Turn, turn, turn on the lights
Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010
Do you remember the Green Lantern, the DC Comics superhero of the 1950s? This article isn’t about him; it’s about my multi-function, crank-powered LED lantern that has no bulbs and uses no batteries. Kinetic energy provides the power for this gizmo. So, even though the plastic housing is yellow, I call it my “green” lantern because it’s environmentally benign.
It operates using the principle of electromagnetic induction. When I turn the crank, a magnet passes through a copper coil and generates electricity. The lantern also functions as a capacitor and stores this energy. When I push the button, the stored power is discharged and fires up the LEDs. The result is pure white light. On average, a minute or two spent cranking yields about an hour of illumination.
I acquired the one pictured at a big-box store. It measures 3 inches in diameter and is nearly a foot tall. It’s got bells and whistles out the wazoo: 15 LEDs plus many more features. A two-way switch lights up either three or all nine of the white LEDs, and it has an AM-FM radio, a cell-phone charger, an external speaker that will accommodate your iPod or MP3 player, six blinking red LEDs, a compass, an alarm, and a bail. An AC/DC adapter is even available as an option. This is handy if you’re in a location where you have a power source, but no light. Most of these features are quite useful although, on balance, some do strike me as pointless.
For example, the compass is mounted at the top of the unit. To read it, you need another light. Besides, you don’t need a compass to determine your location. You already know that: you’re sitting in the dark! Additionally, the six-blinking-red-LED emergency light and alarm aren’t very functional as neither is detectable until you’re within 10 feet — the electronic equivalent of one-hand clapping. However, with its built-in reflector and all-around plastic lens, the device emits an amazing amount of light.
Crank-powered lanterns can be found in the outdoor sections of many retailers or purchased over the Internet. Google “LED crank light.” You can begin your search at the Life+Gear website: www.lifegear.com.
With this technology, sailors with smaller vessels lacking house batteries and cabin lighting can illuminate their below-deck spaces without using stinky oil lamps. Cruisers anchored in a remote cove can enjoy the same benefits without depleting their house bank or running the engine or generator. Best of all, when it’s not needed aboard, you can take your LED lantern home in case there’s a power failure.
Rich Finzer earned his power boat operator’s license in 1960 at age 11 and began sailing in 1966. He also runs a boat-storage business, has worked as a commercial fisherman, and is an accomplished racing sailor. Currently, he cruises aboard his Hunter 34, Pleiades.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
