I'm a little disappointed...

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bigred

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I\'m a little disappointed...

Hi guys. I realize that those of you who have received your brand new ARC4's have only used them for a short time, but I was expecting to see rave reviews from people as soon as they received the light. It seems most people's opinion of the ARC4 is "fine" and "okay". I was expecting more enthusiastic responses, not to mention I thought I would see a lot more pictures of the light. I haven't received my ARC4 yet, hopefully next week, but apart from being disappointed that I can't use Yuntong batteries, I know I will absolutely love this light. Just looking at the few pictures and playing with the simulator everyday makes me giddy about getting my ARC4. Maybe it's just too early...
 

this_is_nascar

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

bigred, what sort of pictures are you looking for? My Arc4 looks like Billy's, who looks like Tina's, who looks like Brad's..... I think you get the point. I'd expect that many who have received their are busy playing with them, learning them and just plain having a bunch of fun with them.
 

LEDagent

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

I don't have one and i haven't ordered on YET, but i have a few guesses as to why you're not hearing the responses you're expecting.

1) The abundant features of the Arc4 is probably a bit much to digest in a few hours.
2) Many of the "jaw dropping" features that one would usually comment about were already previewed and extensively examined, so by the time the owner recieves it, it probably isn't new news by then. (however, still satisfying that you finally have one.)
3) The Arc4 design has been in discussion for about a year now. I'm not saying the hype has died down...i think, to most members, reading the protype reviews, online simulators and R&D processes is close enoegh to ownership already.

I would like to be proven wrong on any of these points. So in order to do so...please send me your Arc4 to test my theories. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

bigred

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

There are very few pictures of the ARC4 available. I am aware that they all look the same, but it would be nice to see different angles of the light, with and without the clip, etc. People post pics of their LS lights all the time and those posts get a lot of comments. Again, I realize people are playing with their lights but I was just expecting more rave reviews.
 

Sean

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

I agree. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I like pictures too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Ardy

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Ok I've missed this one, what about the "Yuntong batteries"?
Something wrong with them?
Ardy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

BentHeadTX

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Ardy,
It depends on how you look at it. When hitting the boost mode of the Arc4, high current draw is expected. The problem is the lights are calibrated to output and not electrical draw.
With lower bins as far as light output coupled with high forward voltages of some Luxeon LEDs, it can draw more current than the battery will alow. Peter said some of them will attempt to push 800+mA to the LED. If it is a high Vf Luxeon, it can hit over an amp to the battery. This is a problem with the Yuntong batteries as they have problems supplying that kind of power.
For the boost freaks, a two 123a power pack will be available soon...the batteries will be able to put up with the amperage draw. Some low Vf high lumen output Luxeons will handle the boost mode fine. Another example of the Luxeon lottery! At least, generally speaking...all the Arc4's will be the same brightness with the current draw being the variable.
The problem with calibrating for brightness is you have no idea of the battery life, that is left up to the lottery. Forget Roy's battery life charts on this puppy! The great thing about it all is Lumileds bins are increasing in output as time passes. Give it six months and the battery problem might not exist. Sometimes the leading edge is the bleeding edge.
 

Dave Wright

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Ardy,

Evidently the Yuntongs and Surefires have a higher no-load voltage than Duracells. The electronics mistake them for lithium ions, then step brightness down when the battery voltage sags more than a lithium ion would. The short term workaround is to install the battery, run it for a few minutes to drop the fresh voltage, take the battery out for more than 2 minutes to make the light reset, and reinstall the battery.

I think Peter (or Henry) is revising the software to make the light work correctly with cheaper 123s without requiring this pesky process. Lights already sent out can probably be returned for a free software upgrade. Lights sent out after the fix has been written will, of course, be good to go.
 

MicroE

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

bigred---I am excited. I got my Arc4 yesterday and I now love it. To me, the 4 is most useful because of its ability to imitate both an AAA and an LS++. I only need to carry one light and it will serve almost all of my lighting needs.
I took some pics (and Joshua posted them), but I'm not real good with the digicam so I'm not the guy you want handling the photographs.
If there is something in particular that you want to see, tell me and I will try to take a pic tomorrow and email it to you.---Marc
 

tusenkonstnar

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Bigred > I think people ARE impressed, it's just that you don't se that...
-I can't believe it, it's AMAZING !!!!
...kind of comments.

This probably has two reasons:
1) People believed in what Arc Promised and have known what is going on and is therefore not surprised

2) Flashoholics here are not surprised besause we knew what kind of light we were waiting for.

That's just my theory, any commants?
 

MicroE

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Believe me. If Maglite had come out with a product like the Arc4+ people would be raving about it and searching for new adjectives to describe how good it is. That's because we don't expect much from Mag and would be flabbergasted if they delivered anything as good as an Arc4.
With PG and his team we simply expect the product to be superb. So when it arrives and it is superb, we simply accept that as the normal state of events on Earth.
When you hold it in your hand you will be impressed. ---Marc
 

Rothrandir

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

"what's this? arc just came out with a 300lumen 1w luxeon flashlight the size of an arc aaa, and it gets power from your fingertips?"
"doesn't surprise me, they're always doing stuff like that."
 

PluckyPleco

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

[ QUOTE ]
Ardy said:
Ok I've missed this one, what about the "Yuntong batteries"?
Something wrong with them?

[/ QUOTE ]

There was an issue with the original software misidentifying them.

The defect has been fixed. All shipping units have the new software. Peter is giving one free software upgrade for owners.

Plec
 

CM

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

I haven't been raving about it since I'm too busy playing with the light but make no mistake, I haven't been impressed by a light in a very long time--not even the previous Surefire releases has blown me away to the same degree. I know it's a tool but the gadget aspect of this has not worn off yet. Make no mistake, this light is a must have. My trusty Arc AAA has been relegated to backup status. My modded KL1 has also been relegated to the desk drawer. The Arc4 will cover all applications in between--all in a single light. Price tag? How many lights can you replace with an Arc4? I think this is how you should put a price tag on the light. If you do, the $180 is a bargain. Now go get one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CM
 

BentHeadTX

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

Think about what the Arc4 really is: a variable output flashlight. It is not a ultra-high output beast like the Space Needle II or Photon King. It is not an tiny, tiny Nano Illuminator running a Luxeon on a single N cell.
It has no shock value in output or size so flashoholics will not burn up the bandwidth talking about it. What it does is make a great EDC so it can vary the output to the need. Think of it as the ultimate 4-door sedan, never on the front page of the automotive publications but very good at what it does.
 

kakster

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

The ARC4 is like a Leatherman Wave; Extremely well built, and capable of carrying out a large array of duties. It truly fits with Peter's ethos of creating a lighting tool.
 

_mike_

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

I only come here for the articles...... honest.

mike
 

CNTSTPDRMN

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

I carry the LS4 with a Leatherman Wave, and the LS4 puts out stunning white light for such a small package, it's exteremly useful and sure it needs some tweaking but for the most part it's a fun tool to use --- the multi dimming capability IMHO is it's best virtue--- size would be second. my unit is a "Seconds" purchase... I've already dropped it accidentally, oh well.. yeah, it still works great!! buy it already, you won't be sorry.
 

Geode

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Re: I\'m a little disappointed...

bigred,

I am guessing that it is because so much was known about the Arc4+ before it's release, there is not as much fanfare as might accompany the unveiling of another manufacturer's product. Also, IMO, Arc products have a subtle impressive quality about them. Through use, they continue to impress me. More of a sustained Wow.

I have an Arc4+ on order and fully expect to very much like the light and be impressed with it.
 
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