Recommended Retail Price :- £125 / $200 Approx.
Size:- 158mm long 60mm Diameter at widest point.
Weight (With Batteries):- 480g
Battery Type / Qty :- 4 off included AA Alkaline or NiMh Rechargeable
Battery Life :- 30 Hours
Bulb Type :- Still not too sure about this. Nichia Power LED maybe?
Rated Output:- 1 Watt (I could read this bit from the Italian Instructions)
Efficiency:- 12 Watt (Not too sure what this means but it is engraved on the light body)
Estimated LED Lifespan:- 100000 Hours
Colour Temperature:- 5000K
Reflector Type :- 30mm plastic optic 10 Degree angle
Lens Material :- Tempered optical crystal
Electronics:- Yes, Regulated light output.
Switch:- Servo assisted magnetic reed switch driving a transistor regulator circuit.
Body Material :- Anticorrosion anodised aluminium - laser printed
Depth Rating:- 200m
Options:- Rechargeable NiMh batteries and charger unit.
This is a light that is something of a mystery to me. I have tried to find out exactly what type of LED is used in it. I received the following information back from Fa&Mi as follows:-
Hi...
I try to answer to all your question:
1) The led used in the torch ia a Nicha led SMD<180° 12.000mC
2) Only one led is used... driven by an electonic system able to increase
till 150% the brightness and to considerably reduce consumes: autonomy
of
30 hours with 4 AA alkaline cells.
3) you can get about the 100% of the power for the first 10 hours... 75%
of
the power for other 10%... and 50% of the power for the last 10 hours.
I got the opportunity to buy one when I got a reply back from my usual FA&MI supplier to say that they had got the only one in the country in stock at the time and did I want it? You bet I did as my interest was now in overdrive.
Well I am not disappointed with any aspect of this light so far. I had my doubt that it would be very bright with the quoted run time of 30 Hours. But then I suppose it does run on 4 AA batteries which gives it a high capacity compared with some other 123A powered lights. The other thing that seems to work for it, is the 30mm optic.
Well the light came supplied with 4 AA Alkaline batteries already installed. So to turn it on you just pull the safety lockout plastic ring down on the light body. Then you turn the ring to turn the light on. The switch is activated by a magnet located in the plastic ring. This switches on a magnetic reed switch contained in the light body which turns on the power.
The light contains a circuit board with various electronic components and the FA&MI e-mail above states that the light is regulated to give 100% brightness for the first 10 Hours. This will then switch to a lower level for a further 20 hours. Not sure how good this is compared to the other regulated lights that I have. I suppose I will have to leave it switched on and try it.
Very Nice 30mm Optic and depth rated glass lens
Next to a Surefire L4 and an ARC LSH
Note pressure relief valve
Note the large bump on the plastic switch ring. This contains the magnet that turns the light on.
To change the batteries on the light you have to unscrew the tailcap. This is an excellent fit and requires a very positive turn to unscrew it. It is sealed with a Viton o-ring. This should be kept lubed with silicon grease to provide a watertight seal.
Inside the light is a 4 AA battery carrier. This is permanently attached to the lights electronics board with a couple of wires, so don't pull it out of the light too vigorously.
Peering into the light when the battery carrier is removed will allow you to see the electronics board and the plastic housing of the reed switch.
By the looks of the lens and the single tube body of the light I would think that all of the lens assembly and electronics go into the light from the battery end. This may be an issue if you ever break the lens as you would probably have to return the light to get a new one installed. My other FA&MI light has a removable front bezel to get at the incandescent bulb. So it is easy to replace a smashed lens. However breaking the lens is probably highly unlikely as it is stressed to take 200 meters of water pressure! You should also never need to replace the LED as it has a Lifespan of 100000 hours!
I would say this is probably the best made 4 AA LED lights that I have seen so far. You certainly feel that it can take just about any abuse thrown at it. It is heavy though. But in water it only weights 100 grammes.
If you look at the photos you will see the small black disk mounted in the tailcap. This is the safety pressure relief valve. This will vent any high pressure in the light caused by gassing of the batteries as they discharge.
In use the beam if the light is very smooth and even. Its is similar to my ARC LSH but with a slightly narrower beam. The light output is also similar. I should really get a light meter to measure thing with a bit more accuracy. But I suppose if the beams are different a true comparison will still be very difficult.
In outside use against my Mk I test shed it is slightly dimmer that the ARC LSH Standard but only just. Again the beam is very even with no holes or rings.
Overall I a think this makes a very different LED light. It runs for a long time and it uses dirt cheap batteries. I really should take up diving so I can use them in their intended environment. :-)
The spring on the battery carrier is only to stop it rattling. It provides no electrical connection.
Electronics at the top of the light.
FA&MI on the left against ARC LSH (Left Pic) and Inova X5T (Right Pic)
FA&MI in the foreground against ARC LSH (Left Pic) & Inova X5T (Right Pic)
The light is extremely
well made with each part CNC machined from sold
aluminium bar or tube. Each part is then anodised The writing on the body
of the case is laser etched into the anodised finish. As it's a dive light
I would hope that the finish is very durable as it has to resist salt
water.
OK, now hopefully your interested where can you get one?
UK Dealers
Denney Diving