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

[maukka]

@JasonWW

The 10511 is called a narrow spot. 22°

The 10508 is called a medium spot. 27°

The 10509 is called a wide spot. 40°

All of the above are frosted.

Since I measured 28° (FWHM) on mine, it’s probably the 10508 in the sample.

edit: Carclo doesn’t specify the angle for the XP-L HI, but the 40° would be too wide a beam for it to come down to 28°

[DrHook59]

@Yourrid

For me, it’s about output first and foremost. If we could pack 30,000+ lumens into a package the size of an Emisar D4 with a 18350 tube that (somehow) doesn’t get hot SUPER quick, that’s what I’d like to see.

- you forgot to add that it needs a runtime of 8 hours at turbo, too

- and have the ability to make hot chocolate from snowdrifts

- and must be able to use the full 30K lumens in a strobe rhythm that will bring down UFO’s and send grizzlies back to the mountains bawling their eyes out

- if it could also find its way home when lost, that would cool, too

[hodor]

@ToyKeeper

I’m still testing and measuring and taking pictures, so I’ll have more details later… however, here are some initial notes on the FW3A sample I received today:

The good:

• Almost everything about this light is made well, and is what I was hoping for.
• The grey finish looks nice.
• The host in general is high quality with precise machining.
• The button feels a lot more solid than earlier versions. I haven’t had any issues at all with missed button presses.
• The clip is perfect, with none of the minor machining issues seen on earlier units.
• The light is ergonomic and comfortable to hold.
• I don’t see any weirdness in the anodizing, like the prototypes had.
• Output is steady and stable even at moon level.
• All the firmware features appear to work correctly.
• Except a couple things noted below, everything appears to be correct, up to spec, and otherwise in order. That’s not a thing I can say often, even about production lights.

The bad:

• On mine, there was an issue with the driver fitting into place in the pill. It looks like the pill’s driver shelf wasn’t cut wide enough, so it rested off-center on top of the correct space instead of in the correct space. I fixed mine manually, by filing down the edges of the driver and dremelling the pill a little farther open. This was weird, because no prototypes had this issue, and it looks like maukka’s light doesn’t have this issue either.
• Mine shipped with firmware from 2018-12-02 instead of 2019-01-05. I’m hoping the real thing will have a newer version, but there isn’t much changed so either one is okay.

Misc notes:

• The optic is a 10508 or 10509, not 10511. So it’s even floodier than the real thing is expected to be. Beam shots on these won’t look the same as the production units.
• Lumintop hasn’t received their order of XP-L HI 3D emitters yet, so they used extras they had in stock. On maukka’s, this meant ~5700K, maybe a 2B tint. On mine, it was ~4000K, like a 5A or 5D tint.

I’m not really a fan of warm tints, but this 5A/5D isn’t bad. I like it a lot more than the SST-20 4000K 95CRI light I had for a while, so I think I’ll leave it this way. The only nicer ~4000K tint I’ve seen was a Nichia 219B.

So I’ll be checking on each other sample in detail to make sure there were no other issues. The only important issue was the driver not fitting quite right on mine, but it seems likely this was not typical. Everything else is minor and/or should be resolved simply by waiting for parts to arrive.

I’ll get pictures and measurements up in a bit.

Nice summary, thanks TK.

[lightboks]

Hi. I was in for one in post 1630.

I take another one. So one of each tint please.

[Tex_Tbone]

Please put me down for two.

[pennzy]

As I suspected, a little positive reinforcement and the orders are rolling in.

[mortuus]

can someone make a short video of it perhaps just too see ?

[asciiphil]

@ToyKeeper

Mine shipped with firmware from 2018-12-02 instead of 2019-01-05. I’m hoping the real thing will have a newer version, but there isn’t much changed so either one is okay.

I don’t see any vias for flashing firmware in maukka’s pics, so I’m guessing we’ll have to disassemble the head for that. Is that right?

[SIGShooter]

Please put me down for one with the XP-L’s.

Thanks

[m0nk33]

Interested! Please put me down for two!

[JasonWW]

@asciiphil

I don’t see any vias for flashing firmware in maukka’s pics, so I’m guessing we’ll have to disassemble the head for that. Is that right?

Seems right. (No vias)

[joechina]

@asciiphil

@ToyKeeper

Mine shipped with firmware from 2018-12-02 instead of 2019-01-05. I’m hoping the real thing will have a newer version, but there isn’t much changed so either one is okay.

I don’t see any vias for flashing firmware in maukka’s pics, so I’m guessing we’ll have to disassemble the head for that. Is that right?

Yes.
Vias for flashing are a quite new concept for the BLF lights and this light is nearly two years in the making

[Sergey_1998]

I would like to buy one.

[pinggo]

I would like to buy one!

[nvanlaar]

@JasonWW

The 10511 is called a narrow spot.
The 10508 is called a medium spot.
The 10509 is called a wide spot.
All of the above are frosted.

The 10507 is the non-frosted, clear version with a narrow spot.

I don’t know the beam angles, but the hot spot diameter is what changes. The wider the spot, the less throw distance.

They should be very easy to swap out.

For people in the USA, all these are available from MTN E

I’ve actually found LEDsupply to be cheaper. They have free shipping on all orders. Even on a single optic. And it is fairly quick, ~3-4 days to my mailbox.

[teacher]

@nvanlaar

@JasonWW

The 10511 is called a narrow spot.
The 10508 is called a medium spot.
The 10509 is called a wide spot.
All of the above are frosted.

The 10507 is the non-frosted, clear version with a narrow spot.

I don’t know the beam angles, but the hot spot diameter is what changes. The wider the spot, the less throw distance.

They should be very easy to swap out.

For people in the USA, all these are available from MTN E

I’ve actually found LEDsupply to be cheaper. They have free shipping on all orders. Even on a single optic. And it is fairly quick, ~3-4 days to my mailbox.

Thanks for the tip about LED SUPPLY nvanlaar!! Cheaper & Free Shipping seals that deal…. :+1:

[teacher]

@DB Custom

……. _(snip) ……. I priced an AR coated Sapphire “Window” in 35mm at $195 each. Having a “window” could indeed drive the price WAY up!

@ DB Custom…. What is the advantage of the Sapphire “Window” & why is it so expensive??

I did a search for Flashlight Windows and came up with nothing.

I did a search for Flashlight Lens and came up with Flashlightlens.com ….
But unless I missed it, there was no info on a Sapphire “Window”.

Just curious about it’s advantage & high cost.

[chadvone]

Bullet proof?

[cabfrank]

It should be highly scratch resistant, for one thing, but it is also more prone to breakage than mineral glass.

[Klayking]

@teacher

I did a search for Flashlight Windows and came up with nothing.

At the rate flashlight technology is advancing, it won’t be long until someone installs Windows on their driver…