back to article Atomic keyrings: Just how bright are they?

Since El Reg's merchandising tentacle Cash'n'Carrion responded to reader demand for atomic keyrings and took delivery of a big crate of Nite Glowrings and Mini Glowrings, we've had a few emails asking how bright they actually are. Three colours of Nite Glowring Indeed, a couple of customers who flashed the plastic for these …

  1. tmagic

    £4 shipping for a 3g item?

    1. Rich 11

      As much as I'd like a gadget powered by evil radiation (at least that's what I'd tell people, just to see how many freak out), I cancelled my purchase when I got to the checkout and saw the shipping cost. It made me feel like I was being ripped off. Shame on you, El Reg.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Versus £9.89 and £2.99 (or free, which is it?) postage from one Amazon.uk seller.

        Or £6.49 and £6.00 postage from another for Bivvy Markers.

        At least the first claims they'll ship worldwide. Or I could ship to my employer's office in London and pick it up on my way through in a couple of weeks. Or maybe if I knew of a shop that carried them I could just pop in and buy it off the shelf.

    2. Tom 35

      £8 for the little one to Canada.

      1. x 7

        biggest manufacturer of tritium light sources is IN Canada - they have the technology of the old UK Saunders-Roe company who first developed these

        see http://www.srbt.com/index.php

        you can get a better idea of what these can be used for on the website of the european agent

        http://www.defence-industries.com/defenceadmin/upload//productspec_pdf/1414760343betalight-catalogues.PDF

        1. Danny 14

          usual online tat bazaar has large "nite glowrings" ones at £10 free pnp and small ones £7 free pnp

          is elreg drop shipping?

    3. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

      If you work out the cost per day of shipping, the number is quite small. (And getting smaller. I don't have mine yet.)

  2. jason 7

    I bought a couple of the originals...

    ...from the Reg about 8 years ago. Blue and a green.

    I have to say both were pretty hopeless, especially the blue.

    I wouldn't bother.

    1. james 68

      Re: I bought a couple of the originals...

      The "ice blue" one I got from the reg many moons ago was bright enough, in fact noticeably so even under dim conditions as opposed to full on dark. I would suggest that perhaps yours had been mishandled in the post and the glass tritium container had cracked.

  3. Paul Westerman
    Thumb Down

    How bright are they?

    Having received my Ice Blue at the weekend, I can tell you, "not at all". It glows faintly in a darkened room. Disappointed, having forked out 15 quid (including post).

    1. james 68

      Re: How bright are they?

      I cannot speak for the brightness of the 'new' versions, however the old ones were I believe made by Traser? and they were quite bright. Enough so that I could pick out my luggage at a distance on airport conveyors in the seemingly standard dim lighting.

      (I used it to mark luggage on many occasions and was never once questioned about it, so I dunno why there are shipping restrictions.)

      1. NumptyScrub

        Re: How bright are they?

        I have a Traser branded green one of these I got as a present from a friend over a decade ago (more like 15+ years I think). When appraised as a torch, the output is pitiful bordering on useless. When appraised just as a luminous marker that needs no batteries, the output is perfectly adequate and they appear to last for ever.

        I can't read books with it (at least I wouldn't want to try), but I can always find my keys in the dark. ;)

        1. Danny 14

          Re: How bright are they?

          my green one is still going too (traser). Is it as bright as it was? Don't know, it was never BRIGHT but bright enough to grab the keys if I dropped them in the dark and it still is. I could never read in the dark with it (maybe large text but not a book or anything like that) but you could certainly put it on a tent zipper to mark it.

  4. Yesnomaybe

    Green is best

    I got a green one for myself, and a pink one for my significant other. I kinda knew green would have the highest output, and I'm very happy indeed. The pink one is noticeably dimmer but still glows OK. Oh, and the wife is a lot less "OMG, it's an ACTUAL nuclear reactor in MY POCKET!!!" than me, so she doesn't seem to mind too much about the output. She would have preferred flowers she said, but that wasn't on the cards that day, so she was happy enough to get a keyring.

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Green is best

      Oh, and the wife is a lot less "OMG, it's an ACTUAL nuclear reactor in MY POCKET!!!" than me

      in which case, did she say...

      Is that an ACTUAL nuclear reactor in YOUR POCKET, or are you just happy to see me?

      (I would be happy to see Paris. Somehow I doubt the sentiment would be reciprocated).

      1. Yesnomaybe

        Re: Green is best

        Well I think the intimidating size and sheer scale of the glow-stick would be too bold a claim to be confused for my manly parts.

  5. Doctor_Wibble
    Boffin

    Decommissioned nukes

    Since these are tritium based, and tritium is used in nukes, then the logical conclusion is that the source material has come from decommissioned nukes or is spare from making new ones and therefore an unexpected benefit of the 'peace dividend' from all that investment in finding the most effective ingredients in the quest to blow shit up.

    Hurrah for Global Thermonuclear War!

    And also Hurrah for not actually having one.

    1. The Indomitable Gall

      Re: Decommissioned nukes

      Oh no, we have had the global thermonuclear war. However, the machines made us forget when they plugged us into their VR system. They have also evolved a warped sense of humour, hence the Occulus Rift making people puke.

    2. phuzz Silver badge
      Boffin

      Re: Decommissioned nukes

      From a quick bit of googling, it looks like you need a nuclear reactor to produce tritrium, and while there are plants that produce it for use in nuclear weapons, civilian plants can produce it as well.

