# Awful Spotlight! (review) -Durex/Procraft MCP rechargable "Farce light"



## orionlion82 (Jun 12, 2007)

The other day while i was looking at lights for one of my savage projects, a spotlight caught my eye. 

i just had to go back and look. i needed a bright incan that was practical and rechargeable so why not? 

Wikipedia defines "Farce" as:
A farce is a comedy 
written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant—yet often possible—situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual innuendo, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases even further towards the end of the play, often involving an elaborate chase scene. Broad physical humour, and deliberate absurdity or nonsense, are also commonly employed in farce.

Lets get on with it...
reading the box sets the stage: 

Side one of the packaging, says it is "Ideal {wait for it} for home, auto and marine repairs. It has the manufacturers logo, and the "1,000,000 candlepower rechargeable spotlight" stamped on the box in two places. 
there is allso a clear plastic "show window" in the box where you see the product. 

and at first glance, it honestly looks like a wholesome, beefy spotlight sure to impress you. 

Side two of the packaging: 
in bullet points - 

rechargable 120V,AC, U.L. adapter for home charge. 
(_Ive never needed to recharge an adaptor, and im not sure how well its going to charge my home, but thanks. at least its UL listed..._)

12V DC car cord for vehicle charge. 
(_imagine that! it can charge my vehicle too!_) 

Will automatically stop charging when battery is fully charged
(_from my evaluation of the light i would be weary of testing that feature, not that i would try_)

easy access battery compartment
(_perhaps compared to a chastity belt hooked up to a stun gun, but more on that later..._) 

low voltage protection for longer battery life
(i have not been able to test this feature, or reckon what the actual protection might be) 

Graphical icons: 
Provides Strong light for emergencies and repairs 
(_i guess these photons have been working out_) 


and then theres the handgrip, locking switch and D-ring (extra strong, refered to here as a "hook" ). yawn. 

It gets better though: 
Side 3 of the box: 
(redundancy omitted) 

Use as searchlight for objects in water {no claims of water resistance, and it is absolutely not, so i would NOT use it in the water} boat docks, ramps and navigational points. 
(_this light has absolutely no business in a marine environment_:laughing 


Add light to camping trips or for power outages at home. 
(this may work for power outages at home, but camping trips?) 

Provides brilliant light for Firefighters, Policeman, and security personel. 
crackup: _well, maybe i could see a security guard using it, but..._)

Illuminates jobsites, utility lines, etc. 
(_Not tough enough for any jobsite i've ever worked at, but i suppose you could view utility lines on a clear night in perfect conditions, when you arent likely to see anything interesting_) 


The icing on the cake: 
The fourth panel of the box...
(redundancy ommitted) 

DureX Guarenteed forever. 
LIFETIME WARRANTY - 
This product is manufactured under rigid controls and specifications. 
(_Shuuuure it is. notice the absent word in there? like- i dunno, Quality?) 
if it should fail to operate properly after normal use (indoors, in controlled laboratory clean rooms operated by company engineers_) you may return it prepaid to the address below *with proof of purpose.* Replacement (they really give you a new one?) will be made at no additional charge (_youre allready out postage both ways, so why even bother?_) 
Normal wear and tear excluded, Bulb excluded. 
(_So what happens when your soldered-in bulb blows then?_)

Strangely, it has a saftey label. 
"always wear eye protection when working with tools" 
(_but you only need a manual screwdriver to disassemble it?_)

perhaps thats due to the large simple-glass lens?

ONWARD! 
(In part II i will note my thoughts after a disassembly, and in the conclusion, at part III, i actually find good things to say about it.)
coming soon!


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## orionlion82 (Jun 12, 2007)

So after playing with it for several minuets, i did the right thing and took it apart. 

...well, i tried to anyway. 

i was curious as to what sort of batteries and charging system it had. 

A pack of NI-Cd's? NIMH? SLA? 

but first i had to find the so-called "easy access battery compartment" 

finally i figured it out. 
here is the procedure: 

1. with pliers in one hand and needle nose in the other, bend the chrome D ring open, remove and set aside. 
2. slide the tight foam grip down off the handle. it may be nessacary to chill it in front of an AC vent or the freezer for a few minuets to make the foam stiffer to prevent binding. 
3. remove the rubber(perhaps lead-softened plastic?) ring trim ring from the bezel area. it peels off rather easily. 
4. remove all 6 screws holding the body of the flashlight together. 
5. carefully peel the two halves apart, taking care not to drop the glass lens or break the wiring harness. 

