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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Ted: By analogy, suggesting that "digital" might be coming to mean nothing more than "modern" or "up-to-the-minute"
As it is turning out, however, some of these flashlights do have features truly digital:
Hi Dale.
....We are a retailer of Vector's Digital Electronic Flashlight....is named so because it has a digital Liquid Crystal Display which shows both a numeric readout of run time remaining (eg 45 on the display for 45 minutes of battery power left) as well as a battery diagram with sectionals depicting remaining battery power, similar to what is found on most cell phones.
Neither the Halogen Main lamp, nor the LED area lights have anything to do with the flashlight being classified as "Digital"
Thank you for your time.
Internet Management Team
River Marine Supply
260 SW 6th Street
Miami, FL 33130
Phone: 305-856-0080
Fax: 305-856-0244
dalehileman
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I went caving about 15 years ago, and to my surprise we did not use any kind of battery-operated lights when we went into the caves. Instead, we had a flask-like metal tin that unscrewed into two parts. In the top part went about three cups of water. The bottom part we filled with pieces of "carburo" mineral (can't be bothered to look it up; I'm sure someone can give the name). The top bit leaked water very slowly onto the pieces, at which point a reaction took place that formed a gas. This tin hung from our belts, and there was a rubber pipe that connected it to a little open lamp at the front of our hard hats. All you needed to do was take a lighter to the lamp and voila, you had a flame to see by. The gas seemed to last forever, too.
We were told - but maybe this was just the instructors defending their setup - that flashlights could run out of batteries, but that with their carburo system, just by having a lighter you were sure of a light all the time.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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These are called carbide lamps here. And when you run out of the carbide then all the water in the world won't give you light. They were very popular with miners a hundred years ago, and my mother had several of them flow through her antique business, all of them solid brass and still working.
The downside was they had an open flame and in a mine they would set off explosions of flammable gases or coal dust. My off the cuff guess is they are illegal in mines now.
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>>>>We were told - but maybe this was just the instructors defending their setup - that flashlights could run out of batteries, but that with their carburo system, just by having a lighter you were sure of a light all the time. just by having a lighter you were sure of a light all the time.
They had a really odd way of justifying it. You can pretty much say the same thing about a flashlight; just by having a battery, you're sure of a light all the time too.
Lighters run out, as does carbide. If you can think about bringing one thing, you can think about others.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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don't drop yer lighter. or wet it.
i dn't knw as id trst thse guys, persnly
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Their reasoning seemed to be: carbide pieces last ages, and you often find water inside a cave, so if you have a lighter, you're all set. Caving was a lot of fun for me. I do not suffer from claustrophobia and I'm slim enough that I could climb into galleries and not worry that I might get stuck further on, as some others did (worry, not get stuck, I mean  ). Carbide or no carbide, it was a great experience. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I do not suffer from claustrophobia Ah, so you enjoy it, then? 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I have nothing but admiration for cavers.I cannot stand enclosed spaces or being unable to easily get out - "Don't fence Me In!" or tie me down for that matter.
I have a pair of neato flashlights, one in car and one in bedroom night table. It has a sorta handle thingie that fits flat when not being used to wind up the LED light. Works great and no batteries .. which are pollutants if not disposed of properly. I've seen the shake-it-up flashlight advertised on TV. Glad to hear it really does work in real life.
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Love it.
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