Here's an early look at a new gadget from Nite-Ize.

This new Nite-Ize lantern was introduced at the Outdoor Retailer Show that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 2-4, 2016.

The NiteIze Radiant 300 rechargeable lantern is packed with features, especially considering its compact size. Its ultra-lightweight, durable design features a first-of its kind carabiner handle to easily clip carry, or hang the Radient lantern. But the charging technology is where this gadget shines. The base of the lantern has two integrated USB ports - one input for re-charging the 2600 mAh rechargeable battery (in just 3.5 hours), and the other is an output for charging other small devices such as a smartphone or camera. At 300 Lumens, the intelligent switch is used to activate high, medium, and low white LED modes or a red LED mode to preserve night vision. A micro USB cord and a protective carrying bag that doubles as a light diffuser are conveniently included. The lantern is weather resistant and impact resistant (drop proof to 1 meter). Dimensions: 3.86" Dia. x 7.92" | 98mm Dia. x 201mm. Weight: 11.6oz | 329g. MSRP is $44.99. It should be shipping soon. It's not on Amazon yet. (This was posted 8/14/16)

Giz Wiz Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njlvoNe858I&feature=youtu.be

Product page: https://www.niteize.com/product/Radiant-300-Rechargeable-Lantern.asp

Three (actually four) fun uses for LED's!

A couple of years ago Chad introduced us to the LED disco bulb. Just screw into a lamp base, turn it on, and you have an instant disco display! I bought 3 of them and friends bought a lot of them too. But now you can forget the disco light bulb with just one rotating dome – here's a new version with two rotating disco lights in one bulb! The old one is on the left and the new one is on the right in the picture.

Here's what Amazon says about this fun gadget. (Like many things on Amazon, it has an endlessly long name. Meet the-) HociTech 6W Rotating LED Strobe Bulb Multicolor Crystal Stage Light, Double BulbHead. The beautiful colors rotating with the bulb create an amazing strobe disco effect in any room. Ideal for home party's, disco, Bar's ,Club's , stage and even children's rooms. Get Rotating Colorful lights in your room in seconds with this awesome gadget. Long working lifespan. Filled room auto-rotation with RGB three kinds of light color. $11.99 and Amazon Prime. Free shipping for Prime Members. (link below.)

And the Giz Wiz adds: I like it! I like it a lot! Watch the video and I think you'll like it a lot too, assuming you like rotating bright color LED lights! It really fills a room with lights rotating in every direction. Just make sure the lamp you put it in is not at eye level, or you'll find it very annoying! Check out the video we shoot:

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/hzO94oTrY3Q 

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2byYHUg 

And here's the bulb you see at the beginning of the video, the single spinning dome disco light. It's under $4 here with free shipping, but it's not Amazon Prime:

http://amzn.to/2bn8Uqb

These gloves might keep you warm, but they're cool!

LED Flashing Fingers Gloves!The fingers on these LED gloves light up different colors and fade in and out. I have no particular use for them, but hey, I love LED's and these look great! They have 6 Modes for the 7 color LED's. When the LED's are off, these just look like black and white fabric gloves. When you turn them on, the white finger sections light up. The light modes are changed by pressing the button on the top of each glove, located toward the wrist. They're powered by 4 CR2032 batteries which are included (and replaceable). I love Amazon's ideas on how to use this gloves: Can be used at dance halls, bars, stage performances and other large entertainment venues. --- And my favorite use: Can also be used to play the piano at night. They were $11.99 as of 8/17/16 and Amazon Prime, so free shipping for members. 

Giz Wiz LED Glove Video Demo: https://youtu.be/HNzn4YmmiTg

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/29VUn1B 

Hang on! I found them here on Amazon for $7.99, still Amazon Prime. As of 8/28/16 

http://amzn.to/2b1mcGN

Bring the ocean to your bedroom, thanks to LED's.

Meet the Ocean Wave Night Projector. Here's another inventive use for LED's. They can create an ocean wave atmosphere almost anywhere. Amazon says: Bring the seaside home to you, give yourself a piece of the (ocean) in multiple changes of color. Creates a perfect ocean wave atmosphere almost anywhere. Relaxing, comforting, soothing, creates a large, brilliant light show for your viewing entertainment and pleasure. 8 color/motion modes. Automatically shuts down after one hour. Battery powered (4AA batteries, not included) or USB powered, or AC powered with the included AC to USB plug. There's also a built-in mini speaker in case you want to hook a mobile device to it via the cable that's included included. (No Bluetooth or wireless connection.) It's on Amazon and Ebay under many different names all about $20 or less. I paid $18.99 for mine which is branded ABCOTECH, and it was Amazon Prime, so free shipping for members. It was still that price on 8/28/16 here: 

http://amzn.to/29WE2Nb

Giz Wiz Ocean Projector Video: https://youtu.be/s6aNdy1J_E0 

Need a Mini-Monitor?

I have several small 7” & 10” LCD monitors in my apartment and Gizneyland studio. I use one as a monitor for my door-cam, and I use two as mini-TV monitors, hooked up to cable boxes which provide the video and sound. I like the 7” size because the pictures is decent, but they don't take up a lot of real estate in my work area. The latest one I bought is the SunFounder 7” with a 16:9 / 4:3 adjustable display. The listed resolution is 1024 X 600 and the picture quality is really decent. What I like about this monitor are all the inputs: PC (VGA), AV1, AV2, and HDMI. It can operate in a car/van/truck/ or even boat with the DC 12V harness that comes with it. If you're using front and rear cameras in your vehicle there are two video inputs and the ability to flip, or change image left and right. It also comes with an AC power supply. There's a remote control too, but it's very bare bones. The one dumb thing about this monitor is the cable that hooks up to the wiring harness. It comes directly out of the bottom of the monitor, which means the monitor can only be used with the stand. The stand is included, but it would be a much smaller packages without having to use it. From the reviews I read it seems a lot of people buy these monitor to use with Raspberry Pi mini-computers. I plan to also use mine with my tiny Kangaroo PC. The multiple inputs let you hook it to several device at the same time, switching between them at will. It's also a great travel monitor for viewing videos you shoot on the road when hooked to a 12V power source. It even has a small built-in speaker, which many monitors lack. It's $55.99. You can find a lot of cheaper 7” monitors on Amazon, but the ones I checked out don't have all the inputs and the ability to run on AC and 12 volts.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/zGXQyi76lbI

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/2aMyxeM