My Arc4+ Second arrived about a half ago and I've naturally been fooling with it since then. I'll post some immediate comments now and more when I've had it longer. I have to say I've been skeptical of the computerized aspects of the Arc4 concept from the beginning, so this review is colored that way.
First thing I did on opening the package was unscrew the battery compartment and drop in a battery to try out the light, deliberately without reading the instructions. You shouldn't need instructions for this basic operation. I unscrewed the battery compartment (the correct thing) rather than the tailcap (the wrong thing) partly because I knew about this issue, but the tailcap seems to be on tighter, so twisting it actually takes off the battery compartment. I guess that's good.
The beam is whiter than any LED flashlight I've ever had so far. There's maybe the slightest yellowish tinge just around the edge of the hot spot.
I checked in on CPF and added a post to the roll call. I then looked carefully at the light to see why it's a second. There was a big fingerprint on the lens protector but that cleaned off easily. There's a little bit of dust and crud on the reflector, not enough to affect operation, and perfectly acceptable for a second, but I can understand why a finicky buyer might be bothered by it in a first. It's an expensive electro-optical device like a medium priced camera, so buyers are entitled to use the same standards when checking the optics as they would when they buy a camera, and camera optics should not be this dirty. Anyway, this dust can be solved with a puff of filtered air during assembly.
There are barely noticable color gradients in the HA. There's no holes in the HA that I've noticed so far. The white stuff in the laser engraving for the logo and serial number isn't very even, though. I put the clip on and it seems to me that the screw holes are about 0.2mm further apart than they really should be to put the clip on most easily, but it still went on. No biggie. I'm not crazy about how the screw heads stick up, and would have preferred flat-head screws with countersunk holes in the clip so the screws would be flush or almost flush, but this isn't a big deal either. All in all, I really don't know why this light is a second. It must be because of something that came out in electrical or photometric testing, that's not immediately discernible to a user.
I then looked at the one page (printed both sides) instruction sheet that came in the ziplock bag. It was very cheesily done and just gave basic directions about turning the light on and off in constant and momentary mode, plus a little bit of maintenance info, contact info for Arc, and a pointer to CPF. There was nothing about how to use the advanced flashlight settings or any indication that those settings even exist. So, I think this is a big deficiency. The light needs to come with complete and detailed printed instructions that explain everything. Anything less than that is a crock. The skimpy docs that came with this light make me feel like I got a product that's still in beta test.
I then looked on Arc's web site for instructions and didn't find them (that doesn't mean they weren't there, they just weren't obvious). I then spent several minutes digging through the Arc CPF section and found an old thread with the draft manual. I posted there urging that the instructions be included with the light, which should have bumped that thread to the top. I hope Peter will make that thread sticky for easy access, and also link a copy of the instructions from the Arc4/4+ page on Arc's site.
Following the instructions from the advanced instruction thread, I tried scrolling through the different modes. Clicking 10 times flashed the Morse letters S-O-S. OK, that's the SOS mode, I can understand that. Except oops, then the light sent its "error" signal and shut off. I'd have expected SOS mode to flash SOS continuously until a rescue chopper arrived or something.
So, click ten times again, SOS mode, morse SOS, ok. Then click once more for button lock mode. That sends a morse letter "I", which makes no sense to me. Why not "B", for button lock? There's no way to remember what mode "I" indicates. Using "B" is no more arbitrary than "I" for those who don't know Morse code, but a lot less confusing for those who do. Also, button lock is a pretty good idea but it's way too much hassle to activate it. Someone else suggested that triple clicking with the light off should activate the button lock. That would be a big improvement.
Clicking again goes to "force primary", indicated by a morse "T". Again confusing, it should use "F". I set the force primary mode, who wants to buy an expensive ultra-bright LED light and then let someone unfamiliar with the controls use it and have it come up in an unimpressive secondary mode?
Next is the locator flash, denoted by morse "E" instead of "L". The locator flash on my unit is pretty bright, which means I have older firmware. I'm using a Yungtong battery and vaguely remembre some problem with older firmware and Yungtongs, but so far haven't noticed anything bad happening. The locator flash itself seems pretty useless, way too bright at this setting and probably too bright even at level 16. A very dim continuous glow would be better. And speaking of firmware, I still don't know if this light is eligible for $20.00 firmware upgrades. So far, nothing makes me think I need one yet though.
Next menu item controls the useless and confusing ready-for-service mode, which for some reason is on by default, even though it uses battery power even when the light is turned off. I turned it off, good riddance. It's nuts; I should have mentioned at the beginning of this post how it confused me when I first turned on the light. This mode should certainly be off by default and maybe removed entirely, perhaps replacing it with a diagnostic function accessible only through some menu. The very existence of this function makes me fear future versions of the firmware will take longer and longer to boot, just like Windows 95 or Microsoft Word. There's just no reason why anyone should ever have to wait 10 seconds to boot a flashlight. There's just none, ever.
Clicking 10+ times is pretty annoying and will probably cause repetitive stress injuries if done too often. Holding the button in for several seconds to select an item is also pretty painful.
