Arc 4 and rechargeable 123's?

Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Are there any fully protected, rechargeable cells that will work with the Arc 4? I attempted using the Cpf search feature and became "lost" in the number of posts.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

JSB has what is currently the only rechargeable 123s with protection circuits, and yes, they will run in the Arc4. http://www.jsburlys.com

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Jon's JSB123's work great in the Arc4. Thanks to those and the Pilas, my SF M6 is the only thing left burning up cr123's (for now).

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Sincere thanks to both of you! Heading towards the JSB link now.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

more are supposed to be shipped to me on Monday. Temporarily out of these.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Thanks Jon, I'll keep a eye on your site, wasn't disappointed you were sold out. Glad to see these are selling well. Thanks again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

The 4.2V protected R123, I've seen are shorter by aprox. 1mm. Since ARC4's are hyper sensitive to battery length. most will not be able to use reliably w/o a spacer.

I recommend the new protected JSB "3V" R123 which are true to size. this is based upon other feedback and the small samples I've seen.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

They have promised to fix the length problem and the other quality issues. I will see when I get the next run.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Hello Cy,

Any idea what the current draw from the battery is on an ARC 4? I have heard that the 3 V R-123's shut down under draws at around 900-1000 mA. I tested mine and got 8 minutes run time (down to 2.5 v) at 1000 ma. At 1250 mA, I got 27 seconds.

I also remember Peter saying that the unprotected R-123's were fair game in the ARC 4. I don't know if anyone tried them or checked them for correct length.

Tom

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

I do use unprotected cells a lot in my Arc4 (Rev1), two different ones (altough they both may be GreatTech) and have no problems with them.
Using 'protected' cells in an Arc4 is not necessary and works a little bit against the phylosophy.
The Arc4 takes very well care about that and you have some warning before the cell gets empty.
Cy thankfully told us that the protection works only when you put in a fully charged cell and you do not remove it until you recharge it.
The same is, when your cell is too short, as it may interrupt the circuit sometimes.
If you don't have these issues (like me and all the other Arc4 owner I know), it works perfectly.
A protected cell protects itself very well, but not the user. In case of emergency, you may end with no light without any warning. If you are using your Arc4 for not so critical tasks, protected cells will do fine.

Tom: look at the list about your specific light's the current draw for 3V and calculate it for the input voltage you want (not perfectly true, as the efficiency changes, but should givve an idea). If you want to guestimate it for 3.6V (20% more voltage), just multiply the cureent given with 0.83.
As I posted on several other occasions, I get 40 minutes (continuous) runtime on highest level with one of my better R123 , but also the other is at 38 min not far behind.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

The 3volt rechargables needs some work in one area, the 4.2volt need work in another area. What a headache.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

Hello Peter,

My 3 V R-123 got 38 minutes when I applied a 500 mA load to it.

Jon, I feel your pain. I am sure they will be able to get the kinks worked out.

Tom

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

I have to add (as I did not state it clearly enough) that I use the 'normal' Li-Ion cells charged up to 4.18V (This is just the voltage I got with adding a 5k6 resistor which was at home).
I do not have any '3V' rechargeables now (and have currently no need for them.
The Arc4 is the exception among the lights as it has built in low discharge protection and accepts a wide input range.
My better cell gives almost exactly one hour when pulling 0.5A load at it (it comes to 495mAh at 0.5A). Average voltage is some 3.5V at this current IIRC (and they get a few degrees above ambient temp, feelable by hand).

And I agree, Jon makes wonderful work and I will prefer the protected cells for everything else than my Arc4 .-)

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

I have my two 4.1v original set and the charger.
These work really WELL they stay up a long time and recharge in 3-4 hrs. I use nutin but in my Arc 4s. Thanks Jon.
Mike /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

I use protected cell in my ARC4 and it works very well. I don't have that sudden darkness usually assocated with the protected cell. The ARC4 seems to know when to reduce output so the cell will out be "overloaded" and shut down.

Re: Arc 4 and rechargeable 123\'s?

[ QUOTE ]
ledy said:
I use protected cell in my ARC4 and it works very well. I don't have that sudden darkness usually assocated with the protected cell.

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks like your cell's shutoff is lower than the Arc4s. So the protection does not any harm .-)
(in case you care anyway).
Did we ever get the shutoff voltage from JSB?