Gransee
Flashlight Enthusiast
(note this thread title has been changed. A new thread will be started for the Arc4 testing).
This thread marks the second phase of the Arc4 program.
During the first phase, the Arc4 was referenced by the code, "LS4". The Arc4 represents the 4th major design from Arc and the 3rd major revision of the Luxeon Star series. This month marks the 2 year anniversary of the beginning of the Arc4 development. The Arc4 is our most ambitious project to date.
The Arc4 includes features such as a smoother beam, brighter output, smaller size, improved switch, more durable design, multiple brightness levels and a higher efficiency.
Up until now, we have been secretive about our progress. This thread will bring you up to speed on where we are currently.
--
The Arc4 program began in January of 2002. In 2003, I tapped Henry Schneiker, a renowned flashlight engineer, to complete the mechanical and software engineering. In October of 2003, we completed the first working/self contained prototype. 4 beta testers were selected and they completed their testing in November. Combined with our own testing, many pages of test data were collected. Work then began on making revisions, testing and revising again. This was a particularly stressful time. We drove our contractors and production people crazy with the perpetual revisions. The switch system for example, was revised over a half dozen times. The software was updated and tweaked countless times. Now, 2 months later, we have a production candidate design. 5 production candidates are being completed this weekend and sent out for testing.
This is a greatly summarized timeline. We actually have been through quite a bit of joy and frustration to get to this point. But I condensed it down in the interest of briefness.
The testers were selected several months back from the CPF. We looked for testers that were in good standing with the CPF community and know their flashlights. There were quite a few eligible CPF'ers. However, I had to pick just 4. They are:
Cris Mamaril ("CM")
Darell ****ey ("Darell")
John Bjelajac ("Carpe Diem")
Raymond DeVoe ("This_is_Nascar")
And the primary testers here at Arc:
Peter Gransee ("Gransee")
Henry Schneiker
--
The purpose of this thread is to bring you into the final testing phase of the Arc4 design. I have invited the testers to freely post here their thoughts, results, etc. You may also want to ask them questions. Please understand that they haven't received the Production Candidates yet. They have only tested the prototype so far. By next week, they should have data on the Production Candidate. But I wanted to introduce you to them before hand. Another thing, they are not acting as a product reviewer. I have asked them to test these units. You may have questions about beam shots, run times, etc. Although I am not preventing them from answering those types of questions, please remember that their emphasis is on testing not product review.
In this thread, we may post pictures of the product, etc. More information will come when the Arc4 is added to the FAQ, the product is sent out for review, owner and QA threads are started here, etc. I am sure you guys will have some questions.
Stay tuned for the test results on the Production Candidate!
Peter
This thread marks the second phase of the Arc4 program.
During the first phase, the Arc4 was referenced by the code, "LS4". The Arc4 represents the 4th major design from Arc and the 3rd major revision of the Luxeon Star series. This month marks the 2 year anniversary of the beginning of the Arc4 development. The Arc4 is our most ambitious project to date.
The Arc4 includes features such as a smoother beam, brighter output, smaller size, improved switch, more durable design, multiple brightness levels and a higher efficiency.
Up until now, we have been secretive about our progress. This thread will bring you up to speed on where we are currently.
--
The Arc4 program began in January of 2002. In 2003, I tapped Henry Schneiker, a renowned flashlight engineer, to complete the mechanical and software engineering. In October of 2003, we completed the first working/self contained prototype. 4 beta testers were selected and they completed their testing in November. Combined with our own testing, many pages of test data were collected. Work then began on making revisions, testing and revising again. This was a particularly stressful time. We drove our contractors and production people crazy with the perpetual revisions. The switch system for example, was revised over a half dozen times. The software was updated and tweaked countless times. Now, 2 months later, we have a production candidate design. 5 production candidates are being completed this weekend and sent out for testing.
This is a greatly summarized timeline. We actually have been through quite a bit of joy and frustration to get to this point. But I condensed it down in the interest of briefness.
The testers were selected several months back from the CPF. We looked for testers that were in good standing with the CPF community and know their flashlights. There were quite a few eligible CPF'ers. However, I had to pick just 4. They are:
Cris Mamaril ("CM")
Darell ****ey ("Darell")
John Bjelajac ("Carpe Diem")
Raymond DeVoe ("This_is_Nascar")
And the primary testers here at Arc:
Peter Gransee ("Gransee")
Henry Schneiker
--
The purpose of this thread is to bring you into the final testing phase of the Arc4 design. I have invited the testers to freely post here their thoughts, results, etc. You may also want to ask them questions. Please understand that they haven't received the Production Candidates yet. They have only tested the prototype so far. By next week, they should have data on the Production Candidate. But I wanted to introduce you to them before hand. Another thing, they are not acting as a product reviewer. I have asked them to test these units. You may have questions about beam shots, run times, etc. Although I am not preventing them from answering those types of questions, please remember that their emphasis is on testing not product review.
In this thread, we may post pictures of the product, etc. More information will come when the Arc4 is added to the FAQ, the product is sent out for review, owner and QA threads are started here, etc. I am sure you guys will have some questions.
Stay tuned for the test results on the Production Candidate!
Peter
