ARC6 FLASHLIGHT

Arc6 Flashlight, retail $300.00 (www.arcflashlight.com...)
Manufactured by Mega Tech Devices (www.arcflashlight.com)
Last updated 12-13-08






This is the latest incarnation of the Arc LS flashlight, known as the Arc6.
This flashlight features a microcontroller to allow it to have many modes, a very nice, bright SSC (Seoul Semiconductor) P4 white LED at the bottom of a stippled ("orange peel" texturised) reflector (protected by a sapphire window {or "lens" if you prefer, even though it does not modify the light in any fashion}), and a metal pushbutton on the tailcap. It can operate in momentary or continuous modes, in addition to having multiple intensity settings and an SOS signal built in.

The Arc6 feeds from a single CR123A primary (disposable) cell or a single RCR123A secondary (rechargeable) cell.

Regarding the two photographs above:
The first is the Arc6 with the "Guarded Sleeve".
The second is the Arc6 with the "No Guarded Sleeve" ("NG Sleeve").

The carry clip is made of titanium, and it is fastened to the barrel with two screws, not just one.


Size of product w/hand to show scale SIZE



The Arc6 can be used in "low" and "high" modes right away, without having to read any significant amount of instructional text; it was designed to be intuitive to operate in this regard.

To access "low" mode in intermittent (momentary) operation, simply press the tail button until it lights up in "low" mode; hold it that way for as long as you need light.
Release the button to turn it off.

To access "high" mode in intermittent (momentary) operation, simply press the tail button more firmly until it lights up in "high" mode; hold it that way for as long as you need light.
Release the button to turn it off.

For continuous or hands-free use, twist the bezel (head) clockwise until it lights up in "low" mode.
Twist the bezel counterclockwise to turn your Arc6 off.

To access "high" mode in continuous mode, twist the bezel (head) clockwise even more until it lights up in "high" mode.
Twist the bezel counterclockwise to turn your Arc6 off.

Lifted directly from the instructional materials:
Settings Menu

To enter:

Twist head to stage 1 (low)
Press button to stage2 (high) about 10 times (or until light changes flashing)

There are 3 stages (2 mechanical and 1 virtual). Each stage is identified by a flash code. 1 flash for stage1, 2 flashes for stage2, etc.

To change a particular stage, press the button once to cycle to the stage you want, then press and hold to select that stage. The light will then flash three times to indicate you have selected an option and then it will display the current setting for that stage. You then can press the button once to cycle to the next level. It will continue to cycle with each press. There are currently 8 levels. 7 brightness levels and 1 strobe. To select a level, press and hold until the light flashes 3 times. That level is then saved to flash (memory) and will be stored even if the battery is changed. It can be overwritten by entering the menu and selecting a different level.

The setting menu is automatically exited when a level is saved.

Off
Twist to Stage1
10 stage2 presses
    Main menu
    stage1
      sub menu for changing stage1 level
    stage2
      sub menu for changing stage 2 level
    stage3
brief press: cycle to next option
long press: select option

Because I don't feel like writing a book, I refer you to this file instead:
Instructional materials in .DOC format; size 46,080 bytes.
(IMPORTANT!) This is stored on my own server; it is not "hotlinked".



To change the battery in your Arc6, unscrew and remove the bezel (head) until it comes off (don't worry about losing parts or bulbs), gently place it on the floor, use your foot to push it under the couch, and wait for the hungry, hungry carpet beetles - they'll think it's something yummy for their insect tummies, find it unpalatable, and roll it into a mouse hole so that it will become forever lost...O WAIT!!! THAT'S THE GOOD PART!!! So just set it aside instead.

If necessary, tip out the used CR123A or RCR123A cell, and dispose of or recycle (CR123A) or recharge (RCR123A) it as you see fit.

Place the included Duracell CR123A cell or a fully charged RCR123A cell into the barrel so the button-end (+) positive faces up.

Screw the bezel back on, back it off just a bit when your Arc6 springs to life, and there, you're finished.
Aren't you glad you didn't push that bezel under the couch with all those hungry, hungry beetles now?




Photograph of the business-end of the Arc6, showing the reflector instead of an acrylic optic.

The Arc6 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 outer portions of the Arc6 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.

