ARC LSH-ST square beam normal ?

To all the Arc guys out there. I recently was given an ARC LSH-ST (I guess that is the standard version rather than the premium). This is one great light, but I have a couple of questions, why is the beam square at close range and what is the faint line that disects the beam. I don't believe it is a defect per say but rather just a charateristic of the LED. I still can't believe how bright and white the beam is for such a small light. I think I'm in love /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

square that is because the die of the led is square and the optic show it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif i hope this helps

I hope im right on this correct me if im wrong i think im wrong only the lshf-p should look square . i Think. either way the led die is square /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

High dome LS's will have a square looking beam when they have an optic in front of them vs. a reflector. Your light has a lexan optic. The Low Domes LS's have a round beam but a mostly a green/blue beam with a more colored (usually blue) hotspot. The High Dome LS's are whiter usually.

I have a homebrew Q bin with a McLux Head and I have used an NX05 (standard optic for ARC I believe, an NX01, a Fraen and an IMS SOX17 and the square pattern is very evident with the NX05, not so much with the NX01 and not there with the IMS reflector.

If the square bothers you there might be someone on COF who would mod your light with a reflector. I have no idea what they charge.

No No No, I'm not complaining but rather was wondering if this was normal for the beam to be square or if I got a special one. Actually, quite frankly I think it is kinda cool looking /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It's normal.sorry for my earlier misspellings...

Some people are bothered by it..some not..what you have is a really nice light and a collectors item since ARC is gone.

On the left is a high dome Luxeon with a round reflector (IMS SO17XA), and on the right is a high dome Luxeon with the NX05 optic.

The faint lines are normal, if you get a chance to look at a Luxeon closeup, you can see there are two tiny gold wires leading to the die. I can see them in both my lights (less in the reflector, more in the optic), but they don't show up so well in a photo. You can still see them faintly, from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock in the beam.

GeforceFX, 14C and KevinL,
Thanks a bunch for the feedback. I should have been more clear that I was not complaining but rather thought it was cool. KevinL, your pic shows exactly what my beam looks like. Pretty unique.

Later,
CajunBabe