How about a rundown of the Arc LS history from you Arc buffs?

Status
Not open for further replies.

iamerror

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
253
Location
Nevada, USA
It is hard to find information for the LS and its family. It started with the LS First Run. What tailcap options were there for the First Run and others? What are the differences between the LS, LSH-P, LSL-ST, LS3, and Arc4. Am I missing any models? Do these letters stand for something? Are the release dates known? Does anyone know how many were made? Any info would be great.
 

aso

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 5, 2001
Messages
209
Location
NY
There is a lot of info in the stickied FAQ.
 

blahblahblah

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
496
Location
California
iamerror said:
LS, LSH-P, LSL-ST, LS3, and Arc4. Am I missing any models? Do these letters stand for something?

missing LSL-P

LS = model (luxeon star?)
L or H = high or low dome
ST or P = standard? or premium
 

Casual Flashlight User

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 26, 2006
Messages
1,263
Location
England
Arc LS tailpacks

1xAA twisty
1xAA twisty ("fatty" or "fatboy" version, quite rare)
2xAA twisty
2xAA clicky
1xCR123 twisty
1xCR123 clicky


CFU
 

iamerror

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
253
Location
Nevada, USA
Thanks, I guess some of this stuff was more obvious than I thought, like L and H meaning high or low dome. Anyone have an idea of production numbers or dates?
 

The_LED_Museum

*Retired*
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Messages
19,414
Location
Federal Way WA. USA
This is the history as I have it published on most of my Arc web pages:

================================================================
The Arc Company of Tempe, Arizona was started in May of 2001 by Peter Gransee.

arcls6.jpg

This is a very rare prototype Arc LS; only three are known to exist on the face of the planet.
Peter has one, I have one, and Chris M. in the UK has one.

The original 'First Run's or 'Rev1's
First announced in June 2001.
This was the first flashlight on the market using a Luxeon Star Low Dome LED.

Also called 'LS1 rev1'.
1strun.jpg

These have the laser engraving "First Run" and have a 2 piece body (bezel and body secured with Loctite).
Fatter than the current "one piece body". 123 tailcap is fat too.
Came with 123, 1AA, 2AA 'twisty' battery packs. The 1AA was slimmed down later.
AA.jpg



ver 0.9
First shipped in December of 2001. Voltage regulated.
Low Dome Luxeon
Retainer optimized for the AA pack.
ARC offered an upgrade to Ver1.0 or a 30$ coupon.
Available in 6 colors White, Cyan, Green, Blue, Red, Amber (and ??2 Orangish Red and Royal Blue ???)
color.jpg

[CCW from front row left, orange/red, blue, red, cyan, amber, green, white]

ver 1.0
March 2002
Redesigned battery retainer
Raised knurling plain
New threads
Improved manufacturing standards
Retainer optimized for AA and 123
New NX05 optics


"Factory Seconds" are announced</b> March 2002

ver 1.1 ?? 2002
123 guide chamfer added to solve 123 crushing problem

ver 1.2 Jul 2002
Retainer optimized for 123 cell
Cleaner HA

Rev 1s have a flat gold positive contact. Later versions have a raised 'button' contact.


LS1 Rev 2 and LS2 Announced August 2002
The models engraved "LS1" are low dome, "LS2" is high dome. The LS2 was the first flashlight on the market to use the Luxeon Star High Dome LED.

r1run_rev2.jpg

Low Dome Luxeon (LS1 rev2)
High Dome Luxeon(LS2)
New one piece housing
Smaller diameter than Rev1
NX05 optics protected behind AR coated lens
New efficient heat sink
Gold raised button contact
1AA bat pack discontinued
1.4v cutoff
New PCB circuit by Dat2Zip
Current regulated
Higher output
Thermally protected
Waterproof
Pricing LS1 Rev2 $120
ver2.1 Flex washer

LS3 (5W 2x123) announced
First flashlight on the market to use the 5 Watt Luxeon Star driven at 2 Watts. Rev2 technology. 2x123 battery. Waterproof.

