chillinn
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hello and greetings, welcome to my first post.
I have searched through the forums and I can't find the information I seek.
I have just begun a small flashlight collection (single AA/14500/AAA/10440). I wanted a number of lights to meet my needs, for brightness and capacity, and the purchase of 2 Maratac's has covered my needs for both, for white light, spectacularly.
I have 2 other flashlights, and these 2 are the reason for my post today.
One is a Gerber Infinity Ultra Task Light with a red LED emitter ( http://tinyurl.com/jwfkg6u ) (I can't find much information about this light, have written to Gerber and received no response), and the other is an Arc AAA UV 375nm Ultraviolet ( http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa-uv.shtml ) with a Nichia NSPU510CS LED emitter.
I am surprised to find the Gerber one of my most used lights. My understanding is it is the consumer version of the model developed for military night operations (and Gerber sold a replacement IR backcap for the 'M' version). Whatever it was developed for, it is ideal for theater work, stage management, audio design, backstage, catwalk, whatnot, where you need to get around a treacherous environment unnoticed in pitch black without disturbing audience or artist. The battery lifetime claims are not exaggerated, depending on what you put in there. With AA it will burn for 60-100 hours. By all claims, the light is indestructible. The brightness of the light I think is an exaggeration at 9 lumens, but I have only seen one advertisement make this claim. One recurring criticism is that the light is too dim for outdoor nighttime trailblazing-- TRUE: it is not the light for riding your mountain bike at full speed through wooded trails on a moonless night... however, it is fine for walking, not running, in pitch black, or use as an all night lantern when stationary or tented. It is considerably brighter and lasts longer with Energizer 1.7 Lithium disposable batteries as opposed to Duracell Alkaline or NiMH, but the latter still give 60 hours of burn, incredibly (estimated... no actual tests here, but I've accidentally left it on for days at a time).
I wish there was version in AAA, but admittedly I'm happy with it the way it is. Regardless, I want to see how bright it is with Lithium ion 3.6. Would this fry the LED? Is there any recommendation of a happy medium of overdriving the LED with Li-ion cells that are not fully charged? Any information about this light is appreciated.
The Arc AAA UV does not get as good a review. I am familiar with the history of Arc, and I am a minor fan of the company and founder. I've read stellar review after stellar review of the Arc AAA. Everyone loves the knurling. I don't know how to work a lathe, so I don't know how difficult it is to knurl, but I am satisfied with the Arc knurling as well. The original Arc apparently sold Arc AAA in many LED colors, and it makes me sad to learn that the new Arc does not (I would love an Arc AAA with a red light like the Gerber). For its intended purpose (checking money, bar stamps, etc.), the Arc AAA UV outperforms single UV LED competitors. It is a brighter light and it lasts longer. My biggest complaint with the Arc AAA (UV or otherwise), and by proxy candlepower forums' members who love the light, rave about it, and never noticed this problem, is that it destroys batteries by puncturing the cell's negative pole. It does this because it does not have a spring, but a tiny sharp cone at the end of the case to make its contact. So there is a love/hate relationship happening... I love that it is tiny and indestructible, I hate that it has damaged 4 expensive batteries before I realized that it tended to do this. I have little doubt that many exploded batteries have been blamed and cursed for destroying many an Arc AAA, when, in fact, it was the Arc AAA that committed suicide by compromising the negative post of a usually safe battery.
If any would like to confirm my criticism of the Arc AAA, re: damaging batteries, that is appreciated. Any suggestions on "repairing" or "upgrading" the Arc AAA to no longer damage batteries is appreciated. But I'd love to hear from anyone that was brave enough to drive their Arc AAA with a Li-ion 3.6v and lived to tell about it. Mine is the UV model, and if I could double its light output in brief instances without damaging the Arc driver or Nichia LED, that would be great. If not, then assuming a voided warranty, is there an Arc AAA site somewhere that details how to replace the LED (as Arc in their infinite wisdom apparently designed the light not to be serviceable, legends of modifications notwithstanding). And what if using 3.6v batteries charged to some lower level? Any safer?
As an audio engineer, I am embarrassed about how little I know about electricity. I can solder, but I can't read a schematic. And even though I am proud to have received an 'A' in 1st semester physics in college, a rare occurrence, unfortunately, electricity and Maxwell's equations are covered in 2nd semester... which by oversight I failed to register. Suggestions on how to acquire knowledge about electricity basics without costing technical school tuitions appreciated! (I know Stanford Univ. has their entire electrical engineering curriculum online on video, I'd really like to find something a bit less comprehensive, rather than 4 years, how about something I could complete in 4 weeks ?).
