Gransee
Flashlight Enthusiast
We have been working on various ideas on how to provide some form of ongoing service for Arc owners. Obviously, the company is no longer there to provide the kind of service you came to expect. I am sorry again but I would like to think of some sort of system to provide at least some type of assistance to Arc owners should they need it.
CPF'er "CY" has quite a few of the older Arc parts that he bought in an auction from us a while back. Most of these parts are obsolete but he has offered to help anyone who might be looking for a particular part. This is not free of course, you should make him a fair offer for the part you need.
Several CPF'ers are fairly handy with fixing and modifying Arcs. I would like to put together a contact list of people who are willing to repair lights. Again, they should be compensated for any work they do. If you would like your name on the official, "Arc Service Technician" list, let me know. Thanks.
Another avenue for service is through the, "Do It Yourself" help files posted here on the CPF. These files show how to perform the most common service needed by various models. I may be able to add to these if they need more detail. The image hosting will be worked out (a seperate thread).
And finally, I would like to see if I can post some drawings and specs for various parts here on the CPF. The Technicians can use these to fabricate replacement parts. This is mostly for simple stuff like retaining rings, contacts, foam pieces, etc.
And now for a personal request..
As far as anyone else continuing to manufacturer Arcs, I don't want this to happen. The reason is simple: The name "Arc" means that I made it. This has to do with my reputation. I will not assist or approve of any reproduction of any light that purports to be an Arc or made in the "likeness of Arc". If any Arc is to be made, It should only occur with my direct and close supervision. Otherwise, it is not an Arc and should not tread on my good name.
They say, "power abhors a vaccum". This means that competitors are hungrily eyeing all the posts in this forum where people say things like, "I wish I could buy and Arc", etc. They may want to cash in on your love of the brand. I say they should go build their own brand and leave mine alone. I do not appreciate anyone who would try to rifle through the grave cloths of my dead child.
Thanks.
--
The lastest version of the Arc-AAA and Arc-AA are fairly easy to service. According to our warranty reports, the number one reason for service was a leaking battery. The fix usually involved using a wire brush or steel whool to clean out the battery compartment. Very bad cases required a new battery compartment but those cases were rare.
Now, there were problems with some of the older AAA/AAs having off center beams, blue tint centers, flickering, etc. We replaced most of those already but there may still be someone who didn't take advantage of our service while we were in business. The fix for those people was to replace the light but that can't be done now. For those people, they could try selling the light for parts and buying a newer model if they can find one. The defective light could then be used for parts to maintain the newer models. Again, this is fairly rare so most people will just need an occasional battery compartment cleanup according to our reports.
For the LS series, it depends on the model. Real early models had problems with flex, flickering, etc. But again, most of those were either fixed or retired by collectors. With the newer models, the number one problem was the light being dropped on it's side and the LED being sheared as a result. This requires at least a new LED but could also involve a new PCB, optic and retainer nut. If someone is carefull, they can get into the light without ruining the retainer nut. The LED and optic can then be replaced using a stock Luxeon and NX05. If you loose the retainer nut, it will probably be pretty difficult to find a replacement.
Another problem the LSs have occasionally is the kroll switch getting fouled. This can be fixed fairly easy in about 5 minutes with no tools so I am not as worried about it. The procedure for fixing this is already posted here in the Arc forum.
The Arc4 was still pretty new and unrefined when we went out of business. Even so, the number one complaint was the switch, which fortunately can be serviced using various methods (see other threads here in the Arc forum). Other than the switch and the numerous symptoms it caused, the Arc4 was fairly stable. This is based on the extensive feedback we recieved from you in the past 9 months while the light has been out in the wild. I know some may disagree on me with this, but trust me, the overwhelming majority of problems that were reported to us were because of that dern switch. We finally got a fix and we were just weeks out to getting it in production but you know what happened. Same with the new software. I have talked to CY about providing the rev3 switch to Arc owners but it is not an easy project. CY has a simpler fix and you may use that of course, but the rev3 fix was the fix I intended for the Arc4. If CY does provide anything, it will be with my blessing so you can work with him confident that he is respecting my wishes.
