Accessories USB light

Has anyone had good success with one of the USB book lights? I ordered the one that worked off battery or USB (same as on Entourage's website, but I ordered from Amazon). It looked perfect. However, when I plug it in to the EE USB, it flickers terribly. It does not do it while using battery power nor while plugged into my laptop USB. Any thoughts?

I think we've come to the conclusion that the USB ports in the edge don't have a lot of power. I haven't been able to use my external USB hard drive unless it's plugged into the wall (ie can't run on USB power from the edge alone). So, what you say sounds exactly like that power issue. I can't even get my SD card reader to work in the USB ports (and I think that's also a power issue, because the card itself works just fine in the SD slot).

I haven't tried a USB light, so I can't give a recommendation of one that's low power enough to work with the edge. But, looking for a light that's either not USB powered at all, or requires only a tiny bit of power from the USB port is probably your best bet.

I think I have the same small USB/battery light. It provides excellent lighting - when powered by the built-in battery or when the eDGe is on AC. Before Dingo, I noticed a 1 Hz flicker, but now it's worse at about 2 Hz. In both cases, it was unuseable due to flicker. I'm going to submit a Tech Support ticket about this now, as it seems to some extent to be a software issue, not hardware (could be it has to do with the OS polling the USB ports for plugged in devices).

Meanwhile, use it in battery mode. LEDs are extremely energy efficient, and it probably will last for weeks or even months on the included battery.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

I use this one, so far so good, no flicker. Plus I like the battery box option, lets it sit like a mini desk lamp.

The one I mentioned was http://www.entourageedge.com/accesso...top-light.html. It, too, has a base for use standalone, and has a little nickel-sized battery.

I noticed the flick as well. I bought two for my wife and I. Both of our Edges have the same issue. The weird thing is that every once in a while it works without the flicker. But it normally when the Edge is at 100% power (or on AC).

I have an unknown-brand walmart one I had laying around, and have not noticed this problem. However, it is a single bulb model and so perhaps the lower power draw is the reason it is not having this issue:
http://s1183.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_3233.jpg

Originally Posted by borisb

The one I mentioned was http://www.entourageedge.com/accesso...top-light.html. It, too, has a base for use standalone, and has a little nickel-sized battery.

This is the one I bought also. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one having the problem. Since it is billed as an accessory for the eDGe, though, I was surprised to see that it didn't really work. I plan on calling Tech Support tomorrow to make them aware. Thanks everyone for your comments!

Tech Support is looking into this. Meanwhile, we've discovered that the light doesn't flicker when the eDGe is partially charged (e.g. 85%) whether plugged into AC or running into battery. However, when the eDGe is fully charged, it blinks (when plugged into AC or running into battery).

That's really strange! I took cheyennedonna's information and purchased the other light. I hope it works better... plus, I like the idea of using AAAs instead of button cells.

I did email Tech Support about this yesterday, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Actually, I just tried the light again with the eDGe fully charged, and no blinking this time. Obviously I haven't found the reproducible cause yet... Tech Support meanwhile is acquiring one of those lights to test.

I did get a reply from Tech support. While the information they could give me at this point will not solve the problem, their prompt responses to issues and willingness to figure things out are absolutely amazing. There are literally hundreds of posts on this forum detailing how tech support responds rapidly and does everything in their power to fix problems. If nothing else does it, this care and dedication should be enough to push people off the fence about buying an eDGe and just do it.

Originally Posted by OncTech

I have an unknown-brand walmart one I had laying around, and have not noticed this problem. However, it is a single bulb model and so perhaps the lower power draw is the reason it is not having this issue:
http://s1183.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_3233.jpg

Onc, is that http://www.walmart.com/ip/Zip-Linq-U...-Light/9875848 or http://www.walmart.com/ip/SIIG-USB-L...uters/11084876 ? I can't tell.

PS: Entourage, how can you have a light in their accessory store that simply doesn't work with your product?

I bought a Logix laptop light.... wand style with 20 leds (yes, that's 20)... it lights the whole area, no shadowy circumference. Great for my old eyes! It runs without flicker (although, I haven't used it with a low battery level, yet). The only downside for me, is that it works best with the EE in the default mode (reader on the left) because of the position of the usb slots. I prefer the reader on the right. But, then, I found the same thing with other usb lights.

Originally Posted by aidren

I bought a Logix laptop light.... wand style with 20 leds (yes, that's 20)... it lights the whole area, no shadowy circumference. Great for my old eyes! It runs without flicker (although, I haven't used it with a low battery level, yet).

That's really interesting. Our previous flickering problems occurred when the battery level was above 85%... maybe this was fixed with Dingo 1.10? Or, could it be specific to your light?