How much brighter (Solitare vs Arc AAA vs LS)

[Radiant]

Hi, this is my first post here. Came across the whole LED flashlight thing while searching random sites for a certain keyboard I was looking for and ended up finding a PC hardware page with a big review of lights, which eventually LED me here (yeah, im the king of bad puns).

Anyways, I love gadgets of all sorts. While digging through my desk the other day I found an old Mag Solitare, its output is really sad compared to a LED light I have hooked up to my USB monitor hub (don't know power rating on it though).

Does anyone have some images comparing the solitare to the Arc AAA? Also, How about the difference between the AAA and the LS model running on a single AA cell. A link to a review of the LS I found on this forum said the luxeon put out 14 times that of a nichia while running on 2AA. So does this mean 1AA should power the LS equal to 7 of the LEDs in the Arc AAA?

 

[PeLu]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Radiant:
....the luxeon put out 14 times that of a nichia while running on 2AA. So does this mean 1AA should power the LS equal to 7 of the LEDs in the Arc AAA?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not this way. The Luxeon at nominal current will put out 14-18 times the light as a Nichia LED running at nominal current. But Nichia LEDs are easy to overdrive, Luxeons not so much. Most Luxeon applications will see the LEd running at nominal current or even below. Many Nichia applications will overdrive the LEDs horribly (but quoting Peter Gransee: overdriving is not always bad, it depends what you want).

Any help or more confusion?

 

[Gransee]

Welcome to the CPF Radiant! Very cool user handle.

I understand that when you said "LS" you are referring to the Arc-LS. The Arc-LS can indeed produce light on just 1 AA cell.

Btw and FYI, I am the president of Arc Flashlight. I post frequently in these forums. CPF is an independent forum and not affiliated or censored by Arc Flashlight (or any other manufacturer for that matter) so you can talk about any light you want. The moderator for this forum is Brock.

I think you will find that compared to other forums, this bunch is a cut above in civility and intelligence.

The CPF community is fortunate to have several flashlight reviewers who also post to these forums. I would direct your questions about Solitaire and Arc comparisons to them. Gentlemen?

Peter Gransee

 

[K Horn]

Let's see.....

Up-side for the ARC over the solitare:
Brighter, Whiter beam, Smaller, Lighter, better built, fewer moving parts, longer burn time, bulb life 11 years (give or take), More water resistant, Much more dent resistant.

Up-side for the Solitare over the ARC:
Cheaper, has a cute plastic lens that yellows and cracks with age (ok thats not really an up-side but gee there wasn't anything else I could think of).

I did have a solitare on my key-chain for many years. The competition got better, the solitare just stayed in the dust. When was the last time Mag-light had anything new??? (BESIDES THE ERNHARDT EDITION LIGHT)

I love my ARC's

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I'll snap some pictures at the earliest opportunity. I know I have a solitaire buried *somewhere* in this pile of 200+ other flashlights.

Ahhh... there it is.
Let's load them both with new AAA cells and see what happens.

SEARCHING FOR AAA-CELL.BAT
LOADING
READY.
RUN

Uploading picture... hmmmm... darn, that server's full... so is that one... and so is that one.

Time to take over a fourth server - the one hosting my insulator website...

1: Size comparison.
2: Mag at wide focus.
3: Mag at medium focus.
4: Mag at narrow focus.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Radiant:

How about the difference between the AAA and the LS model running on a single AA cell.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Left: Arc AAA
Right: Arc LS prototype (production units may have a slightly differnt beam configuration)

A new battery was in the Arc AAA, and a single alkaline AA cell of unknown prior use was put in the LS.

