BYRD-M2 Multifunctional Emergency Light - Test and Review
BYRD-M2 Multifunctional Emergency Light - Table Top Review
A few months ago I was contacted by a company asking if I want to test out one of their lights - The Portable H2O Activared Emergency Light, and at first I turned them down. I have paid a lot for samples over the years of products, and a good number of them have been very poor quality, not this company mind you, but it often involves very high courier costs for something which does not work out. In this case I turned them down, and they came back and offered to DHL me a couple of them to test, and so I could not turn down an offer like that. Within about a week or so the samples arrived. It took me another week or two to get around to testing them, the technology behind it was interesting to me but I was confused as to how to go about the testing.
I tested that product and was so take back by how well they worked that I ended up ordering a whole lot of them for the business. I have done a You Tube Video Review of them which you can find here. As part of that order I also bough in a couple of their other items to test out and one of them is this Dual Power BRYD-M2 Multi Functional Emergency lights. It is called Dual power because it can run off either a Regular Rechargable Lithium Battery, or in this case one of the Water Powered Magnesium Batteries.
This Device is not only an Emergency Light, but it also includes a strobe function, a strobe with siren, and also a Full Range FM Radio with included headphones. It weights in at about 175 grams, and then the battery pack weighs a further 85 grams, give or take. The H2O Powered battery will allow this device to run for 72+ Hours, and needs only 8mL of water or any other watery liquid to activate it. This gets put into the fill port on the battery and allows for instant activation.
The Battery comes sealed in a box of its own, and will last for 5+ years, up to 10 years in fact according to the comapany. It can operate in extreme altitude, up to 4000m and also between -40 degress celcius and +80 degrees celcius. The Buzzer or Siren it has puts out 93.8dB and 165 Lumens. The rough size on it is 15.8cm*8.3cm*5.7cm so it is reasonably company. This would work incredibly well in a Grab Bag NZ or in a Emergency Kit NZ, and even more so would be perfect for Work Place Emergency Kits. They can sit on the shelf ready to go, and within a few moments they can be activated.
This is what it looks like when it comes in the box.
When you open the box you will find three things. The Light itself, in bright Blaze Orange, the Battery which comes in its own box, sealed from the elements, and then the headphones. The below photo is the battery which comes with it next to the box. It was sealed in a waterproof package which has an easy to open tear tab on top of it. You can see the contacts for the battery at the top of it.
The following photo shows the Light with the battery next to it to give it some scale.
When you turn the battery over and look at the bottom of it you will see a fill port. This is where you will put the water, or any other liquid you wish to add, such as Coke, Water, Milk, Saline, Tea, Coffee and the options are unlimited. There is an inscription on the bottom which tells you how much to add, and 8mL is about the how much fits in the cap or a regular bottle of water.
The next step it adding the batter to the bottom of the Light body. Don't worry about getting it round the right way, the battery and light are designed with special tabs on them, meaning there is only one way to insert it which is the right way. I learnt that trying to do it the wrong way, so it is good to know. Once the battery is inserted, then you simply clip the bottom back on and the light is ready to work.
Above you can see the contacts for the battery and the base cover which unclips. When you unclip it without the battery in it, it does feel quite flimsy, but as soon as you add the battery it is solid and the clip takes some effort to attach, and you can hear it click nicely into place. The battery is held in place in a very solid manner, and when you shake it it does not roll around.
Here you can see the bottom closed off and the battery on. It is possible that you could add too much water and in that case it will simply drain out the bottom of the light. This is not something to worry about. The 8mL is the what has been tested to work the best but a couple of mL to much is not going to be the end of the world.
On the top of the Light there are three buttons to be found. The middle one is the Primary Function Key, and works as follows.
- Push once and it will activate the main light.
- Push twice and it will activate the flashing strobe light.
- Push three times and it will activate the strobe light with the 93.8 dB Siren as well at the same time.
- Push a fourth time and it will turn the whole thing off again.
- Hold the Primary function key down for 3 seconds and it will activate the Full Range FM Radio.
The other two buttons on the top are the Volume key which has a + and - sign on them to change the volume, and the other is the FM Search Key. If you push this one it will flip through the FM Radio Stations. This only works with the Headphones connected to it.
Here is the light with the headphones connected to it. I found them to be very comfortable, and the volume that came out of it was very good, the controls were tactile and easy to use and the reception was very good. The radio was very easy to use and skipped through the frequencies very easily.
On the back of the Light you will find a very sturdy clip feature to attach the light to your pants or anything else you might clip it on, and also a loop so you can hang it off something. The light that it puts out is very strong and directed to a central point, and provided more than enough light to be able to make my way through the building at night and also see clearly.
I've gone ahead and done a review of this on youtube and here it is here if you want to take a look at it.