JNewell
Flashlight Enthusiast
FASTCAR said:
Unfortunately, the same can be said about many, if not most lights introduced in the last few years...as well as those being introduced now...
The SF A2 - Part 2
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Unfortunately, the same can be said about many, if not most lights introduced in the last few years...as well as those being introduced now...
arnold ziffle
Newly Enlightened
my a2 had a beam i called the fuzzy potato. mine came with a case and two lamps so i frosted one of the lamps with a diamond sharpener and the beam was much better. someone posted that if you put the lamp in a certain way the beam will round out. it took me about 6 tries and it worked. its so nice now i'm afraid to mess with it.
Illum
Flashaholic
arnold ziffle said:
I never got there...when you replace the MA02 the bulb rotates when you twist the bezel...after 5 times I quit. do you replace the bezel when the lights facing up or down?
Atomic_Chicken
Enlightened
Greetings!
I think all you A2 guys who are trying to rotate the bulb to get a perfectly round beam are missing the point...
If you use the light as-is, with the oval beam, you can orient the light by rotating so that it covers more horizontal area than a normal beam... allowing you to see more peripheral area. In otherwords, use the oval shape to its advantage, letting you see more to the left and right of you than you would if you achieved your "perfect round" beam.
This is one thing about the A2 I really like... actually, I can't think of much that I DON'T like!
Best wishes,
Bawko
I think all you A2 guys who are trying to rotate the bulb to get a perfectly round beam are missing the point...
If you use the light as-is, with the oval beam, you can orient the light by rotating so that it covers more horizontal area than a normal beam... allowing you to see more peripheral area. In otherwords, use the oval shape to its advantage, letting you see more to the left and right of you than you would if you achieved your "perfect round" beam.
This is one thing about the A2 I really like... actually, I can't think of much that I DON'T like!
Best wishes,
Bawko
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
Atomic Chicken,
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words! My avatar, BTW, is a pic of Kate Beckinsale from one of the Underworld movies. She rocks!
Leukos,
Yeah. I know. It's high time for the first post in Part 2 to get filled in with good stuff. But, alas, it will be a while longer before I form up my notes into a presentable post. Sorry!
Everyone,
Personally, I've never had to rotate my MA02! Everytime I've installed a new one or just unscrewed and rescrewed on the head for some reason, the beam has come back almost exactly the same.
In any case, there are two points to consider here:
1. The oval beam is oval by design! If the beam were round, the throw would be less.
2. If you can manage to find an orientation where you get a round beam, I suspect that that means that you are optimizing the loss from the LEDs/holes such that you are losing throw. Or trading throw for aesthetics.
You can do this, of course, but it was not the intention of the design.
As for frosting the lamp to get a "much better" beam, it all depends on what you mean by "better". If by "better" you mean "looks pretty on a white wall", well then yes, by all means, frost and rotate and add some vasoline to the lens. Or maybe some scotch tape! Yeah. There ya go. With lots of fussing and futsing you can get your A2 a bit closer to the beam of an E2e or an LED light!
Or--and HERE's an idea!--you could just buy an E2e or an LED light in the first place!.
FASTCAR,
So, you come into this thread and post--what?--some jerky comment like "The A2 was a great light...a few years ago"? What gives? Let me ask you, DID YOU EVEN READ PART 1 OF THIS? Or are you just tossing out a knee jerk comment like that to improve your image (or post count)?
Comments like this always annoy me. I suppose what people mean when they say things like that is that there are much better lights for the money available today, than there were a couple years ago. And that, by comparison, the A2 has fallen behind and is no longer a good value for the money. It's old technology.
But, again, it all depends on your needs and priorities. I've said it again and again. I've said it till I was blue in the face. And, evidently, I will have to continue to say it: the A2 is an easy mark. It's easy to "prove" or show how it's a lousy flashlight for the money. How one of the latest and greatest Cree lights or K2 lights is such a better light. The problem with all of these "proofs", though, is that the fact is that for a certain class of users, for a certain class of uses, the A2 remains unrivaled. It is still the very best light for my EDC uses. Period. There is no other that is better at any price.
Obviously, that's just me, and for others, the A2 is a bad choice. No question. I have never championed the A2 as the sort of light that everyone should have, that is so overwhelmingly great that it blows everything else away. No. It's not that light. Nothing about it is going to WOW! you or blow you away--not if you're like most people.
(As a side note, though, for me the A2 was love at first sight. I knew it was going to be perfect for me. But, I was fairly mature as a flashaholic at that point, and had already gone through a number of lights in search of what I needed. So I could recognize the greatness of the A2 at that point, whereas I'm not sure that would have been the case if it had been my starting point.)
