Arc AAA LED quality variances

I just received my order of 4 Arc AAAs from CountyComm.com ($13 each plus free shipping!) and I am extremely impressed. I am a newbie when it comes to flashlights, but as you could guess from my username, I love gizmos and little powerful flashlights qualify.

Anyways on to the subject matter... I bought 4 since I intend to give 3 as gifts, but since the packaging is re-sealable, I though I would compare them all - what a variance! 2 of them were much whiter than the other 2 (which were bluer). Also, the halos varied quite a bit, from very noticeable to quite faded. Lastly, one of them had a very prominent X in the center of the pattern. Luckily one of the white ones was also the least noticeable halo and not the one with the X - guess which one is on my keychain!

Thanks all for the info and deals-

Gizmo Joe

I received my first AAA yesterday, so I can't really compare. But it does have a very obvious purple/blue hotspot (slightly off centre). I don't mind it though - its not distracting. Not sure exactly what you mean by halo.. like a thin bright ring around the outside? I don't have that.

All the best

Gizmo,
Those variances you see are inherent in LEDs, it is not a perfect science yet. Now, if you want nice and white, get the premium model (costs more than $13) You idea works also, but a few cheapy AAAs and take the best one for yourself...give the others as gifts.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif

Individual LEDs vary somewhat in their beam pattern and color. This is inherent in the manufacturing process. Tiny variations in the emitter construction make output and color vary across the emitter surface. Emitter placement errors within the plastic LED body are enormously magnified in the resulting beam.

None of this affects the real world performance of the light. Single emitter flashlights offer compactness, light weight, and better collimation in exchange for these inconsistencies - IMO a worthwhile tradeoff. Single LED beams aren't perfect, but they're better than most incandescent beams.

As for the question of Arc versus other LED flashlight manufacturers...LEDs are binned for color and output. Arc does a better job of picking the good ones than any other production manufacturer. LEDs are not, however, binned for how even their beams are, and I don't think even Arc hand selects on that basis.

FWIW, the most even output and color light I have is my Arc LSH-S. It's the only light I have that uses the high dome Luxeon emitter. I don't know if it's a result of design or manufacturing, but Lumileds has succeeded in achieving excellent color and output consistency with the high dome product. The high dome inner corona is rectangular in shape, which is a bit odd, but the light is my best one overall.

I just got my "Limited Edition" Arc-AAA today from Dan at Tactical Warehouse. In comparing it side by side to my stardard unit I can see absolutely no difference! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I'm very happy with the standard unit, but was hoping for something special with the LE. I actually have three AAA's (2 std., 1 LE) in my possession, and they all look pretty much the same to me. Is this typical?, I don't know if I got lucky with my Standard AAA's or hosed on my LE. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Peter

At very close range (inches), the two beams of my two "SE's" are slightly different. At distances of about three feet, I'd be hard pressed to tell which was which. They're BOTH really great.

Will