Thursday, June 1, 2006

Flashlight Scam

You have seen them advertised on television for only $19.95. You can, of course, find them in flea markets for much less. I am not sure what brand I have. I’ll look up the information later. The point is, they are a scam. After getting poor results, no apparent charging, I disassembled two of them.

First, let me point out I have over 30 years in the electronic industry. I was dubious of the type of energy storage the light used. My mind told me this couldn’t work as advertised. I was right. Their claims are not just outrageous, but they are down right lies.

After having problems with the flashlight not charging, I finally took time to disassemble one. To my surprise, I found two button type batteries. Maybe I wasn’t that surprised. I had expected wafer capacitors or something similar.