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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:14:51 AM EDT
Hello…
I am a CPFer, and a qualified “Flash-a-holic”, so I know a thing or two about flashlights…. I want to let you all know about one of the funniest rip-offs I have ever seen… the “Shake” flashlight. I got this as a gift, ( I would NEVER buy this POS on my own).  This is a “shake light’… that runs on “ULTRA bright LED technology... powered by magnets .” You know, the one advertised on TV that “Supposedly”…. “charges” by being shaken. Well… if you define “charges by shaking” as: “having FUCKING BATTERIES IN IT”… then yes… yes it does. Lets take a closer look…. See this area right here…..  What do those look like? Let’s take it apart and find out….. Here it is apart…. Hummmm… don’t those look kind of familiar?  PRIVATE PYLE…. WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE DOING IN YOUR FLASHLIGHT?!?!?!  Why YES… those ARE NON-RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM CR2032 WATCH BATTERIES… in the so-called… “battery-less flashlight.” Let me repeat.. this flashlight runs on TWO non-rechargeable lithium three volt batteries. The SINGLE 5mm LED draws a VERY VERY small amount of current... less than 20mA... so this thing will run for a while... even on those batteries. All that shaking you are doing…. WORTHLESS. Just thought I would share. Have a good one. OK... I took the thing apart... CAREFULLY.... Look where the 2 SMALL copper wires go. Also... notice where the batteries go... and how they are wired DIRECTLY to the LED. Here are both sides of the circuit... I don't see ANYTHING.  
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:17:52 AM EDT
[#1]
yeah, but an "officer" endorses those on tv instead of the sure-fire he has in the other hand
 we sell these at the store like crazy. I don't get it... 
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:17:57 AM EDT
[#2]
[EdMcMahon] I did not know that! [/EdMcMahon]
Damn ....... I gotta go home and look in my battery-less shake flash light to ......... well ........ see if it has batteries. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:18:17 AM EDT
[#3]
So I've been shaking mine like a retard for no reason this whole time?
 |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:18:28 AM EDT
[#4]
Good to know, thanks! I pretty much figure that anything advertised through tv only is a POS.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:18:33 AM EDT
[#5]
 I got suckered by this thing. Barely enuf light to call it light. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:20:04 AM EDT
[#6]
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:20:24 AM EDT
[#7]
NO way dude... consider it PRACTICING for masterbation.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:23:41 AM EDT
[#8]
Geez, imagine some moron that finally wears the battery out and is shaking that thing like their jacking off for an hour.
'WTF won't this thing work?" |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:34:13 AM EDT
[#9]
Consumer fraud?
Did you measure the voltage/current on the batteries? So what's the flashlight doing during all the shaking, it almost looked like a generator? Non-rechargable batteries can be recharged a little bit. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:37:57 AM EDT
[#10]
L I B!
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:46:51 AM EDT
[#11]
Are you sure those batteries aren't there to temporarily hold the charge generated by the metal passing through the electromagnetic field? There has to be something in the flashlight that does this and from your pictures I don't see any other components that would temporarily store that charge.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:47:10 AM EDT
[#12]
tag for refund
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:47:57 AM EDT
[#13]
In order for an LED light to work, it has to have some means of storing a charge, meaning a battery. But said battery would have to be able to be recharged by whatever mechanism that exists for recharging, namely the shaking motion advertised.
An older lady whose yard I help maintain wanted LED lawn lights because they "don't need electricity". I told her that they wouldn't do as well as her old fashioned electric lights. She persisted, so I bought her some of the nicest LED rechargables I could find. They were recharged by sunlight in the day. Guess what? They don't light for sh*t and they run down after 2 hours of being on. LED stuff has a LOOOOONG way to go yet. This shake light looks like a class A ripoff. Are we sure that those batteries cannot take a charge??? |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:48:36 AM EDT
[#14]
Indeed. BTW -- Anyone who actually thought this thing was the answer to their flashlight needs should talk to me. I have this neat gizmo that lets you talk to fish, and some great investment property on the moon you should look at.... |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:48:50 AM EDT
[#15]
The shake flashlight I own has a capacitor in it to store the charge.
So...umm... YMMV. ETA: And the case is entirely see-through. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:49:11 AM EDT
[#16]
You are correct that this one sucks. I have 2 that are made by different companies.
One that I have had for several years that has no batteries. The shaking charges a capacitor. I have had this one to 90 feet on a cave dive. When it comes to having absolutely no light or having the shake light, I will take the shake light. The second one has a CR2032 battery that is used for emergencies. One click for the battery, second click for the capacitor, third click turns it off. Both of them are sealed units and do not unscrew like yours does. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:49:26 AM EDT
[#17]
+1 The shaking generates the charge, the "batteries" hold the charge. They are more of a ripoff because they don't throw enuf light to get from where you hold the light, to illuminate the ground in front of you. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:50:27 AM EDT
[#18]
Hmmmmm....*raised eyebrows*....hmmmmm
Very interesting. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.I hadn't bought one as I have too many other flashlights to keep up with so....you know. BUT,good to know. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:50:49 AM EDT
[#19]
I have a shake flash light but didn't pay $8 for it. It uses a capacitor rather than a battery.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:50:55 AM EDT
[#20]
We got the kids some shake lights since they are always leaving the darn things on. My kids lights have capcitors in them to take the charge caused by shaking. light runs out... Kids shake them... Let there be light. The downside to capcitors is they loose their charge after a week or so.
