Review Minute

EagleTac P20C2 MkII

2012-04-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

I wanted to review another RC toy today, but due to South Florida weather I was not able to get outside to get any decent video :-(.

So instead I'm going to push ahead with another ballsy-bright flashlight, the P20C2.EagleTac flashlights are well known for their quality and reliability. However, the reason that I personally buy EagleTac products is that they are consistantly brighter than anything else of a similar quality in their price range. The EagleTac P20C2 is no exception.

The Mark II version, which is what we are looking at today, is an absolute beast of a flashlight. At it's maximum output, it will spew 720 lumens out the front and onto whatever unlucky soon-to-be sunburned object it's pointed at. The average non-vampire-hunter has no real need of 720 lumens, but, in case you do, the EagleTac delivers.

To put this in perspective, a standard 2-D cell Mag-Lite is 19 lumens (http://www.truevalue.com/product/Gray-2-D-Cell-Incandescent-Flashlight/19816.uts here's a product page if you don't believe me). This makes the EagleTac P20C2 about as bright as 38 2-d cell maglites held side by side.

Thats a lot o lumens.

The heat emitted from this hand held light is significant, especially when operated on "turbo" the flashlight actually reduces it's output after three minutes to avoid overheating the circuits. Fortunately, Eagletac has offered several more docile output options, such as a "low mode" (10 lumens - or half of a mag lite) with over a hundred hours (four days) worth of run time on a standard pack of batteries (on turbo it lasts just under an hour and a half)

The light is extremely durable, with an easy to use interface. You control the light by a combination of button-punches and head-twists. You perform these maneivers on the flashlight, of course. Twisting the head does not affect it's waterproof capabilities, and it will happily handle submersion in water, milk, or whatever else you might make a habit of dipping your flashlights in.

The downside to this flashlight is that it uses a special high-voltage lithium battery, called a CR-123. You can find these batteries online for a dollar or two a piece, but if you buy them locally you will spend about eight dollars a piece. Best to buy online.

You can also buy rechargeable batteries that will work in the light, but you need a special lithium battery charger, because a standard NiMH charger willl not work for a lithium battery -they asplode :-(.Remember, that the each CR-123 battery costs a little less than a D cell battery, and this light will be much brighter and last longer than a mag-lite, at a much, much more compact size. The size makes it more likely to be on your side when the dark falls.

If you want to use standard AA batteries, the P20A2 is available for a little less of an investment, although it's maximum output is only 360 lumens (the equivalent of 18 maglites.)

Good Luck, and happy vampire hunting.As usual, I have included links below so that you can read more reviews at amazon.com

La Crosse BC-700, BC-900, and BC-1000

2012-04-29T19:21:00.000-04:00

For this review I'm going to talk briefly about La Crosse battery chargers.

These chargers are designed to charge AA and AAA NiMH batteries. They are better than standard battery chargers because they have a digital screen to tell you exactly how much energy is going into the batteries. Also, they have several advanced features, such as fully charging and then discharging a battery in order to tell you the battery's true capacity, and they also can repeatedly discharge and then charge a battery to try to bring an old cell back to life.

Additionally, the chargers allow you to select several different charging currents, so that you can charge batteries quickly if you need to, and slowly if you don't need the charge immediately. It's usually best to charge batteries slowly because the batteries will be cooler and thus incur less "loss of life". If you charge batteries too slowly, however, the charger will have a hard time knowing when the cell is full, and might overcharge the battery a little.

I am showing the older La Crosse BC-900. It has been replaced by the (newer and black-in-color) BC-700 and the BC-1000. The real difference between the two (other than cost) is that the 1000 comes with a few batteries, and has more options for fast-charging batteries.

The batteries included with the BC-1000 are not low-self-discharge, which means that they will lose their charge over a few days or weeks of sitting in a drawer. I highly recommend replacing them with Eneloops or Duracell Pre-Charged (try to get the Japanese duracells with the white band around the top. To be safe, you can order Sanyo Eneloop batteries.)

