Arc AA owners inside plz

D

dtsoll

Joined
Dec 15, 2002
Messages
173
Okay Arc AA owners, if you have one what do you like/dislike about it? I personally like the stand up ability of the tailcap. Not to mention how bright it is with the larger reflector. The fit and finish are second to none on the one I have. I should have my second one tomorrow. I absolutely love the AA, kinda pricey but should last forever, give or take a few days! It hasn't officially replaced my AAA LE for edc but sometimes takes its place. Having said that there are many uses for this gem. The runtime is rather attractive also! Okay, said my piece. What are your thoughts? Doug:)
 
The Arc AA has become my EDC when I am wearing looser pants. The Arc AA is slightly larger than a tube of chapstick. I like the Arc AA because it can stand on its end and has twice run time of the Arc AAA.

arcaa.jpg
 
The AA is brighter and has a longer runtime than the AAA. Though larger than the AAA (and therefore a tad bulky for keychain carry), the AA is very comfortable to pocket - carry. I haven't needed to stand the AA on its tail cap yet, but this aspect of the AA looks very functional.

I'm pleased with my AAs (I have three seconds). I use them mostly for camping/hiking purposes and have found them to be excellent for this kind of use.
 
How much brighter?Does the extra brightness make up for the size differance?
 
It's a little bit brighter because of the larger reflector. If you want a flashlight that's significantly brighter than the ARC AAA you have to go to either multiple leds or a Luxeon. There's only so much light you can get out of a single Nichia.
 
My AAs are definitely brighter than my AAAs, but Cougar Allen is right, there's only so much you can get out of one Nichia. If you want a really major step up in terms of LED brightness, I'd recommend an Arc LS. And if that's not enough for you, you might want to check out the Sure Fire L4.
 
Seems those elasticized sleeves for lip balm tubes could be a fun add-on for the ARC. Give you some more options for hanging it places and such.

Phil
 
Originally posted by Cougar Allen
It's a little bit brighter because of the larger reflector.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's spot-on.

ARC's own FAQ lists both the AAA and the AA at 3 lumens.

Variations based on binning and simple variations therein, the age of your AAA used for the comparison (ARC has continually updated the AAA), as well as the "reflector" size can cause some perceived differences.

Allen
aka DumboRAT
 
Can someone post a picture or link of an Arc-AA and Arc-AAA together,
Or anything for a good idea of the size, I'm not sure if
if this can replace my Arc-AAA because of the size but I
really perfer AA over AAA batteries
 
in addition to the larger reflector, i believe that something may have been changed in the electronics (somone from cpf said his dissected aa didn't quite match his aaa, and that some sort of diode or resister was changed. he said that it makes the curcuit more efficient, so a few more ma is getting to the led) as to wether or not this is accurate, i really can't say.
 
Thanks for the link,

I don't think Mr, Arc said anything
about a change on CPF but I couldn't
get on the last few days. :confused:
 
Rothrandir,

LOL buddy (laughing with you, not at you) -- looks like someone on thre ARC Forum is saying the exact opposite as you re: circuitry update for output.

I'll have to search this one up.

:)

Thanks!

Allen
aka DumboRAT
 
I have one, but I think it's to big for my keychain (where my Arc AAA now is), and for pocket carry I already have my Arc LSL-L which is only a bit thicker, and has a much higher output (but of course shorter runtime) ... anyway, I decided to save it as a christmas gift for my father-in-law.

Ted
 
allen, i'm just saying that i heard somone say that a component was changed, i also said that i had no idea if it were true or not.
peter did say that the electronics weren't going to change, but maybe one component did get changed :shrug:
it is possible that using an aa allows the curcuit to suck more, but with my own mod (i made a aa body for the arc aaa head, and a dcell body for an arc aaa head), i didn't really notice any difference in brightness, though i didn't bother with all new batteries either. furthermore, all leds vary a little bit, so it's really hard to say.

that being said, the arc aa (by all accounts, i don't personally have one ( :( )) is brighter than the aaa.
i'm sure using a larger reflector will help a bit, but i'm not sure if the difference is due to only the larger reflector, if the curcuit is improved, or if the curcuit can just draw more from an aa battery than an aaa batter.
who knows, maybe all of the above :shrug:
 
Rothrandir,

Please don't misunderstand -- I'm not flaming you at all...I put the smileies there as well as the notation to let you know that I was/am in as much of a brain-bind as you were/are.

As I cited on CPF, I literally searched up all references that the search engine on CPF would allow me (parameters: search "AA" since "beginning" limited to ARC sub-Forum) and read ALL the threads involving this project, and still could not VERIFY:

(1) independent light output measurements for the AA *_QUOTED_* by Peter as "official" (unlike the AAA)

(2) *_confirmed_* info on circuitry update versus the latest version of the AAA potentally allowing higher output (although most cited "no" to this, and instead attributed the increased output cited by some to a drop in internal resistance of the AA cell or longer life span of the AA setup "corrupting" observations)

All that I could verify/confirm via true officia information (from ARC or Peter) was as I cited before here and on CPF and as you've pointed out yourself above -- that variations based on binning (which itself *_overlaps_* between the AAA, AAA Premium, and the AA) and simple variations moreso therein, combined with the "age" of the AAA used for the comparison (ARC has continually updated the AAA), as well as the "reflector" size can cause some perceived differences.

Allen
aka DumboRAT
 
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