What is the greatness of the A2? Versatility and utility. The quality and utility of the light from the incandescent part of the A2 is unrivaled in a light of its size. It's not the prettiest beam, or the most pleasing light to look at, but when it comes to looking at THINGS (and not the light itself), the light from the A2 incan is awesome.
The A2 is a tool. And as a tool it is outstanding. It's not a "amaze your friends and family" kind of light. It's not the light you shine up on your ceiling and get all dreamy over. It's not the light that sits on your shelf as King or Queen. (Although it may be the one that sits in a drawer!)
No. For certain people (like myself) the A2 is the trusty, every day carry, work horse light that sees the most use of all.
I love my A2. If I could keep only one light out of all the lights I own, it would be the A2, hands down, in a second. It's a really great light, now, two years ago, or ten years hence.
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words! My avatar, BTW, is a pic of Kate Beckinsale from one of the Underworld movies. She rocks!
Leukos,
Yeah. I know. It's high time for the first post in Part 2 to get filled in with good stuff. But, alas, it will be a while longer before I form up my notes into a presentable post. Sorry!
Everyone,
Personally, I've never had to rotate my MA02! Everytime I've installed a new one or just unscrewed and rescrewed on the head for some reason, the beam has come back almost exactly the same.
In any case, there are two points to consider here:
1. The oval beam is oval by design! If the beam were round, the throw would be less.
2. If you can manage to find an orientation where you get a round beam, I suspect that that means that you are optimizing the loss from the LEDs/holes such that you are losing throw. Or trading throw for aesthetics.
You can do this, of course, but it was not the intention of the design.
As for frosting the lamp to get a "much better" beam, it all depends on what you mean by "better". If by "better" you mean "looks pretty on a white wall", well then yes, by all means, frost and rotate and add some vasoline to the lens. Or maybe some scotch tape! Yeah. There ya go. With lots of fussing and futsing you can get your A2 a bit closer to the beam of an E2e or an LED light!
Or--and HERE's an idea!--you could just buy an E2e or an LED light in the first place!.
FASTCAR,
So, you come into this thread and post--what?--some jerky comment like "The A2 was a great light...a few years ago"? What gives? Let me ask you, DID YOU EVEN READ PART 1 OF THIS? Or are you just tossing out a knee jerk comment like that to improve your image (or post count)?
Comments like this always annoy me. I suppose what people mean when they say things like that is that there are much better lights for the money available today, than there were a couple years ago. And that, by comparison, the A2 has fallen behind and is no longer a good value for the money. It's old technology.
But, again, it all depends on your needs and priorities. I've said it again and again. I've said it till I was blue in the face. And, evidently, I will have to continue to say it: the A2 is an easy mark. It's easy to "prove" or show how it's a lousy flashlight for the money. How one of the latest and greatest Cree lights or K2 lights is such a better light. The problem with all of these "proofs", though, is that the fact is that for a certain class of users, for a certain class of uses, the A2 remains unrivaled. It is still the very best light for my EDC uses. Period. There is no other that is better at any price.
Obviously, that's just me, and for others, the A2 is a bad choice. No question. I have never championed the A2 as the sort of light that everyone should have, that is so overwhelmingly great that it blows everything else away. No. It's not that light. Nothing about it is going to WOW! you or blow you away--not if you're like most people.
(As a side note, though, for me the A2 was love at first sight. I knew it was going to be perfect for me. But, I was fairly mature as a flashaholic at that point, and had already gone through a number of lights in search of what I needed. So I could recognize the greatness of the A2 at that point, whereas I'm not sure that would have been the case if it had been my starting point.)
What is the greatness of the A2? Versatility and utility. The quality and utility of the light from the incandescent part of the A2 is unrivaled in a light of its size. It's not the prettiest beam, or the most pleasing light to look at, but when it comes to looking at THINGS (and not the light itself), the light from the A2 incan is awesome.
The A2 is a tool. And as a tool it is outstanding. It's not a "amaze your friends and family" kind of light. It's not the light you shine up on your ceiling and get all dreamy over. It's not the light that sits on your shelf as King or Queen. (Although it may be the one that sits in a drawer!)
No. For certain people (like myself) the A2 is the trusty, every day carry, work horse light that sees the most use of all.
I love my A2. If I could keep only one light out of all the lights I own, it would be the A2, hands down, in a second. It's a really great light, now, two years ago, or ten years hence.
Atomic_Chicken
Enlightened
Greetings!
You have great taste in flashlights AND women... and I look forward to your continuing posts regarding the A2.
Best wishes,
Bawko
Yes... that's why I like it! I think Kate is the sexiest woman alive... and her vampiness in those movies just made it ALL the better!js said:
You have great taste in flashlights AND women... and I look forward to your continuing posts regarding the A2.
