Arc-P AAA CS vs. DS Runtime

this_is_nascar · #1 10-17-2007, 04:10 PM

I was able to dig up some old data in order to save me some time. In addition, I found my cable so I can offload data from my light meter. Anyway, here's a quick comparision of the DS vs. CS emitter in the Arc-AAA light. For this test, Ray-O-Vac alkalines were used.

Gransee · #2 10-17-2007, 04:23 PM

Nice clean graph. Thanks TIN. This confirms what we suspected, which was a slight increase in runtime in addition to the higher brightness. I suspect that the lower vf, combined with partial current regulation, means less power is drawn from the battery.

peter

jch79 · #3 10-17-2007, 04:43 PM

WOW!

You gotta love jumps in 5mm LED technology!

Thanks, TIN!

john

greenLED · #4 10-17-2007, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gransee

...partial current regulation...

Peter, what exactly is this "partial current regulation" you're talking about? How's it different from current regulation, or voltage regulation?

TIN - nice to see you back and posting.

kitelights · #5 10-17-2007, 04:47 PM

Welcome back Ray.

skalomax · #6 10-17-2007, 04:47 PM

Thanks for the graph.

this_is_nascar · #7 10-17-2007, 05:42 PM

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Here's another one for you. You old-timers will remember the Arc AAA Limited Edition (LE). Look how technology has really changed over the last several years.

... problem with the pic. Stand by.

Here it is.

Gransee · #8 10-17-2007, 06:48 PM

I think the original LE had a BS Nichia LED. There is a lot of light between the the CS and DS, especially in the middle where it curves in the opposite direction.

I say partial current regulation because the system limits the current through the inductor, which reacts with the vf of the led and the discharge curve of the cell to produce a form of current regulation to the various LEDs. If it was voltage regulating (which some people think), the runtime and brightness would vary much more from unit to unit.

thanks again TIN!

peter

chimo · #9 10-17-2007, 07:25 PM

Nice graph, TIN!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gransee

I say partial current regulation because the system limits the current through the inductor, which reacts with the vf of the led and the discharge curve of the cell to produce a form of current regulation to the various LEDs. If it was voltage regulating (which some people think), the runtime and brightness would vary much more from unit to unit.
peter

Mostly semantics. The circuit is configured as a voltage regulator, however, due to the switcher chip's parameters (for output current (a function of inductor current) vs input voltage), the current gets limited. With a 3V input, the output current should go up considerably - up to 100mA @ 5V (of course it will depend on the load).

THE_dAY · #10 10-17-2007, 07:51 PM

thanks TIN, great work!

PoliceScannerMan · #11 10-17-2007, 08:02 PM

Good job Nascar!

Gransee · #12 10-17-2007, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenLED

Peter, what exactly is this "partial current regulation" you're talking about? How's it different from current regulation, or voltage regulation?

TIN - nice to see you back and posting.

Yes, it is good to see TIN posting again. Hopefully he will stay awhile.

greenLED, I've posted about this before. The question comes up from time to time. Let's take this to another thread (go back to arc main to see it) since this is off topic. Chimo, you appear to have some questions as well and you are welcome to join us.

peter

Carpe Diem · #13 10-17-2007, 09:04 PM

Hey...
Hey...
Hey...!

Who IS this "Ray" guy, anyway?

(Ray...good to see you!

)

alex in germany · #14 10-18-2007, 11:12 AM

It took me a few minutes to get what "TIN" stands for....

Thanks for the runtime graph TIN

Alex

regulator · #15 10-18-2007, 04:57 PM

Great graph TIN! It was really cool and informative to see the progression in LED efficiency of the Nichia.

It is really impressive to see a small light such as the Arc AAA now able to put out such a "practical" amount of light with a similarily impressive runtime. It is just so handy and easy to keep a light like this with you all the time.

I remember thinking how practical the original Arc was with the amount of light it put out. Can you imagine how shocked people would be if the DS came out right ater the original?

IsaacHayes · #16 10-18-2007, 06:03 PM

Great graphs TiN! Sums it up real nice. Good to see you active again.

BentHeadTX · #17 10-21-2007, 03:24 PM

Welcome back, TIN
I remember back in the day of my original AAA-P and it is quite a difference with the DS. Wonder how the runtime and graph is with a Eneloop AAA? The output would probably drop but have a very flat discharge curve.

IsaacHayes · #18 10-21-2007, 04:21 PM

I still have the ArcAAA Std you sold me TiN. I modded it to a hand picked CS LED. Too bad I re-potted it in 2-ton epoxy or I would make a DS. Oh well the difference from CS to DS isn't as big as BS to CS. Because if you look at your graph, the jump from BS-CS is x2, while the jump from CS-DS is only 1.5x.

Eneloop AAA is something I'd like to get. I wouldn't use it in my ArcAAA since the draw is so low that alkalines work fine, but in my LOD-CE it would benefit a lot and yet not have to worry about self discharge.

this_is_nascar · #19 10-21-2007, 04:25 PM

Thanks again everyone. I have the runtimes of the Snow lights (three of them) finishing up. I probably won't be able to post them until tomorrow night.

FRANKVZ · #20 10-21-2007, 05:39 PM

Peter, now if you could only take this new led and make some type of AA housing for a light with much longer runtime only what would we call it?

One can always dream

powernoodle · #21 10-21-2007, 06:32 PM

Reminds me of the good old days. TIN here, talking about the Arcs.

Sean · #22 10-21-2007, 08:12 PM

From one guy who hasn't been around much to another, Thanks for the runtime info TIN!

nyyankeefen · #23 10-21-2007, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRANKVZ

Peter, now if you could only take this new led and make some type of AA housing for a light with much longer runtime only what would we call it?

One can always dream

22hornet · #24 10-22-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by this_is_nascar

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Here's another one for you. You old-timers will remember the Arc AAA Limited Edition (LE). Look how technology has really changed over the last several years.

... problem with the pic. Stand by.

Here it is.

Hello,

It seems as if the old ARC AAA had the best regulation

Kind regards,
Joris

this_is_nascar · #25 10-22-2007, 04:14 PM

OK, so here we have some comparative runtimes of the DS vs the Snow LED units. I didn't plot every DS version that I have in an attempt to not make the graph too "busy".

greenLED · #26 10-22-2007, 04:27 PM

Do you attribute the discrepancy in the "tails" to individual battery performance?

this_is_nascar · #27 10-22-2007, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenLED

Do you attribute the discrepancy in the "tails" to individual battery performance?

It could be one (or more) of a number of factors, including battery itself, circuit, led, etc.

this_is_nascar · #28 10-22-2007, 05:05 PM

By the way, it's these types of graphs that I use to determine which lights I keep and which I will give away to family/friends or sell. For example, based on the graph, DS #3A and SN #1B are definite keepers. Not only do they register the brightest in their categories, but they possess the best runtime as well.

THE_dAY · #29 10-22-2007, 05:41 PM

great work TIN!

it seems the snows are pretty similar to the CS.

btw, that snow 1B keeps goin' and goin'!

270winchester · #30 10-22-2007, 06:47 PM

thanks TIN.

so you like the AAAs eh?