 

[sylvestor]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stingmon:

Left: Arc AAA
Right: Arc LS prototype (production units may have a slightly differnt beam configuration)

A new battery was in the Arc AAA, and a single alkaline AA cell of unknown prior use was put in the LS.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Stingmon,

Can you posted some pictures of the Arc Ls beam with the 123 battery pack (also, please try to illuminate something that is 10 feet away. Just so we have some idea as to how far/strong the beam is).

thanks,

sylvestor.

p.s. do you have a cyan Arc LS that you can post pictures of ?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sylvestor:
Hi Stingmon,

Can you posted some pictures of the Arc Ls beam with the 123 battery pack (also, please try to illuminate something that is 10 feet away. Just so we have some idea as to how far/strong the beam is).?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Right now, I don't have anything 10 feet away to shoot at except maybe a plain door.
Space is extremely scarce here; it's like living inside a dishwasher.

I'll see if I can step off 10 feet from here to a door or something, but be forewarned it won't be like my regular target pictures.

Also I have no cyan LS. Not the kind with the lens anyway.
My cyan LS/C (plain batwing LED on PCB) is also several years old - it's an early prototype. So it's not suitable for comparing anything with because modern ones are supposedly several times brighter.

 

[Radiant]

Wow, thanks for all the replies and images! Both the Arc lights look very tempting. The Arc LS looks especially promising assuming the production model is as bright and not too large for actually being carried around with keys.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

1: target 10' away, consisting of a door and a busted wheelchair.
2: With 123 battery.
3: With 2 alklaine AA cells.
3: With 2 lithium AA cells.

 

[geepondy]

Craig,

Judging from your pictures, in order of brightness, with the brightest being first, it looks like CR123, Lithium AA's and alkaline AAs. Is this so? I thought from looking at previous graphs that the AA lithiums produced the brightest light for the Arc LS. Is the AA alkaline setup really that much dimmer then the other two options as apparently depicted from your pictures? I'm hoping that the CR123 configuration will be as bright or nearly so then any other options as if that is the case, it will be my primary body designation.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I saw them as the brightst being the two lithium AA, followed closely bt the single 123, then the alkaline AAs bringing up the butt-end.

I don't remember there being a fan in the camera's field of view... not sure what it is you're seeing... there's the front door, closet door, a broken wheelchair, a door brace, two telephones, and a container with some rags next to the door.
But no fan.

As for other comparisons... I don't have a lw3000, so I can't do that one.
The others, maybe as time and batteries permit (no C cells in known new condition).

 

[Badbeams3]

 

[Badbeams3]

Ditto what Peter said, but let me add the Ls may not even light at all on one AA. It needs a little more power I think...unless theirs a step-up in there. Anyway...welcome!

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

if I'm correct (from reading alot of post about ARC LLC), I think they have both step-up and regulator in all their light including the LS, correct me if I'm wrong tho

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Looking at the pictures I think Arc-LS with 2 Panasonic Alkalines and 2 Energizer Lithium L91 were aimed to the same spot of the wheelchair while the LS with CR123A was aimed to the door above the wheelchair.

Maybe Stingmon can shoot pictures again aiming the flashlight to the same spot.

- verge -

 

[geepondy]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 2d_edge:
Looking at the pictures I think Arc-LS with 2 Panasonic Alkalines and 2 Energizer Lithium L91 were aimed to the same spot of the wheelchair while the LS with CR123A was aimed to the door above the wheelchair.
- verge -<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, that's what fooled me in my initial light comparisons and comments.Upon a second look, the CR123A shot is centered higher then the others. The alkaline's definitely come up with the short end of the stick, though. I wonder why, whether it's a difference in voltage or the chemistry of the batteries. I would think the Arc's regulator would make minor differences in voltages insignificant.

 

[Badbeams3]

Good stuff in, good stuff out...well, maybe not with food...but batts.

 

[sylvestor]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stingmon:
[QB1: target 10' away, consisting of a door and a busted wheelchair.
2: With 123 battery.
3: With 2 alklaine AA cells.
3: With 2 lithium AA cells.[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Craig,

Thanks for posting the pictures of the LS in action. I now have a better idea of what the LS can do....

Sylvestor

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 2d_edge:

Maybe Stingmon can shoot pictures again aiming the flashlight to the same spot.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd need another tripod and some way to clamp the flashlight head so it stays in the same temporal orientation with each shot.
Anyone have a spare tripod and some C-clamps I can borrow?