Best wishes,
Bawko
ScooterBug
Enlightened
i agree intirely. my A2 would be the LAST too go. i also am waiting for future post about KATE!!! her and an A2 would be hard too beat.
LA OZ
Enlightened
js, because of your great review, you have assist surefire sell of A2 by a few folds. I hope they appreciate your time.
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
Atomic Chicken,
TinderBox (UK) is also in the Kate Beckinsale fanclub and has a Kate Beckinsale avatar, and a link in his sigline to a full size version of the avatar picture. THAT'S also a nice avatar picture.
For a long time I had an avatar picture of one of my ring-potted lamps, which is probably the modding acheivement I am most proud of, but after a couple years of looking at it, and after a somewhat protracted, but radical change in philosophical and religious outlook, and after seeing Underworld, I decided I wanted a FUN avatar! One that I like to look at time and time again. If it's tacky or mid-life crisesy of me, so be it. I don't care.
As for a future Kate post, well, this is it I guess. There are some pretty fun interviews with her available on the web. She's really a kick! I was going to post a large Kate picture here, but, eh, no need to add all that extra bandwith for dialup users. It's for a good cause, to be sure, but a rather off topic one, though. Plus, I don't have any pics of Kate holding an A2! LOL!
TinderBox (UK) is also in the Kate Beckinsale fanclub and has a Kate Beckinsale avatar, and a link in his sigline to a full size version of the avatar picture. THAT'S also a nice avatar picture.
For a long time I had an avatar picture of one of my ring-potted lamps, which is probably the modding acheivement I am most proud of, but after a couple years of looking at it, and after a somewhat protracted, but radical change in philosophical and religious outlook, and after seeing Underworld, I decided I wanted a FUN avatar! One that I like to look at time and time again. If it's tacky or mid-life crisesy of me, so be it. I don't care.
As for a future Kate post, well, this is it I guess. There are some pretty fun interviews with her available on the web. She's really a kick! I was going to post a large Kate picture here, but, eh, no need to add all that extra bandwith for dialup users. It's for a good cause, to be sure, but a rather off topic one, though. Plus, I don't have any pics of Kate holding an A2! LOL!
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arnold ziffle
Newly Enlightened
illum the nation i think i got lucky on the sixth try. my original beam was really bad to where when you used it outside there were large dark spots where things could be missed. my beam was at least three times as wide as it was high.
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
arnold ziffle,
It sounds as if that is a focusing problem and not a rotation problem. You can try filing away some of the plastic from the collar to move the lamp filament forward in relation to the reflector, or you could try adding some paper--like pieces cut from the sticky part of a post it note--to move the lamp back. OR, better yet, you can complain to SF CS and get them to rectify the situation.
THIS IS NOT A NORMAL A2 BEAM THAT YOU DESCIRBE.
It sounds as if that is a focusing problem and not a rotation problem. You can try filing away some of the plastic from the collar to move the lamp filament forward in relation to the reflector, or you could try adding some paper--like pieces cut from the sticky part of a post it note--to move the lamp back. OR, better yet, you can complain to SF CS and get them to rectify the situation.
THIS IS NOT A NORMAL A2 BEAM THAT YOU DESCIRBE.
arnold ziffle
Newly Enlightened
js i'mgoing to leave alone as it is pretty good now. if for some stupid reason i take the head off i'll remember your tips.. thanks.
270winchester
Flashlight Enthusiast
Dang it Jim, you just made buy buy another A2 in GY.
Shame on you Atomic_CHicken, for reviving this thread!!!
Shame on you Atomic_CHicken, for reviving this thread!!!
Atomic_Chicken
Enlightened
Greetings!
Best wishes,
Bawko
What can I say? I just had to be done...270winchester said:
Best wishes,
Bawko
batman
Enlightened
to JS and other owners of the well endowed A2;
I noticed my window (lens) has a smudge in the center that looks like finger prints. It's not easily visible until you actually see a glare on it. It seems no amount of wiping it with a napin or T-shirt will clean it off so I suspect it's on the inside of the lens. Anyone else have this? Is this from the factory to get a smoother beam?
I noticed my window (lens) has a smudge in the center that looks like finger prints. It's not easily visible until you actually see a glare on it. It seems no amount of wiping it with a napin or T-shirt will clean it off so I suspect it's on the inside of the lens. Anyone else have this? Is this from the factory to get a smoother beam?
CLHC
Flashaholic
Just went out and bought me my first SF.Digital+Series A2 Aviator w/Verde LED (which I prefer) and am really liking it! ! !