Also very annoying: when you reach some spot in the menu, you then have just a few seconds to either activate that mode or scroll to the next item. Otherwise you get an error signal and you have to start over, clicking ten times etc. If you scroll to some item, then stop while you read the instructions to see what to do next, the menu will time out on you. That's bad design. It should let you take as long as you want, or if there's a timeout at all, it should be a very long one, like 10 minutes.
I didn't try the tactical modes. Maybe later. I also didn't try changing any of the brightness settings. I conceivably might. I don't see much need for 16 levels though. Three levels (1, 7, 15) is plenty. Two is really enough.
I'm not clear whether the triple-click level is 15 or 16, but as ultra-dim modes go, if any are going to be supplied, it would be nice if the light went even dimmer, by at least several stops. Level 16 (or is it 15) on this light seems somewhat brighter than my current coin cell light (1x5mm LED direct (under)driven from a 3 volt CR2032). Well, sooner or later I'll get a Rigel Systems Starlite, which dims down to practically zero.
All in all, this light is quite an improvement over the Arc LS, which seemed more thrown-together, and which had a big problem spelled K-r-o-l-l. I like the Arc4's beam and brightness a lot and the Arc4 itself is well made. The pushbutton ergonomics for normal use are tolerable and the flared tailcap will help it a lot. Knurling on the head might improve the grip a little but isn't really needed and I think the light looks better without it.
Replacing the LS's mechanical power switch with a logic signal greatly reduces the switch flakiness and that by itself makes the microprocessor approach worthwhile. However, the user interface for the advanced modes leaves a lot to be desired. I think this amount of configurability and a one-button interface don't mix. Either the functions should be trimmed to essentials, or more controls should be added, or some way should be provided to configure the light through a computer/PDA using a GUI. The click-double click scheme of switching between primary and secondary brightness is nowhere near as intuitive as the Surefire A2 interface of pressing the button partway for low brightness and all the way for high brightness. The forthcoming SF U2 will apparently have a rotating ring around the barrel to select six brightness levels. That too sounds much better than the Arc4's infinite clicking.
All in all, the Arc4 is an interesting and significant development in the emerging technology of LED flashlights. It's like the early days of digital watches or calculators. Someday everyone will be using these things, but there's quite a bit more development and interface evolution between now and then. Those of us who are technology buffs should feel fortunate to be seeing this exciting new stuff unfolding before our eyes. Those who are normal flashlight users should probably see the Arc4 as an improvement over traditional lights that introduces some foibles of its own, not the be all and end all, but as something that points the way to lights that for now can only be imagined.
First thing I did on opening the package was unscrew the battery compartment and drop in a battery to try out the light, deliberately without reading the instructions. You shouldn't need instructions for this basic operation. I unscrewed the battery compartment (the correct thing) rather than the tailcap (the wrong thing) partly because I knew about this issue, but the tailcap seems to be on tighter, so twisting it actually takes off the battery compartment. I guess that's good.
The beam is whiter than any LED flashlight I've ever had so far. There's maybe the slightest yellowish tinge just around the edge of the hot spot.
I checked in on CPF and added a post to the roll call. I then looked carefully at the light to see why it's a second. There was a big fingerprint on the lens protector but that cleaned off easily. There's a little bit of dust and crud on the reflector, not enough to affect operation, and perfectly acceptable for a second, but I can understand why a finicky buyer might be bothered by it in a first. It's an expensive electro-optical device like a medium priced camera, so buyers are entitled to use the same standards when checking the optics as they would when they buy a camera, and camera optics should not be this dirty. Anyway, this dust can be solved with a puff of filtered air during assembly.
There are barely noticable color gradients in the HA. There's no holes in the HA that I've noticed so far. The white stuff in the laser engraving for the logo and serial number isn't very even, though. I put the clip on and it seems to me that the screw holes are about 0.2mm further apart than they really should be to put the clip on most easily, but it still went on. No biggie. I'm not crazy about how the screw heads stick up, and would have preferred flat-head screws with countersunk holes in the clip so the screws would be flush or almost flush, but this isn't a big deal either. All in all, I really don't know why this light is a second. It must be because of something that came out in electrical or photometric testing, that's not immediately discernible to a user.
I then looked at the one page (printed both sides) instruction sheet that came in the ziplock bag. It was very cheesily done and just gave basic directions about turning the light on and off in constant and momentary mode, plus a little bit of maintenance info, contact info for Arc, and a pointer to CPF. There was nothing about how to use the advanced flashlight settings or any indication that those settings even exist. So, I think this is a big deficiency. The light needs to come with complete and detailed printed instructions that explain everything. Anything less than that is a crock. The skimpy docs that came with this light make me feel like I got a product that's still in beta test.
I then looked on Arc's web site for instructions and didn't find them (that doesn't mean they weren't there, they just weren't obvious). I then spent several minutes digging through the Arc CPF section and found an old thread with the draft manual. I posted there urging that the instructions be included with the light, which should have bumped that thread to the top. I hope Peter will make that thread sticky for easy access, and also link a copy of the instructions from the Arc4/4+ page on Arc's site.
