Esoterics aside...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Steve C

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
433
Okay. I've read all the threads here, pros and cons, etc. Just from the photos I can tell that the LS has a major "cool" factor; and that is more important to many of us than we would care to admit, eh?

I have really bought into the LED gig, and like one of the ARC guys said earlier, I'll keep my SureFire 123-powered incans and SL-20 for outdoors "reach", but from now on it's LEDS for anything else.

My next agenda is common batteries. Right now I have access to all the 123s I can tote off, but that won't last. I am "stocking up", but I'll need that stash to feed the 6P, the E1, and the E2. I'm primarily interested in the 2AA version of the LS, for a general purpose around-the-house portable light.

So, all intangibles aside, would a 2AA LS be any better than, say, an Opalec head on a Mini-Mag? I have an InReTech adapter, and while I'm pleased with the light, the gadget itself is loose and rattles inside the head. So far it doesn't affect the function, but it is annoying. I have an Opalec conversion enroute (along with an ARC AAA).

The ability to jump over to a single 123 if necessary is nice; but how many parts are involved with the 2AA conversion? It appears that it only costs an extra $20 or so, which is good, but I'm concerned about keeping up with the pieces/parts.

Sorry for the long-winded series of questions; but I'm looking for opinions from those who have used both.

Of course, a SureFire A2 would make all of this moot, eh?
wink.gif
But who knows when we will see those???

Steve
 

Sigman

* The Arctic Moderator *
Joined
Sep 25, 2002
Messages
10,124
Location
"The 49th State"
I've got an LS and an Opalec, (my InReTec is "on the way"). I hate to hear about that InReTec "rattle" as others have also posted. If these mods were'nt ready for the market...maybe I should cancel? What can I say? Perhaps I rushed into the InReTec too soon?

That Opalec is one fine little drop in!! I like it a lot and installed in the Mini Mag...what a sturdy, affordable little light!

I find the LS is actually a little too bright for me around the house, depends on what I'm doing. I actually use an EternaLight Ergo 3 with the Green/White LED option the most around the house. I have a toolbox full of tools, but I don't use all of them at once. For some reason that EternaLight is always with me at home.

I also keep an EternaLight X-Ray Elite with me at work, as well as a Surefire E2E-HA, and an ARC LS with the 2AA battery pack. Let's not forget every "Flashaholic's MUST HAVE" - the ARC AAA on the keyring! In my little "soon to be Otter Box" I keep extra batteries, the other ARC LS battery housings, and an extra E2E lamp. I don't have a KL1 yet for the Surefire, so we'll see what happens to the ARC LS when one finally arrives! I like the flexibility of the battery packs though with the ARC LS!!

You should get them all!
wink.gif
 

sunspot

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
2,707
Location
Graham, NC
The InReTech adapter is a 2AA LS. It is direct drive at 3v. If you want a bright LS on 2AA, you will need to have a step up device.
I hope this helps.

Sigman. The rattle you hear is the lens. When you turn on the Mag, you create a gap between the optics of the LS and the Mag lens. Use a "tiny" bit of silicone(sp) sealent to join the optics and LS. No more rattle.
 

Steve C

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
433
[...the InReTech IS a 2AA LS...]

Sunspot, would that apply to the Opalec as well?

Steve
 

sunspot

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
2,707
Location
Graham, NC
No. The Opalec is a three LED module and is regulated. That's why it's so nice and bright and the light output is so even over the life of the batteries.
I did a milliamp reading on my InReTec module and it was at 28ma at 3.0v. That's why the batteries last so long.
Hope this helps.
 

Steve C

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
433
Got it.

So, the Opalec will not run as "long" as the InReTech?

I realize that battery run time is a very subjective thing; just speaking in general terms here.

Steve
 

sunspot

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
2,707
Location
Graham, NC
I have not measured my Opalec yet. Heck, I hav'nt even tried it out.I will this weekend. If you want run times, one of our members by the name of Roy has been doing some very nice charts on that. I think they may be on Doug's (Quickbeam) site.
To give you a for instance, I modded a light that has a current draw of 600+ma. It uses the same LS that Inretec uses. I'm pumping 4.5v into it (thanks MrBulk). Run time is in the one to two hour range but man, is it bright.
Hows that.
 

Quickbeam

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 19, 2001
Messages
4,329
Location
FlashlightReviews.com
Opalec: I did a runtime test with RedCell alkalines (VERY cheap) a little while ago - 7 1/2 hours of rock steady constant brightness before the little red warning light came on, and then it just starts to dim. For how long, and with what output I don't know. With good batteries people seem to get around 8 hours constant output.

The inretech starts bright and dims throughout the lifespan of the batteries.
 

Steve C

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
433
Thanks. I ordered an Opalec yesterday; looking forward to playing with it.

Steve
 

Steve C

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
433
Guess I should add that you guys have answered my question; basically, dropping the bucks for an LS, when I already have two good 2AA LED lights and three SFs would a bit redundant, to say the least.

Now; what larger LED light to get?????????? A TriLight, a NightBuster, or (for the same $$ as the others) two of those ?Something? 4000 lights?

Man, this is as bad as guns or knives. So many choices...

Steve
 

Bushman

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 8, 2002
Messages
1,851
You will have to get over 1-15 leds in one light to be brighter than a LS with a stepup... If I were you I would get a LW 4000 though if you wanted big, heavy and lots of run time.
 

Sean

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Messages
2,971
Location
IL, near St. Louis MO
Maybe this will put it into perspective:

On the left is a current version Arc LS (a second, I might add) running on 2 AA NiMH 1600mAh batts. On the right, that little blue blob, that is the Opalec newbeam, running on 2 AA lithiums. I really like the newbeam for an emergency light, but it can't compare to the Arc LS which is about 300% brighter. The LW4000 is a great long runnning emergency light, but again, it's also not as bright as the Arc LS. Maybe Arc will make a 2D battery pack, I wonder how long that would run?
wink.gif


slscompare2.jpg
 

vcal

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 16, 2000
Messages
3,074
Location
San Gabriel Valley
Originally posted by Sean:
Maybe this will put it into perspective:

On the left is a current version Arc LS (a second, I might add) running on 2 AA NiMH 1600mAh batts. On the right, that little blue blob, that is the Opalec newbeam, running on 2 AA lithiums. I really like the newbeam for an emergency light, but it can't compare to the Arc LS which is about 300% brighter.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That Luxeon of yours is not 300% brighter, looks more like 700% maybe.......?
rolleyes.gif
winkie.GIF
 

SCampbell

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
34
Thanks, Sean. That's quite a difference.

But perhaps I should have emphasized that for pure illuminating power, I have an SL-20, two Stingers, a 6P and an E2. BTW, an SL-20 will run on D cells in a pinch. Not very bright, but better than nothing.

What I'm looking for is a general purpose household light that has a bit more light and run time than your basic two or three cell flashlight. The problem with the SL-20 and Stingers is that Murphy says the amount of charge left in the battery is inversely proportional to the scale of the emergency.

StreamLight techs tell me that it is okay to leave the Stinger and SL-20 in the charger. I don't buy it. Neither device has a trickle feature, and even if they did, I know from my experience with ni-cads in my radio controlled models that leaving ni-cads on extended trickle shortens their life.

My SL-20 was purchased in 1978. It is on it's fourth battery stick. I get about five years out of one, by cycling it every couple of months and topping off the charge every two weeks. But more than once I have been caught with less than a half-hour of "run time" due to timing; IOW, the power goes out the day before a scheduled "top-off".

I'm thinking that a long-endurance LED light will solve that minor irritation, in addition to being something I can leave with the family during emergencies if (when) I get called out.

I see your point regarding the need for ten or more LEDs before one gets into serious light levels. The six-LED TriLight is alledged to have a really good output; albeit flood instead of spot.

I was in Wally World last night, and they had a spiffy blue 3D Maglite for $15. I might try a TriLight after it has been out for a while and more or less "de-bugged".

I got a really withering look from the wife when I put that puppy in the basket. While she doesn't fully understand man's need for gadgets, she has learned to put up with it...
grin.gif


Steve
 

Charles Bradshaw

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
2,495
Location
Mansfield, OH
To answer the original question: All you need is the 2AA pack and a pair of AAs, preferably Lithiums for longest runtime in the Arc LS.

For the family, either a Lightwave 4000 (3D) or Lightwave 3000 (3C) will do just fine.

My 2 Arc LSes are rev1, so I can run them on 1AA.

I am thinking hard about getting a Brinkmann Legend LX for long throw and really bright. (fits in my budget.) Extra bulbs and 123s in bulk from cheapbatteries.com will do.
 

Sean

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Messages
2,971
Location
IL, near St. Louis MO
In your case I would just leave the SL-20 on the charger. Sure it may degrade the battery somewhat but obviously leaving it off the charger isn't the answer either.

The LW4000 or LW3000 would work great for many days.

"What I'm looking for is a general purpose household light that has a bit more light and run time than your basic two or three cell flashlight."

That could be a problem right there. I'm sure that's not exactly what you meant but it's just not very likely to get more light and runtime from a given type light (2D, 3D etc.) You've either gotta give up run-time or brightness. Unless you put one of those new side emitter Luxeon LEDs in your Mag lite, that might give you what you want.
smile.gif


Have you tried a PT Surge?
 

SCampbell

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
34
Okay, I didn't mean SL-20 type brightness; just something better than your basic pathetic 2 or 3 D cell beam- krypton bulbs notwithstanding. I hear you regarding the no free lunch...

The LightWave 4000 looks to be about as close to what I'm after as is available, right now.

And you're right; I should leave the SL-20 in the charger. When I was working the road, half of my shifts were at night. The light was in constant use, and I had no trouble keeping up with charge/discharge cycles, etc.

Now, it just sits by the bed. I have a Stinger in the unit, a 6P in the war bag, and an E1 in the pocket (and next week, an ARC AAA on the keyring), should I need a light at work; unlikely, as I work banker's hours these days. So, the SL-20 gets forgotten until I need it.

Ha; I know. TME makes a C/10/trickle unit that goes between a charger and the wall plug. It gives full C/10 rate for 16 hours, then switches to a pulsed signal that "blips" the battery at C/10 at a certain rate designed to maintain the charge; IOW, a trickle charger.

Why didn't I think of that before???

Steve
 

Steelwolf

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 6, 2001
Messages
1,208
Location
Perth, Western Australia
SCampbell: One of my favourite emergency lights to have around the house is the Freelight. This is really some sort of God send since it came out. It is able to recharge without direct sunlight, which is important as keeping it in direct sun will degrade the batteries (just like it would for any other battery). It can even recharge from house lights, and has a regulator to prevent over-charging. I have 2 which I hang in 2 accessible spots that get good light through the day and I'm always sure of a working light.

On the other hand, these lights have not been out long enough to comment on their long-term reliability, and their light output is pathetic compared to all the lights being discussed above. But is does provide an output close to the Arc-AAA and keeps it up for a couple of hours. So it works well for an emergency light. And it is a darn sight brighter, and runs longer than the various forms of shakelights (though I keep one of those in the car because the heat doesn't affect the electrolytic caps too much).

Just my 2 cents.
smile.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top