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
batman,
Nope. Not from the factory. Did you buy it new? If so, is this the way it came? If so, definitely get SF to fix it. If this is a new developement, or if you got it used, and it isn't having much practical impact on the beam, try and live with it. Or if it is affecting the beam significantly, or if you can't live with it, get SF to fix it for you. They may or may not fix it free of charge. One thing I can say for sure, though, is this:
DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF.
Not unless you are very confident that you can remove the bezel, clean, and reassemble. It's tricky. You'll need to heat up the bezel in order to be able to unscrew it without damaging anything. IIRC, people do this in a plastic bag in hot water. And I'm not sure what you need to use in reassembly to re-waterproof the head. It's definitely tricky. Be careful. Best to just send back to SF.
Nope. Not from the factory. Did you buy it new? If so, is this the way it came? If so, definitely get SF to fix it. If this is a new developement, or if you got it used, and it isn't having much practical impact on the beam, try and live with it. Or if it is affecting the beam significantly, or if you can't live with it, get SF to fix it for you. They may or may not fix it free of charge. One thing I can say for sure, though, is this:
DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF.
Not unless you are very confident that you can remove the bezel, clean, and reassemble. It's tricky. You'll need to heat up the bezel in order to be able to unscrew it without damaging anything. IIRC, people do this in a plastic bag in hot water. And I'm not sure what you need to use in reassembly to re-waterproof the head. It's definitely tricky. Be careful. Best to just send back to SF.
Atomic_Chicken
Enlightened
Greetings!
My first thought when reading batman's thread is that he might be able to use a Q-tip with a little isopropyl or denatured alcohol on it... carefully introducing it through the hole where the incandescent bulb normally goes, and wiping off the fingerprint from the inside. Any reason that wouldn't work? It would definitely eliminate the need to disassemble the bezel...
Best wishes,
Bawko
js said:
My first thought when reading batman's thread is that he might be able to use a Q-tip with a little isopropyl or denatured alcohol on it... carefully introducing it through the hole where the incandescent bulb normally goes, and wiping off the fingerprint from the inside. Any reason that wouldn't work? It would definitely eliminate the need to disassemble the bezel...
Best wishes,
Bawko
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
Bawko,
It's certainly an option. Have you ever done this? It would certainly worry me. Once you introduce foreign material inside a SF head, it has a tendency to stay there and make things worse--like making thing fog up during running and what not. Or at least I have some annecdotes (personal and reported) to that effect.
But, yeah, it should work I guess, as long as all the iso can be aired out. Another thing to worry about is a drop of iso falling on the reflector in the process. That would leave a streak on it.
It's been my painful experience over the years that whenever I have tried to "fix" something like this on my own, I have always ended up making it worse. Reflectors and lenses are very sensitive and delicate and show every little freaking thing, and it's just so easy to go from bad to worse. My E2e head was a casualty of just this sort of thing--I was trying to remove a speck of dust. In hindsight, the spec of dust would have been so much better than a head which fogs up every time I run the light for longer than a few minutes.
I've read about people pro-golding their A2 head contacts, then getting the liquid inside the bezel, then ruining the bezel while trying to open it to clean the pro-gold which was applied to "clean" and preserve the contacts, when the contacts would have been fine without the pro-gold. This isn't a maglite! Every contact is corrosion resistant and low contact resistance already.
Ehh. I'm probably not the most impartial and objective person to ask on the matter, I guess.
Best of luck, Batman!
It's certainly an option. Have you ever done this? It would certainly worry me. Once you introduce foreign material inside a SF head, it has a tendency to stay there and make things worse--like making thing fog up during running and what not. Or at least I have some annecdotes (personal and reported) to that effect.
But, yeah, it should work I guess, as long as all the iso can be aired out. Another thing to worry about is a drop of iso falling on the reflector in the process. That would leave a streak on it.
It's been my painful experience over the years that whenever I have tried to "fix" something like this on my own, I have always ended up making it worse. Reflectors and lenses are very sensitive and delicate and show every little freaking thing, and it's just so easy to go from bad to worse. My E2e head was a casualty of just this sort of thing--I was trying to remove a speck of dust. In hindsight, the spec of dust would have been so much better than a head which fogs up every time I run the light for longer than a few minutes.
I've read about people pro-golding their A2 head contacts, then getting the liquid inside the bezel, then ruining the bezel while trying to open it to clean the pro-gold which was applied to "clean" and preserve the contacts, when the contacts would have been fine without the pro-gold. This isn't a maglite! Every contact is corrosion resistant and low contact resistance already.
Ehh. I'm probably not the most impartial and objective person to ask on the matter, I guess.
Best of luck, Batman!