And the inside is protected by a gold-colored material called Chem Coat; this helps to protect the flashlight from water or "battery poop" - you should not attempt to scrape it away or otherwise try and remove it.

I tried to cut through the flashlight with the blade of a folding knife, and with only EXTREME difficulty, I was able to inflict a very small cut to the bare metal; the casing was otherwise undamaged.
Would I really try to cut up a perfectly good flashlight?
You bet your sweet patootie (sugar-coated toliet muscle) I would, if it's in the name of science.

I tried to cut through the end window (or "lens" if you prefer) with the tip of the same knife, and was not successful. This tells me that the window is made out of glass (actually, additional investigation revealed that it is made of artificial SAPPHIRE!!!), not plastic.
Would I really try to cut through the end window of a perfectly good flashlight?
You bet your sugar-coated toliet muscle (sweet patootie) I would, if it's in the name of science.

I also beat the living tweedle out of it (ten whacks against the concrete floor of a porch; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is a very, very, ***VERY*** tiny scuff - not even enough to expose the bare Metaltsunomon - er - the bare Metalmonochromon - um that's not it either...the bare Metalveemon...er...uh...wait a sec here...THE BARE METAL (guess I've been watching too much Digimon again! - now I'm just making {vulgar term for feces} up!!!) on the edge of the tailcap where it was struck. The scuff is ***VERY*** small; you almost need a magnifying lens just to see it.
No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected.

The primary purpose of "The Smack Test" is not necessarily to see if the exterior of the flashlight would be damaged; it's more about the internal components which would be subject to a high shock load ("G force") every time the poor, defenseless, innocent, helpless (or "hapless") flashlight strikes the concrete.

The unit comes with a battery and a bezel-down clip, so you can clip it onto your clothing or in a pocket or attach a lanyard of your choise to the clip. A lanyard isn't included, so if you want to use one, you'll have to procure it elsewhere.

The bezel is lightly crenelated (scalloped); this allows you to see if your Arc6 is still turned on when placed face-down on a smooth surface like a dresser, table, desk, night stand, etc. (Yes, I actually ruined the batteries in a flashlight by doing this - it was a SureFire KL2 if I remember correctly.)


A shot of the underside of the bezel (head), showing some of the circuitry.

The Arc6 appears to use a variation of PWM (pulse width modulation) on its dimmer settings; this is not a square wave however - it is more of a sawtooth waveform, as the oscilloscope screen photograph directly below shows:


This shows the "low" setting that you would see as a default (how the light is shipped to you).
Note the sawtooth waveform instead of the square wave most frequently seen in true PWM. The slight but very noticeable curvature in the decay stages (right after the upper point in each wave) is caused by the phosphor taking a little more time to dim than a nonphosphor LED might.
At least that's how I *THINK* things are working just by viewing the photograph.

(This was soon confirmed by Peter Gransee, the Arc6's creator)



Beam photograph at ~12".
That "rotten black laborador urine green" tint does not actually exist in real life.

Measurements:

6,470mcd (low) to 1,422,000mcd (high) on a primary (disposable) CR123A cell.
9,610mcd (low) to 1,590,000mcd (high) on a secondary (rechargeable) RCR123A cell.

All measurements were performed on a Meterman LM631 (now Amprobe LM631A) light meter.



Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.

Those rectangular graphic things in the upper right quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Sega ''Star Trek''
Atari ''Tempest''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Jaleco ''Exerion''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

And those colored graphics toward the left are my "Viva Piņata" posters.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (low).


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (high).
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


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



TEST NOTES:
Test sample was sent by P.G. of Mega Tech Devices, and was received on the afternoon of 09-17-08.

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


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Mega Tech Devices
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small multimode handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: SSC P4 white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot; central hotspot with softer corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Digitised pushbutton inset into tail; twist bezel on/mode change/off
    CASE MATERIAL: HA-III aluminum
    BEZEL: Metal; sapphire window protects LED and reflector
    BATTERY: 1x CR123A disposable or 1xRCR123A rechargeable cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to 100 feet
    ACCESSORIES: Duracell Ultra CR123A cell
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating




ARC6 Flashlight * www.arcflashlight.com...






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