...outweighs the needs of the few... Or the one."
I really like these cheap little USB lights; I find them a lot more useful than I expected. A couple of days ago, I had to complete some plumbing work under the kitchen sink (installing a new sink and disposal unit) and used my MINIs. The twin-charger splitters shown in the picture above, my pair of cool-white MINIs on high, and my ENB Tri-18650 battery box made for a fantastic work light.
In the picture above, we have:
- A very cheap single-18650->USB power bank - $2.87 @ DX: http://www.dx.com/p/264001 - I like this little power bank, it's a great option for salvaged laptop pulls. VERY compact, protected cells won't fit, even my unprotected Sanyo pull was a very tight fit. Don't count on taking it apart after you snap the unit together though...
- My USB Charger Doctor - $3.98 @ DX: http://www.dx.com/p/305545
- 2x Twin-Charger adapters; these are very simple USB splitters for sharing a USB power source to two devices; they are dumb units, not USB hubs. Purchased very inexpensively via eBay.
- A standard USB to Mini-USB adapter
- A compact warm-white 3-emitter MINI-type light - $2.20 @ DX: http://www.dx.com/p/300150 - This is a dumb device, no switching, ramping, modes, PWM, or anything else. It's not quite as bright as the six-emitter MINI, but I find that I prefer it for the simplicity. Can be plugged in facing either direction, compact, and has a very nice tint.
- My compact 4-port USB hub; this hub does have an AC adapter so I can use it to drive multiple MINI's.
- 2x Cool-White MINIs, with the ramping function, purchased via eBay. I like the tint on these, they are cool without any of the blue tint associated with cheaper cool-white emitters. I find the dimming function to be fairly useless though; especially as on lower brightness settings, my ENB power bank will automatically shut down when using these.
- A single Warm-White MINI, purchased via eBay, one of two WW purchased, but the second had a poor tint. This one is nice though...
- A swivel USB adapter - lets you point your MINI wherever you like - kinda pricy, $2.54 @ DX: http://www.dx.com/p/66803
- A 180-degree double-right angle USB adapter, currently sold out at DX: http://www.dx.com/p/185694 - Very neat little unit. With this adapter on the small 18650 bank, I'm able to drop the power bank in my shirt pocket with the adapter and MINI hooked over the top of the pocket; I can light what I'm working on while keeping my hands free this way.
- An 8x-emitter USB light bar, $2.63 @ FastTech: https://www.fasttech.com/p/1604606 - This unit is a bit bulky and doesn't appear to be any brighter than a normal MINI. It can only be plugged into the USB port facing one direction. I do like the effective heatsinking on this unit though. For long-term use in my ENB bank (power outages?) I would use this due to the extra cooling.
Don't buy a MINI. You will be back for more.
