I luckily managed to purchase one of the ARC-LSL TSP123/TSP2AA special back in Dec.03. I too like others received one with what appears to be a bubble in the lens. Others who have seen pics of them or who are simply doing a good deed of trying to help all think of the protective film that is on the lens first. Some think it's an imperfection or has to do with AR coating or something.
What it really turns out to be (for mine anyway), if no one has figured it out, is the optic's retaining ring being too tight.
When I was changing the emitter in mine, at the same time I wanted to see what the "bubble" actually was. When I went to unscrew the white retaining ring, the bubble disappeared as soon as I barely got the ring loose.
What you are seeing is a portion of the lens coming in very close contact with the lens leaving virtually no gap between the optic & lens while the remaining portion not being able to meet that same clearance with a gap. So my guess is all those who have that bubble look in your lens, the cause is the optic's retaining ring being too tight. I say too tight because when I try to tighten the ring so that the optic comes in full contact with the lens leaving no gap between the optic & lens, I'm not able to as the ring gets very tight and feels as if it is going to strip before the "bubble" fills the entire lens. When I screw in the retaining ring to the point where it's not overly tight but just snug on the optics with no play, no bubble look.
So you can fix this yourself if you are able to (always remember, using the wrong tool for the job will most likley cause you pain or suffering by damage to the work or yourself) and will most likley void the warranty for disassembling it, or send it back to Peter (I'm sure he'll take care of it), or simply just live with it.
Disassembling the ARC-LS head for some might not be that easy. I had to buy a pair of some round-needle-nose pliers that isn't very common in stores and shave down the tips so that they would fit into the holes of the ARC's lock ring. I tried using retaining clip pliers but the lock ring was to tight for the strength of the retaining clip pliers. Even with the round-nose pliers I had to grip the pliers in a vise and use two hands (one over the other) to loosen the ARC head. The loctite does it's job, on mine at least. Some say to heat it to make it easier and I'm sure it would but I was scared of damaging all the plastics that are in the head.
thx
What it really turns out to be (for mine anyway), if no one has figured it out, is the optic's retaining ring being too tight.
When I was changing the emitter in mine, at the same time I wanted to see what the "bubble" actually was. When I went to unscrew the white retaining ring, the bubble disappeared as soon as I barely got the ring loose.
What you are seeing is a portion of the lens coming in very close contact with the lens leaving virtually no gap between the optic & lens while the remaining portion not being able to meet that same clearance with a gap. So my guess is all those who have that bubble look in your lens, the cause is the optic's retaining ring being too tight. I say too tight because when I try to tighten the ring so that the optic comes in full contact with the lens leaving no gap between the optic & lens, I'm not able to as the ring gets very tight and feels as if it is going to strip before the "bubble" fills the entire lens. When I screw in the retaining ring to the point where it's not overly tight but just snug on the optics with no play, no bubble look.
So you can fix this yourself if you are able to (always remember, using the wrong tool for the job will most likley cause you pain or suffering by damage to the work or yourself) and will most likley void the warranty for disassembling it, or send it back to Peter (I'm sure he'll take care of it), or simply just live with it.
Disassembling the ARC-LS head for some might not be that easy. I had to buy a pair of some round-needle-nose pliers that isn't very common in stores and shave down the tips so that they would fit into the holes of the ARC's lock ring. I tried using retaining clip pliers but the lock ring was to tight for the strength of the retaining clip pliers. Even with the round-nose pliers I had to grip the pliers in a vise and use two hands (one over the other) to loosen the ARC head. The loctite does it's job, on mine at least. Some say to heat it to make it easier and I'm sure it would but I was scared of damaging all the plastics that are in the head.
thx