Because I do not use the included batteries, I recommend getting the cheaper BC-700. It's an investment that will pay for itself over time by increasing your battery life on rechargeable batteries.

If you are interested, check out the other reviews on this stuff at Amazon.com

4Sevens Preon 2

2012-04-29T15:16:00.000-04:00

Next up is a minute review on the 4Sevens Preon 2 flashlight. You never know how often you need a flashlight until you start carrying one around with you. And once you begin this endeavor, you will quickly realize that a dollar store penlight just won't cut it. And that's when you take your first step into an inevitable landslide which entices people towards the segment of the population with Ham Radio Licenses and a yearly subscription to Mental Floss. Don't worry, you'll be happy here.

The topic of this review is the penlight that I personally have been carrying around with me all day and, especially, night, ever since It was introduced by the king of flashlights - 4Sevens. The Preon 2 is powered by a Cree XP-G (which is nerd-speak for "very bright") LED which is, in turn, powered by a microchip that regulates the brightness. You can select several different brightness levels by "half-clicking" the button on the base (which is the only control). If you want to get fancy you can click it several times and get into some nice-to-have-but-practically-useless modes such as strobe, sos, etc.

Flashlight self-defense advocates beware, it does take several clicks to get to either the "high" or the "strobe" mode. I do not look at a flashlight as a weapon or self defense tool, but I suppose if you were attacked while carrying it you could shine the flashlight in the attacker's eyes, and then beat the guy with your shoe.

The light is smooth, durable, waterproof, very professional looking and fits well into a shirt pocket. I also will wear it clipped to my jeans pocket, and it rarely gets in the way down there. It does sometimes accidentally get turned on in my pocket, causing a warm sensation that I generally don't feel comfortable talking about.

Runtime is very good due to the very efficient LED, running for almost a day at "bright enough to read something four feet in front of you", and running for just under an hour at the "too bright" setting. "Too Bright" is very, very impressive for a light this size, especially one that takes AAA batteries.

I use rechargeable low-self-discharge batteries (Eneloops are my favorite, but hard to find. Costco usually has them in stock), and of course I take good care of the batteries with an expensive charger. You don't need to make the extra investment, but I like being able to use the light without worrying about the cost of batteries.

I have found links to the Preon 2, batteries, and charger below. I also dropped on a link to the Streamlight Stylus Pro, a much cheaper but single output flashlight, which I use as a benchmark in the video review.

If you are interested, check out the other customer reviews at amazon.com

Losi Micro SCT - Brushless

2012-04-28T17:20:00.001-04:00

First Review Minute will be looking at the Losi 1/24 Micro Brushless SCT RTR;. Hobbyists know that Losi has previously created a successful hobby-grade micro RC car which customers would buy and then spend several hundred dollars upgrading, on things like Brushless motors and better receivers.

Losi has cut out the middle man by offering the car with the brushless motor and 2.4ghz receiver out of the box.

The cars are very fast, even faster if you get a LiPo battery (which plugs right in). Runtimes are between ten and eighteen minutes, depending on how hard you run it.

The 2.4 ghz receiver will send a signal as far as you can see, so you don't need to worry about losing reception.

The cars are very durable, and run on a variety of terrain. High body clearance and knobby tires allow the car to go short distances over grass, and even clear road grates with no problem.

I bought two of the cars, and my roommate and I have spent hours playing bumper cars, with very few replacement parts needed. A new set of tires because they wear down, and a five dollar steering component were all that was needed to keep the cars running.

Overall, a very good purchase, and definitely something that I would look into if you want a small, insanely fast car at an extremely reasonable price.

My local retailer did not have the brushless version of the car in stock, but Amazon.com has them in stock with free shipping for a very fair price.

You can find the exact car, accessories, and more reviews on the following links.

Thanks!