Gransee
Flashlight Enthusiast
This thread pulls together a bunch of widely scattered topics into one, hopefully easy to read thread for any new people just joining.
Introducing the Arc6 LED Flashlight. Regular production is coming soon. Pre-production units are available now with restrictions.
note: These disclaimers are consistent with ones I made for both the Arc-AAA and the Arc-LS back in 2003.
Link from 2004 providing even more detail on my position regarding cosmetics.
Disclaimers:
1. Like all Arc products, the Arc6 is designed to be a tool. This is different than some of the other flashlight makers here on the CPF who make stylish collectables. Arc products are not designed to look pretty. They are not designed for collectors.
2. There will be variations in the tint of the hard anodize. Pieces of the flashlight will be at different tints to each other. The military specification for hard anodize does not specify tint. We meet the specification for hard anodize. Hard anodize is designed to protect products that are used in rough environments not to make the product look pretty. Arc products are not designed to look pretty. If pretty is important to you, do not buy. I have little sympathy for those who hear what they want to hear, ignore the rest and then whine about something not meeting some expectation they imagined they heard. Sorry I have to go into great detail about this but people just do not engage their brains when they grab their credit card.
3. There will be variations in the tint/beam of the LED. All LEDs vary from unit to unit and model to model. Sometimes it may be blueish, sometimes it may be greenish. redish. Etc. Sometimes the hot spot may drop off quickly or have some sort of pattern in it. We strive to use the best LEDs for the design goals possible for all Arc products. However, the beam or tint will vary. It may also vary with different batteries, power levels and different ambient temperatures.
4. All of our white LED flashlights are rated in lumens. This is a minimum rating, which means all units must produce this many lumens or more. The conditions at which this occurs are usually: 72F (room temperature), set to the rated level (if the light is a multi-level light), fresh battery, clean contacts (if a battery leaked, that is going to hurt the flashlight), clean optics (junk on the front window will reduce output) and other common sense factors. If the product does not meet the minimum rating, it can be returned for repair or replacement. This is one of the provisions of the warranty. This means that the LED output is covered under the warranty.
5. Warranty service and refunds. When the customer purchases a light from us, they pay to have it shipped to them. If they find a defect with the design that we recognize as a defect (for example, tint variations in hard anodize are not a defect since it is not part of the spec), then the customer pays to ship the light to us, we will service the light and pay to ship it back to them. If the light is returned and the customer is not asking us to repair something but simply want a refund. In the case of refunds, the customer pays to ship the light back to us. We do not refund the shipping costs of customers. When you are thinking of purchasing a product, study it carefully. Read the reviews. Ask other people. Take your time. Shipping products back and forth is expensive. Why is it important that I make the distinction about lights returned with no defect that we recognize? Because the, "defect" may be present in all of the lights and we simply cannot replace the one you returned with one that doesn't have the "defect". We don't have such a light in our inventory. This means if you purchase a flashlight and it has anodize mismatch for example, and you return it asking for a replacement, we can only offer you a refund.
6. Sometimes we make exceptions to our policy. If a person asks nicely, we may offer to pay for some expense or spend some time meeting a special request. However, if people are rude, demanding or otherwise causing trouble, then we stick to our stated policies.
Any person who is contemplating becoming an Arc customer needs to understand the terms and conditions of the transaction. If you do not feel you can abide by these terms, then you should avoid entering into such agreements. You may still order without agreeing to these terms but it is better to know beforehand how we are going to handle various issues.
Now for the Arc6, there are additional disclaimers that apply specifically to the Arc6:
7. The Arc6 is a multi-level light. Some of the power levels it provides are higher than most other 1x123 flashlights. Sadly, no laws of physics are being broken. To achieve these higher levels, more current is consumed by the flashlight. This means it warms up more quickly and the battery does not last as long when those levels are used. Also, the driver circuit gets noisy at the higher power levels. It produces a high pitched whine that some people can hear. A side effect of these higher power levels is that when activated they can produce more light. If you are uncomfortable with any of these negatives either do not purchase the light or if you do purchase the light, do not use these higher power levels. Instead, use it like you would any other 1x123 flashlight. This is not recommended though because a lot of the reasons a person might buy an Arc6 is that it is different than other 1x123 flashlights.
8. The push button for the Arc6 requires about 6lbs of pressure to activate. Most flashlight push buttons require less force than this. For some people, this may be too much pressure. It might hurt your hand. Do not purchase this light if your hands might be hurt by using it.
