Acebeam UC3A Sign Flashlight Assessment

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight has two Luminus SST-36F emitters and a aspect lantern-style white and RGB output. It runs a 10440 or AAA cell! Learn on!

Official Specs and Options

Right here’s a referral hyperlink to the Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight product web page.

Variations

There’s only one model, however it’s accessible in three physique colours: orange, black, and olive inexperienced.

Value

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight is on the market now for $34.90.

What’s Included

• Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight
• 10440 cell
• Charging cable
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Cut up ring and clip
• Handbook, and many others.

Package deal and Handbook

Construct High quality and Disassembly

Measurement and Comps

Size: 71.5mm/2.82″
Width: 31.05mm/1.22″
Peak: 15.5mm/0.61″
Weight: 63g/2.22oz (incl. battery)

Right here’s the sunshine in hand:

Right here’s the check mild with the venerable Convoy S2+. This can be a brass model, which is an effective bit heavier than aluminum, however has the identical dimensions: 24mm in diameter by 117.5mm in size.

Additionally within the photograph above, my Customary Reference Materials (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 mild. Whereas I’ve not reviewed or examined the Gunner Grip model seen right here, I’ve examined a Hanko Machine Works Trident Whole Tesseract in brass. I really like the Trident, and it’s a hanging distinction to the cheap Convoy S2+, one other nice SRM.

Retention and Carry

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight has a pocket clip hooked up by two screws.

There’s a lanyard gap.

A lanyard isn’t included, however this cut up ring and clip are.

A magnet within the tailcap retains the Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight safe.

Above, chances are you’ll observe a brand new holder for my magnetic-tailcap gadgets. That’s the Exceed Designs Hyzer Titanium Mini Hatchet D2 axe. The deal with (because the identify suggests) is titanium. However the blade is D2 metal and ideal for retaining magnetic tailcap flashlights! The Hyzer is on the market in a bunch of cerakote physique colours in addition to different-thickness D2 heads.

Energy and Runtime

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight runs an included, normal  10440 cell.

It might additionally run a single AAA. Both goes into the sunshine with the constructive finish towards the pinnacle.

A printed label on the aspect signifies this, too.

The temperature strains in these charts are included as normal context, not exact measurements. The values signify the vary (min to max) throughout testing, however shouldn’t be taken as precise readings. A temperature sensor is just not all the time hooked up to the bezel (and even the most well liked spot, assuming that could possibly be outlined). Even with preferrred placement, too many variables have an effect on temperature to definitively state a particular max worth.

Charging

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight itself doesn’t have charging, however the included cell does. It’s a USB-C charging port.

A USB to USB-C cable is included.

Modes and Currents

Pulse Width Modulation

Not one of the modes use PWM. The primary 4 are the entrance, and the final two are the white modes of the aspect lantern.

Click on right here to see a “baseline” – a chart with nearly no mild hitting the sensor.

Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has among the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so unhealthy that I used a submit about it to clarify PWM! Listed here are a number of timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make evaluating this “worst” PWM mild to the check mild simpler. That submit additionally explains why I didn’t check the WF-602C on the traditional 50us scale.

Consumer Interface and Operation

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight has two e-switches. One (the “entrance” one) is for controlling the white entrance LEDs. The opposite controls all of the aspect choices.

Each switches are good-not-great. They’ve a type of lifeless really feel within the center. They work simply fantastic, although.

Right here’s a person interface desk!

LED and Beam

The emitters are Luminus SST-36F they usually every have a totally separate TIR. These two entrance emitters all the time work in unison; there aren’t any modes that separate these two.

The aspect emitters are unspoken, however there’s white and a rainbow of RGB colours.

LED Colour Report (CRI and CCT)

The entrance emitter is excessive CCT and low CRI. The lantern is healthier (low CCT) but additionally low CRI. A excessive CRI lantern (aspect mild) would have been a terrific selection!!

CCT (Correlated Colour Temperature) refers back to the measurement of the colour look of sunshine, expressed in Kelvins (Ok), which signifies whether or not the sunshine is heat (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A decrease CCT (beneath 3000K) is taken into account heat mild, whereas a better CCT (above 5000K) offers cooler, bluish mild.

CRI (Colour Rendering Index) is a measure of how precisely a lightweight supply renders colours compared to pure daylight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, larger CRI values point out that colours seem extra true to life and vibrant, much like how they might look below the solar.

Beamshots

These beamshots all the time have the next settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and handbook 5000K publicity. These pictures are taken at flooring stage, and the beam hits the ceiling round 9 toes away. The far proper two photos are the white lantern – they don’t even present up on the ceiling

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b model) (affiliate hyperlink)

I preserve the check flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the appropriate. These pictures are taken round 18 inches from the door.

I examine every part to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 as a result of it’s cheap and has the most effective tint!

Abstract and Conclusion

The Acebeam UC3A Sign flashlight is a neat little mild and really effectively constructed. I really like that it helps the included 10440 cell in addition to an AAA possibility. The person interface is simple sufficient to know, and I recognize that the 2 buttons utterly separate the emitters. The RGB choices are neat, however I notably just like the white lantern. For round $35, this can be a enjoyable little mild!

The Huge Desk

^ Measurement disclaimer:  Testing flashlights is my pastime. I take advantage of hobbyist-level tools for testing, together with some I made myself. Strive to not get buried within the particulars of producer specs versus measurements recorded right here; A specific amount of distinction (say, 10 or 15%) is completely cheap.

What I like

• Orange physique!
• Can run AAA cell
• Charging is on-cell, so no fear about charging AAA on this mild
• Two switches utterly separate RGB/Aspect from entrance output
• Affordable value

What I don’t like

• The switches aren’t nice
• Pocket clip looks as if a bolted-on afterthought
• Very excessive CCT entrance emitter.
• Low CRI for each entrance and aspect white emitters.

Notes