arc AAA

I am now inerested in one of these.. I have read of a standard and a limited edition. Where on the web can I look to order the le? How does the light out put compare to the opalec drop in for the mini mag? This stuff sure is addictive!!!! Thanks for the help, snapper...

Well I'd like to be the first to point out that the LE:

Has a different color body
Says "Limited Edition"
Costs a lot more (as much as $12)

Other than that it's the exact same light. Still want an LE? Good luck finding them in stock...as they are, you see, limited

Anyway if you still want an LE I'm sure somone can help you find one. Last I heard about BrightGuy was the only place that had them in stock, and it doesn't look like they do anymore...

If you decide to go standard I'd check Texas Tactical, who sells the standard for $19.99 normally, I just went to their site though and all I could find was the UV...wonder what's up with that...

Well have don some more looking, and finally found some of the LE's. Now is it worth the extra dollars for the LE? And has anbody ordered from Meridin Tactical Supply? If yes can they get your stuff in 3 or 4 days like bright guy does? They have the lowest price I could find on both of them.. I would like to order from bright guy but he is the most expensive. Thanks for the help... Snapper

hmm where's darell?

Originally posted by snapper:
Now is it worth the extra dollars for the LE?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That all depends on how important it is for you to have a natural HA III AAA... The "normal" ones are at least the same brightness, the LE's LED is just a little less blue in color.

That said, I really like my LE and for me it was obviously worth it.
Hope this helps,

well i broke down and ordered one from bright guy. Turns out they were the most expensive, but there shipping was less so it came out cheaper. I see why you all say this is addictive.. I have about four on my wish list. so i guess i am getting the led bug.. Now for those of you who own an arc and an opalec drop in, How do they compare? Is the arc brighter? does the beam penatrate farther? The opalec is the only led I own, and that is why i am comparing it to this one..
Thanks again, snapper

The best I can tell you for brightness comparison is the chart that Brock built that shows runtimes and relative brightness.

The ARC AAA starts out at 17 while the Opalec starts out at 37. Three LEDs for the Opalec only gets you 2.2 times the relative brightness (pretty good for ARC). By 6.5 hours, the ARC is down to a 10 while the Opalec goes on to 8.5 hours at 35.

Brock's runtime chart...thanks, Brock!

One thing you'll notice with the Arc is that you don't get the normal visual clue of a dim beam, the yellow/amber color light that a 'regular' flashlight puts out. The Arc will also light on batteries that won't power an incandescent light at all. So sometime or another you'll pick up a really dim Arc, and realize that the newbeam smokes it, because the newbeam doesn't dim until it falls out of regulation.

So it's not just that the opalec is brighter, it's much, much brighter as the Arc battery dims. That said, I always carry an Arc.

i was under the impression that the arc was regulated as well....or am i mistaken?

They both are, the difference is how flat the regulation is.

There is exact regulation and then there is not so exact ("semi") regulation. "Exact regulation" reduces the maximum brightness for a given system in favor of a longer run time. Lot of bits have been spent explaining this before...

Regulation technically occurs when the output of the circuit is not tracking the input of the circuit. Both lights are regulated. One is optomized for run time, the other is optomized for brightness.

Peter Gransee

Whew! Looks like I caught the bat-signal just in time!

Yes, the Arc AAA IS regulated, but it is officially "semi-regualted" (vs fully regulated like the Opalec). More and more regulated circuits are now hitting the market (like in the LS, Wayne Y's Badboys, the Surefire KLx). The semi-regulation of the AAA means that it will dim far slower than if it had NO regulation, but it does still dim slightly with each and every moment it is used. It is a great compromise in brightness and runtime.

"the LE's LED is just a little less blue in color"

But no brighter...

gransee:
thanks for the info; i usually don't see much of a difference anyway so i guess its ok with me.

darell:
you should complete your alter-ego with a costume and a sidekick. your EV would suffice as your arc-mobile

Apparently, you've never met his sidekick....Saaby the wonder horse.....or seen him in his alter-ego costume.....which, unfortunately, makes him look like a butt ugly mutant cow with flashlight legs. (sorry about the butt ugly comment.....but it's a safe bet that most cows would back me up on that).

Okay, one more question.. With these three lights on reg batteries, which is first, second, and third in terms of britness.. Arc aaa standard, inretech white drop in, opalec white drop in..

Inretech dropin hands down in brightness, due to it being a Luxeon Star LED (equivalent to 14-20 standard Nichia White LEDs). Opalec is next, due to the 3 Nichias, then the Arc AAA. By the way, LSes work best on Lithium AAs, and that is what the Inretech is designed for.

After all is said & done, my ARK gets the most use, hands down, because it's always hanging around my neck & available when I need it. It's much brighter than any of my other lights that I don't have with me when I need them. TX

I've noticed that same thing about my lights too.

Moved to Arc Flashlight forum