9. The Arc6 will get hot during operation. It is designed to not get hotter (on its own) than about 130F but still, that is pretty hot.
10. Sometimes when cycling through the stages in the settings menu, the flash code is uneven in its timing. For example it may flash once slowly and then twice at a faster rate. This has to do with the timing precision of the microcontroller and is normal.
11. Sometimes, with some batteries, the light may flicker in its output. This seems to occur mostly with higher voltage rechargeables (especially with new rechargeables charged at 4.2volts or higher). It tends to go away after a minute or two of usage. It also tends to go away with older cells. This is caused by instability in the analog feedback loop and is a known issue. Other than occasional flickering, it has not caused any other problems.
12. Lower voltage cells tend to produce a higher light output. This has to do with how current is sensed by the electronics. This can be compensated by using a different level setting.
13. It is possible for the kilroy spring (part of the PD switch mechanism) to become bent flat enough for there to be no space between stage1 and stage2 switch activation. This can be fixed by bending the kilroy spring back up with your finger.
14. Sometimes with a new battery, the light may noticeably ramp in brightness (ramping in less than a second) the first time a particular level is used. This is normal and is produced by a function in firmware that seeks the best converter settings for that particular battery/level combination. Sometimes this ramping also produces a momentary shift in LED color. Subsequent uses should be normal after the processor has adjusted to the new battery.
15. Shipping. The Arc6 pre-production will be shipped via fedex only. Typicaly, the "express saver" option. When we go to regular production we will offer USPS as an option but will not replace lost USPS shipments, just as we do not replace lost USPS shipments with the other lights.
Any person who is contemplating becoming an Arc customer needs to understand the terms and conditions of the transaction. If you do not feel you can abide by these terms, then you should avoid entering into such agreements. You may still order without agreeing to these terms but it is better to know beforehand how we are going to handle various issues.
I know all these terms and conditions may be tedious for some but it is required in these times.
Here is a picture of 2 Arc6 flashlights. One has the guarded sleeve attached, the other has the no-guard sleeve attached. The guarded sleeve has a clip.
Price: TBD. I don't know (haven't made this decision yet)
Arc6 page at Arcflashlight.com
The Arc is not in regular production right now. We are having difficulty getting the LED we require to make the Arc6.
We do have a small quantity of pre-production Arc6s that are currently available to special buyers. Lumileds has announced a new LED called the K2 TF, it is not shipping yet for regular orders but I received a small number of units. I decided to make them available in a special offer. The number I am making available is not known. This new LED has been tested and performs very well. I personally have the opinion that it is the best LED I have seen so far. This small number of pre-production units has the K2 TF LED installed.
I do not know how many pre-production units will be offered and for how long. I do not know for how much the pre-production units will be sold for. They are currently being sold to special (non-collector) buyers.
I do not know what LED will be used in the regular production of Arc6s. I do not know when regular production of the Arc6 will occur. I do not know how bright they will be or what they will cost or how the beam will look or what tint the beam will have.
Here are some threads that may be of interest.
Arc6 instructions (draft version)
Arc6 beta test report
A report from a CPF'er who has purchase a pre-production unit
I may edit this post in the future to try to make it more helpful or add more information.
The method that is being used to sell the pre-production units is not allowed to be mentioned or discussed in this forum by order of the forum admin (currently going by the userid "Greta").
Again, this light is not for everyone. None of the Arc flashlights are for everyone. Please be aware of the limitations of the product before you spend your hard-earned money.
Discussion about Arc products sometimes can get emotional. Please be aware that such discussion is moderated by the forum moderators for civility.
Please understand that I make no warranty that I will answer all questions or explain every point more than once or in such a way that everyone will understand. I am sorry, there are limits to how information can be organized on a forum and to my time.
peter
Introducing the Arc6 LED Flashlight. Regular production is coming soon. Pre-production units are available now with restrictions.
note: These disclaimers are consistent with ones I made for both the Arc-AAA and the Arc-LS back in 2003.
Link from 2004 providing even more detail on my position regarding cosmetics.
Disclaimers:
1. Like all Arc products, the Arc6 is designed to be a tool. This is different than some of the other flashlight makers here on the CPF who make stylish collectables. Arc products are not designed to look pretty. They are not designed for collectors.
