. I never had a smart charger. I've rebuilt most of my devices to run on lithium cells and for the rest I use alkaline.
The "good old days", if that's your reference frame then I can't blame you for those observations. I went through that time as a kid, basically the NiCd batteries were good for photography flashers (charged quicker for the next photo) and draining stuff like RC cars/incandescent torches... as long as you had remembered to charge them not longer ago than a month. I suspect 15 years ago the majority of fast chargers weren't that great either, if you get good LSD cells today and a charger that doesn't overcharge them you'll probably get a good experience out of it. Eneloops and Fujitsi cells apparently mostly come from the same FDK factory that I have had good experience with and there's a heap of other worthwhile brands out there. Gone are the days of it taking an overnight charge and memory effect when doing a partial recharge. But I'm much in the same boat as you, initially I was reluctant to move on to 18650 cells for torches and projects but I did. Since then most of my Eneloops don't see frequent high drain cycling anymore. A bunch are in a storage box and others live in devices that don't freak out when getting NiMH voltages, if I was already using lithium ion batteries for most things I probably would be less inclined to switch too. For appliances where you might swap batteries once or twice per year the return on investment time would be high. Also if you don't live alone... good luck teaching other residents NOT TO THROW THE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES OUT. Normal capacity Eneloops are great at least for that, their white with blue letter wrapper is very distinct.
I never buy gadgets from brands like Energizer or Polaroid because I know they're usually just some existing gadget they get from China then have a big mark up on the price.
