ARC LS Second SALE Price - 49.99!?!?!?!

[Wolfen]

Okay, Upon further review, The body still looks like it went through a mix master. However, I would say the light is not pea green, it is white in the center with a yellow outer ring.

As for the brightness, it's dim compared to my KL1 blue meanie. But, it is about as bright as my Tektite 14, so I guess it is as bright as it should be.

 

[radellaf]

Just got mine, First Run #2405, and as far as I'm concerned, it's perfect.

Reading Thomas's list, I guess some wouldn't consider it so, but what-ever, I'm thrilled.

Draws near 500mA from a new CR123, but I'll probably run it off 1Ah RS NiCd AAs with the 2AA pack. I think the LS looks kind of silly on the "stubby" pack.

I get a tad over 1 turn with the 2AA from on to head-coming-off which is minimally OK. I only do a 90 deg rotation to shut off such lights so there's enough slack.

What I wonder is, what's the front lens made of? The soft stuff, or lexan/plexi? Only really matters if I was going to keychain it, which it's really too big for. That's what the AAA Arc lives for.

 

[Light-Headed]

Hey Rad,

I think the new LS revision 2 has a lexan lens, but I'm not sure what the LS revision 1 uses. Anyone know what type of lens the revision 1 uses?

 

[Sean]

Originally posted by Wolfen:
Well, I got my Arc 400 MA SLS today. I hit the jackpot. It's the same pea green luxeon that I got rid of last month except this time it looks like someone put it through a mix master before shipping it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">ROTFLMAO!

Make sure some of those bare metal spots aren't spots of silver epoxy. Mine were, they came off with mineral spirits. If not, it was probably the mix-master that did it!

radellaf,
If you got a revision 2 body it has a lexan lens.

I wonder if Arc will start using pyrex someday?

 

[Wolfen]

Arc SLS 400 ma hybrid on left KL1 on E1e on right.
both 1 cr123 battery pack

 

[Sean]

Would you say that the beam colors in your picture are accurate?

 

[Wolfen]

The KL1 has a bluer cast and the yellow rings on the Arc are a less yellow.

The KL1 is much brighter than the my SLS 400MA hybrid. It has a better hotspot than my KL3.

 

[Sean]

My KL1 is brighter than my LS (400mA) too. That's not surprising since the KL1 runs at a higher current than the Arc LS.

 

[Wolfen]

Well, I got my Arc 400 MA SLS today. I hit the jackpot. It's the same pea green luxeon that I got rid of last month except this time it looks like someone put it through a mix master before shipping it.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Mine came a few days ago and its great. The only externally visible 'defect' is some slight unevenness of the coating on the base, and that only visible in fairly bright, direct light. There is more pronounced unevenness and some bare spots inside (as above - "so?"). The beam may be slightly off center (maybe) but only slightly. Color is from blue-white in the hot spot, to white, to slightly green. Of the three LS lights I have it is by far the best:

Upper left is Opalec Newbeam (for comparison/fun). Bottom left is icky green disappointingly-dim-even-on-new-lithiums CMG reactor (relegated to backup status in truck). Center is somewhat greener than I'd like but still very usable and brighter than CMG Inretech (keep in my jacket pocket and use a fair amount). Right is obviously much brighter whiter and nifty SLS.

(Arc AAA didn't make it into the beamshots because the poor little thing would get squashed, but that's the great little light that gets taken *everywhere*)

Its definitely a keeper!

Two questions though:

How do I tell if its a 400 or a 500? (just curious)
(it says First Run #2131)

What's the deal with the traffic on improving the LS with regard to waterproofing? I wasn't expecting to be able to take it swimming but I thought they were quite watertight(?)

Anyway, thought I'd share/ask.

 

[PeterM]

Frodo
Look in the head. The 400's have a green PCB, the 500's have a brown one.
The new LS2 bodies are supposed to be waterproof to 50' or thereabouts. The SLS or LS1 bodies are supposed to be "water resistant".

 

[napalm-2002]

i have 2 50$ sls's and i could not be more happy with them.
none of them have the flex problem either.

but an older sls does have the flex problem.
oh well?

but they were all worth the 50 $

mike

 

[Wolfen]

Mines not too bad. It took some getting used to the color of the beam after living with the KL1 which has a very bright hotspot and a bluish tint.

The marks on mine appear to be from it being taken apart and then the re-assembly process.

Once in awhile the light seems to "shudder". Like it is going into moon mode, but it doesn't.

 

[Kirk]

I think my SLS (first run, #2137)is great! I was worried about scratching the lens so I stuck on some WriteRight(sp?). Should "absorb" the boo-boos and can be replaced.
Kirk

 

[leddite]

you can get the $8ish kit for 2-AA-mini-mags that includes a hexagonal rubber lense holder, comes with red, orange/amber, and clear lenses, and make a tiny little plastic/wood shim to keep it snug. works like a charm. if you want better light transmission, and near zero scratch free, you can get a mineral/sapphire lense instead from a jewelry/watch shop.

the advantage is that the beam is not shaped or distored as with write write stuff.

Originally posted by Kirk:
I think my SLS (first run, #2137)is great! I was worried about scratching the lens so I stuck on some WriteRight(sp?). Should "absorb" the boo-boos and can be replaced.
Kirk

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

 

[Kirk]

leddite!
Thanks for the info. I was going to try some regular old clear stick-on plastic film, but a guy at work had some of the WriteRight stuff. This light doesn't have that tight of a beam so I figured I'd try it. I've tried to take the head off my light and it appears to be "glued" on. I think I better leave it alone.
Kirk

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I guess I'll put in a belated report on my ARC LS second. I ordered it on the 5th, and received it on the 7th. I was (and am) very pleased with it, particularly at the $50 price. Heck, I'd be very pleased at a $80 price. This was a good deal.

It's a lot brighter than my old v.9 unit, the beam is perfectly centered, and very white, with just a little blue in the center. I'd say it's about twice as bright as the v.9, maybe 2/3 of the way between the v.9 LS and my LGI. There are minor tint variations between the battery pack and the head, etc., but that doesn't bother me.

The *only* significant flaw is how the 123 pack (the only I got with this unit) fits the head. It has plenty of threads, they're just a little loose. This is by far the easiest to turn LS I've ever handled (I have 2 colored LS 2nds as well as the v.9 white), actually a little too easy. Some mild concern that it might turn on or detach in the pocket, but it doesn't seem to have done so thus far. OTOH, I'm sure some people would prefer how easy it is to turn on, and there are some fairly obvious things I could do to tighten it up.

Oh, and it worked fine with 3 different 123 batteries I tried it with (two brands), something only one of my older LS manages (the amber HD, probably the most recent LS I had before this).

So far, I've had excellent results with all four LS's I've purchased -- no failures, no returns, no support calls at all. I'm looking forward to the LS2...

 

[GADGETOMETRY]

Has anybody tried sticking a piece of that protective plastic they use on palms on the lens?

 

[brightnorm]

Originally posted by eccentrich:
......So far, I've had excellent results with all four LS's I've purchased -- no failures, no returns, no support calls at all. I'm looking forward to the LS2...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I've been lucky too (so far): 4 SLS's and no lemons.

Brightnorm