I have searched through the forums and I can't find the information I seek.
I have just begun a small flashlight collection (single AA/14500/AAA/10440). I wanted a number of lights to meet my needs, for brightness and capacity, and the purchase of 2 Maratac's has covered my needs for both, for white light, spectacularly.
I have 2 other flashlights, and these 2 are the reason for my post today.
One is a Gerber Infinity Ultra Task Light with a red LED emitter ( http://tinyurl.com/jwfkg6u ) (I can't find much information about this light, have written to Gerber and received no response), and the other is an Arc AAA UV 375nm Ultraviolet ( http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa-uv.shtml ) with a Nichia NSPU510CS LED emitter.
I am surprised to find the Gerber one of my most used lights. My understanding is it is the consumer version of the model developed for military night operations (and Gerber sold a replacement IR backcap for the 'M' version). Whatever it was developed for, it is ideal for theater work, stage management, audio design, backstage, catwalk, whatnot, where you need to get around a treacherous environment unnoticed in pitch black without disturbing audience or artist. The battery lifetime claims are not exaggerated, depending on what you put in there. With AA it will burn for 60-100 hours. By all claims, the light is indestructible. The brightness of the light I think is an exaggeration at 9 lumens, but I have only seen one advertisement make this claim. One recurring criticism is that the light is too dim for outdoor nighttime trailblazing-- TRUE: it is not the light for riding your mountain bike at full speed through wooded trails on a moonless night... however, it is fine for walking, not running, in pitch black, or use as an all night lantern when stationary or tented. It is considerably brighter and lasts longer with Energizer 1.7 Lithium disposable batteries as opposed to Duracell Alkaline or NiMH, but the latter still give 60 hours of burn, incredibly (estimated... no actual tests here, but I've accidentally left it on for days at a time).
I wish there was version in AAA, but admittedly I'm happy with it the way it is. Regardless, I want to see how bright it is with Lithium ion 3.6. Would this fry the LED? Is there any recommendation of a happy medium of overdriving the LED with Li-ion cells that are not fully charged? Any information about this light is appreciated.
The Arc AAA UV does not get as good a review. I am familiar with the history of Arc, and I am a minor fan of the company and founder. I've read stellar review after stellar review of the Arc AAA. Everyone loves the knurling. I don't know how to work a lathe, so I don't know how difficult it is to knurl, but I am satisfied with the Arc knurling as well. The original Arc apparently sold Arc AAA in many LED colors, and it makes me sad to learn that the new Arc does not (I would love an Arc AAA with a red light like the Gerber). For its intended purpose (checking money, bar stamps, etc.), the Arc AAA UV outperforms single UV LED competitors. It is a brighter light and it lasts longer. My biggest complaint with the Arc AAA (UV or otherwise), and by proxy candlepower forums' members who love the light, rave about it, and never noticed this problem, is that it destroys batteries by puncturing the cell's negative pole. It does this because it does not have a spring, but a tiny sharp cone at the end of the case to make its contact. So there is a love/hate relationship happening... I love that it is tiny and indestructible, I hate that it has damaged 4 expensive batteries before I realized that it tended to do this. I have little doubt that many exploded batteries have been blamed and cursed for destroying many an Arc AAA, when, in fact, it was the Arc AAA that committed suicide by compromising the negative post of a usually safe battery.
If any would like to confirm my criticism of the Arc AAA, re: damaging batteries, that is appreciated. Any suggestions on "repairing" or "upgrading" the Arc AAA to no longer damage batteries is appreciated. But I'd love to hear from anyone that was brave enough to drive their Arc AAA with a Li-ion 3.6v and lived to tell about it. Mine is the UV model, and if I could double its light output in brief instances without damaging the Arc driver or Nichia LED, that would be great. If not, then assuming a voided warranty, is there an Arc AAA site somewhere that details how to replace the LED (as Arc in their infinite wisdom apparently designed the light not to be serviceable, legends of modifications notwithstanding). And what if using 3.6v batteries charged to some lower level? Any safer?
As an audio engineer, I am embarrassed about how little I know about electricity. I can solder, but I can't read a schematic. And even though I am proud to have received an 'A' in 1st semester physics in college, a rare occurrence, unfortunately, electricity and Maxwell's equations are covered in 2nd semester... which by oversight I failed to register. Suggestions on how to acquire knowledge about electricity basics without costing technical school tuitions appreciated! (I know Stanford Univ. has their entire electrical engineering curriculum online on video, I'd really like to find something a bit less comprehensive, rather than 4 years, how about something I could complete in 4 weeks ?).