Arc AAA brightness question

donn_ · Mar 12, 2009

Yesterday, my second Arc AAA arrived, a camo model, Arc C. I've had a HA-NAT model Arc P for almost a year.

I popped a fresh cell into the camo light, and turned it on. I immediately noticed it was much brighter than the Arc P. I picked up the Arc P and turned it on, and it was indeed noticeably dimmer than the Arc C. I switched the batteries, but the results didn't change.

Why is the Arc C so much brighter than the Arc P? It seems to be at least 50% brighter.

ibcj · Mar 12, 2009

The head design of the Arc P looks like an older version. Did you buy it directly from Arc a year ago ?

donn_ · Mar 12, 2009

No...I bought it on the forum. The heads are different, although I didn't notice it until you mentioned it. The P has a wider band of knurling, and the head is straight-sided, while the C's head tapers inward at the top, and has a ledge beneath the knurling.

olrac · Mar 12, 2009

The Camo version has a Nichia CS Led and the P has a may have a Nichia BS Led I believe. The CS is considerably brighter than the BS Led.

scout24 · Mar 12, 2009

I have a CS aaa coming from the B/S/T/, does anyone know how it would compare to the newer GS premium aaa version? BTW Donn, the camo is cool! These things are so small I would be afraid of losing it! Maybe one in roadcone yellow or orange anodize?

olrac · Mar 12, 2009

The GS will be considerably brighter the the CS (two generations forward CS, DS, GS) also the GS hotspot is not perfectly round, it is more oblong due to the change in emitter die design. But still we are not talking about huge lumens to begin with my CS Arc was just as useful as the kind of tasks this light is designed for as my GS based light.

scout24 · Mar 12, 2009

Thanks Carl! like you said, not huge lumens to start with, but very useful for the intended purpose.

Scottiver · Mar 12, 2009

donn_ said:
No...I bought it on the forum. The heads are different, although I didn't notice it until you mentioned it. The P has a wider band of knurling, and the head is straight-sided, while the C's head tapers inward at the top, and has a ledge beneath the knurling.

Donn, what you have is an old school Arc AAA head on a newer Arc-P body which explains why the camo is brighter. The "old" Arcs were much dimmer than the new ones.

Also be aware that the anodization on the camo is not hard coat and will scratch much easier than the normal ano.

greenLED · Mar 13, 2009

Scottiver said:
The "old" Arcs were much dimmer than the new ones.

Keep in mind that you have a "Premium" ArcAAA; those are actually a bit brighter than the regular ones produced back in the day.

Bullzeyebill · Mar 13, 2009

Interesting. I started using my old Premium Arc AAA the other day and noticed that the beam is more focused that my DS model. DS has a wider overall beam with artifacts, while the Premium has a narrower beam and is artifact free, and also more neutral in color, actually a nicer beam that my DS, though output is less, of course. I am not looking at my Premium right now, it is upstairs, but I think it is the LE AAA.

Bill

Arc AAA brightness question

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