2. There will be variations in the tint of the hard anodize. Pieces of the flashlight will be at different tints to each other. The military specification for hard anodize does not specify tint. We meet the specification for hard anodize. Hard anodize is designed to protect products that are used in rough environments not to make the product look pretty. Arc products are not designed to look pretty. If pretty is important to you, do not buy. I have little sympathy for those who hear what they want to hear, ignore the rest and then whine about something not meeting some expectation they imagined they heard. Sorry I have to go into great detail about this but people just do not engage their brains when they grab their credit card.
3. There will be variations in the tint/beam of the LED. All LEDs vary from unit to unit and model to model. Sometimes it may be blueish, sometimes it may be greenish. redish. Etc. Sometimes the hot spot may drop off quickly or have some sort of pattern in it. We strive to use the best LEDs for the design goals possible for all Arc products. However, the beam or tint will vary. It may also vary with different batteries, power levels and different ambient temperatures.
4. All of our white LED flashlights are rated in lumens. This is a minimum rating, which means all units must produce this many lumens or more. The conditions at which this occurs are usually: 72F (room temperature), set to the rated level (if the light is a multi-level light), fresh battery, clean contacts (if a battery leaked, that is going to hurt the flashlight), clean optics (junk on the front window will reduce output) and other common sense factors. If the product does not meet the minimum rating, it can be returned for repair or replacement. This is one of the provisions of the warranty. This means that the LED output is covered under the warranty.
5. Warranty service and refunds. When the customer purchases a light from us, they pay to have it shipped to them. If they find a defect with the design that we recognize as a defect (for example, tint variations in hard anodize are not a defect since it is not part of the spec), then the customer pays to ship the light to us, we will service the light and pay to ship it back to them. If the light is returned and the customer is not asking us to repair something but simply want a refund. In the case of refunds, the customer pays to ship the light back to us. We do not refund the shipping costs of customers. When you are thinking of purchasing a product, study it carefully. Read the reviews. Ask other people. Take your time. Shipping products back and forth is expensive. Why is it important that I make the distinction about lights returned with no defect that we recognize? Because the, "defect" may be present in all of the lights and we simply cannot replace the one you returned with one that doesn't have the "defect". We don't have such a light in our inventory. This means if you purchase a flashlight and it has anodize mismatch for example, and you return it asking for a replacement, we can only offer you a refund.
6. Sometimes we make exceptions to our policy. If a person asks nicely, we may offer to pay for some expense or spend some time meeting a special request. However, if people are rude, demanding or otherwise causing trouble, then we stick to our stated policies.
Any person who is contemplating becoming an Arc customer needs to understand the terms and conditions of the transaction. If you do not feel you can abide by these terms, then you should avoid entering into such agreements. You may still order without agreeing to these terms but it is better to know beforehand how we are going to handle various issues.
Now for the Arc6, there are additional disclaimers that apply specifically to the Arc6:
7. The Arc6 is a multi-level light. Some of the power levels it provides are higher than most other 1x123 flashlights. Sadly, no laws of physics are being broken. To achieve these higher levels, more current is consumed by the flashlight. This means it warms up more quickly and the battery does not last as long when those levels are used. Also, the driver circuit gets noisy at the higher power levels. It produces a high pitched whine that some people can hear. A side effect of these higher power levels is that when activated they can produce more light. If you are uncomfortable with any of these negatives either do not purchase the light or if you do purchase the light, do not use these higher power levels. Instead, use it like you would any other 1x123 flashlight. This is not recommended though because a lot of the reasons a person might buy an Arc6 is that it is different than other 1x123 flashlights.
8. The push button for the Arc6 requires about 6lbs of pressure to activate. Most flashlight push buttons require less force than this. For some people, this may be too much pressure. It might hurt your hand. Do not purchase this light if your hands might be hurt by using it.
9. The Arc6 will get hot during operation. It is designed to not get hotter (on its own) than about 130F but still, that is pretty hot.
10. Sometimes when cycling through the stages in the settings menu, the flash code is uneven in its timing. For example it may flash once slowly and then twice at a faster rate. This has to do with the timing precision of the microcontroller and is normal.
11. Sometimes, with some batteries, the light may flicker in its output. This seems to occur mostly with higher voltage rechargeables (especially with new rechargeables charged at 4.2volts or higher). It tends to go away after a minute or two of usage. It also tends to go away with older cells. This is caused by instability in the analog feedback loop and is a known issue. Other than occasional flickering, it has not caused any other problems.
12. Lower voltage cells tend to produce a higher light output. This has to do with how current is sensed by the electronics. This can be compensated by using a different level setting.
13. It is possible for the kilroy spring (part of the PD switch mechanism) to become bent flat enough for there to be no space between stage1 and stage2 switch activation. This can be fixed by bending the kilroy spring back up with your finger.
14. Sometimes with a new battery, the light may noticeably ramp in brightness (ramping in less than a second) the first time a particular level is used. This is normal and is produced by a function in firmware that seeks the best converter settings for that particular battery/level combination. Sometimes this ramping also produces a momentary shift in LED color. Subsequent uses should be normal after the processor has adjusted to the new battery.
15. Shipping. The Arc6 pre-production will be shipped via fedex only. Typicaly, the "express saver" option. When we go to regular production we will offer USPS as an option but will not replace lost USPS shipments, just as we do not replace lost USPS shipments with the other lights.
Any person who is contemplating becoming an Arc customer needs to understand the terms and conditions of the transaction. If you do not feel you can abide by these terms, then you should avoid entering into such agreements. You may still order without agreeing to these terms but it is better to know beforehand how we are going to handle various issues.
I know all these terms and conditions may be tedious for some but it is required in these times.
Here is a picture of 2 Arc6 flashlights. One has the guarded sleeve attached, the other has the no-guard sleeve attached. The guarded sleeve has a clip.
- Minimum output on highest level: 100 lumens with non-rechargeable, 130 lumens with rechargeable. Tested in NIST traceable Sphere
- White LED for long lasting light, no bulbs to replace or break
- Uses 1 CR123 type cell for high power density and long life. Can also use Rechargeables. Battery range of 1.7-4.5volts
- Internal DC/DC current regulator chip produces a more consistent light output over the life of the battery
- Waterproof to 100 feet
- Temperature sensor allows higher power levels without danger of overheating the LED
- Smooth beam: Orange Peel reflector
- Low battery indication, automatically drops to lower level when cell is depleted
- Type III Hard Anodized 6061 Aluminum is more durable than other pocket flashlights
- Quick access to different levels: 2 stage push/twist switch
- Settings menu provide a total of 7 light levels from a low of less than 1 lumen to over 130 lumens, plus strobe
- 2.940 inches long by 0.950 inches in diameter
- Weighs 2.2 ounces (with battery and NG sleeve)
- Improved drop resistance: Crenalated Ti-6AL-4V (Titanium) bezel
- Removable carry clip made of Titanium
- Slot in tail for optional user installed Tritium (H3) vial for locating flashlight in dark
- Window stronger than glass: AR coated Sapphire window
- Designed to be easier to service or upgrade: bezel is removable without tools to access window, reflector, upgrade LED (requires soldering iron), etc
- Made in the USA
- Lifetime Warranty
- Duracell CR123 cell included
- Available in two models, guarded sleeve with clip or no-guard sleeve (smaller and lighter).
Price: TBD. I don't know (haven't made this decision yet)
Arc6 page at Arcflashlight.com
The Arc is not in regular production right now. We are having difficulty getting the LED we require to make the Arc6.
We do have a small quantity of pre-production Arc6s that are currently available to special buyers. Lumileds has announced a new LED called the K2 TF, it is not shipping yet for regular orders but I received a small number of units. I decided to make them available in a special offer. The number I am making available is not known. This new LED has been tested and performs very well. I personally have the opinion that it is the best LED I have seen so far. This small number of pre-production units has the K2 TF LED installed.
I do not know how many pre-production units will be offered and for how long. I do not know for how much the pre-production units will be sold for. They are currently being sold to special (non-collector) buyers.
I do not know what LED will be used in the regular production of Arc6s. I do not know when regular production of the Arc6 will occur. I do not know how bright they will be or what they will cost or how the beam will look or what tint the beam will have.
Here are some threads that may be of interest.
Arc6 instructions (draft version)
Arc6 beta test report
A report from a CPF'er who has purchase a pre-production unit
I may edit this post in the future to try to make it more helpful or add more information.
The method that is being used to sell the pre-production units is not allowed to be mentioned or discussed in this forum by order of the forum admin (currently going by the userid "Greta").
Again, this light is not for everyone. None of the Arc flashlights are for everyone. Please be aware of the limitations of the product before you spend your hard-earned money.
Discussion about Arc products sometimes can get emotional. Please be aware that such discussion is moderated by the forum moderators for civility.
Please understand that I make no warranty that I will answer all questions or explain every point more than once or in such a way that everyone will understand. I am sorry, there are limits to how information can be organized on a forum and to my time.
peter
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