ITEMS YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE 

Small technological developments are occurring so fast these days that one column a week can handle only a few of the innovations. Here are this week's:

The VistaLite: a small, effective strobe-light type, weatherproof, flashing safety light that can be affixed to pets, bicycles, belts, or any appendage. It is capable of providing 300-500 hours (two years for an average cyclist) on two AA batteries and weighs only 95 grams or 3.5 ounces (closest competitor offers 50 hours on four AA batteries or 90 hours on a nine volt battery). The light is not a bulb. It is a super-luminescent LED (Light-Emitting Diode) flashing six times per second, making it visible at distances exceeding 2,000 feet. When not in use the prismatic lens works as a wide-angle reflector. It is weatherproof and very well made. LEDs have an estimated service life of from 100,000 to 250,000 hours (25 years continuous use). The VistaLite comes with belt clip or bolt. Available in three LED red rear (VL-300) or as a five LED front safety light (VL-310) in clear or orange.

The idea came to Robert Choi one evening during the last decade when his standard bike light died on him and a passing truck blew him into the bushes. Later while in Japan on a project for his previous employer Grace Technology he found the perfect LED. He also designed his light to flash at six to eight times a second -- the alpha wave frequency in the human brain.

The best reference for Choi's product is that at a recent trade show in Anaheim, California, 250 dealers ordered VistaLites. They retail for about $20.

More information: Shirley Choi, Sales Manager, VISTALITE, INC., 2950 Old Tree Drive, Bldg. 3, Lancaster, PA 17603. Phone: 717/291-1287. Via Camnet or U.S. phone line: 800/755-9905. Fax: 717/291-6811.

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Years ago laser beams were big and expensive. They came with a list of restrictions longer than the laser. My first one cost $700 and was short, fat and tied to a wall socket for power. Today the LDP-300 Laser Pointer, the size of a large pen, operates on three N Alkaline batteries that power the Diode laser for about seven hours with intermittent use. It weighs about four ounces. Cost is under $300.

To operate: Just point and press button. Restrictions: DO NOT stare into beam.

More information: Laserex Inc., Suite 150, 7373 Double Tree Ranch Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258. Phone: 602/951-6969. Fax: 602/951-6101.

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Up till now to test if a power line of any voltage was "live" you had a couple of choices: check it out with a voltmeter that costs upwards of $100, and in the past weighed two pounds and required hooking up alligator clips on the leads to or from the power source or shut off the power and see what, if anything went off.

Now: "Hot or Not". Another simple but practical item, about the size of a fat pen, when held near a power source and if the line is live the tip will glow a bright red. You can even test radiation from a TV set, computer screen or toaster. This AC sensor detects anything between 110-440 volts AC current.

The pen has a sturdy and well-designed flat pointed end that fits into the small slots on a wall socket and makes a connection just like any electrical plug. If it's live it lights. A power cable or extension cord can be checked anywhere along its length, by holding "Hot or Not" against the cable exterior.

More information: Hot or Not. P.O. Box 763, Lake Charles, LA 70602-0763. Phone: 318/477-9390 or via Camnet 800/256-3016.

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