[selfbuilt]

Warning: pic heavy, as usual.

REVIEWER'S NOTE: This is not going to be a full review of the Jetbeam PA/PC series lights. Jetbeam has sent me the PC10, PC20 and PA20 for personal evaluation purposes only - not a full analysis and review. I have decided to summarize my findings here in a "mini-review," but it will not be as detailed as my usual full invited reviews.

I will start with the common features and overview, and then summarize the results in individual sections for each model tested. Note that I have not received a PA10 for evaluation, but have included it in the manufacturer specs below for comparison purposes. As always, these specifications are from the manufacturer – scroll down to see my direct testing results.




Common Manufacturer Specifications:

• Specially designed user interface for tactical applications
• Rapidly switch between Tactical mode and User-defined mode
• User-defined mode allows for customized brightness levels and a multitude of functions
• Anti-roll design
• Newly designed high efficiency broad voltage drive circuit
• Reverse polarity protection
• Equips removable stainless steel tactical clip
• Reflector: Aluminum reflector
• Lens: Toughened ultra-clear mineral glass with anti-reflective coating
• Material: Aero grade aluminum alloy
• Finish: HA III Military grade hard anodized
• Switch: Forward clicky
• IPX-8 standard waterproof (two meters)
• Accessories: Lanyard, spare rubber tailcap switch cover, spare O-ring and holster

PC10

• LED: CREE XM-L T6
• Max output: 550 lumens
• Maximum runtime of up to 177 hours
• Battery: 1xCR123 battery
• Dimensions: Tube diameter 22.5mm, Total length 93mm Weight: 51g (without battery)
• MSRP: ~$69

PC20

• LED: CREE XM-L T6
• Max output: 410 lumens
• Maximum runtime of up to 65 hours
• Battery: 2xCR123 (RCR123) batteries
• Dimensions: Tube diameter 22.5mm, Total length 128mm Weight: 61g (without battery)
• MSRP: ~$69

PA10

• LED: CREE XM-L T6
• Max output: 650 lumens
• Maximum runtime of up to 90 hours
• Battery: Battery: 1xAA 1.5V (5 Modes) or 14500 3.7V Li-ion rechargeable battery (1
• Mode Only 650 Lumen)
• Dimensions: Tube diameter 22.5mm, Total length 109mm
• Weight: 65g (without battery)
• MSRP: ~$69

PA20

• LED: CREE XP-G R5
• Max output: 230 lumens
• Maximum runtime of up to 252 hours
• Battery: 2xAA batteries
• Dimensions: Tube diameter 22.5mm, Total length 159mm
• Weight: 82g (without battery)
• MSRP: ~$69

Packaging is a solid plastic clamshell presentation case, with cut-out foam to secure the light. Also included is a decent quality holster and wrist strap/lanyard, extra o-rings and boot cover, stainless clip-on style clip, manual and warranty card.






See the photos above and the video below for more details on the build. Overall build is slightly more advanced than the earlier BA/BC-series of Jetbeam lights.

Beamshots:

Note that PC20 and PC10 look the same (i.e. both are XM-L based with smooth reflectors). I do not have the PA10 to compare, but it should look similar. The PA20 is shown below, as it has a XP-G emitter and smooth reflector.

PC10:



PA20:


Sorry, I haven't gotten around to doing standardized beamshots on these lights.

My subjective impression is they are pretty typical for these size lights and emitters. The smooth reflectors do result in a few beam rings, but no more than you would expect.

User Interface

Turn the lights on by pressing the tailcap clicky (press for momentary on, click for locked on).

With the head tight, you get Turbo output. With the head loosened, you get the programmed user-selected state. You select the output mode for this state by soft-pressing the clicky switch from off (or clicking off-on from on). The sequence is: Hi > Med > Lo > Strobe > SOS, in a repeating loop. The light has mode memory, and saves the last setting used in the head-loosened state.

Note that for most lights on most batteries, Turbo is brighter than the head-loosened Hi mode. The exception was the PC10 on 1xRCR, where Turbo and Hi were the same brightness. On all other lights and batteries, the Turbo mode was brighter (note that I have not tested the PA10).

For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview:

Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube

Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube typically defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the quality settings icon and select the higher 480p to 720p options. You can also run full-screen.

PWM/Strobe

There is no sign of PWM, at any output level. I believe the lights are current-controlled.



Strobe is unusual, as the frequency is truly variable (i.e. it doesn't remain consistent from one flash to the next).

This is probably the first time I've seen this – most "random" strobes are in fact oscillating strobes, and simply switch between 2 or 3 defined frequencies at defined time points. I can see no obvious pattern to this strobe – it does appear truly random. The "average" frequency is somewhere around 5 Hz.

Testing Method:

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lighbox values to Lumens thread for more info.

My summary tables are reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1... for a description of the terms used in these tables.

PC10



From left to right: Duracell CR123A; Rofis JR10; JetBeam PC10, BC10; 4Sevens Mini 123; Thrunite Neutron 1C; Surefire E1B Backup; Novatac 120P.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Jetbeam PC10: Weight: 50.5g, Length: 93.6mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm
Jetbeam BC10: Weight: 46.6g, Length: 90.3mm, Width (bezel): 23.2mm
Lumintop ED10: Weight: 21.5g, Length: 70.4mm, Width (bezel): 20.7mm
Olight i1 Stainless Steel: Weight 48.1g, Length: 63.9mm, Width (bezel): 20.4mm
Thrunite Neutron 1C: Weight: 45.2g, Length: 91.5mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm






Note: Updated to show the IMR-RCR run, which has slightly higher output initially than a standard ICR-based RCR.



