Why You want a wide beam AA

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Badbeams3

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Several reasons.

1: The deep reflector will serve no purpose...in fact will only hinder the width of the beam...only needs to be deep enough to protect the LED..bottom line...the wide beam AA head will be shorter and the length of the light will be shortened accordingly.

2: The brightness of the hot spot will be spread over the width of the beam...light a larger area brighter...but will not have the range...but we all have Arc AAA`s on us if we want to project photons further than 15 feet...some lucky dogs even have Arc LS`s.

Mr Gransee...tear down that wa...wait, wrong speech...Mr Gransee...give us what we want and need. We want a small light that lights a wide area brightly. Throw the 20 degree Nichia`s in the AAA`s and stick 50 degree wide beam Nichia`s in the AA`s. Do the right thing. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

Dare to be different...there is already a bunch of 20 degree keychain lights being marketed...but not one wide beam...give what we want and you will be rewarded in heaven...well, maybe not...but your wallet will get fatter...thats a good thing /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

rone7

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For my purposes I like the arc turquoise because of the wide beam. It has a little less throw than my arc-aaa premium, maybe I just have a good premium. My premium is a month old and has used 1 battery, and is in great shape no dings or wear. I am thinking of selling it, what is a good price? I must not be a true flashaholic? It has the older style writing most people like that goes around the head rather than down the side of the body.
 

Badbeams3

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Hmm, you could sell it in the buy, sell or trade forum. Maybe just say "to the highest bidder...free shipping in the US" and go with that. Or, perhaps with Christmass coming on, maybe their is someone you know that would love to have this fine little light as a present.

This does not mean you are not a flashaholic...just means you find wider beams are more usefull, day to day in a everyday carry light. As I believe we all do...if we are honest with ourselves.

Test yourself...if you sell it for...say $30 bucks...what would you use the money for...a new wide beam AA Arc...or some other light or something else. If you chose a light then your as sick as the rest of us and you can sleep sound tonight, knowing that your in the right place. If you chose something else...then you can sleep well knowing that your perfectly normal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Blikbok

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Why not go crazy and get a whole bunch of different heads for the Arcs? I, for one, would love to see an ultra-low-output AAA head.

If you'd believe me, I often find the AAA and AA to be too bright. Read a menu in a restaruant or try to find a seat in a theater after the movie starts and I'll get noticed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif A wide-angle head would probably reduce the spot intensity, which would be partially there.
 

Badbeams3

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If I remember right there was a customer who ordered a bunch of long running dim Arc AAA`s. Gransee offered a few left overs to the CPF. But either way they must not have been big sellers as they never went further into production.

Please don`t confuse the wide angle Nichia`s with equating to being dim...they are not...total light output is generally the same...the hot spot is spread out over a much, much wider area. And the eye persieves the light differantly...in a room...it seems brighter as the center hot spot is gone and the pupil doen`t dialate as much...Yea, I`m making this up as I go...but think it`s pretty much on target. I have said this before...my wide beam Photon is a stunner...when I show it to folks, along with a narrow beam Photon and Arc AAA they always say "WOW, whats that one" "that one sure is bright".

I sure if there is enough interest Gransee will see the light and build them for us. We will be happier and he will too.
 

Moat

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I remember somebody here (McGizmo, maybe?) just filled the reflector of an Arc AAA with clear epoxy, producing a wide flood beam. Easy mod.

Bob
 

Atomic6

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Just mask the LED and paint the reflective surface with a flat white paint. Instant flood. I have done this with an AAA ARC. Smooths out all of the ring artifacts as well. Big improvement. True flood.
 

Mrd 74

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It might be easier to place a drinking straw over the led rather than masking it off before painting.
 

Rothrandir

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yes moat, that was mcgizmo.

later, i did something similar, but tried shaping the lens in different shapes to see what kind of beam it would cause, i ended up with it flat agains the surface.
it really does cast a really nice flood.
 

paulr

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Blikblok, if you want to use a light in a dark area without bothering other people, rather than going dimmer, it's best to use a red LED. I have a red Photon II on my keychain for that purpose. My EDC these days has been a CMG Infinity (about half as bright as the Arc AAA) and it's been bright enough for most anything I need a small LED light for.

I do like the idea of a wide beam light. I'm thinking of getting one of those Arc AAA's modded with a Luxeon and no optics.
 

rone7

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I am curious about the arc aaa modded with luxeon that paulr just mentioned. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
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