How Can I Get An Arc AA Modded w/A DS?

I just picked one up on B/S/T and I would like to get it modified with a new DS LED or a Cree Q5 if possible. I don't want 2 stages and I must be sure that the mod will not affect the waterproofness of the light.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

:)> said:

I just picked one up on B/S/T and I would like to get it modified with a new DS LED or a Cree Q5 if possible. I don't want 2 stages and I must be sure that the mod will not affect the waterproofness of the light.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

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LOL, I was thinking of buying one for the same reason too.

:huh:

Goatee, the procedure is somewhat similar as replacing the LED in an Arc AAA. The only difference is that the crimp usually is unusable afterwards (IIRC). That doesn't really matter, since the board has a (-) contact in the underside.

Basic procedure:
1. open crimp
2. boil pill
3. remove potting compound
4. repeat 2 & 3 until everything's clean (or until you have enough room to work and change the LED
**** Careful with the inductor! If you break it, your board is toast.
5. replace LED (careful with centering)
6. reassemble and re-pot

There are a few guides on how to do the ArcAAA mod with more details.

Thank you for the information! I am glad that it is pretty routine. Do you know of anyone who does these mods?

It's also not clear where to get a DS led from at present.

Go-T :nana: Shoot chimo or mosport a PM.

Will do!

Thank you for the heads up.

I also don't know if anyone is able to get a DS yet so I will probably have to wait a bit.

Yeah, someone will likely have to do a GB from Nichia. IIRC they only sell in lots of 100? DS would make some nice upgrades for other lights too like the Dorcy's/etc.

They're not yet selling DS online. I remember that CS showed up pretty quickly after introduction though, so DS will probably show up soon. (http://store.nichia.com).

Thank you. I am looking for a modder with experience with the Arc AA's to perform the deed.

I did some group buys for the Nichia CS leds and would like to do a group buy on the DS leds. I have many small padded envelopes and many of the small plastic boxes that I used to ship them in saved up.

When they become available or if someone knows where I can get some please send me PM and I'll buy some.

just throwing this out there,

you can try contacting Peter Gransee and explain to him what you plan to do and he might give you one(DS).

Grumpy said:

I did some group buys for the Nichia CS leds and would like to do a group buy on the DS leds. I have many small padded envelopes and many of the small plastic boxes that I used to ship them in saved up.

When they become available or if someone knows where I can get some please send me PM and I'll buy some.

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I was thinking about you when Isaac mentioned a GB. I think I bought from you every offering you had. I've used a fair amount of CSs, but still have a pretty good stash and would look forward to your offering the DS.

I'm looking at a few CSs in one of your little plastic boxes next to my keyboard right now. Can't ask for a better GB than what Grumpy offers......

I think MillerMods has a single stage Cree option in addition to the multi level mods - and I know he's done work on Arc AA's (seen a few for sale on the BST although it was not his bread and butter in no small part due to the relatively small number of Arc AAs floating around).

Gatsby said:

I think MillerMods has a single stage Cree option in addition to the multi level mods - and I know he's done work on Arc AA's (seen a few for sale on the BST although it was not his bread and butter in no small part due to the relatively small number of Arc AAs floating around).

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I was reading his thread and he mentioned that he won't do AA's anymore only AAA's:shakehead

I think cy has some empty ARC AA heads, so that you don't have to use a working ARC AA head. The ARC AAs are rare enough that it would seem a shame to "waste" a perfectly good head.

I don't know if he has any bodies or not.

:)> said:

I was reading his thread and he mentioned that he won't do AA's anymore only AAA's:shakehead

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That's because it won't work with the Cree LED - it'd have to be a Seoul LED, which has a gummy dome that's not conducive to being exposed/unprotected, unlike the domes of Cree/LuxIII/CS/DS LED's. :shrug: I think it makes sense.

Maybe he'd still do a LuxIII Arc AA mod? :thinking:

:tinfoil: john

John, et al., Not sure, but I think that Eric was responding to a post I made on the AA mod. I signed up for the AAA mod, and asked about modding my AA. Eric responded that he is concentrating on the AAA. Hell, I don't blame him! There are many many more AAAs out there than AAs. That being said, I would love to have my AA modded (even with a LuxIII) just to get a little more light out of it. Perhaps in a year or two I can convince Eric to mod the AA

BTW - I picked up a dead head (no, not the groupie type) from cy just for modding. I highly recommend this step as it allows you to keep the original (stock) head with the light.

Kirk

jch79 said:

That's because it won't work with the Cree LED - it'd have to be a Seoul LED, which has a gummy dome that's not conducive to being exposed/unprotected, unlike the domes of Cree/LuxIII/CS/DS LED's. :shrug: I think it makes sense.

Maybe he'd still do a LuxIII Arc AA mod? :thinking:

:tinfoil: john

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kitelights said:

Can't ask for a better GB than what Grumpy offers......

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+1

Grumpy, I'll be buying some DS's from you when you get 'em in, for sure!

I've got an empty AA head (from cy), into which I plan on installing a Fenix E0 circuit w/DS LED... should be at least as bright as the original AA was - but with about 25 hrs. of perfectly flat regulated runtime. Should also provide better tint, and be significantly "easier" on the LED, as the E0's circuit delivers only (approx.) 25mA.

Bonus... bonus... and BONUS! Can't wait...

Using an E0 as donor electronics is an interesting idea, though some E0's are now potted, and the circuit board didn't look so sturdy in some photos I've seen. Also, for reasons explained in the Arc AAA faq, perfectly flat regulation is (according to some of us) NOT an optimal choice for this type of light. One of the Arc AA/AAA's circuit's advantages is it can run (with reduced output) even on way depleted batteries that are too dead to use in anything else. This is because of it uses only partial regulation instead of attempting ruler flatness.

The Dorcy AAA might be another good source of electronics. Its converter (at least old incarnations) tested pretty good.