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ARC LS ROYAL BLUE

Arc LSHP (Luxeon Star) Royal Blue, retail $(No longer for sale) (www.arcflashlight.com)
Manufactured by Arc Flashlight, LLC
Last updated: 04-03-12

LED Light

IMPORTANT! Effective 09-22-04, this product is no longer being made, but here is information on it anyway.

This model is the Arc LS with a high-powered Luxeon Star royal blue LED emitter. I believe that it is an LSHP.

The "H" in LSHP stands for "High Dome", the type of lens the Luxeon Star LED uses. This is also known as the Lambertian; if you buy a lot of bare LS LEDs you'll know this designation. You can also get the "Low Dome" or Batwing lens on the LS; this lens projects a wider beam and is designed to be used with the NX-01 acrylic collimator, like the very first Arc LS flashlights did.
But I digress...this flashlight uses the High Dome LS LED, just so ya know. :-)

It comes in a thick and very durable aluminum body, which was given a HA-III (hard anodize type III) treatment so that it will be able to withstand all kinds of flashlight mishaps and still stay looking newer, longer.

Finally, it feeds its high-powered royal blue LED with just two AA cells -- meaning that there is a boost inverter circuit in the head to boost the ~3.00 volts from the batteries to the ~3.60 to ~3.80 volts that the LED wants.

Size reference

The Arc LS Royal Blue came in a couple of different configurations; both of them related to the type of battery you wanted to use in it.
The model I'm testing today arrived with a body for 2x AA cells. There should be a thin plastic lens protector over the lens; use a fingernail to lift it up on one edge and remove it if you wish.

To turn it on, just twist the bezel (head) clockwise (as though tightening it).

Anmd to turn it off, turn the bezel counterclockwise {or "anticlockwise"} (as though loosening it).

To change the batteries in the LS, unscrew the head until it comes off.

Tip the used-up old AA cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Drop two new AA cells into the barrel so that the nipple-ends (+) positives face outward.

Screw the head back onto the barrel until the light comes on; then back it down half a turn or so.

The royal blue Arc LS is a very small and durable instrument that should provide you with years of service, even if you don't take care of it all that well. But you'll want to take care of it, once you see how well it's built.

The LS Royal Blue is a regulated flashlight, meaning there's some circuitry buried inside that will allow the flashlight to start bright and stay bright until the battery poops out, rather than starting bright and constantly dimming as the battery gets used up. The LS Royal Blue should go into a "moon mode" to provide a reduced level of light even on an almost dead battery, so you just aren't plunged into instant darkness when the battery craps out.

The Arc LS Royal Blue has a Chemcoat application on the threads and inside the flashlight body. This appears as a gold colored coating, and is there to help prevent corrosion from "battery poop" or if you take the light apart and somehow manage to spash water inside it. The outer portions of the flashlight are covered in a HA-III (Hard Anodized type 3) finish, so it will be tough and long-wearing. The HA-III coating is very durable, so pieces of it shouldn't flake off very easily at all.

Water-resistance is excellent; it is rated waterproof and even submersible to 50 feet - much, much deeper than I can test. So my alcohol-fueled attempts to drown it in the toliet won't be very successful.

This unit is labelled as First Run #165.

LED Light

Photograph of its beam 12" from the test target.
Measures 80,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
This value may be a bit low because this wavelength is right on the edge of my meter's perception. Whitish color in the center does not exist in real life; digital cameras have a tough time with these wavelengths.

Photograph of its beam on a wall at ~10 feet.

Those colored graphics toward the left are my "Viva Piñata" posters, that clock on the right that looks like a gigantic wristwatch is my Infinity Optics Clock, and that star-shaped red thing on the rightmost wall is from a Red Hot Laser Light Show. You may also be able to see two of my SpongeBob SquarePants plush (Squidward Tentacles & Patrick Star) and a Digimon plush (Greymon)

Spectrographic analysis of the royal blue LED in this flashlight.

Spectrographic analysis of the royal blue LED in this flashlight; newer spectrometer software & settings used.

Spectrographic analysis of the royal blue LED in this flashlight; spectrometer's response band narrowed to a range between 430nm and 465nm to pinpoint peak wavelength.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product; newer spectrometer software & settings used.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 430nm and 470nm to pinpoint peak wavelength, which is ~446.50nm.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product; yet newer spectrometer software & settings used.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 430nm and 460nm to pinpoint peak wavelength, which is 447.602nm.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product when using an RCR123 cell to check for wavelength shift.

Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this product when using an RCR123 cell to check for wavelength shift; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 440nm and 470nm to pinpoint peak wavelength, which is 463.477nm. It was 447.602nm with a regular CR123A cell.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a uranated* glass marble when irradiated with this flashlight.

*"Uranated" - infused with an oxide of uranium, *NOT* piddled on.
Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has
a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated.

Note spelling: "urAnated", not "urEnated","urInated",
"urOnated", "urUnated", or sometimes "urYnated".

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the phosphor cap of a Nichia NSPWR70CSS-K1 White High-Flux LED when irradiated with this flashlight.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the 2009 NIA Commemorative Insulator in uranated* glass when irradiated with this flashlight.

*"Uranated" - infused with an oxide of uranium, *NOT* tinkled on.
Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has
a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated.

Note spelling: "urAnated", not "urEnated","urInated",
"urOnated", "urUnated", or sometimes "urYnated".

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a pink tritium Glow Ring when irradiated with this flashlight.

USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.

ProMetric analysis

Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.

TEST NOTES:
I was offered a royal blue Arc LS just before 06-15-06 for just $100.00 by a kind CPFer after my last became stolen.

This product was made in the United States.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this website.

UPDATE 00-00-00:

PROS:
Good looking & feeling in the hand
Very bright for its size
Regulated - so it will stay bright & suck the battery dry
Durable HA-III finish
Acrylic AR lens protects LS optics
Tough little flashlight - very hard to break!

CONS:
None that I've yet to discover

MANUFACTURER: Arc Flashlight LLC
PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld flashlight
LAMP TYPE: Royal blue Luxeon Star LED
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Central hotspot with softer corona
SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel on/off
BEZEL: Acrylic A/R window protects LS optics
BATTERY: 2x AA cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to 50 feet
ACCESSORIES: Batteries
WARRANTY: N/A (company has gone out of business)

PRODUCT RATING:

Product is no longer available, so the conventional "star" rating will not be used.

Arc LS Royal Blue * www.arcflashlight.com

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