1x123 Tail Switch Packs: Post Your Test Results Here

[MarcV]

McGizmo, now that I've got a tailswitch in hand, I can see that your all-purpose tail guard will be no obstacle to switch use -- either by thumb or forefinger.

Peter, I'm inclined to suggest that you drop the lanyard tab and add an O-ring groove or mail threads for (choose one) a variety of switch collars.

OTOH, I am using one of the switches with a split-ring and mini clip. We'll see how I feel about this in a week or two.

 

[Spudman]

Early impression is better than I anticipated. I like the original pack and I do miss the candle function, but the clickie is much easier to turn on and off in a hurry.

I'm not sure how much a lotc function is needed. The spring seems pretty strong, but from what others like Don have said it might not be strong enough to keep it from turning on accidentally. I don't see it happening unless it softens quite a bit with use.

Has anyone else tried Roys spin trick? Try it, he's right. At least, its its a cool trick for the easily amused.

Gary

 

[McGizmo]

GJW,

I found that a 15/16 OD O-ring that is 1/8" thick nestles between the head and the tail nicely. It will be unlikely to win any beauty contest but the grip afforded by this O-ring needs to be felt to be appreciated. WIth wet hands or gloves on, I think you could still activate and hold the light any way you wanted. Beauty Shot:

 

[mc]

-received today-

First the looks, then the fit, in the hand that is.

The look of the battery holder with the push on/off switch was in my opinion, very natural looking. I mean really, almost any flashlight looks phallic to some degree. The new button switch seems to smooth out the look from the stubby holder it replaced. Of coarse you cannot stand it on this end anymore. Nothing wrong with stubby, and it does serve it's purpose.
But I don’t find the look with the button switch threatening.

The fit, in the hand, and the handling of this light is, in my opinion, very comfortable. Well, it does have the same problem as the E1, with the shortness of it being slightly uncomfortable. But, this new assembly is more comfortable then the E1 in my opinion, because of it’s longer angled/with radius button switch. The hand just seems to roll it around figuring out how to wedge the front face in between the small 2 fingers, to grip it, and push-click it on. This is truly an easy 1 handed operation. The rubber switch with possibly a 30 degree angle, and included radius, provides a comfortable place for the thumb to rest, then solidly, unlike some light spring switches, solidly, unlike some stiff switches, clicks right on.

I would like to try an o-ring, it would provide more grip and leverage to click it on, as has been suggested.

 

[Darell]

Originally posted by McGizmo:
(I think Mr. Science would approve......)

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Mr. Science is, in fact, the grooviest guy you'll ever want to meet.

I also love grippy exterior O-rings. Give me a groove and let me fill it with an O-ring or a lanyard - and we're good to go!

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

SF uses exterior o-rings for gripping on the M1 ir led light.

Jim

 

[Darkstar]

Well its great to get vicarious thrills by reading everyone else's posts but unfortunately Fedex has either damaged mine in shipping or just plain screwed up

. My package arrived in Hartford, CT on 9/24, went to Manchester, NH, which is 20 minutes from me (so near yet so far), back to Hartford and I'm waiting to hear from Fedex today

 

[MarcV]

Oh, that's sad. Here we are all wrapping colored rubber bands around ours and soaping our hands to simulate extreme handling problems while you suffer the agony of unfulfilled desire.

Click-ick. Click-click. Flash. Flash

It isn't fair, at all.

Click-ick. Click-ick.

 

[Darkstar]

MarcV, I hope your clickie thing doesn't fall off in your hand!

 

[GJW]

Originally posted by McGizmo:
GJW,

I found that a 15/16 OD O-ring that is 1/8" thick nestles between the head and the tail nicely. It will be unlikely to win any beauty contest but the grip afforded by this O-ring needs to be felt to be appreciated. WIth wet hands or gloves on, I think you could still activate and hold the light any way you wanted. Beauty Shot:

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I found one that fit but was a tiny bit loose so I followed it up with a second o-ring and that seems very stable.
The neat thing is that now when I do a battery change, the one o-ring stays on the head and the other stays on the switch.
almost like it was designed that way.
Pretty neat!

