I wanted to light up my background for the YouTube video but I was not too sure with the lights to get. So I came up with the ridiculous idea of using a rechargeable lamp instead. Here is how it looks.
RuiLang Rechargeable LED lamp also known as, the RL-130
Opening up the box, we’ve got the power supply cord and the lamp itself. There’s nothing else in the box. No user manual, nothing.
The good side though is that, everything you need to know about it is on the box in which it comes with.
So for the specs, we have a 1+6W high brightness SMD bulbs. SMD which stands for Surface Mounted Devices and these bulbs have a life-span of 1 million hours. So if my calculation are right, it should be last for like, a long time.
We also get a 1200mAh inbuilt battery, which will last anywhere between 2 to 5 hours.
Now, it says on the box that you should at least charge the battery fully once every 3 months.
The idea behind this is to ensure that the battery last a bit longer and at least be able to retain some charge to light up the lambs when it’s not connected to power.
Still on the battery, I think it’s quite obvious, you’re not supposed to have the lamb on whiles still charging it.
So for the design, up front, we have the carrying hook and the SMD bulbs, 1 long tube and 12 tiny square shaped ones
On the right, another light which just act as the normal torch that we’re used to.
We have the switch, a power socket, Micro USB charging socket and a charging indicator on the left
And on the back, we have 6 screws which gives you access to all the internal components of the device
Now, let’s talk about the switch for a second
There are 4 positions that it can be in.
Position no1 is for the torch, directed towards the front
2 is the default when you opening up the package. That’s for turning it off
3 is to turn on the long SMD tube bulbs right at the center and
4 for turning on the extra 12 square shaped ones
Charging the lamb is pretty simple too, just use the power cord it comes with or any micro USB charger lying around at home.
The small red LED also lights up when charging so you know.
So here’s why I bought this. I noticed that in my videos, because I light up my background using these 3 lights shinning up, there’s a dark part over at the top on the wardrobe right there. And I wanted to correct that.
The initial plan was to purchase the LED lights from Aperture, but those things are crazy expensive. They are amazing though, but just too expensive for what I need to use them for. So I got these instead.
Here’s how it looks without the light up top, and here’s how it looks with it.
And since it’s just white light, all I have to do it to add any film of my choice on it to switch up the colours.
Things I love about it
I love that fact that, they use SMD bulbs instead of LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes, because, they are better at producing higher lumen output for a lower energy consumption. In other words, they produce more light without using more power
I like the brightness. It not insanely bright, it’s just enough for what I use it for.
I like the fact that it comes design with a stand. So I can pretty much place this on top of any surface at home.
I like the inclusion of a micro USB port for charging. That means if I have a power bank somewhere, I can still use it to top up the battery level of this lamb. This is quite useful in situations where there’s no access to a wall socket.
Things I don’t like
I was hoping I could turn the 12 tiny lights independently without having the tube light also on at the same time
I wish that it would allow me know that battery life. Maybe a small indicator somewhere on the side would have been helpful. So I would know how much battery life is left and in case I’m charging it too, I wouldn’t end up overcharging.
On that note, be mindful when charging. I know that these types on rechargeable lamps come with capacitors which turn to blow up when you overcharge. Blow up is such a strong word, I mean the get broken so the battery ends up not being able to recharge, unless you replace the capacitors.
Should you consider buying 1?
Well, definitely.
I’m sure you probably have that 1 dark alley around your area that the street light will never turn not matter what
And if you don’t, you know you’re in Ghana and these ECG or PDS people can turn off the lights at any time without warning.
And I know you have a torch on your phone. But come on, these times that we’re all stuck home cos of the Corona Virus.
If you have your phone’s torch on and its on the center table in the living room and the entire family is relying on it for light.
