New life for an old Arc AA?

[sambeaux2249]

I just retired my old Arc AA from being my keychain flashlight.
It was replaced by a Nitecore EZ-123. I was wondering if there
were any upgrades for the Arc to bring it up to say 20 lumens?
The website lists the output of the Arc AAA as about 5.5 lumens,
so I'm guessing that's what the AA should output. It's been a trusty
flashlight for years, so I hate to relegate it to the drawer...

Thanks.

Sam

 

[Gatsby]

There used to be a fair number of mods and folks doing mods on these (I seem to recall someone even had a stockpile of AA heads) but I haven't seen much recently.

I'm sure someone still could do an emitter upgrade of some kind. They are certainly well made bodies - heck even just putting a Nichia GS ought to up the volume as the AA was only made for a short period of time and that is something like 4 emitter generations ago.

 

[paulr]

There have been some fairly radical modifications done to the Arc AA including boring it out to use two CR2 cells and a power led. These days I would not attempt any of that. It is a classic, vintage light and the only mods I would think of would be to replace the led with a GS (for more flux) or an XTG ("snow") for better tint. But I think even that can be pretty difficult, given the potted circuit. Really, lumens aren't everything, and the Arc AA is just as useful now as it was when it was new, even though more modern lights are a lot brighter. If I had one, I'd use it as-is without doing anything to it.

Keep in mind also that the Arc AA is rather sought after on the collector market. I think they were around $30 new when they were made, but I've seen them sell for $75 or so on B/S/T in later times (in the unlikely event that it's one of the ultra rare ones with the semi-circular Arc AAA-style keychain lug, it's worth a lot more than that). So if you're thinking of just tossing it in a drawer in favor of something with more output, you might as well pass your Arc on to someone who is seeking one as a collectable or as a classic user, and use the cash to buy yourself a newer light.

 

[Patriot]

There have been some fairly radical modifications done to the Arc AA including boring it out to use two CR2 cells and a power led. These days I would not attempt any of that. It is a classic, vintage light and the only mods I would think of would be to replace the led with a GS (for more flux) or an XTG ("snow") for better tint. But I think even that can be pretty difficult, given the potted circuit. Really, lumens aren't everything, and the Arc AA is just as useful now as it was when it was new, even though more modern lights are a lot brighter. If I had one, I'd use it as-is without doing anything to it.

A big +1 to that!

Those are rare and beautiful. Keep it classy and use it for walking around the house at night for the midnight bathroom stop. The most I would ever do to one is to upgrade the 5mm to another better 5mm.

 

[sambeaux2249]

I actually own two of the Arc AA's... One lives in a small computer tool kit... It's perfect for peeking inside a computer, most flashlights are too bright.

The other one has lived on my keychain for years. It's still useful, but seems
a bit dimmer than it used to be. I tried a new Alkaline battery, but that didn't
help much. Dropping a new lithium AA helped, but I guess my standards have changed. It's still a great work light for PC's and such...

I don't really want to get rid of it... *shrugs* You think anyone will want a well worn Arc AA? Most of the finish is gone from the head....

Sam

 

[redhedkev]

I have an Arc AA that is in great outer physical shape. Unfortunately I left an alkaline battery in it too long and now it doesn't work.

Suggestions?