I will try to organize this better so people who do need service can have several options at their disposal.
Peter
CPF'er "CY" has quite a few of the older Arc parts that he bought in an auction from us a while back. Most of these parts are obsolete but he has offered to help anyone who might be looking for a particular part. This is not free of course, you should make him a fair offer for the part you need.
Several CPF'ers are fairly handy with fixing and modifying Arcs. I would like to put together a contact list of people who are willing to repair lights. Again, they should be compensated for any work they do. If you would like your name on the official, "Arc Service Technician" list, let me know. Thanks.
Another avenue for service is through the, "Do It Yourself" help files posted here on the CPF. These files show how to perform the most common service needed by various models. I may be able to add to these if they need more detail. The image hosting will be worked out (a seperate thread).
And finally, I would like to see if I can post some drawings and specs for various parts here on the CPF. The Technicians can use these to fabricate replacement parts. This is mostly for simple stuff like retaining rings, contacts, foam pieces, etc.
And now for a personal request..
As far as anyone else continuing to manufacturer Arcs, I don't want this to happen. The reason is simple: The name "Arc" means that I made it. This has to do with my reputation. I will not assist or approve of any reproduction of any light that purports to be an Arc or made in the "likeness of Arc". If any Arc is to be made, It should only occur with my direct and close supervision. Otherwise, it is not an Arc and should not tread on my good name.
They say, "power abhors a vaccum". This means that competitors are hungrily eyeing all the posts in this forum where people say things like, "I wish I could buy and Arc", etc. They may want to cash in on your love of the brand. I say they should go build their own brand and leave mine alone. I do not appreciate anyone who would try to rifle through the grave cloths of my dead child.
Thanks.
--
The lastest version of the Arc-AAA and Arc-AA are fairly easy to service. According to our warranty reports, the number one reason for service was a leaking battery. The fix usually involved using a wire brush or steel whool to clean out the battery compartment. Very bad cases required a new battery compartment but those cases were rare.
Now, there were problems with some of the older AAA/AAs having off center beams, blue tint centers, flickering, etc. We replaced most of those already but there may still be someone who didn't take advantage of our service while we were in business. The fix for those people was to replace the light but that can't be done now. For those people, they could try selling the light for parts and buying a newer model if they can find one. The defective light could then be used for parts to maintain the newer models. Again, this is fairly rare so most people will just need an occasional battery compartment cleanup according to our reports.
For the LS series, it depends on the model. Real early models had problems with flex, flickering, etc. But again, most of those were either fixed or retired by collectors. With the newer models, the number one problem was the light being dropped on it's side and the LED being sheared as a result. This requires at least a new LED but could also involve a new PCB, optic and retainer nut. If someone is carefull, they can get into the light without ruining the retainer nut. The LED and optic can then be replaced using a stock Luxeon and NX05. If you loose the retainer nut, it will probably be pretty difficult to find a replacement.
Another problem the LSs have occasionally is the kroll switch getting fouled. This can be fixed fairly easy in about 5 minutes with no tools so I am not as worried about it. The procedure for fixing this is already posted here in the Arc forum.
The Arc4 was still pretty new and unrefined when we went out of business. Even so, the number one complaint was the switch, which fortunately can be serviced using various methods (see other threads here in the Arc forum). Other than the switch and the numerous symptoms it caused, the Arc4 was fairly stable. This is based on the extensive feedback we recieved from you in the past 9 months while the light has been out in the wild. I know some may disagree on me with this, but trust me, the overwhelming majority of problems that were reported to us were because of that dern switch. We finally got a fix and we were just weeks out to getting it in production but you know what happened. Same with the new software. I have talked to CY about providing the rev3 switch to Arc owners but it is not an easy project. CY has a simpler fix and you may use that of course, but the rev3 fix was the fix I intended for the Arc4. If CY does provide anything, it will be with my blessing so you can work with him confident that he is respecting my wishes.
I will try to organize this better so people who do need service can have several options at their disposal.
Peter
