you can change that by changing the tail tho
Thanks fulee, as that's a good piece of info I was unaware of! I didn't know the tailcap was part of the equation with regard to 'strobe' function. Mine does have the "Gen 3 High-Low" tailcap. So does this mean I could eliminate the 'strobe' feature / mode by switching to the "Click Tailcap"? If so, does that provide a typical 2-stage, progressive 'momentary-on / maintained on' function (meaning partial depress / release for momentary, and full press to 'click' for maintained-on)? That would function as mine does today, except would eliminate the 'Low' feature. I think I might go for that. The other option is the "Rotary Tailcap", which I believe provides momentary-on by depressing the actuator, but requires rotation for 'maintained-on', which would be less appealing to me. Having used 'twist for maintained-on lights in the past, they were sub-optimal for me simply because I'm not crazy about rotating tailcap functions required while actually using the light (or anything generally requiring use of a second hand or change of grip to operate under any conditions), and although I use 'momentary-on' most often, I do use 'maintained-on' more often than I use 'Low' output, so if giving up 'Low' output would eliminate the 'strobe' function without changing other functionality I'll consider ordering a "Click Tailcap" for mine.
It is true that the 'strobe' function appears to be dependent on a VERY short timing interval or window for activation (which is good) that I do not often hit by accident and even have difficulty activating when I try to, but on rare occasion I have hit it accidentally, and eliminating that possibility would be good, as that's the last thing I want to happen short of 'darkness'.
I must admit I find the documentation on these tailcap options to be somewhat lacking, particularly when one factors in some suggested cross-compatibility issues between the different 'generation' Alphas. That could be improved, and a small cross-compatibility chart would help with documenting that last factor.
Not to turn this into a review (I don't do reviews), but just as an aside, that Alpha has become my most-carried light in recent times, and is about as close to 'perfect' for me (for dual role general purpose use / TAC backup) as any light I own. The only thing it should have but lacks is a low-voltage
indication (such as a brief flash, not a so-called '
protection' shutdown to darkness) when using 16340 lithium ion cells, which I use exclusively in it to achieve its full output potential. To use that full potential pretty much requires use of IMR cells, which are generally non-"protected", and are not what I generally prefer to use in most applications. The light is so ideal for me in all other respects that I work around that deficiency by paying close attention to the status of my cells. It's a tradeoff I can live with for such an otherwise 'perfect' light. Speaking of 'perfect' (not a word I use often), the design of the output level(s) of the Gen 3 using 16340, and specifically the output control scheme used between the 10 and 50 second interval after turn-on using 16340 is absolute perfection for real-world use.
Thanks again for your post fulee, and perhaps you can help clear up the remaining question(s) (particularly re: the "Click Tailcap" I mentioned above.