Originally posted by darell:
I've carried an AAA around my neck every day for months and months and months. Not once has the head rotated even a tiny bit. If the O-ring is doing its job, you shouldn't have to worry about the head every falling off. Don't locktite the head! Most of us go through all kinds of trouble to make these things turn EASIER! Maybe I should trade you some of my stiff ones...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">hmm i think there're basically two things that make head of the arc aaa hard to turn. first, the o ring and secondly the foam patch.
what i did was lubricate the area -under- the o ring, as i noticed that once the o ring got squeezed between the barrel and head, the o ring did not move relative to the barrel, and the head turned inside the o ring. i think this is due to the oring having more room between itself and the head, than between itself and the barrel.
another thing that can be done is to cut down the edge of the foam patch. what i think happens when the head is tightened to turn the light on, the foam patch which is already pressing against the barrel when not compresseds, gets compressed and expands outwards which presses against the inside of the barrel and creates more friction.
perhaps this could be a design improvement in the next version? seems like the threads ate up a bit of of the foam patch when i first started using it cos i found a lot of foam bits stuck in the threads and i had to fish them out with needle.
a third reason for the head being hard to turn is unlike the earlier versions which i noticed did not have a foam patch, the battery now turns together with the head as the foam patch has more grip against the entire top (except the "nipple) of the battery, as opposed to the small smooth metal nub in the bottom of the barrel. the battery also tends to scrape against the inside of the barrel, which also creates more friction and the grinding you can feel when you screw in the head enough for the foam patch to contact the battery. this is what causes the scrape marks on the battery jacket at the - end of the battery. i don't think this can be rectified though, as it seems its inherent to the design of the light.
maybe the next version of the arc aaa could reverse the way the battery is inserted into the barrel, with the + end of the battery going in first. a foam patch could then be placed at the bottom of the tube instead of the head, so only the head would be turning instead of both the head and battery. but then again, it would be hard to change the foam patch should the need arrive.
well as i'm new here i don't know if all the above has already been mentioned and elaborated upon, so don't mind me
winston