What powers this beast? A 6V 4AH SLA. 

i was honestly expecting a 12V 5AH SLA. 

charging circuitry? 
there is a 1/2" by 3" circutbaord and this is likely a very rudimentary system. it is held in with two screws and i did not dissasemble it further to view the front of the board. 

the AC adaptor puts out 9V at 350MA. it is UL listed and diddnt burn my house down during an overnight charge last night.
a search of the UL database came up with 5000 hits for E221331, also an third party has information that may or may not be reliable (as it appears to be from the manufacturer) http://tianli.en.alibaba.com/column/50004070.html
allso, it refrences the spotlight, in other documents on that page. the ISO certification image appears to be valid untill 2005, but the website info lists it valid untill 2006

the 12V car plug looks quite flimsy, with very thin cord and does get worryingly hot in initial testing. i was not brave enough to risk an extended test once i felt how warm it got. 

The locking mechanism of the power switch is very difficult to re-assemble correctly. 

the lamp is marked as H3, 6V 55W 
knowing this one could compute the theoretical runtime against the battery rating, but i would expect reality to be much more cruel than the theory. 

the wiring does not look very beefy and a modder may be rewarded in replacing it with something better. 
as a matter of fact, this brings us nicely to part III below.


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## orionlion82 (Jun 12, 2007)

If ever there were a unit with a good price, begging for modifications - this would be it. 

It has a Glass lens (strangley not marked "uv filter" even though it is a halogen)
it is a large piece, so if/when it breaks it can be upgraded to better glass with out fiddly small sizes) 

the reflector is all metal (but quite thin, so easy to tool) 
maybe you can thermal epoxy heatsinks to it? 
maybe you drill some holes and epoxy in some 5mm's

the plastic of the body SEEMS sturdy enough for any modifications i can think of. 
just dont take it snorkleing. 

this unit produces a very tight spot, but the focus could probably be changed by changing the depth of the light source. 

Bulb upgrades? battery upgrades? wiring upgrades? switch upgrades? Mix-n'-match?
HID? a mess of 5mm's? Better halogen? Multi-Cree? High temp wiring? thicker guage? beefy switch? 

you just have SO many options for $6.50

for a cheap rechargable cordless lantern, you would allmost be a fool NOT to buy it and mod it. 
Unmodded, its not going to inpress any CPF'ers. 

So, is it really a lousy lantern? a stupid spotlight? 
Depends on how bad you have the modding bug i guess... 

its only a farce if you let it remain that way.


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## Ilikeshinythings (Jun 12, 2007)

Wow, well, good thing you reserved two extra spots for the continuation of your review. I would be hardpressed to purchase a light that shared its name with a condom brand!! Can't wait to see the rest though and props on an excellent, albeit hysterical introduction!


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## orionlion82 (Jun 14, 2007)

Ilikeshinythings said:


> Wow, well, good thing you reserved two extra spots for the continuation of your review. I would be hardpressed to purchase a light that shared its name with a condom brand!! Can't wait to see the rest though and props on an excellent, albeit hysterical introduction!



i would imagine it is two different comapnies. 
or at least, i would hope.


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## 65535 (Jun 14, 2007)

55 watts out of a 6V 4Ah SLA, that will last what 10 cycles?


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## orionlion82 (Jun 14, 2007)

65535 said:


> 55 watts out of a 6V 4Ah SLA, that will last what 10 cycles?


i was considering beam-time, but i must admit i know very little about SLA batteries, and lifetime in relation to load/charge/storage. that could allso be a valid concern, but i really dont know. 
ill eventually have some SLA questions for our battery folks, but i want to do some research on my own about them before i do.


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## Cigarman (Jun 14, 2007)

Pictures! We need pictures! Then we can truly appreciate the awfulness.


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## orionlion82 (Jun 15, 2007)

Cigarman said:


> Pictures! We need pictures! Then we can truly appreciate the awfulness.



ill get on that here soon. i want to finish part III because i do have some things to say that might be interesting.


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## LuxLuthor (Jun 15, 2007)

Put some toilet paper around it for the pictures so we can help get the idea of it being a Turd-Light.


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## java_man (Jun 16, 2007)

When I googled Durex / Procraft I got an awful lot of hits from product-recall and class-action-suit websites

This is never a good sign


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## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Jun 16, 2007)

Without pics I can't be sure, but I payed $20 for three LED/Xenon headlamps and a big goofy rechargeable spotlight.

The lense on it has already been cracked into two pieces. And the beam leaves a fair amount to be desired.

But it IS rechargeable, and it is pretty bright....


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## orionlion82 (Jun 16, 2007)

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:


> Without pics I can't be sure, but I payed $20 for three LED/Xenon headlamps and a big goofy rechargeable spotlight.
> 
> The lense on it has already been cracked into two pieces. And the beam leaves a fair amount to be desired.
> 
> But it IS rechargeable, and it is pretty bright....



any wagers on if it will live up to the "million candlepower" rating its got?


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## orionlion82 (Jun 16, 2007)

my cameras are sucking right now, so untill i get some video i can say it looks a little like this. 
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5-Million-Can...6QQihZ007QQcategoryZ16037QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Jun 16, 2007)

Oh ok, the one I got isn't anything like that...


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