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

In for another one, for a total of 2

Actually most of the atoms in a flower come from the air

I understand completely, but a certain number of people might take your number realistically. I see this happen all the time. I suppose it’s because we have people from all over the world reading this thread and most have no idea how big or small these flashlight companies are and how production, marketing, sales or shipping works. This is why I want to make sure everyone knows your example was not realistic, it was an extreme concept to make a point.

Thanks for helping to replace speculation with data. That’s almost always a good thing. :slight_smile:

True enough, I see your point. I think it’s great that the folks on here get to give a new product a good shake down and find flaws before it is released on the world. This is one of the few places that the vast majority of folks will buy a light, having a reasonable suspicion that it won’t be perfect, and are willing to help make it better. You don’t get that in most aspects of life. It is quite unique I would think.

I’m interested in getting two. Please add me to the interest list.

Yes… but I wouldn’t have asked maukka for help if I thought it was a prototype instead of a production sample. Maukka is already pretty busy without me sending him unfinished items to test.

Meanwhile, back in China with Neal celebrating his Chinese New Year tonight, he brought with him a sample of the FW3A, and sent me some photos:



looks great, i guess the lightning makes it look brighter then it actually is ?

I’m curious, if they may use 2 different optics for the LH351D version and the XPL-Hi version?

Eg. the Mateminco X6S with triple Nichia 219C uses a frosty (floody) optic by default, but the X6S with triple XPL-Hi uses a throwy (clear) optic by default.

So the XPL-Hi has increased throw, while the 219C becomes even more floody with the chosen optic.

Will this be the case for the FW3A (use a floody optic for LH351D, to make it a floody light), and use a clear optic for the XPL-Hi (for throwy beam)?

No, they will all use the same optic.

We are using the xpl-hi simply because the domed version does not fit under the optic. The dome is too big. It has nothing to do with being floody or throwy. The frosted 10511 is the best comprise between throw and good looks.

Would it make sense to add some 7*7135 stepps?

In theory I suppose you could have a step with the first channel off, the second channel 100%, and the FET off, but im sure that would be a significant amount more programming to add into the firmware to make that work on both the ramp and the steps.

Count me in for one!

The XP-L HI was chosen because it makes a particularly nice beam, but the extra throw was a nice bonus too. Domed Cree emitters like XP-L HD and XP-G3 don’t make such good-looking beams. XP-G3 could have been an okay option with a frosted wide or frosted medium optic, because the optic blends out the Cree rainbow effect, but it looks pretty bad in a throwy or clear optic. And XP-L HD physically doesn’t quite fit, so it wasn’t even an option.

LH351D was chosen because it also makes a particularly nice beam, but it’s really floody. It could work reasonably well with a different optic, like 10507 to make it less floody, but I expect that will likely just invite production inconsistencies. Communication on these things is … unreliable. So it’s generally a good idea to keep things simple whenever possible.

There’s a good chance of trying to add SST-20 at some point too, since it has become popular in the time since the emitter poll was finished.

Who where and when do I send MY $$$ to

must be getting close…

Not really. Even if it worked perfectly, the benefit would be very small. And it’s unlikely it would work perfectly. It could easily create a zig-zag in the ramp instead of going up smoothly.

Using a 1+1+2+4 chip design can work better, and it allows hitting any regulated level while only doing PWM on the first channel. However, this also has relatively minimal gains over a 7+1 design, and it requires more pins, and it tends to make the ramp a little more bumpy because there are more channel transitions.

In any case, it won’t get anywhere near the efficiency of a ZebraLight, because ZL converts extra voltage to usable power and 7135 chips do not.

Thank you for passing along news from outside of BLF. It’s helpful to hear about what gets posted elsewhere. :slight_smile:

SST-20 leds look really good in the Carclo 10507, some fraying at the edge of the hotspot closeby that virtually disappears at over 2 meter. Only if you are looking for it you see that the very edge of the hotspot is a bit cooler than the rest of the hotspot. I think it suits the FW3A better than the very floody LH351D, the 4000K and 3000K versions have better tint and CRI and a bit more spot brightness, but with a little less output.

Because for some reason the various SST-20 leds are well available in China, I’m sure that Lumintop will make an SST-20 version at some point.

it will be a while probably, after chinese holidays, most likely Neal will send them out, or atleast help out with it like he has done before in group buys.