LED_ASAP
Enlightened
People know this light, it's an Arc AAA, the de-facto standard of AAA light in CPF. It is small and bright---nothing new---
or is there?
Somehow the color isn't the familiar Nichia bluish white /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif
And where is the hot sopt?
The answer is here:
Ahh, a HD Luxeon Emitter in an Arc head /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Here is the Arc AAA LS mod compared with an Arc AAA Standard.
Apparently the camera is more sensitive to the bluish tint of the Arc AAA.
The volume in the Arc AAA head is actually much bigger than what is available in a Mag Solitaire plug. But there is no convenient way of heat-sinking, so I didn't drive the LS too hard. The battery draw is 340mA, meaning about 100+ mA to the LS. The brightness is "not as bright as the hot spot of Arc AAA, but brighter over-all", a typical beam from a bare LS emitter. The "reflector" in Arc head is not very efficient in catching the light, but there is a noticeable hotspot in the beam.
I obtained 4 empty Arc AAA's from Peter as a one-time trade (A big THANK YOU to Peter for providing the empty Arc AAA casings that made this mod possible!) and there won't be a constant supply of Arc AAA bodies. The production model of Arc AAA is totally sealed in epoxy and difficult to disassemble, and the crimp rim will likely be too weak to stand open-and-reseal. So I don't plan to offer this modding service.
But if somebody really wants one, there will be three units up for grab (the forth goes back to Peter as part of the trade). I haven't finished them yet, so keep an eye on this thread.
Word of caution:
The heads and bodies Peter sent me seem to be some left-overs from R&D stage (the old black anodized aluminum, not the newer grey type III hard aluminum)and the threads don't match. You will need to use them with the body from a real Arc AAA (The body of a Standard edition Arc AAA I bought early this year worked well). But I am sure those who want to get my mod would have plenty of Arc AAA's around /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif