FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Deep from the abyss, now comes this photo of the FW3A with the Emisar in the center.

Note: Itā€™s not the final ā€˜tintā€™ of the anodisation yet, still in ā€˜Hostā€™ form (more greenish than grey), but at least youā€™ll believe this project is on track and itā€™s coming our way sooner than later:

Edit: The photo might not be a final representation of what will become the production version.

Itā€™s more for the purpose of showing that this project is very-much alive and hopefully bring hope to those fellow members who are losing enthusiasm because of the looong wait.

What are the extra ribs cut in it under the head?

Are the ends not screwed down?

At the moment I only have the photo, so please bear me my friend. If I answer your question, it will only be speculative so I am not qualified to answer in a responsible manner haha.

No major host shape changes have been approved, so I hope thatā€™s just unscrewed and missing the clip and O-rings.

I also think itā€™d be nice if the people involved in the project didnā€™t have to get news from forwarded social media posts. Itā€™s a bit frustrating.

Yeah, better to iron out all discrepancies before full-blown production commences.

I have no trouble being speculative :slight_smile: : it looks to me that both head and tail are not screwed down and that you can see o-ring grooves and maybe how the inner tube is sitting in the shell (how exactly that fits in I can not figure out.

There might not be any host changes. Itā€™s looks pretty much exactly like itā€™s supposed to.

Itā€™s just the ends being unscrewed that make it look different.

You are most probably correct in that observation.

With the parts unscrewed to the point of being completely loose, it can be made to look similar to the photo. I donā€™t know how the parts are being held in position though, since gravity makes it fall together a bit more than that in the prototypes.

They are laying flat on their sides.

You are correct, sir. And I think I should go get some sleep.

Maybeā€¦ but the tailcaps look like they are sitting/standing on the green to me.

Great color as is. I like the slight green in there.

DAYUM! That looks sexy!

Iā€™m thinking of bead blasting one of mine or stripping it and polishing it .

I really want Toykeepers prototype

Yeah, i know, but then the graph suggests the color temp gets cooler when power increases, which is not the case.
LEDs have a cooler tint when running on low power, get warmer tint when power increases.

This depends on the LED but most Iā€™ve tested have gotten cooler with increasing current.

I am new to this board and donā€™t know all the details of this project - just wanted to thank everyone involved and say that this product appears really innovative and cool. An electronic tail switch is something I havenā€™t seen before in this form factor.

You did mention that efficiency is ā€œreasonably efficient as far as linear drivers goā€. But the charts themselves look as if the blue curve was optimal, not merely optimal for linear drivers. Iā€™ve been confused by them when I was more noobish than I am now. I suggest clarifying that right on the pictures.

Also, I believe that Emisar D4 tests have shown that FET was not as inefficient as people predicted, though I havenā€™t seen a careful analysis of what was going on, one that would enable us to draw lessons for future drivers designs.

A led driven to the max is inefficient for two causes: high current and high heat. A FET driver at PWMed lower modes has one cause (heat) removed so the led during the pulses runs at higher output than if at max continuously.

It really works like that. Example: I made a 18650 zoomie with a Osram KW CSLNM1-TG and FET+1 driver. If I use a high current cell it is overdriven at max resulting in angry blue light. But at slightly lower setting (so still high in the FET region of regulation) the led colour is normal. The led still receives the same current (but pulsed) so the difference I presume is caused by less heat.