Any alternative bulbs for A2?

Hi, can any experts tell me is there an alternative bulb for the SF A2? I have been using mine for a year without any bulb change. But recently, I noticed there is some blackie stuff inside the wall of the bulb envelope, it is a sign of an over-used bulb? Sorry for this stupid question as you can see from my post count, I am a newbie. A2 is my very first SF, how long does an A2 bulb suppose to last? What is the sign of bulb change for SF lights?

I find that SF bulbs are a bit expensive,is there any after market A2 bulb that I can order from a web store? :thanks:

The black stuff is normal after use, I have had them in all my MA02 bulbs(I had 4 so far). The bulb will run for a good while, my first bulb is actually still working fine after 20 sets of batteries. But the black residue somehow makes my lgiht look yellow(that or maybe I just got spoiled my overdriven Halogen bulbs and LEDs).

And for your question, no, the MA02 is the only bulb for the A2.

A year without a bulb change is pretty good already, especially since incandescents don't last forever. Not a wise idea to substitute anything else for the MA02 lamp, I agree it's expensive but that's the price of buying SF - the consumables count against ya too.

If you're really concerned about bulb changes you might want to switch to a LED based model, that way you should never have to change the bulb again.

I've put 45+ battery sets through the first A2 I had.
The inside of the bulb did begin to yellow slightly which is normal after about 25+ battery sets. Comparing it side by side with another A2 with new lamp I can see no difference in light output.

My experience of the A2 is that the bulbs last a very long time.

Al

IIRC, doesn't the A2 have some circuitry (part of it's digital regulation) which makes the start-up of the lamp slower, to lower the thermal shock to the filament? That would explain getting so many sets of batteries from a single SF lamp, I believe. Isn't 20 to 30 hours pretty much the norm for SF lamps?

I blew a few lamps in my old E1, but that was from dropping the light when it was on. Even a 2 1/2 foot fall onto my lawn, or onto carpeting blew lamps in that light.

I'd really, really like to see an A2 with the 3 5mm LED's, and a 3 watt LED as well, instead of the incandescent. Best of many worlds. Add in the availability of $25 5mm LED rings in different colors for it, and it would certainly be a good seller for SureFire. I can't understand why SF, or somebody else, hasn't done something like that.

The mean life for a surefire incan LA is 25 hours.

The a2 has Willie Hunt's LVR which a) regulates the voltage to the bulb b) ramps up the current to the bulb in the first 50 milliseconds. Most bulbs blow in this initial period so that would explain why bulbs in the a2 last so long