3 Watt Arc 4+?

Does anyone knows how to check to see if an Arc 4+ is 3 watt or 1 watt LED?

CalgaryGuy,

There is no need to check. All the Arc4's have a 1 Watt LED. The Arc concept is that there is plenty of life/performance left in the 1 Watt LED. Peter will move beyond the 1 Watt in the Arc5.

i believe Peter used some Lux3 in his ARC4+. None of his Lux3 made it to the ARC4X though.

Mine is an Arc 4+ Second which fell in the categorie being having an Lux3 in mine but I just want to know if mine has a Lux3 in it.

the arc4 uses both 1w's and lux3's, but it doesn't really matter which is which, since they're calibrated to produce the same light levels. in this case, bins don't matter in the least. if it is efficient enough, it's a premium, whether lux1 or lux3.

is there a particular reason you want to know? just curious?

Yeah, 1 watt LED is rated at 100,000 hours. While 5 watt are rated at a lower life spand and I'm not sure about 3 watt. I need to do some more research to find out more and one of my search is to know what LED was used on my Arc 4+ Second.

IIRC, 3-watt is around 20,000 hours.

5-watt 500 hours.

Depends also on how hard the leds are driven.

Does that mean all the Arc 4+ with 3 watt LED should be okay because the 3 watt is under-driven and will get 100,000 hours out of them?

[ QUOTE ]
Rothrandir said:
the arc4 uses both 1w's and lux3's, but it doesn't really matter which is which, since they're calibrated to produce the same light levels. in this case, bins don't matter in the least. if it is efficient enough, it's a premium, whether lux1 or lux3.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't keep emphasizing this point enough. Bins and Lux 1, 2,3,4 etc. do not matter. Light output and tint does. The Arc4 makes the LED bin irrelevant since the light is judged solely on the light quantity/quality. I also presume Lux III's do not make the grade as well as the 1W since the Lux III's are really binned for the higher current drive (700mA and above) and Arc4+ premiums do not drive the LED that hard since a premium can't draw too much current or it becomes a second.

CM

I find it amazing that the Lux III's are not used. As Wayne from Elektrolumens has converted all of his lights to III's since they are much more consistant than the 1 watters. The lowest Lux III bin I've heard of is an S bin or, if driven at 350mA, the same as a Q bin. The T bins are the same as R bins at 350mA.

Since the bins are very good on the III's, the regulars could be S bin and the premiums T bin. I would much rather have an under driven S bin than a M or N bin.

Peter is phasing in the Luxeon III's slowly. Although they cost a little more, maybe they would make life easier for him. Wayne has stated he has seen one bad III in the several thousand he has used. Pretty good ratio so that is all he uses.

If I was a betting man, I would put money down saying that the III will slowly phase out the 1W within a year.

bent, did you read what we said above? lux3's are being used. lux3's and lux1's. the point is that it doesn't matter which ones the arc4 uses, because it automatically calibrates them.

The led used in the arc 4 is a luxean III - that does not mean that it is a 3 watt.

Perhaps the forum members can tell you more but at the moment I am unsure I am allowed to give any more details than that.

It seems like Peter could start a new line of Arc4+ "III's" and people would buy them just beause Lumileds stamps "III" on them. It's kind of a placebo/hype effect. A "III" is better than a "I" when it outperforms it, period. And to this day this has not happened below 700mA. That's why "Arc4x's" are not "III's", because they don't cut it. When that day comes I have faith that Peter will put more of them in the Arc4's.

The III's and I's are sorted by performance. Just because III's are out doesn't mean they are better.

As far as LED life goes, it's pretty clear that it's an estimate. Until someone sets up multiple I's, III's and V's driven at different levels and waits 100,000 hours (11 years) we will never know for sure. In other words, just because a manufacturer states their LED will last 11 years straight, doesn't mean it will until you've waited 11 years to find out. It may have been a defect, etc. The best any manufacturer can do if warranty the product.

What difference does it make what the luxeon's life expectancy is? If yours was to go bad in two years, would you contact the manufacturer of the luxeon?

You bought a flashlight from a flashlight manufacturer that warrantees their lights for life. You should only be so lucky that it would fail in 2-3 years and have it replaced with a more current model.

But, I wouldn't hold my breath; these ARCs will probably outlive some of us.

Trevor, the Luxeon III is a 3W device. I'm sure Peter will be compelled to use these more and more because eventually they will become cheaper and more available the the 1W parts.

But let's get back to a point some of us have been unsuccessfully trying to make.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif it does not matter what LED is used in the Arc. It's just like when you go in to Starbucks to buy their staple java. Does it matter if it's Sumatra or Colombian? Or how about a blend? No one cares, as long as they're buying Starbucks. Lux III, Lux I, Lux II? I really don't give a rats' A$$. Just give me a bright white light that gives me decent runtime. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif (I hope that got the point across /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )


CM

Am I missing something? Peter says in the Arc4 FAQ (both on the Arc web site and on CPF) that the Arc4 uses a "1 watt, High Dome Luxeon Star LED from Lumileds producing 30 lumens (Premium version, Level 1)." Where does the idea come that he's using, or planning on using, a Luxeon III?

carmel

See this thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

OK, I'm going to jump in and ask what could be a stupid question and show my ignorance. Given that the two 123A battery packs is being introduced, will that leave open the possibility of a future Arc 4 mod that will allow a III to be driven at a brighter level. If so then wouldn't you want a III? Sorry if this has already been covered

The battery packs do not affect the brightness of the Arc4. Using a 2x123 pack will not yield a bright light, only a LONGER running light. The brightness is controlled by the microprocessor, and once you set your desired level, it will not drive the LED brighter or dimmer than it's dialed setting.

As for using a Lux3 in the Arc4. I've heard what Sean has said plenty of times. The Lux3 hasn't shown to outperform the Lux1 below 700mah. I haven't had first hand experience with that thoery, but have heard it plenty of times from experienced modders on this board. The Arc4 doesn't drive the LED more than 700mAh at level 1, so it wouldn't matter if you had a Lux3 or a Lux1 in there...because there wouldn't be any difference.

The only difference i would know of, is if there was a binned LED (lux3 or Lux1) that had a greater effiency, or in other words, was able to convert the same amount of energy into more light than a lower binned luxeon. I believe this is how Peter was able to create (JUST A FEW) Arc4x's. The LED in the Arc4x outperformed every Lux3 and LuxI he has put into his Arc4+'s.

I believe the ONLY difference in the Lux3 is its ability to manage heat better. But be careful not to confuse this heat management with effiency! Think of it like a CPU. Consider this scenario:

You have 2 AMD Athlon 900Mhz processors. Your motherboard is driving these procsessors at the same voltage level and they are being underdriven so not to comprimise the lifespan of the CPU. One AMD has a 1 inch heatsink, and the other AMD has a 2 inch heatsink. Since both AMD's are driven at the same level, they produce the SAME amount of heat and performance...one just has better heat management. It may run longer by being cooler but the performance will be the same as the other AMD... but at these levels it doesn't matter.

If you overdrive both processors to run at 1.5ghz, instead of 900mhz, both processors will be able to do the same, but the one with a 2" heatsink will last longer before crashing or burning up because of heat management. But before the melt down, both processors are producing 1.5ghz.

The Lux3 and the Lux1 are both the same processors...one just has a better heatsink. Of course, we are only talking about these LEDs driven below 700-800mah.

If you want a brighter light at the same current, you'll need a more efficient LED. More efficient that the Lux3 or Lux1 Peter is putting in the Arc4+. For all anyone knows, the Arc4x might be using a very high binned Lux1...so what does it matter then if it's a Lux3?

I hope i hit this analogy on the head. I don't have experience with modding, but i've just taken into consideration what others have said about these LEDs. Forgive me if i'm way off base.

The cpu analogy is a good one LEDagent. In fact, I have imagined starting a laptop shop someday and make small convertibles with underdriven processors to squeeze out more bang per ounce than anything else out there.

But I already have a full plate. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Peter