Arc Technology

What is an LED and why is it ideal for this flashlight?

"LED" stands for "Light Emitting Diode". Enormously improved since their development in the 1960's, current LED's have surpassed the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs. Combined with their rugged, unbreakable construction and long life of thousands of hours they make the ideal light source for high tech flashlights.

The Arc utilizes the latest LED technology, a single Nichia 20-degree unit.

Alkaline versus Lithium batteries

Many LED flashlights this size utilize a Lithium battery to drive the LED. Although these flashlights are typically quite small, the downside is the high cost of battery replacement. Some lithium flashlights require special tools to remove the battery. Also, finding a replacement battery can be a challenge.

The Arc was designed to work with an ordinary AAA battery. Replacement costs are about 1/10 the cost of Lithium's. In addition, battery replacement is very easy, requires no tools and the batteries can be purchased almost anywhere.

Electronic control versus "ordinary" flashlights

To deliver the voltage of a lithium battery using an ordinary AAA battery, the Arc contains a miniature converter that boosts the output of the AAA battery to the level required by the LED. By making the flashlight more intelligent, an ordinary battery can be used which more than offsets the cost of the converter.

The converter has been tested and is quite rugged and requires no attention from the user. It never needs adjustment and is designed to last a lifetime of use.

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