FOR YOU AND YOUR CAR
NIGHT. STREET. LAMP.
Unlike the first-aid kit, the warning triangle and the tow rope, it is not necessary to carry the lamp in the car. But it is desirable. Therefore, it is worthwhile to figure out what they are and what are suitable for.
By type of power, the lights are divided into battery, rechargeable and working from the vehicle’s on-board network. The first, perhaps, is familiar to everyone. Their main advantage is low cost. Among the minuses, as a rule, is relatively small power and the need for periodic replacement of batteries. Moreover, even without switching on, due to self-discharge, the batteries “drain” after a few months.
Batteries are usually installed on more powerful flashlights. We will get to know some of them better. The first is a universal ROVO worth 130 thousand rubles. Where it is made, you can only determine approximately - the only attached instruction leaflet is dotted with hieroglyphs. The optics of a five-watt flashlight are rather mediocre - the beam diverges with a wide fan and it is almost impossible to illuminate any object beyond 25-30 m. A 4Ah battery lasts for five hours of continuous use. In addition to the lantern itself, flashing red and orange flashlights are used on the swivel head, used instead of the warning triangle. Under the transparent top panel are two neon tubes that create diffuse lighting. It will come in handy when changing the wheel at night or in a tent. For greater savings, you can turn on not both tubes, but only one. In addition to light, the lantern is capable of making sounds: perhaps, in some cases, the howling of a police siren will scare off intruders. The meter’s cord of a charger connected to a household power supply is hidden in the lamp housing. Note that the ROVO is not the limit of universality: there are lights with receivers, and tape recorders, almost with TVs. But such a "multidisciplinary", as a rule, is not to the advantage of each individual function.
The FOS-3 special lantern produced by ECOTON, on the contrary, has a very clear task - to provide a powerful, well-focused beam in the most adverse conditions: in heat, in rain, in frost. The lamp in a sealed housing made of impact-resistant plastic can withstand not only a drop on asphalt from a two-meter height, but also immersion in water. The swivel head is equipped with excellent optics: with a bulb power of 8 W, a well-focused beam illuminates a person at a distance of up to 150 m! And from 70 m the light already hurts the eyes. This is not a spotlight, but one step to it. To get diffused light, just turn the small knob and a corrugated cap slides on the bulb. With the included color filters FOS-3 can also be used as an emergency. A “blinking” mode is provided for this case. True, its inclusion is not clear and it is not always possible to "get" on the first attempt. A 12 Ah battery lasts for five hours of continuous use. The battery can withstand at least four hundred full discharge-charge cycles, which gives more than 2000 hours of resource. In real conditions, when a full discharge of the battery is rare, the lamp will outlive both the car and its owner - its estimated service life reaches 8000 hours! The kit includes two chargers: for connecting to a 220 V network and to the car's on-board network, which is especially useful in a long road trip. Initially, the lantern was created by order of law enforcement agencies, hence the high consumer qualities. Today, everyone can buy it for 360 thousand rubles. Expensive, of course, but as they say, in price and quality.
The most powerful lights are powered directly from the car battery - usually through the cigarette lighter socket. Such a serious source of energy does not skimp on watts. For example, in Chinese Spotlight there is a 55-watt halogen lamp that allows you to see a person at a distance of 500-700 m. This is a real hand-held spotlight, used, for example, on patrol cars or boats. Its only drawback is non-autonomy, attachment to an energy carrier. To lay out for him 70 thousand rubles. a car enthusiast can most likely be driven by a passion for night hunting or fishing.
Today, car shop shelves are littered with various accessories, including flashlights. But, choosing the most beautiful one, also take into account the fact that when placed at the position of 30 m from the car as an emergency stop sign, the lamp can “leave” earlier than you return to the car.
Yuri NECHETOV
Universal flashlight ROBO.