Kroll clickie announced

Rev 1/2 Hybrids
Announced Sep 2002 Shipped Sep 2002
These look exactly like "First Runs" or Rev1s, but have a Rev 2 heatsink and circuit(Dat2Zip). Lowdome Luxeon.
The only way to tell them apart is to look at the positive battery contact. Hybrids will have a raised button contact, Rev1s will have a flat contact.
pcb.jpg


There were 2 types of Hybrids made, a 400mA version (actually set for 330mA, mistakenly reported as 400mA), and a 500mA version (actually 400mA, mistakenly reported as 500mA). The 500 version resulted from a wrong resistor being accidentaly installed and was not intended.
The 400s have a green PCB with raised gold positive contact. The 500s have a brown PCB with raised gold positive contact.

LS2 Seconds (SLS2) start shipping Dec 2002

LS1 rev1 Announced to be discontinued Dec 2002

Twisty 123 (P-123) changed to Kroll type (TSP-123)on all models late 2002


LS3 Discontinuation announced before product ships
Small number to be offered in Jan 2003

Lineup Renamed and upgraded to ver 2.1

LS1 rev2 renamed LSL (low dome)
2 grades

LSL aka LSL-S : standard
Low Dome LED with M-N Flux and 3-4 Tint. $120 Retail

LSL-P : premium
Premium version of LSL with P-Q Flux and 3-4 Tint for a brighter beam. $150 Retail

LS2 renamed LSH (high dome)
2 grades

LSH aka LSH-S : standard
High Dome LED with M-N Flux and 3-4 Tint for a more focused and whiter beam. $130 Retail

LSH-P : premium
Premium version of LSH with P-Q Flux and 3-4 Tint for a brighter beam. $160 Retail

Dimensions on all LSL & LSH variations are 3.2" long x .95" diameter and 2.2 ounces with TSP123.

Note: "Second" quality versions (w/o warranty, sold at a discount) are sometimes described by an "S" before the model (ie: Arc SLS)


name.jpg


LSHF-P Announced June 2003. Becomes available in Fall 2003.

Special Edition Arc LSH-P w/Tight Focus Beam High Dome Luxeon LED. Premium built with P or Q flux Luxeon only. Includes TSP-123. Independently tested to produce 22-26 Lumens regulated. This Special Edition design appears the same as the top of the line LSH-P on the outside, but inside uses the "Fraen Low Profile" optic to produce a more tightly focused beam but with less spill. The difference is clearly visible, producing 745 lux vs 614 lux at 3 feet. $160 Retail

The earlier batch had the same engraving as a normal LSH-P, later units had LSHF-P laser engraved.

LS3 Approx 3 dozen units offered Sep 2003
LS3.jpg


Arc4 (LS4) start shipping Feb 2004

Arc4 Forensic Kit offered
================================================================
 
Last edited:

cy

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
8,186
Location
USA
I've got an ARC4x available...please PM if interested.

arc.JPG


Casual Flashlight User said:
Arc4X - some sort of super Arc, a lot brighter than the standard 4+ models.


CFU
 
Last edited:

Gransee

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 26, 2001
Messages
4,706
Location
Mesa, AZ. USA
Nice collection CY. Is that a limited edition Arc engraved Spyderco Knife in the center? If I recall, we had less than 50 of those made.

The LS evolution started back in 2001 with the aluminum protos (picture above), through the various LSx models, the various Arc4 models (don't forget the forensics model) and now to the new LS protos.

The LS evolution represents a gradual fullfillment of my ideal 1x123 flashlight dream.

The LS was the first flashlight shipped by any manufacturer with the (what was then) new Luxeon Star LED.

The LS came out of the Arc-5 program, which was going to be a 1x123 light with multiple 5mm Nichias. I received some of the new Luxeons during the development of the Arc-5 and the rest is history.

I made I think 3 of the aluminum protos pictured above. I have one, Craig has one and Chris M has one. The PCBs inside where made by me by hand. I used a Radio Shack PCB kit, drew the traces with a sharpie and etched it in a small basin. You can see from the back how rough the board looks. I am suprised they still work.

Compare that to the new LS which is etched by a board shop professionally. Partly because the switching freq is higher and board tolerance has more of an effect on the circuit performance but also the new boards are 4-layer and that would be much more difficult to do by hand. Oh, and drawing pads for fine-pitch QFNs by hand would be a real pain.

Not sure if people knew this but the first LS protos (aluminum protos pictured above) actually had a dual circuit consisting of 2 Arc-AAA drivers in parallel. It was roughly current regulated (inductor switch limit). It wasn't till the rev2 LS (LS2, LSL, LSH, etc) that the circuit was switched to Dat2Zip's Lt1618 driver. The LT raised the current and improved the regulation.

Peter
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top