Yes, a right angled light is even more usefull with a magnetic clip. But it can also be handy on a straight lamp.
AND
I carry my EDC lamps in the same pocket as my swiss army knife. Without a magnet they rub against eachother. With the magnet they snap together, no rubbing and they stay pretty. My Skilhunt H03 is for a half year daily in the same pocket with the knife and looks new.
Yes, the FW3A clip locks nice, but I donāt think the magnet will stay on. And no magnet no EDC (for me).
Looks like Iām the first one to get a prototype. Here are some images and early observations about it.
Note: This is only a first prototype. The FW3A is still in development, and all issues mentioned here should be fixed before release.
The prototype appears to use new host parts designed for this light, but some of the components are probably just whatever Lumintop had laying around. For example, it has cool white XP-G2 emitters instead of neutral white XP-G3, and the driverās 7135 chips are the wrong brand. These things are not cause for concern.
First, some pictures.
FW3A prototype:
(yes, the tail anodizing doesnāt matchā¦ Lumintop was experimenting)
With some other 1x18650 lights: (Convoy S2+ silver, FW3A, Emisar D4 grey, BLF A6 bare)
The beam (XP-G2 cool white, 10507 optic):
The business end, next to an Emisar D4:
Without the bezel or optic: (looks like XP-G2)
The battery is replaced by removing the front half, not the tailcap:
What I can see of the driver without removing it: (not sure if people have seen Fritz and DELās driver design, but itās a thing of beauty)
Some initial thoughts / observations, in list formā¦
The good:
The host looks and feels really good. Will probably become my new EDC.
The FW3A is slightly smaller and significantly lighter than an Emisar D4. Should be easier to carry.
The clip feels good and seems to work well.
The clip does not rotate, despite appearing loose in an earlier pic. It seems to be sandwiched between the ledge and an O-ring.
Physical design overall is very nice.
The driver and firmware work together, despite having never been tested on hardware before.
The bad:
Sometimes when I put a battery in and tighten the host, it acts like the button is held down. May require small adjustments to the switch tube or contact ring to make sure this doesnāt happen.
The button is very jittery. Itās hard to get the intended number of presses. This can be fixed in firmware.
Moon mode is visibly unstable, which is odd and unexpected. Might be fixable in firmware, but might just be a side effect of the prototype having the wrong brand of 7135 chips.
The beam has corona artifacts, normal for the 10507 optic. Can be fixed with 10511 optic.
The XP-G2 beam has a bit of a green ring. Can be fixed with XP-L HI or Nichia 219c emitters.
The button is very slightly loose and its click is a bit louder than most e-switches.
Tail section ano doesnāt match the rest of the host. Lumintop was experimenting with different methods.
Other notes:
Due to the limited thermal mass, the FW3A isnāt going to be able to sustain high output for very long. The D4 has difficulty and it has significantly more mass. The FW3A is comfortable and practical due to itās light weight and smooth shape, but itās not made for extended use on turbo. It should be able to do ~3000 lumens, but I expect the sustainable level will be a few hundred lumens.
The entire tail section seems like itās glued together.
My clip appears to be slightly bent.
The clip could be a bit stiffer.
Emitter wires may be a little thin. Might be a good thing though, to reduce maximum power (and heat) a little.
Firmware on my prototype is a beta version of Anduril. Basic use is mostly the same as NarsilM, but it has a few extras.
I have a few things to fix right away. Development may be a little awkward because it looks like I may have to solder every time I reflash the driver, but thatās not a huge obstacle. Anyway, some things for me to fixā¦
More tolerant button de-bouncing.
Unstable moon mode (if itās a firmware issue).
Thermal regulation. (I didnāt test it yet; Iām just assuming it needs fixing)
Discrete ramp mode acting a little weird, not sure why.
Misc small firmware details, like perhaps using 8x7135 for strobe instead of the FET. Etc.
Thatās all for now. The FW3A is real, and is making good progress, but there are still things left to do.
Thanks for the update on the āwork so farā TK! It really seems to need some improvements and changes, but I must say Iām very pleased to see this āprojectā getting real shape
From what you said some things are of more āconcernā to me, like the button and the noise, and the capacity of heat absorption. But, due to the design and to keep it āsmallā, this has to be a light for really short turbo boost!
I wonāt enter the LED choice discussion as Iām not expert on that, but for what has been said, the LEDs can be easily replaced as well as the optic? Maybe this is not a major concern for me but for other members it may beā¦
Thanks for the update on this andā¦ please get that Anduril ready to rock on this beauty :smiling_imp:
Nice report! Iām still very much looking forward to having a few of these lights. The size is wonderful and wish more manufacturers would make them this short. I think thatās why I like my Zebralights so much. A single emitter one would be a hit with me as well due to the small size for an 18650-powered light.
As for the power, itās nice to have lots on tap, but Iām very happy with the middle settings of my Convoy S2+ and Astrolux S1. Itās fun to crank up my D4 to impress others, but I think that this light will still be popular for having a great size, extra light when you need it and ramping to allow anyone to adjust to their heartās content. Oh, and a pocket clip!
Looking forward to seeing changes and updates as they come.
This thing really is small for an 18650 light. Itās shorter than some 1xAA lights I have, and even shorter (and lighter) than the Brass Beauty (though not as narrow). It brings good runtime and hotrod burst mode to a small form factor, with plenty of flexibility and extras. Once we get it finished, I think itāll be a huge hit.