FYI: Variations in TSP-123 internal depth

Just got this letter this morning:

Hi guys, Just FYI

I got my first Arc LS last week and I love it. I loved it so much I ordered my second Arc LS last Friday and it arrived on Monday. I noticed that on my "newer" LS when I put in the included battery the tail cap screwed right up tight against the head. This wasn't the case with my first LS. There was a small gap (sixteenth of an inch or so) between the two halves. That didn't bother me and as I said the light works great and I love it. But it made me curious. I switched tail caps and the same thing happened, newer one closed up tight and the older one had tiny gap. Then I switched batteries. same thing, Then I put in two different (DP) batteries and got the same result. The interesting thing was that if I screw on the tailcap with no battery in the light the two halves do touch on the "old" light. The only thing I could figure was that the LED assembly is somehow mounted a little bit lower (closer to the open end of the head) and therefore shortening the battery compartment by a tiny amount.

Again, I am not bothered by this at all. I love both my LS lights (and my AAA's). I never would have even noticed or thought about this if I hadn't purchased a second LS. I just wanted to let you know in case other people are experiencing a similar situation it might be something you want to look in to. If it helps the info on the package label is LSH-P #1048, date: 5-13-03.

By the way, the light is in my pocket right now and I will not send it back for replacement (even if you ask me to). It is a great light. I don't want another one, this one is absolutely fine. I don't think of it as "flawed" I just think of my new LS as even more nearly perfect than my first one.
Bob G.

And my reply...


Hello Bob. It is normal for different batteries to have different heights. You do not need to tighten the head down till it stops, just make sure it has good tension.

However, what you are describing is something different which we just noticed last week. Our QC manager caught it. It turns out that one of the machine shops that supplies our TSP packs (we use several contractors) has been making their packs slightly shorter inside while making them slightly longer on the outside. We corrected them on this as soon as we caught it. It should not affect the normal operation of the light but we can replace it for you if ever decide you would like to.

Thanks for the email.

--
Peter Gransee
www.arcflashlight.com

Btw, I do consider this to be a flaw since they were not following the print (we rejected all the remaining parts). Also, this made the pack longer and heavier for no good reason. Definately a bad thing in my book. If anyone else notices this and would like, we can swap out your pack for you. Like I said in the letter, some gap is normal (my EDC LSH-P has a gap) and shouldn't affect the successful operation of the light.

Whoopsie

I had one of those tailpacks the o-ring was showing at max tightness- and it was promptly replaced by ARC-no problem.Thanks ARC , for standing behind your product. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My LSH-P pack has a small gap also, the light looks better with no gap, like when the batt is taken out, adn the pack is screwed down all the way.
But this in no way effects the performance of the light.

The thing I noticed the most when I got my LS, was the different designed 123 clickies.
I have the one in the first photo. Personally, I like the looks of the clickie in the second pic.





Peter... which of these is the "newset"?
Do they function any differently?

Thanks Peter. I may take you up on your offer to swap-out the tailcaps. I prefer the ones that fit tight. I did notice this also, but never got around to inquire about it.

I was thinking about this earlier this evening and I should add a proviso to my original post. Not all setups with gaps are mistakes. We made them for a while with shorter packs and that was standard. This mistake is even shorter than that whileas the new packs are longer (inside) than the original short packs. Confusing I know. At any rate, it is normal to have a gap between the head and the body (see "what to expect when you buy an Arc-LS"). The problem is when the o-ring is not fully concealed or the battery is being overally stressed. Please keep this in mind. But, the final choice is yours.

Btw, jtice, the newest design is the top picture with the narrow band of knurl on the battery pack.

Peter

whilst we're on this topic, i also wanted to ask about the slight variation in length of the tapered portion on the edge of the head. i know it doesn't affect the function of the arc LS at all but i'm curious about the reasons behind it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif