Gransee
Flashlight Enthusiast
As some of you know, the Arc6 was designed to make it easy to add a tritium vial to the tail button. This mod makes it easier to find the flashlight in the dark. For example, I keep my Arc6 beside my bed at night. Before adding the tritium, in the middle of the night when I got up to use the rest room or check on a noise, I would have to feel around to find it and sometimes I would knock it over on to the floor, which makes a loud noise that wakes up my wife. Now with the addition of a small tritium vial, it is much easier to find the flashlight, grab it and go.
Tritium is beta source that has a half life of about 12.5 years. Combined with a phosphor, it can produce a steady source of light for markers and other identifiers. It is used in watches, emergency signs, safety markers, etc.
Unlike glow in dark paint or stickers, Tritium does not need to be "charged" by ambient light. It produces its own energy to power the phosphor. This means it can glow for quite a few years, even if left in the dark.
Tritium vials include the tritium gas, phosphor and a hard plastic shell. They are available in quite a few colors. I went with green because it is the brightest.
What you will need:
- Arc6 (duh)
- 1.55x5mm tritium vial (color of your choice)
- glue rated for metal and plastic
The tritium can be purchased from various CPF vendors. I bought from long time CPF'er "Bart". I paid $7.50 for a single vial and $3 for shipping. I bought 10 vials but only 1 is required for this mod. Bart shipped quickly and the package arrived soon and was well packaged. Here's his latest sell thread:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?p=2205456#
Bart did not give me any special treatment for mentioning him nor did he know I was going to do so.
Because of NRC laws here in the USA, we cannot sell the Arc6 with the tritium already installed or resale the tritium vials themselves without untenable restrictions. I mentioned this in another thread awhile back.
Steps to install Tritium vial:
1. Clean the slot in the piston. I used a q-tip. Doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to get a good bond with the glue.
2. Using glue that is rated for both metal and plastic (Duco brand from the local Ace Hardware did the trick), I put a small amount in the slot first before adding the vial.
3. Placed the vial on top of the glue in the slot with tweezers. Moved it around until it was nicely centered. If you don't have tweezers, you can use a small pair of needle nose pliers or even your fingers if you are especially deft.
4. Added more glue on top of the vial to further secure it. I kept the layer above the vial thin so as not to attenuate the vial output too much. This particular glue doesn't dry perfectly clear so that was important. Some of the fancier glues are more clear.
Here's how the finished product looks:
(I included my Arc-AAA blue-ray laser mod in the pic just for fun.)
I have been using my modified Arc6 for several days now. I really like it and wondered why I waited so long to make this mod.
Some mods festoon the flashlight with multiple tritium vials but I found that the glow from just one vial can be clearly seen with dark adjusted eyes, even when the tail is pointing away from me.
peter
Tritium is beta source that has a half life of about 12.5 years. Combined with a phosphor, it can produce a steady source of light for markers and other identifiers. It is used in watches, emergency signs, safety markers, etc.
Unlike glow in dark paint or stickers, Tritium does not need to be "charged" by ambient light. It produces its own energy to power the phosphor. This means it can glow for quite a few years, even if left in the dark.
Tritium vials include the tritium gas, phosphor and a hard plastic shell. They are available in quite a few colors. I went with green because it is the brightest.
What you will need:
- Arc6 (duh)
- 1.55x5mm tritium vial (color of your choice)
- glue rated for metal and plastic
The tritium can be purchased from various CPF vendors. I bought from long time CPF'er "Bart". I paid $7.50 for a single vial and $3 for shipping. I bought 10 vials but only 1 is required for this mod. Bart shipped quickly and the package arrived soon and was well packaged. Here's his latest sell thread:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?p=2205456#
Bart did not give me any special treatment for mentioning him nor did he know I was going to do so.
Because of NRC laws here in the USA, we cannot sell the Arc6 with the tritium already installed or resale the tritium vials themselves without untenable restrictions. I mentioned this in another thread awhile back.
Steps to install Tritium vial:
1. Clean the slot in the piston. I used a q-tip. Doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to get a good bond with the glue.
2. Using glue that is rated for both metal and plastic (Duco brand from the local Ace Hardware did the trick), I put a small amount in the slot first before adding the vial.
3. Placed the vial on top of the glue in the slot with tweezers. Moved it around until it was nicely centered. If you don't have tweezers, you can use a small pair of needle nose pliers or even your fingers if you are especially deft.
4. Added more glue on top of the vial to further secure it. I kept the layer above the vial thin so as not to attenuate the vial output too much. This particular glue doesn't dry perfectly clear so that was important. Some of the fancier glues are more clear.
Here's how the finished product looks:
(I included my Arc-AAA blue-ray laser mod in the pic just for fun.)
I have been using my modified Arc6 for several days now. I really like it and wondered why I waited so long to make this mod.
Some mods festoon the flashlight with multiple tritium vials but I found that the glow from just one vial can be clearly seen with dark adjusted eyes, even when the tail is pointing away from me.
peter
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