Following the instructions from the advanced instruction thread, I tried scrolling through the different modes. Clicking 10 times flashed the Morse letters S-O-S. OK, that's the SOS mode, I can understand that. Except oops, then the light sent its "error" signal and shut off. I'd have expected SOS mode to flash SOS continuously until a rescue chopper arrived or something.
So, click ten times again, SOS mode, morse SOS, ok. Then click once more for button lock mode. That sends a morse letter "I", which makes no sense to me. Why not "B", for button lock? There's no way to remember what mode "I" indicates. Using "B" is no more arbitrary than "I" for those who don't know Morse code, but a lot less confusing for those who do. Also, button lock is a pretty good idea but it's way too much hassle to activate it. Someone else suggested that triple clicking with the light off should activate the button lock. That would be a big improvement.
Clicking again goes to "force primary", indicated by a morse "T". Again confusing, it should use "F". I set the force primary mode, who wants to buy an expensive ultra-bright LED light and then let someone unfamiliar with the controls use it and have it come up in an unimpressive secondary mode?
Next is the locator flash, denoted by morse "E" instead of "L". The locator flash on my unit is pretty bright, which means I have older firmware. I'm using a Yungtong battery and vaguely remembre some problem with older firmware and Yungtongs, but so far haven't noticed anything bad happening. The locator flash itself seems pretty useless, way too bright at this setting and probably too bright even at level 16. A very dim continuous glow would be better. And speaking of firmware, I still don't know if this light is eligible for $20.00 firmware upgrades. So far, nothing makes me think I need one yet though.
Next menu item controls the useless and confusing ready-for-service mode, which for some reason is on by default, even though it uses battery power even when the light is turned off. I turned it off, good riddance. It's nuts; I should have mentioned at the beginning of this post how it confused me when I first turned on the light. This mode should certainly be off by default and maybe removed entirely, perhaps replacing it with a diagnostic function accessible only through some menu. The very existence of this function makes me fear future versions of the firmware will take longer and longer to boot, just like Windows 95 or Microsoft Word. There's just no reason why anyone should ever have to wait 10 seconds to boot a flashlight. There's just none, ever.
Clicking 10+ times is pretty annoying and will probably cause repetitive stress injuries if done too often. Holding the button in for several seconds to select an item is also pretty painful.
Also very annoying: when you reach some spot in the menu, you then have just a few seconds to either activate that mode or scroll to the next item. Otherwise you get an error signal and you have to start over, clicking ten times etc. If you scroll to some item, then stop while you read the instructions to see what to do next, the menu will time out on you. That's bad design. It should let you take as long as you want, or if there's a timeout at all, it should be a very long one, like 10 minutes.
I didn't try the tactical modes. Maybe later. I also didn't try changing any of the brightness settings. I conceivably might. I don't see much need for 16 levels though. Three levels (1, 7, 15) is plenty. Two is really enough.
I'm not clear whether the triple-click level is 15 or 16, but as ultra-dim modes go, if any are going to be supplied, it would be nice if the light went even dimmer, by at least several stops. Level 16 (or is it 15) on this light seems somewhat brighter than my current coin cell light (1x5mm LED direct (under)driven from a 3 volt CR2032). Well, sooner or later I'll get a Rigel Systems Starlite, which dims down to practically zero.
All in all, this light is quite an improvement over the Arc LS, which seemed more thrown-together, and which had a big problem spelled K-r-o-l-l. I like the Arc4's beam and brightness a lot and the Arc4 itself is well made. The pushbutton ergonomics for normal use are tolerable and the flared tailcap will help it a lot. Knurling on the head might improve the grip a little but isn't really needed and I think the light looks better without it.
Replacing the LS's mechanical power switch with a logic signal greatly reduces the switch flakiness and that by itself makes the microprocessor approach worthwhile. However, the user interface for the advanced modes leaves a lot to be desired. I think this amount of configurability and a one-button interface don't mix. Either the functions should be trimmed to essentials, or more controls should be added, or some way should be provided to configure the light through a computer/PDA using a GUI. The click-double click scheme of switching between primary and secondary brightness is nowhere near as intuitive as the Surefire A2 interface of pressing the button partway for low brightness and all the way for high brightness. The forthcoming SF U2 will apparently have a rotating ring around the barrel to select six brightness levels. That too sounds much better than the Arc4's infinite clicking.
All in all, the Arc4 is an interesting and significant development in the emerging technology of LED flashlights. It's like the early days of digital watches or calculators. Someday everyone will be using these things, but there's quite a bit more development and interface evolution between now and then. Those of us who are technology buffs should feel fortunate to be seeing this exciting new stuff unfolding before our eyes. Those who are normal flashlight users should probably see the Arc4 as an improvement over traditional lights that introduces some foibles of its own, not the be all and end all, but as something that points the way to lights that for now can only be imagined.
