HISTORY:
This device is a "presentation pointer" which was usually used to highlight 'talking points' on a screen based presentation. This type of device was superseded by laser pointers which in turn have been replaced by direct video presentations using a mouse pointer for highlighting paragraphs during a presentation. Laser pointers created considerable problems due to mis-use and in fact now all laser pointers with a power output of more than 1mW are illegal for public use.
Most likely this HAMA incandescent lamp based pointer is only of use as a museum piece, a fun example of old business technology to have around I guess ....
Using a special incandescent low voltage bulb which is powered by 2x AA batteries with an interesting ON-OFF design in that when the 'ON' lever is pushed, the whole light bulb is moved to complete the light-battery circuit.
The front section of the pointer is dedicated to the focus function so that the presenter has a nice sharp > on the screen
HAMA - Light Pointer
HAMA is a German distributor and nowhere does the packaging state where this pointer was made but it 'looks & feels' like a German product!
Model VE7 3550
1990's (not stated anywhere but I believe this pointer was manufactured Post German unification as there is no mention of 'West Germany')
Material: Black high impact plastic body & focus section. Front lens is glass not an acrylic plastic. Battery contacts are spring strips, not coiled springs and there is no ON-OFF switch as the on-off control is physical and actually moves the edison lamp base down to make contact with one side of the power supplied by the batteries. Intriguing way of doing things but .... read in my testing section for my comments about this.
Battery compartment is well made (although the design leaves something to be desired) and there is an easy 'slide motion' type of battery cover.
DIMENSIONS:
187mm length x 24.9mm diameter (one side is flat though, so that when the pointer is placed on a lectern or similar it won't go rolling away!)
A large amount of space is dedicated to the focus system, being 49mm in length
WEIGHT:
100g when loaded with the two AA size alkaline batteries - I will not supply these batteries as they are easy to obtain AND Australia Post is a bit 'touchy' about batteries being sent with them.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
NEW
Old Stock (I never needed to use this pointer and it has been sitting in one of my myriad of antiquities for yonks!)
Outer plastic of the packaging has that 'Yellow' look, pretty typical of clear plastics from 30+ years ago BUT it is not brittle (the latter can be an issue with old plastic)
Backing cardboard is in great shape.
The pointer has a completely unmarked body
The battery compartment is clean and shiny
Front focus lens is clean and unscratched
ON button (actually it is more like a flexible 'push down' lever) is in great condition
TESTING:
Of course it may look 'pretty' but does it work Russ?
The pointer works fine but the design is a little disappointing for German product! Most of the time, very high quality electronic products come from Germany but this pointer has two noticeable design flaws.
a) Although 'interesting', the movement of the bulb to produce the on-off function is not great. After a number of pushes, the bulb moves into a position where it no longer makes contact ... no light! I have corrected for this by fitting a small piece of foam between the bulb and the pointer body and now it reliably turns on each time the lever is pushed down.
b) The battery compartment is rugged but oh dear, there is a tendency for the 2x AA batteries to 'lift' in the middle when the cover is off. In normal use this would not be an issue (because the battery cover will be in place) but such a nuisance when sorting out the bulb issue!
Overall though, the pointer works like a charm ... the intensity of the > is good although somewhat Yellow in colour due to the incandescent light source. The focus system works really well and I tested the pointer across a range of 6 feet to over 30 feet and had no problems producing a sharp pointer on the wall.
SPECIAL NOTE:
I looked more carefully at how the > is created, it is actually the bulb doing all the work. The glass envelope is much larger than a 'normal' incandescent bulb and has a filament in the horizontal axis in the shape of the > (fascinating if these things interest you!)
The only marking on the bulb Edison screw base is SM 3V
Since taking the photographs and undertaking the testing, I have now put the package back together and sealed the pointer in clear plastic WITHOUT batteries.
