On Tue, 03 Jun 2003 17:08:25 GMT, wrote:

I hope you aren't expecting these things to a) produce more than a
glimmer of light b) last all night in the winter.

Yes I was Dave. There are some in the local Morrisons supermarket .
On the box it advises to "charge" it up by sunlight for 8 hours or
so. They are like a lantern but with a spike. Maybe I won't bother
if they are as disapponting as you infer. Diana

There are rather a lot of variables. Size of solar panel, exposure to
direct sunlight, capacity of the batteries, effciency of the light
generating element are the major factors.

It's perfectly possible to build a solar power light that will run all
night at moderate light levels in the middle of winter but it isn't
going to have a small (few square inches) of solar panel, small
batteries and cost =A39.99 in a supermarket. B-)

They produce a enough light so that you won't walk into large things,
provided you night vision is up and running after a few minutes
outside. Just don't expect them to provide the same amount of light as
even a 15W pygmy bulb...

--
Cheers
Dave. Remove "spam" for valid email.