UPDATE February 29, 2012: To clarify the relative output levels on various battery sources on the PC10, here is a summary table showing estimated lumen outputs over time:



PC20



From left to right: Surefire CR123A, AW protected 18650; Rofis JR20; Jetbeam PC20, Jet-III ST; Klarus NT20; 4Sevens Quark 123-X; Thrunite Neutron 2C; Lumintop ED20.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Jetbeam PC10: Weight: 60.0g, Length: 127.5mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm
Lumintop ED20: Weight 84.4g, Length 121.6mm, Width (bezel) 25.2mm
Spark SL6: Weight 77.8g, Length: 125.5mm, Width (bezel) 30.9mm
Thrunite TN12: Weight: 64.0g, Length: 126.9mm, Width (bezel): 24.1mm








Note: most of the above runtimes are on 1x18650 – only a few are on the lower capacity 1x17670 battery.





BA20



From left to right: Duracell NiMH AA; Jetbeam PA20, BA20; 4Sevens Quark AA-2; Fenix LD20-R4; Thrunite Neutron 2Al Sunwayman M20A; Eagletac P20A2-II.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Jetbeam PA20: Weight: 82.52g, Length: 160mm, Width (bezel) 22.6mm
Jetbeam BA20: Weight: 70.2g, Length: 156.4mm, Width (bezel) 23.2mm
4Sevens QAA-2 X (Tactical tailcap): Weight: 60.1g, Length: 149.1mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm
Thrunite Neutron 2A: Weight: 76.4g, Length: 250mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm









Potential Issues

Strobe/SOS is on the main sequence of the programmable head-loosened state. Mode sequence is from Hi to Lo. You can only advance modes in this state by soft-pressing from off, or clicking off-on from on.

Consistent with other recent Jetbeam (and some Nitecore) lights, the tailswitch spring has a longer traverse and more "squishy" feel than most clickies.

Lights were variable in their ability to tailstand.

Standard basic model pocket clip included.

Lights use smooth reflectors instead of textured, so some beam rings are to be expected.

The PC20 cannot take 18650 cells, and even 17670 may be a very tight fit.

You lose the defined Hi mode on 1xRCR on the PC10 (i.e. Lo, Med, and Turbo constant output modes on the user-selectable level).

Reported ANSI FL-1 output specs for the PA10 and PC10 appear to be based on initial activation on rechargeable Li-ions - and not 3 mins on primary CR123A, as expected for ANSI FL-1. However, PC10 max output is in keeping with the most heavily-driven lights I've seen in this class. And the output specs for the PA20 and PC20 seem reasonable and appropriate as ANSI FL-1 (and if anything, slightly understated in my testing).

Preliminary Observations

Although similar overall, the build and functionality of these PA/PC series lights are a notch up from the earlier BA/BC "budget" Backup series of Jetbeam lights.

Physically, the PA/PC series lights add what I find to be a nicer natural anodizing finish, improved threads (both number, thickness and cut style – now square), and improved contact surface in the head. Most members of this family have also received a XM-L emitter upgrade (for some reason, the PA20 keeps the XP-G R5 emitter).

The interface is also more sophisticated – like before, head tight gives you Turbo output and head loosened gives you a lower output mode. But now you can program the head-loosened state to you own preferred mode (choice between Lo, Med, Hi, Strobe or SOS). I like this overall user interface, as it more versatile than the basic backup series. However, I would prefer that the blinking modes were hidden away somewhere else.

Another significant difference is the use of customized circuits in each of the models. Most "family" series of AA/CR123A-based lights use a common head for the 1xAA, 1xCR123A and 2xAA models (including the earlier BA/BC series lights). In this case, each model has a circuit optimized for the specific supported battery voltages. This allows you to customize performance for each model.

As these samples were sent to me for my personal evaluation only (and not for detailed analysis/review), I have limited my testing to max output only:

• Performance of the PC10 was in keeping with the most heavily-driven lights in my collection – on both 1xCR123A and 1xRCR, for both output and runtime. However, I find the reported output specs unrealistic for this light - it appears to be based on initial activation on IMR-RCR, not ANSI FL-1 as reported. I suspect the PA10 is similarly inflated.
• Performance of the PC20 was in keeping with other lights in this size/class, both for output and runtime on all battery sources. The reported ANSI FL-1 output specs actually seem to be an under-estimate compared to what I observed.
• The performance PA20 was a pretty close match for the BA20 on Turbo, as expected. The reported ANSI FL-1 output specs seem bang on.

One additional comment - the strobe mode is interesting on these new PA/PC-series lights. This is the first time I've seen a true variable frequency strobe. While the overall average frequency is around 5 Hz, the time between individual pulses can be anywhere from ~50 msecs to ~500 msecs (i.e. a tenth to half a second between pulses).

So, what else has changed from the earlier Backup BA/BC series? Well, with this new lineup you also get a presentation case and a greater number of extras (e.g. belt pouch). The lights are all slightly heavier and longer. They also use smooth reflectors instead of textured (not sure why, since lights this size are never going to be particularly throwy).

What haven't changed are the overall size/form factors, basic pocket clip or the clicky switch. On this last point, the switch remains somewhat "mushy", with a softer feel and longer traverse than typical. I find SYSMAX has standardized on this switch for most of their Jetbeam and Nitecore lights.

Ok, for a "mini-review", I think this hasn't gotten long enough. All in all, these lights are a nice upgrade from the earlier Backup BA/BC series lights from Jetbeam. While there are still a few things I'd like to see done a bit differently, they do provide a more advanced option for a higher price point.

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PC10, PC20 and PA20 supplied by Jetbeam for personal evaluation only.