ARC AA question on LED quality

I did receive two ARC AAs in different trades - the first one was very nice and I decided to get another one through another trade from a CPF-er who got it through the "taste of ARC" offer - this one actually has the worst beam I ever saw in an ARC up to date - and I do own quite some AAAs.

I understand that Nichias like Luxeons too vary quite a bit but this AA has so much blue in the beam plus rings, blotches and brown areas too that it really makes me wonder - whereas the first AA does have a very nice smooth beam with what I suppose to be a BS2 tinted led.

Do the AAs really vary so much - what is your experience ?

TIA for any comment

Klaus

I have three Arc AA and they all seems almost similar in quality (both construction, beam and brightness).
Besides having a hard to turn head, everything else is fine.

I got two Arc AAs from TTS while the other was from the Taste of Arc offer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Klaus, my experience with the AA and AAA are what you're describing. No two are the same.

I would guess that it was either a "second" or the LED was replaced by the previous owner if the beam is as bad as you describe.

Peter is very particular about the lights he sells, and I kinda doubt he would have sold this as a normal (non-second) item that wasnt up to par. You could always try emailing him and see if you can ship it to Arc & have them check it out to see what's going on with it.

Thanks all gentlemen,

I think TINs comment is the most appropiate - I think there were no seconds sold in the "taste of ARC" sales and it might be just the Nichia lottery - but I do think this unit probably should really have been sold as a second.

Klaus

I just got a concerned and very polite email from the gentlemen with whom I traded the ARC AA and who was reading this thread - he confirmed what I never doubted - this ARC AA wasn´t a second but as posted earlier out of the "taste of ARC" offer Peter did late last year.

Just wanted to add this

Klaus

I wasn't trying to accuse anyone of anything, just throwing out ideas about how it got in circulation.

Just to satisfy my currosity, could you post a beamshot?

I think this coloration isn't really Nichia's fault, but happens because the LED is overdriven way outside of spec, like 2x as much current as the manufacturer says the maximum is supposed to be. I guess that hasn't been causing outright failures, but the color isn't so great. The CMG Infinity that I've bought recently, and white coin cell lights powered by a 3 volt 2032, run at lower current and seem to me to have more neutral color, than my Arc AAA or CMG Ultra-G or the 2-cell coin lights.

Recently a fellow CPFer sent me an Arc AAA Premium to be modded with a LS. And I have to say this one had the worst beam I have ever seen in 5mm Nichia-based light. There was a large centre area that was totally blue. It is possible that a small percentage of poor quality lights slipped through the sorting process---imagine somebody stare at those pretty bright beams for a whole day, their eyes basically turn blue at the end of the day /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif It's quite understandable that they don't pick out every bad one despite the effort they put in. If you are not happy with the light, simply send it back to Peter for a replacement. Peter is pretty good at satisfying even the pickest customers.

[ QUOTE ]
Experiment_626 said:
Just to satisfy my currosity, could you post a beamshot?

[/ QUOTE ]

here we go - the brightness difference is mostly due to different cells voltage levels - I didn´t adjusted those but just used whatever was installed in the lights

CMG Initity ULTRA G / ARC AAA "LE" / ARC AA "2" / ARC AA "1"



Here´s a single shot of this particular ARC AA at less brightness to illustrate the blue center / brownish ring / blue corona blotches etc



My curiosity was tickled mostly as I saw references to the ARC AA being the equivalent of a "Premium" and that maybe "standard" ones might get introduced later with the current one being re-named the "Premium" version then which at the price the current AAs are selling would make sense IMO.

I would second "LASAP"s points - not sure yet if I would want to go through the hazzle for Peter G. and myself though - last time ARC sent a warranty replacement they got horribly ripped off by FEDEX and I still feel bad for that.

Klaus

I did found these quotes on the ARC site on LEDs in the AA

"Nichia SB2 LED" - from the color if would say NO WAY

But this is stated too:

Also note: we use the brightest 5mm white LEDs on the market - special binned Nichias. However, the beams are not perfect. These are LEDs. There will be tint variations, geometry variations, etc.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Klaus

Hmm, my AAA looks pretty much like that beamshot.

Is your AAA a standard or LE / Premium ?

Klaus

standard