Arc4+ (first) and the reflector...

Hi,

I have my Arc4+ for a couple of days now and I simply love it.
BUT on closer inspection of the reflector there are some
small spots on it - they look like bits of dust and
can't be removed. Also I could see some minor scratches
on the LED dome. Well, both of these "probs" don't seem
to affect beam quality or output. It's just that when
I spend that much money on a light I want it to be perfect.
I think about contacting the online shop where I ordered
the light (they are in germany which improves shipping times)
and asking them to exchange it. How about your
Arc4s? Do they all have those marks on the reflector or
was I (as usually) just unlucky.

The reflector of my light is clean, there is only a very unnoticeable scratches that you only can see with the lens off, anyway, you have 30 days satisfaction guarantee and it is transferable to the factory if in the future you have any technical issue you can send it straight to Arc, I hope not.
I think yours is a cosmetic problem and it is not covered by the guarantee.
On business days if you go to their website there is a chat window to speak with them at the factory.

Many of the ones I've seen have rough areas, areas where it looks like there was some crud, and it overcoated it, maching marks, areas that start looking like a frosted surface and such. Some even have discolorations of the reflector material:





Here is someone else's ARC4, a first, S/N 344:





BTW, have you inspected your ARC4 luxeon very closely to see if it has a bubble?

It looks like what's on the first picture. However, there don't seem
to be any bubbles inside the LED. Just a small scratch on the dome which
can be seen at a certain angle as the reflector magnifies
this part of the LED. I just don't know if I should try to
exchange the light - what do you think? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

You do risk getting either a better or not as good one as a replacement. If what you mentioned is your ownly gripe, do you want to risk other possible issues with the replacement?

Some have been known to buy more than one, then sell the inferior ones on the FS forums, or ebay.

Could you take a picture and post it here?

Well I bet that Arc 4Rev1 of the picture is not a first one because does not look very nice, I was looking at my reflector without the lens right now and it shows a smooth surface,I 've compared also with my SF E2e reflector and they look very similar.

Sorry, I only have a cheap digicam... the quality would be
horrible... besides I doubt that the scratches on the dome
would be visible without a magnifying glass. The stuff
on the reflector looks exactly like the marks that are
visible in your first picture...
You recommend keeping it like that? I just don't want to
spend another bunch of money in such a short time to buy
a second arc...

I complained about this when I first received my 4 rev 2...
I have the same feelings as you. When I spend this much money, I don't expect the details to be overlooked... My rev 1 reflector was perfect..

Undark,

Return it? hmm well If you cant tell in the beam itself, when shinned on the wall, I wouldnt.

I can understand the complaints here about the reflectors.
Mine has the slight frosted look like the one circled above.
Doesnt seem to effect teh beam really though.

Well, I decided to keep it. The beam is perfect (only
when shone on a surface that's closer than 4 inches there's
a "black hole" in the middle). I like my serial number
as somehow I can remember it easily (don't know why).

And last I simply couldn't hand my nice'n'cute Arc to the
postal service for shipping... my heart would bleed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif