Just received my A2!

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budlight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
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123
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Austin, KY
My first metal Surefire and it is a gem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I got it from Brightguy as an addition to my growing collection but already I think it might end up as my EDC, which is currently a G2 and an ARC LS. The incandescent is very bright (close to my G2 but without the throw), and the LED is more than adequate for close work. I've not run it out yet so I don't know the different run times but I am very curious how the new digital regulation circuitry compares to the unregulated version.

So far a very happy camper. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Mike-
 
Bud-I'd love a review, and your thoughts on the light. I have a Streamlight 3LED/ Xenon 2-cell Lithium (not regulated) on preorder. Would like to see how they compare. I would particularly like to know how the beam quality is with the "cut outs" for the LED's. Faceted reflector ?

Come on, share with us.
 
Congrats Bud! You'll love it even more as time goes by. Hopefully! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Bud, Johnk. I ran my first set of batts down in my A2 last monday, and it was at peak brightness throughout the 45-50 min of runtime. It isn't like the Arc/SF luxeon lights that gradually get dim over time, the A2 abruptly switches to a lower output mode, and you KNOW you need to replace the batteries pretty soon (unless you want to run just the led's for another 5 or so hours /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) I am very pleased with my A2. In my humble opinion it is the perfect edc light. I find myself using it more than I ever did my e2o or e2 because you have the option of using the low power (and long running) leds. The two stage tailcap is a gem as well. It is very easy to run just the leds, and not trigger the high beam in momentary mode, and you can lock out the high beam, or both modes for storage, or transport. While the leds are not as bright as a luxeon, they run for ten times as long as the kl1/e1e combo does. It is a very usefull wide beam of light, and you will use the leds %80-%90 of the time.

I am not sure if the A2 is waterproof or not, but it does seem to handle rain, and slight submersion(1-2 in. of water) well. I also noticed when I first got the light that it has a new little plastic widget to keep the o-ring out of the clip slot. The old e2e had to have a little plastic washer to do this, I highly preffer the newer method used on the a2 to the old washer.
 
bwcaw:

So the incandescent is regulated too? Thanks a lot for the info. Really like the feel and action of this light.

Mike-
 
What a disappointment! I looked at the run time curves on Sean's Flashlight Site and assumed that current to the LEDs was also regulated. It also seems reasonable that, with the digital logic used, the A2 would be designed to keep the LED level as bright as 3 LEDs can give for as long as the batteries are able.

I guess this means that those beam shots of the LED output are for fresh batteries, but that in real use the LEDs would not always be that bright.

Do you have any idea of how degraded the brightness becomes? That is, what is the light intensity coming from the 3 LEDs after using the flashlight on incandescent for the full 45-50 minutes of run time, as opposed to the intensity on fresh batteries? I wonder if anyone has measured this.
 
i just have one problem with the A2, if my battery is almost dead, is there anyway i can know in advance? most ppl here carry the A2 as an edc, and that means it will be use everyday. we can't affort to keep track of the battery life by counting how much we use. what if i am in a situation where i have only 5min left and i happen to need the main beam for longer than that?
I know i can carry spares but that not my point.
Linfeng
 
I seem to be able to keep track of the my A2's runtime. I often have a couple SF123As in a small zip-lock bag in my jacket pocket anyway (always have)
And my rucksack has at least one SC1 or SC2 in it.

After you have used it for about a few weeks you should get an idea of how often you need to change batteries. For me it's about once a week or about 12 days depending on whether I walk home from the pub or not...

Al
 
Hi Size15s

Al, I'm wondering if you might have an answer to my question in this thread of 10:34 AM?

Thanks,

Paul
 
You are asking whether the A2's three LEDs are not as bright when the main beam can no longer be powered by the SF123As?

In my experience the LEDs show no signs of any loss of brightness. I have not run the LEDs constant-on to see what the LED runtime is and I don't have equipment to measure light output.

I believe that not using the regulation circuits of the A2 to run the LEDs give far longer runtimes as battery juice is not wasted as much.

To be honest, in the 30+ battery sets I've put through my A2 I have not noticed any decrease in LED output. I doubt it's worth getting concerned about. If it was an issue I believe SureFire would have regulated the LEDs...

Al
 
Thanks for your reply Al. Yes, that is the question.

There's nothing like experience. Your answer indicates to me that any possible attenuation in LED level is negligible and that I will probably be okay with the LEDs in the A2. Of course, if that's not the case, I can do what nascar does (sell it). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I recently got a light meter. All I need now is the A2 and then I can find the answer to the umpteenth decimal point. Oh boy, another light on my list.
 
in my opinion the leds dimming isn't a big issue, since the colour temperature stays the same, unlike an incandescent which will turn more and more yellow (which makes regulation relatively more necessary in an incandescent). the arc AAA also dims slightly, but i don't notice it unless i change the batteries and compare the output. my C2 on the other hand, turns noticeably yellow as the batteries start to die out.
 
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