Friday, January 8, 2010

The Accumulator


For Christmas my husband bought me a present which has been dubbed "The Accumulator". Some have wondered about its many attributes so I thought, at the very least, it deserved a blog post.

Cursory looks would bring you to the conclusion that The Accumulator is a radio -cassette player. It is that. I needed a cassette player as the world moves ahead, but my music collection sits obstinately in its time of origin. So it does serve an important purpose in that way.



In addition, it has two types of lights- a lamp and a flashlight. That is handy for camping and electricity blackouts. It also has a lovely, jolly colour.



But the real magic is its source of energy. You can plug it into the mains supply. (boring). You can insert three dry cells (boring) OR you can switch it to accumulator (exciting). On accumulator, it will run almost for ever. I realised on New Year's Eve that eventually it dims. It will still run, but the volume cannot be increased. I don't know the science behind this wonderful machine but I think it's worth looking into.
Climate change, global warming- the answer may lie in The Accumulator.

12 comments:

Val said...

wow what an amazing thing! its fantastic - sort of retro and futuristic at the same time. Wonderful - enjoy!

Lauri said...

The wonders to be found in Chinese shops Val.

bonita said...

okay, here's the scoop. The device is a bit like a hybrid car—it can accumulate charge (recharge) while it is working. In this case, the energy seems to be cadged from hi frequency waves. Different metal combinations in batteries offer different accumulation (and leakage) results.
But the best thing is—it's cherry red!!! Love the short wave application. Do they come in record players, too? My mostly library is mostly vinyl!

Marvin K. Mooney said...

The future of literature depends on us...

Elspeth Futcher said...

I have to keep a cassette player for exactly the same reason. This gizmo is way cool. And it's red, which makes it even cooler.

Elspeth

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Oh Man, The Husband would love that device! He has a radio that winds up or sits in the sun and recharges and he loves that thing. I wonder if The Accumulator is available here in the states.

Anonymous said...

I love The Accumulator. It's something you would expect to see on Doctor Who. What a useful gadget.

I haven't listened to cassettes for years but I remember how much I used to love getting the old tape recorder out. I used to record songs from the radio because I couldn't afford to buy the singles. Awwww, that takes me back.

The Accumulator rules!

Gutsy Living said...

What a funny machine. It almost sounds like the "Terminator." Glad you like it and it works. Love the red color.

karen said...

Hi Lauri, what a marvel, and why am I not surprised to hear it was from the Chinese shop!! I've just been catching up on all your blog posts (have been unable to spend time on blogs for ages now) - congrats on the Egyptian residency, how excitig! I really enjoyed the story about the wedding..

Wishing you a wonderful 2010 from the other side of Botswana! :)

Lauri said...

Elizabeth- I love the radio that can be wound up or runs on solar. I saw a wind up torch once in a catalogue and I've often dreamed about it.

Karen- My husband insists this device is Japanese- the Chinese guy at the shop told him that. Thanks for your kind words.Hope your 2010 there up north is going swimmingly!

Marvin- thanks for stopping by. I am fearful if the future of literature depends on ME. Not a fan of that heavy weight.

Bonita- I doubt they come in record players. I always wonder about people with all of their music on 8-track. Now there is a technology that seriously went extinct!

Elspeth and Gutsy Writer- my husband knows I'm a fan of red. I had my grey car painted red recently.

Helen Ginger said...

I have never heard of The Accumulator. But I want one! Cool.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Maxine said...

What a find! But how does it work? Who cares?! Better we call it magic & live in awe :)