Joy of Gadgets

When my son goes through the neighborhood to find someone to play with, he takes an FMRS walkie talkie with him. They have a range of about a mile, though it’s not like he goes anywhere near that far. The use of the walkie talkies are free and are limited to calling home, making them ideal in this situation.

Except for one problem: they take batteries. Every few weeks, the batteries need to be replaced. These FMRS walkie talkies don’t have that problem. They include a hand crank and can also be charged with a USB connector.

A pair of these walkie talkies can be had for around $110 US, though the Thumbs Up UK store suggests a minimum of 6 items are required. Think I’ll stick with the radios I have, thanks.

Via Red Ferret

A while ago, I had received a TRI-L flashlight from the folks at Altuslumen for review. As far as flashlights go, it’s pretty nifty!

Unlike many flashlights, it folds up flat and recharges over USB. They include a conventional power brick if you prefer that, but it has a male mini-USB end on it. Either way, it takes about 3 hours to charge up.

This flashlight works as both an area light, where it gets roughly 2 hours of use, and a conventional “spot” flashlight, where you get about 8 hours. The lights are white LEDs and, of course, are power efficient and don’t generate a lot of heat.

One cool feature is that when the light is in area mode, if you close up the tripod, the light automatically goes off. If you open up the tripod again, the light will come right back on!

You can acquire this light direct from Altuslumen for $99.

Back in the 1980s when I used to listen to Dr. Demento, he used to tell us to wind up our radios. I don’t they think had wind-up radios like these when I was a kid, but they do now. Not to mention wind-up laterns and flashlights.

That’s exactly what you get in the Calamity Kit from C. Crane. A radio, a lantern, and flashlight–all powered through winding. Good things to have on hand when the next natural disaster hits your location!