A SF A2 Regulation Question

[MicroE]

I have been thinking about the upcoming release of the Surefire A2. The A2 has, as I understand it, a REGULATED incandescent bulb.

Does this mean that any old brand of 123's will work just as well as the high-cost SF123's?

Or does this mean that ONLY SF123's will work because only they are capable of delivering the super-high current that the circuitry will demand?

The answer will substantially influence the runtime costs of the A2. Thanks---Marc

 

[McGizmo]

MicroE,

Good Question. Since the incandescent is 60 lumens and the 2 cell lights can handle the power required for 120 lumen LA's, my gut feeling is that the batteries won't be hammered as hard as as we might expect but when the batteries are getting a bit tired............... Hummmm

- Don

 

[Brock]

I couldn't say for sure, but my guess is that any fresh 123 should work. Even if the regulation adds a bit of load, the cheaper 123's should still be fine. It will be interesting to check runtimes between different brands with the lamp regulated, that is where I think we will see a difference.

 

[monanza]

The only issues are runtime and heat. I do not think heat is a problem at A2 LA loads (~1.5A) but runtime will definately be a consideration. On the other hand with the A2's LED LA to fall back on I wouldn't worry as much about runtime. I will be trying the less expensive panasonics or may be even sanyos.

Since we are on the subject does anyone have the Surefire impedance characteristics? All I can find is that they have 'higher dynamic impedance' which could mean many things to an ignoramus like me.

Cheers.

 

[MicroE]

I tend to think that you guys are correct.

I bet that the A2 will be just as bright on Panasonic or Toshiba or Sanyo or Tekcel as it will on SF123's. The only difference will be runtime.

This could be a serious cost savings for people that use this light a lot. It also means that SF might be shooting themselves in the foot by bringing out a light that is NOT brighter with their own batteries.---Marc