Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil G4SPZ
Here’s one of the torches I was looking for earlier. The supplier was Internatiinal Sourcing Solutions of Peterborough, a company now dissolved. It’s a scam. Despite the blurb on the box, “Everlasting torch - no batteries needed”, it actually contains a pair of CR2032 coin cells in series, which are essential to its operation.
When I acquired the torch, it didn’t work at all. The magnet can be shaken between two rubber end-stops and passes through the centre of the solenoid in the handle. The solenoid feeds what looks like a bridge rectifier comprising four diodes. However, no amount of shaking would produce even a glimmer of light. When I took it apart I found the duff batteries, and once replacements were fitted it worked perfectly, albeit with a fairly pathetic beam of light from the single cold white LED, flat reflector and bullseye lens.
I could understand it if the batteries were disc-type DEACs or similar rechargeable cells, but they weren’t!
Phil
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This post prompted me to examine my specimen of one of these shake for light torches when I came across it in a storage box last week. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the real deal, or at least it flashed when it was shaken. As one does, I took it apart to see what made it tick. What I found was a well made setup with quite an impressive magnet to shake through the coil that would have worked fine except that the little 0.33F supercap had dried out over the last 20 odd years. I particularly liked the switch- a reed switch operated by a small magnet moved by the switch button. If only all torches were so equipped!
A new supercap was called in from RS (well two for a fiver actually) and the dead one replaced. The torch won't break any records for effort vs reward but it does indeed work and gives at least a reasonable period of illumination after a minute or so's shaking.
A few pics of the innards etc are attached.