KRONUS 1MCP RECHARGEABLE SPOTLIGHT

Kronus 1MCP Rechargeable Spotlight, retail $6.99* (www.radioshack.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown) for Radio Shack (www.radioshack.com)
Last updated 02-14-08




The Kronus 1,000,000 Candlepower Spotlight is a large, fairly lightweight handheld spotlight. It uses a built-in rechargeable lead-acid battery to power a blue-tinted halogen incandescent light blub positioned near the bottom of a large, nearly mirror-smooth reflector.

It comes with home and car chargers, and includes a metal threaded opening in the handle so it may be affixed to a tripod.

* The $6.99 price was just a promotional price; the normal price for this item is $19.99.


SIZE



The spotlight will need to be charged when you first take it out of the package, so do that first (see the "Feeding Time" section immediately below).

Hold the spotlight by its handle as you might hold a gun. Squeeze and release the black trigger switch to turn it on.
Do the same thing to turn it off.

A metal threaded female receptacle is also present on the underside of the handle; this allows you to affix the spotlight to a tripod if you desire.



The battery in this spotlight is rechargeable and not replaceable, so this portion of the web page will be more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight that uses disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries that must be removed prior to charging.

To charge the spotlight, plug the small plug on the end of the wall-wart's cord into the receptacle for it on the back of the lantern's handle. Plug the wall-wart itself into any 2- or 3-prong 110-130 volts AC household receptacle. A red LED above the plug on the spotlight's handle should now come on; this indicates power.

The spotlight also comes with a 12 volts DC automobile cigerette lighter charger; usage instructions are the same as above except you plug the large end into the cigerette lighter receptacle in your vehicle.

According to the instructional materials, charging the spotlight when the battery is partially depleted may take "several hours"; when the battery is totally drained, it may take "20 hours".
Also stated in the instructional materials is a warning against leaving the unit charging for more than 24 hours, or else the battery could become damaged.

The spotlight cannot be used while charging; an interlock of some type prevents that from being able to happen. The interlock appears to be mechanical in nature; engaging whenever the charge plug is plugged into the receptacle on the spotlight's handle.

Runtime per charge is advertised at 25 minutes.

As with all rechargeable products that use lead acid batteries, recharge this spotlight every several months even if you don't use it; this way, you'll be ready when Seismic Sam accidentally dumps hot pipe ashes in his favourite chair or drops a really hot crack stem between his couch cussions.


I have not yet figured out how to change the bulb without total disassembly of the spotlight (the rubbery bezel protector comes off, but that does not reveal anything else that can be unscrewed, unclipped, or otherwise removed), so when the bulb blows, you might be SOL.



The spotlight appears to be reasonably sturdy. Since it is a large spotlight though, and not a flashlight, I'll forego "The Smack Test" and "The Toilet Test" this time around.
So this portion of the web page will be more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

The output is in the form of a narrow spot with a much dimmer corona. The corona by itself is plenty bright enough to see where you're walking or see the parts of the motor under the hood of a car or truck.

I tried to cut through the window (or "lens" if you're more comfortable with that term, even though it does not modify the light in any manner) with the blade of a folding knife, and I was not successful. This tells me that it is made of glass, not plastic.

If you're interested, the Radio Shack catalogue number for this spotlight is 270-001.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 665cd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
This measurement will read artificially low, because the emitted light area is significantly larger than the light meter's sensor.



Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.

Those rectangular graphic things in the upper left quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Atari ''Tempest''
Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

That graphic toward the right is:
A "BIG SCARY LASER" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk

And that clock to the right of the "Big Scary Laser" poster is an Infinity Optics Clock.



Beam photograph outdoors; target is approximately 200' away and has an albedo of ~0.35.
Time was 5:38pm PST on 01-02-08.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the halogen incandescent bub in this spotlight.
Note the filtering effect of the blue-tinted bulb cover.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased at a Radio Shack in Sacramento CA. USA on 12-31-07.
This was the last unit they had at the $6.99 price; the normal price for this item is $19.99.

The AC charger has an output of +9 volts at 300mA.
Center pf plug is (+) positive; outer can is (-) negative.

Product was made in China.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 01-12-08
My stepmother needed this spotlight to "keep in the car", so I no longer have it for testing or comparative analyses - nor can I finish my evaluation or furnish a rating to it.

I attempted to purchase another for this website sakes (and so I could complete this evaluation), but the Radio Shack website indicates that they are out of stock.


UPDATE: 02-14-08
My stepmother has reported that this product is malunctioning; it fails to hold a charge, and the positive (+) metal contact on the cigerette lighter charger plug gets too hot to touch - this charger should *NOT* be drawing this much current.

A quick test showed the product to be functioning correctly; however I won't know for certain until I get the AC charger from her tomorrow (02-15-07) and then attempt to discharge & recharge the product.





PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Unknown
    PRODUCT TYPE: Incandescent rechargeable spotlight
    LAMP TYPE: 15 watt halogen incandescent bulb
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Fairly narrow spot
    SWITCH TYPE: Trigger-type on/off on handle
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Rubber-covered plastic; glass window recessed into end
    BATTERY: 6 volt lead-acid rechargeable battery; capacity unknown
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Light splatter-resistance at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: AC charger, auto cigerette lighter charger
    WARRANTY: 90 days

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Kronus 1MCP Rechargeable Spotlight * www.radioshack.com...






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