What's on the other side of that circuit board? Are there any capacitors? Could the lithium batteries be there for an instant on light? Then shake for continous duty... That said, the comercial with the "cop" bothers me because of the pathetic light output these lights have compared to a Surefire. I don't think any real cop would prefer to go on duty with one of those on their belt instead of a Surefire. Kent ETA: Dang I type too slow. My thoughts were posted ten times over by the time I composed this. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:52:07 AM EDT
[#21]
For serious purposes, there are only two types of flashlights. Surefires for tactical needs, maglites for general flashlight duties. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:58:09 AM EDT
[#22]
I wholeheartedly agree. My Surefire is on my CCW belt and I have 1/2 a dozen Maglights throughout the cars and house. Now the question is, how do you get a 5 and 7 year old to remember to turn off the dang switch when they are done using the flashlight? We finally gave up and got them shake lights. After a year of shaking we'll be money ahead. Besides the kids are still of an age where converting mechanical energy into electricity is cool. Kent |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 10:58:46 AM EDT
[#23]
Just enuf light to make the cop a target. 
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:00:47 AM EDT
[#24]
Busted!
great find.. I shared this with my friends. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:01:19 AM EDT
[#25]
Is there a logic process that controlls the "charge," and has to have (perhaps very miniscule) power available to make use of the shaking, that's then perhaps taken over by the "shake charge," after the unit is shook?
I seriously doubt that the light is powered by those bateries. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:03:31 AM EDT
[#26]
absolutely
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:03:54 AM EDT
[#27]
When I was a kid they only let us have candles at that age. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:05:24 AM EDT
[#28]
my 6 year olds have been turning the switch off for over a year now, only prob they have is they take the bulbs out of the mag lights
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:30:24 AM EDT
[#29]
OK... I took the thing apart... CAREFULLY.... Look where the 2 SMALL copper wires go. Also... notice where the batteries go... and how they are wired DIRECTLY to the LED. Here are both sides of the circuit... I don't see ANYTHING.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:35:47 AM EDT
[#30]
That's an awesome soldering job on there.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:37:02 AM EDT
[#31]
I like how there is no reflective dish and it lets alot of the light escape through the handle
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:43:50 AM EDT
[#32]
Damn. My crappy ones work better than that. Mine have 2 rechargeable AA's and 2 LED's per light and they last anywhere from 6- 9 hours depending on the length of the day. Obviously they don't light as well as the wired ones. But mine is for accent lighting so I don't care. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:44:25 AM EDT
[#33]
That's hilarious. Someone needs to glue a tube full of rocks to the side of an Aimpoint, then claim it's a tactical recharger and jack up the price by a couple hundred bucks.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:45:57 AM EDT
[#34]
Should be a simple enough experiment to just leave it on, wait until the charge on it dies, then see if shaking it charges it again. That sould answer where the charge is coming from. Unless I'm missing something very fundamental here.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:50:15 AM EDT
[#35]
POS
I paid 5 bucks for one and gave to my kid she dropped it and broke whatever holds the internals in place and now it wont turn on or off unless you beat it around. She is about 3 1/2 feet tall so it took about a 1 foot plunge when it broke. WORTHLESS GARBAGE. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:52:45 AM EDT
[#36]
Already did that. Shaking doesnt charge it. That's why I am here. 
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Posted: 2/24/2006 11:59:23 AM EDT
[#37]
I have a decent one and it will dim until I shake it again. It does not seem to have any batteries that I can see, either. It is mostly just for the truck so I don't have to worry about batteries going dead.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:02:26 PM EDT
[#38]
Yeah, notice how the wires from the winding are connected together, thus making sure that the shaking does absolutely nothing. That's great.  |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:05:12 PM EDT
[#39]
Yep, Electric Circuits 101: See how those 2 wires are soldered to the same point? In technical terms we call that a 'short'. What ever minute amount of current is produced by shaking the light (and there should be some if that movable object is a magnet) isn't going anywhere. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:16:32 PM EDT
[#40]
OH, I FORGOT..... It gets better. That "movable object" is NOT A MAGNET. I took it out... it is a piece of steel... it had NO magnetic properties what so ever. I tried to pick up steel things with it... NO DICE. |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:20:29 PM EDT
[#41]
Damn! I ordered one of those last week. I hope it will have at least a real magnet inside. Oh well, if it doesn't it should make a fine 75-yd target (if I can't return it for whatever reason). |
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:23:52 PM EDT
[#42]
The one you have is a knock off (and obviously fradulent). My buddy has one that uses induction to charge a capacitor. I've used it, and it's...uh...ok. It's good for finding your way to your battery stash in the dark, and that's about it.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 12:24:13 PM EDT
[#43]
Additionally, the "coil" is a copper wire wrapped about five times.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:14:32 PM EDT
[#44]
but.. but... but... there is a Whole SHEET of thin copper colored stuff that the wires are around! Doesn't that increase the effective number of windings by about 100? I guess we know why they sell it in a "frosted clear" case.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:22:15 PM EDT
[#45]
tag
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:37:03 PM EDT
[#47]
HAhahaha I found out just like you. I had to disassemble it just because thats how I am. I was laughing my ass off when I saw how it "worked"! My wife bought three of them off a guy who walked in our shop for $3.
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:39:36 PM EDT
[#48]
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:41:02 PM EDT
[#49]
I have one of those that was given to us as a "Safety Prize" at work. That was almost 2 years ago and it still works.
And it works as advertised. That is, you shake it and it charges the battery. Of course, you just about have to strike a match to see if it's lit. But other than that, it works just fine. 
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Posted: 2/24/2006 1:57:16 PM EDT
[#50]
<-- Removed … --> by -brass- @ 17:22 2.25.06> Ref CoC
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