Micro Illuminator Vs. ARC AAA?

Gene

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This is for all of you that have both. How does your Micro Illuminator stand up against the "other" popular 1XAAA here, the ARC AAA? Is the MI as handy to carrry as the ARC? I realize the MI is somewhat larger. How's the brightness and throw compared to the ARC? I'm one of the rare ones here that has never been enthralled with the ARC AAA especially it's brightness. Thanks.
 

kakster

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you can always ask Led ASAP to make you an Arc AAA LS. Not sure of the ruggedness, but i absolutely love the light it makes. Blows my stock LE away.
 

this_is_nascar

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[ QUOTE ]
kakster said:
you can always ask Led ASAP to make you an Arc AAA LS. Not sure of the ruggedness, but i absolutely love the light it makes. Blows my stock LE away.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to step on Gene's thread, but tell me more. I have 2-of them on the way. I should have them next week. What can you tell me about it? How about runtime, brightness, beam tint, etc?
 

Gene

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Go ahead and step and thanks for the input Ray. I wanted to replace my ARC with the MI for keychain carry but it goes to show that more light/throw comes at the expense of larger and more delicate! Still sounds interesting though.
 

kakster

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Hi Nascar

I sent an R2H to LED ASAP to put into mine, so i wont know the *exact* brightness or runtime of the ones youll be getting, but mine breaks down like this:
Runtime off a fresh duracell M3 is approx. 1hr 15min. When mine drops out of regulation it doesnt dim, but it starts to flash, slowly at first, then faster as the cell gets more depleted. Shutting it down and letting the battery recover for a few minutes will give you about another 10 minutes of regulated light.
Brightness is good compared to my stock AAA LE. Its a bit too close to call, but id guess the LS was maybe twice as bright as the 5mm. The vast improvement is in the colour and beam quality. Mine is very very white, which surprised me, as i have an R2H in a mclux, and this gets noticabley green once out of regulation. Certainly a big leap forward compared to the blue, blotchy standard AAA. I should tell you that i got mine with the cut down acrylic ball for a lens with mine, so it does throw better than the stock AAA. Not a match for a properly driven LS with optics, but it will throw a small square of white light out to 10ft+. Im not sure how the beam will be,compared to a bare HD luxeon in the arc aaa head. Perhaps polishing the reflector will yield even better results?
All in all, i am very much taken by this pocket marvel, and it has opened my eyes with regard to underdriven luxeons in general. I was hesitant at first to send an R2H to be put in an *underdriven* mod, now im glad i did. Id be ordering a microilluminator to compare if my credit card could stand the abuse, but its had enough /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Now if i could talk a lathe guy into cutting down the Arc AAA body down to N size, i'd be in hog's heaven....

Sorry for hijacking your thread Gene, but if youre considering a MicroIlluminator, then this is one light you should also be looking at /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

BentHeadTX

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Gene,
I have a MI and it depends on how you define delicate. If you damage the finish on the light, just buy another Brinkmann Legend AAA and swap the parts over. It does use a glass lens over the reflector so it can be broken.
One thing to note with the MI, you can break the LS if you screw the head all the way down! How I avoided this was to put a drop or two of Super Glue on the head threads and put the head back in position. The head is locked so your buddies will not destroy the light by turning off the Brinkmann Mag style. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif
Now for the fun part! ArcMania/Lambda are messing around with a N cell light using the MI parts. It will be the same length as the Arc AAA, a little larger in diamter and will be waterproof down to 30 feet (10 meters)
You can have about the same size as the Arc AAA with the same brightness of the Micro Illuminator with the Nano Illuminator (that is what I call it) Better save the nickles though, it will cost $120 a copy.
 

kakster

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Yup, i believe i put my name down for one of those.So many lights, so little cash /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

zackhugh

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I have both the MI and Arc AAA and basically agree with TIN in his assessment. The MI is significantly bigger IMO, but is also significantly brighter and I do like the clickie switch. The MI is much more likely to be damaged than the Arc AAA so you might think twice about the MI if it'll see some rough handling. I like both lights and am glad I have both.
 

4x4Dragon

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i would take my Micro Illuminator over my Arc AAA any day of the week! easier to operate and much brighter. the brinkmann body is PLENTY tough. so what if the lens breaks? then it will be on the same vulnerability level as the Arc with it's emitter exposed??? the luxeon emitter is actually a little more recessed/protected than the nichia on the Arc
 

Gene

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Hi Ka!
No problem and the R2H ARC sounds interesting. The only problem is as I said earlier, the ARC AAA has never done anything for me. Other than it's tiny size, it's always been a "blah" light to me and I don't even think "whitening" up it's sick, blue beam would sway me. The MI is much more appealing especially with that neat little clickie on the end. It's frustrating we have to buy so many lights trying to find that "right" one? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif With LED technology marching on, it'll be amazing to see what will available a year or two from now! Only problem is we'll be in hock up to our ears. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

BentHeadTX and Zack,
Thanks for your input. I saw Lambda's post on the "Nano Illuminator". Very, very neat. The only problem is I have so many different batteries around, I don't need another battery type, (N), to deal with! AA's, AAA's and 123's are enough for me. It looks like, (so far anyway), the MI is as good as it gets for a small 1XAAA light.
 
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