Six Volt Battery in an ARC LS1 ??

I have an unmodified ARC LS1 . I found about forty new in the bag Lithium Manganese Dioxide batteries (for free) that are the same size at the standard 3-volt lithium ones. The only problem is these military batteries are six volts. I believe that I've seen extension tubes to run two three volt batteries on an ARC head, so my question would be-- will I harm the LS1 running a single six volt battery? Will the regulation in the ARC compensate for the increased voltage? Here are the specs:

Battery: BA-5372/U

Nominal Capacity: 500mAh

Max Continuous Current: 160mAh

YES, you will burnt your arc circuitry AND quite highly probably and possibly your luxeon too.
ARC's circuit is a step up one, so your input V must be lower than your led Vf, in this case about 3.3V. that is why if you put more V in the input, chances are your LS1's circuit will get burned.
in addition to that, now the circuit is running in DD mode and DD a lux1 of 6V input would definitely drive the lux at about 1.5A or more (that is, if the battery is capable of driving large current).

hmm, it says max continous current is 160 mAH, which is save to the lux. But it still pose a threat to Arc's circuitry.

Apparently the Arc4 can do it though, because Peter is planning to sell the 2 123 bodies soon. This might have been what you saw...

Dang, so much for the freebies!!

As their max current is 160 mA (NOT mAh) they may not hold the voltage at higher loads.
Give it a test: What is the short circuit current (only for a fraction of a second)? What is the voltage at 0.5A?
What is their actual no load voltage?

Actual no load voltage was around 6 volts with a Fluke 23. I will get more precise reads tomorrow.
I'll test the short circuit current in our avionics shop tomorrow. Must confess that I did try the battery BRIEFLY, and saw no increase in brightness.

OK, so it just pulles down the voltage. It should be a better cell for Arc4 users, as this light could benefit from the higher voltage (and will draw less current therefore). And usually these low current batteries suffer from higher currents and have much less capacity then.
Only solution: try to get an Arc4 ASAP! .-)

I've got my DS FireFly first edition as my EDC for the keyring. The ARC LS is just a "beater" or loaner at work. My backup is a McLux with R2H and Fraen. I even retired my ARC AAA LE first gen. for a modded and brighter Solitare. Don't think that I will be getting another ARC...

(picture Sponge Bob in your mind) OMG!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/huh.gif Flash, say you don't mean that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif No more Arcs for you!?!? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif That's sacrilige here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Please reconsider. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif You might get flamed or worse. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banned2.gif Gary, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif We must do an intervention and reprogram Flash.

(now switch to Mr. Bill) Oh Noooooo!!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So, FalshGordon, there is only one way left over: You have to give the cells to an Arc4 owner .-)
Maybe to the person with the lowest current Arc4....

Heh, I can tell you this much from first-hand experience: Two of these in series (12V!) will flash a P60 like a disposable camera flashbulb... I found a bunch laying around at work one day. Without looking closely I popped 2 into a 2 cell Sirefire I had handy to see if they were any good... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Turns out they were... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

EDIT: If you look closely you'll also notice that the nipple is negative, too... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif


Chris