got me a SF a2

hi guys :wave:

i got me a SF a2 aviator today this light is sweet it is a lot smaller than my u2 and it seems to be just as bright. i got a tailcap bezel ring from oregonshooter i really do like it i just dont know if i like it on my light. the only complaint that i have is that the beam seems really really oval is this normal? is there any way to fix this. i can not get over how small it is though i mean it is the perfect size it fits my hand like a glove and it is balanced it witch i dont think the u2 is. By the way i got the white leds.

i really am glad i got this light i just wish the beam was not oval and i am trying to get oup the guts to sand the leds

thanks

An oval beam is normal on an A2 as well as on a lot of other incandescent Surefires. You might be able to alter it a bit on the A2 if you wish by rotating the bulb.

Richard

Congratulations on getting another great light! The beam can be adjusted by turning the bulb a little which can make a noticeable difference, although neither of mine make a perfect round beam. The A2 is a sweet light.

i think i would almost say that i like this light more than my perfect u2 i wish that i had more lights to compare it to but i only one.

I'm not sure where I read this, but the reason the light has an oval beam is because it is focused for throw. This is not a design flaw. Surefire could have made the beam round, but it would not have carried quite as far. I find that I only notice the oval beam from my A2 when I'm looking for it; in actual use it is not distracting. Congratulations on getting a great light!

yeah the more and more i use it the less i notice the oval beam and i am starting to like my switch bezel more and more

Hey Bench:

I ordered my A2 today. I'm excited about it. I'll post and let you all know how I like it. Will be the perfect compliment to my 10x and Z2.

Kev

Good work getting the SF A2 i picked one up from supremeco
special offer a while back and it did a LONG stint as my EDC light until i got my Neo T3.
U'll appreciate the regulation of the Incan and the Low level of the light.
The switch is buttery smooth. Anyone know how to adjust the leaf springs so that i don't have to screw the tailcap all the way in? Do i i have to pull out the tailcap

The oval beam is normal. The beam is just a focused reflection of the bulb, or specifically the filament, and the filament is stretched perpendicular to the length of the flashlight.

I rotated the bulb in my A2 so that when I hold the light (so that the clip is at the end of my fingertips) the oval beam is horizontal to the horizon. It remains horizontal in both a regular grip and an icepick grip.

lawlight-you will absolutly love this light you will not be dissapionted

i think i have turned the bulb to were it looks the most round but last night while addmiring it i came upon a problem the threads seam to be arcing like the threads and tailcap dont have energy running through them do they? it has actualy melted the thread in some spots i wish i had a camera so i could take a pic of it. i noticed this problem when i took it out of the box but didnt relize that there were so many spots till last night. it does not affect the porformance any but should i send it back to surefire? also i think i may have got a bad tailcap becuase somtimes it will not goe into regulation it will be dull orange then i will let ogf the tailcap and press back in and it will go into regulation and be fine. other than that it is a great light

benchmade_boy said:

also i think i may have got a bad tailcap becuase somtimes it will not goe into regulation it will be dull orange then i will let ogf the tailcap and press back in and it will go into regulation and be fine. other than that it is a great light

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I have a feeling the problem is most likely the batteries. Try a new set and see if the problem persists. You may be aware that this is a known problem with some batches of batterystation CR123's.

leukos said:

I have a feeling the problem is most likely the batteries. Try a new set and see if the problem persists. You may be aware that this is a known problem with some batches of batterystation CR123's.

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i think that was the problem it just kinda scared me at first

Congrats, the A2 is a great light, one I never fail to recommend.

Enjoy your light.

dragoman

Bench:

Yep, I'm really excited about getting my A2. Bought it thru OpticsHQ and got a great deal. I'm using Surefire bought batteries, so hopefully I won't have the same problem - I'll let you know if I do.

Did the "arcing" you noticed start right away?

Kev

LawLight said:

I'm using Surefire bought batteries, so hopefully I won't have the same problem - I'll let you know if I do.

Did the "arcing" you noticed start right away?

Kev

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well actually it came that way, it was like that when i pulled it out of the box i did not notice it at the store but i was not looking for it. I only got to play with it at the store once before cuz i actually got it for my birthday from my dad but our local store is not like cabelas or onuther big store its actually just a little gun shop they dont ever have any in stock but every now and then they get new ones i think that since they became a dealer they have had 6 instock and almost all of them have came to me but they have GREAT prices cuz this one my a2 was only 135.00 anyway i only played with it for like a minute at the store and there does not appeare to be dammages on the tailcap threads but it hard to look up in there. Maybe it was made at the factory becuase i have been playing with it allday yesterday and allday today and no more marks on the threads but the old ones are there and are not gonig to go away. and the problem with the lamp was just that i used it so much yesterday, and it was on origanal surefire batts

Oh, I see now. I hope it doesn't happen again. I'll make sure I keep fresh batteries in mine when it comes in. Should arrive in a couple of days.

Kev

One thing that I would like to mention is that if you decide to turn the bulb to make sure that you DO NOT touch the glass part of the bulb with your fingers because apparently if even a tiny amount of oil from your skin gets on the glass, the bulb can shatter after it heats up. I'm not sure why that is, but i've heard it enough times to know that it's true.

Also, when my batteries are starting to run low, the first thing that happens is the incandescent starts to drop out of regulation temporarily and when that starts to happen it also happens when I don't push the button down all the way, like halfway between the LED mode and and fully pushed in.

I've had that happen on my older A2's when the batteries get depleted, but my newest A2 behaves differently.

I recently had to buy a new A2 from Spyder Tactical Supply and it appears to run the incandescent in solid regulation until the batteries are depleted, then the incandescent just stops entirely.

Richard

If the A2 starts dropping out of regulation on low batteries, does it do any harm to the circuitry of the light or the lamp?

Kev

It does not harm the circuitry of the light at all to run on low batteries. It may age your lamp prematurely, but not a lot and not for sure. The regulation helps the lamp life, and out of regulation it just acts like all the non regulated incans out there (all the rest).

It'd be interesting to know if the A2 has been updated to stop current to the incan when the batteries are low instead of wasting it trying to run the lamp off low voltage.