JTElectric
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2010
- Messages
- 37
So, I sold my other Aviator that had nice and bright LEDs (albeit Nichia blue) and realized that I shouldn't have done that, and got a slightly worn replacement off of the MP...and the LEDs are noticeably dimmer than my other A2, and much dimmer than my ARC AAA Premium...
Thoroughly cleaned the light, tried it with the threads dry and lightly lubed both, swapped the tailcap from my L1, same story. Tailcap works flawlessly on my L1, no change in the A2 LEDs. New batteries, no change.
When I got the light, I noticed I thought they appeared dimmer than my other A2, but I wanted to try sanding the LEDs to smooth out the beam. I did them very lightly with 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper, just enough to make them hazy, and completely killed the little bit of throw the LED's had. So I fired up the Dremel and got some Meguiars plastic polish and made them glossy again. It IS possible they are slightly hazier than as delivered from factory, but they sure look clear to me, and I'm picky.
If it was dimmer after I monkeyed around with it, of course Id assume I had a poor connection in the head or something, or the sanding killed the output...but I noticed how dim it was immediately. I know its tough to quantify brightness with words, but the LEDs are still bright enough to cause spots in your eyes if you look into it, but the ARC is quite a bit brighter. And no, I dont regularly check my flashlight brightness by blinding myself, but I can handle a 5mm Angry blue Nichia! lol
I can send it in to Surefire, but I'd just like to know if anyone has had similar experiences. Thanks for reading, Justin
Thoroughly cleaned the light, tried it with the threads dry and lightly lubed both, swapped the tailcap from my L1, same story. Tailcap works flawlessly on my L1, no change in the A2 LEDs. New batteries, no change.
When I got the light, I noticed I thought they appeared dimmer than my other A2, but I wanted to try sanding the LEDs to smooth out the beam. I did them very lightly with 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper, just enough to make them hazy, and completely killed the little bit of throw the LED's had. So I fired up the Dremel and got some Meguiars plastic polish and made them glossy again. It IS possible they are slightly hazier than as delivered from factory, but they sure look clear to me, and I'm picky.
If it was dimmer after I monkeyed around with it, of course Id assume I had a poor connection in the head or something, or the sanding killed the output...but I noticed how dim it was immediately. I know its tough to quantify brightness with words, but the LEDs are still bright enough to cause spots in your eyes if you look into it, but the ARC is quite a bit brighter. And no, I dont regularly check my flashlight brightness by blinding myself, but I can handle a 5mm Angry blue Nichia! lol
I can send it in to Surefire, but I'd just like to know if anyone has had similar experiences. Thanks for reading, Justin