 

[MarcV]

I'm really surprised that Craig didn't come up with this first,but here goes:

Your bathroom has a spare roll of toilet tissue. Retrieve it and place it on its side on a surface about head height. Drop the LSTS (Arc LS with Tail Switch) from the height of the roll (about 4") tail downwards. It will turn on automatically and will not blind you because the paper roll

a) blocks side scatter
b) holds the device in a generally vertical plane

To extinguish the lamp, insert a finger or two into the roll center and press downward.

If that burns your finger tips, you were in there too long!

What does a posting like this tell you? It tells you that testing this tail switch is getting boring and we're only 24 hours into it. The rubber housing over the switch is just the right resiliency to allow easy switching by thumb pressure, finger pressure, 4" drop pressure, whatever. The surface of the housing exhibits sufficient friction that your finger/thumb/waxed surface never slips off; yet it's not abrasive nor marring. Yet it is not so sticky that pocket retrieval is any problem.

Anybody finding any problems with this thing? I'm almost hoping there are some just to break the monotony.

NOTHING IS GOING WRONG!

 

[McGizmo]

MarcV,

I slight aberation (sp) is starting to become evident in this thread. It's nothing to be too upset about but your statment that "NOTHING IS WRONG" may be a bit premature and a denial of underlying issues. Marc, we're here for you........................ 🙂

 

[MarcV]

Well, okay, here's an abberation; but I cannot find a warranty statement in the extensive Arc LS user maintenance manual. (Truth is, I can't locate my copy of the manual at all. I can't even find the user manual. Guess my filing system needs an overhaul.)

When I glue my compass to the twisty tail of the original 123 holder, North is north of here.

When the compass approaches the LSTS, North takes on a whole new meaning.

 

[supertrucker]

Got my tailswitch pack today. I like it a whole lot.
The color matches nicely, and works quite well as a "mom on" switch! The only thing I need is a pocket clip like the one on the Kroll klickie/E2-etc, and it will replace my E2 as my EDC!!!
Good job Peter.

 

[JoeyL]

I've had the tailswitch for 24 hours now.
It is a good option in my opinion.
I've run it through many on/off cycles by now and it feels comfortable to use.

The ability to do momentary blinks is good for morse code which I try to do with my son the scout. Blue stands out from background light in the middle of the night.

The light flickers if you hold it on continuously with the momentary light press, but is steady if you click it.

I'll post more on reliability later after a few days of constant use.

All in all I like this switch much better than the twist although the overall light is longer. The tail piece is also thinner which gives the light a slightly mismatched look. I would personally like it the same thickness as the light head.

So far so good. Two thumbs up.
------------------------------------------------

 

[Light-Headed]

I agree about the diameter of the tail switch JoeyL.....I would have bought one for my LS if it had been the same. However, I believe this tailswitch was originally designed for the new LS2 that's due out soon and the head for that will be the same diameter as the tail switch. I think this "pre-release" by Peter of the tail switches is primarily just to test the reliability of the switch and for those of us out there that just can't live without a tail switch..... even if it's not the correct size for our LS.

 

[CM]

I had my tailswitch for a while now and subjected it with pretty heavy use. I bought it when I visited Peter's new facility two weeks ago. I tried using it in the click-on position as much as possible and I think I got it to fail. It's intermittent and the symptoms are that the light flickers dim sometimes and twice it would not go on until I cycled it off/on. This is very intermittent but is somewhat disconcerting to me. I'll try to permanently break it and see if Peter sends me a new one

CM

 

[CM]

Hit reply too soon. I would like to add that I love the tail switch function. Can't wait for the 2AA w/tail switch to come out. I've gone through 3 Lithiums with this testing and I'm ready to go back to cheap AA's. So Peter, when will you have the 2AA version

???

 

[this_is_nascar]

Received the tail-switch today. It does look better than I feared it would. Functionally, it seems to work well. Time will tell.

I do miss the ability to use the ARC in a "candle" mode by setting it on it's stock tail cap. I do that every morning to get dressed. The reflection on the ceiling allows for enough light to light the room, but doesn't shine into the wife's eyes to wake her up.

My opinion at this point. Keep the tailcap switch as an optional accessory and allow the OEM tail cap to be what comes with the LS.

 

[MarcV]

Originally posted by this_is_nascar:

I do miss the ability to use the ARC in a "candle" mode . I do that every morning to get dressed.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">If you don't have a spare TT roll there, (see my earlier post) then try dropping it into an opaque drinking glass.