      I'd be interested to know where the tritium in elreg's keyrings is sourced from, sounds like a good article to me!

      1. Myself-NZ

        Re: Decommissioned nukes

        I too am interested in the source as I would like to confirm that it is not blood tritium, and that it is fair trade certified.

        1. x 7

          Re: Decommissioned nukes

          unlikely...with a short half-life the americans need all they have to keep their existing arsenal intact. Looks like they're trying to restart - or have restarted - production but are having problems. The original plant was shut down some years ago - seemingly on health/safety grounds.

          It SEEMS that the bulk of commercial production (bulk being a very small actual quantity by weight - less than a kilo / year) comes from the Canadian CANDU reactors. However like any potential military technology, whats reported may be well different from reality. I also suspect that the Swiss may have their own production source as they are the "other" supplier of these lights alongside the Germans (El Reg's supplier) and the Canadians. Historically both Switzerland and Canada were "big" in deuterium production (both have plenty of hydroelectric power to provide the energy for the separation, whether chemical or electrolytic) and became market leaders in isotopic chemicals and solvents. Making tritium is completely different manufacturing technology, but an obvious marketing follow-on from deuterium.

    3. The last doughnut
      Mushroom

      Re: Decommissioned nukes

      According to my extensive reading on the subject, Tritium is not used in the majority of nuclear weapons. The relatively short half-life is problematic for long-term storage and maintenance. Instead your typical thermonuclear device uses lithium isotopes. And also expanded polystyrene, strangely.

      Fascinating if somewhat scary subject to read about, if you have a spare day and don't mind spending it on Wikipedia. The history of the test programmes is also fascinating.

  6. Spender
    Thumb Down

    Always good to see an advert...

    ...masquerading as news

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Stop

      Re: Always good to see an advert...

      El Reg slot on QVC?

      in-store TV promotions?

      Take it to the checkout now!

      "I can't stop JML'ing!!! "

      http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17634640

      ...I can't stop ElReg'ing!!!

      Take it to The (Cash) Register now!

      I hope not!

  7. chivo243 Silver badge
    Joke

    Night eyes?

    Well, pfffft duh! When my eyes are adjusted to darkness, my clock can seem like the laser that bashed a truck from a mile away. Nice cover up dudes!

    Wasn't MichaelLamberts Highlander?

    Thanks everyone, I'm here all week, two shows on Friday!

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Night eyes?

      I bought a cheap LED clock radio that had two brightness settings; blinding, and blindinger.

      A sheet of strong car window tint solved that problem, and also of the devices that have blue power LEDs that are blinding even with the lights on too.

  8. Martin-73 Silver badge

    The shipping price isn't actually a rip off by el reg, it's a rip off by royal mail. Their prices are basically extortion these days :(

    1. TeeCee Gold badge

      Try ordering something from Germany. Their postage rates make Royal Mail look cheap as chips.

      1. Danny 14

        well someone on ebay manages to sell the same item for the same price but free PnP so it is possible.

  9. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Trollface

    But

    What colour is the dress?

  10. Kurgan

    Disappointed by shipping costs

    I was on the verge of buying 3 of the little ones (from Italy) but then I have seen that shipping costs 12 pounds, which is definitely too much.

  11. x 7

    purple is not on the list. Does that mean they don't glow?

  12. R J Murgatroyd

    The original ones

    I bought a small batch of the original ones and have a couple around the place. The one on my keyring is still bright enough to locate it with in a dim-to-moderately-lit room. It would be interesting to compare side-by-side with a new one. Are fresh batches of tritium readily available to fill these things with, do they put the same quantity in, is the phosphor the same etc. etc. There must be a way to compare them, any ideas apart from cough up for a new one?

  13. Richard 12 Silver badge

    What odd units

    Under 4 microlumens per square inch.

    Or 1.3 candela / sq metre in SI units.

    So, roughly the brightness of a single candle diffused across a square metre.

    Wolfram Alpha says it's less than half the apparent luminance of the twilight sky.

    Which is very dim, as the human eye is logarithmic.

    But certainly visible.

  14. Allan George Dyer
    Joke

    I'm glad you included the colour chart, I've often wondered what IR and UV looks like. I'm surprised the shade is so similar.

  15. thegreatglowstickripoff

    I bought the blue and orange mini units. The blue is only viewable in the darkest room and I've yet to see any orange in any room at any light level.

    As the postage is prohibitive it's not worth returning them for a replacement, especially as if it does work it will be so dim as to be nearly worthless anyway.

    I feel the image showing four of the units to be misleading and the true brightness is significantly less than displayed.

    If I'd bought these items from any retailer in Australia I would have a legitimate recourse for a refund as they are not fit for purpose.

    Very disappointed.

    1. Miatta Momoh

      We are sorry that you are disappointed by your order. Please can you contact me on cashncarrion@theregister.co.uk, to arrange a full refund?

  16. Cripes Chief!

    Super Bright

    When you leave them in full sun during the day or near a lightbulb at night, they seem to absorb light and really glow in the dark then.

  17. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Lost mine in a dark room

    I had to turn on the lights to find them. The capsules are very loose inside the plastic chamber so I expect that one will break if I accidentally drop it.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mine's fine

    I bought a white one, and once the lights are out, it casts a surprising amount of light considering the source. My leccy is still dependent on pound coins being inserted into a meter, and when it ran out the other evening, my atomic-powered keyring light saved the day, letting me see where my battery-powered lamp was so I could turn that on then safely get some more dosh into the meter.

    10/10 from me, El Reg!

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