I increased the available inner length of four Utorch UT01s by simply adding a snug-fitted circle of copper wire inside the tailcap, such that it makes full contact with the end of the tube. Takes five minutes, and works like a charm. Itās a very easy way to add a couple of mmās.
I suppose this light might be somehow structurally different to prevent that from working, but itās one potential fix if length is a problem.
No, no, it makes no difference if itās a high drain or low drain or high capacity or whatever. All the 18650s from the āBig 5ā Japanese companies (Sanyo, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG) only come as flat top. It is the distributors that will add the button top which is why there are so many different sizes and styles of button top.
Now if your talking about any other battery company, then the sky is the limit and anything is possible. You can get 18650 batteries made in smaller factories as well as all different sizes, top configurations and protection circuitry. Some smalker companies will even take a Big 5 battery and rewrap it with and without a button top and/or protection circuitry.
Thereās no way to do that on the FW3A that I can see. Thereās no need for it either. Just use a flat top. I bet Neal will offer it with a battery installed like he did with other lights. At least I hope so.
A good flat top like a Samsung 30Q or 35E should only cost $5. I donāt see the need for anyone to get worked up over this battery.
I donāt have an FW3A. However, I suspect it would be possible to mod the light for extra length providing there are sufficient threads to allow it to be unscrewed enough and still hold together.
However, it would take some experimentation and would certainly take a lot more than 5 minutes.
A single c-ring created from wire or a narrow copper ring would not be sufficient. You would need 2 rings: 1 for the inner tube and one for the outer. And they would need to be separated by some kind of insulating material. Kapton tape or maybe Arctic Alumina epoxy.
These rings would need to be roughly the same thickness as the stock body and inner tubes with a similar gap between. They would also need to be the same height. Get it wrong and the switch wonāt work right.
Easiest way to do it is probably to:
Cut a very thin uniform length from a copper sheet. Try to make it as narrow as possible. Maybe 1-2 mm thick.
Cut the strip into 2 separate pieces.
Bend each strip into a C-ring. One for the inner tube, one for the outer. Test for fit.
Run a couple strips of kapton tape along the transition between the two tubes. Maybe super-glue it in place.
Super-glue the other other tube to the top of the kapton tape.
Use a knife and trim off any kapton tape sticking out the top or bottom of your c-ring sandwich.
File the top and bottom of the rings so they are completely uniform.
If necessary to maintain good battery contact, replace one of the stock springs with a longer low-resistance spring.
TRY TO USE ONLY IF YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, BECAUSE YOU WILL DIE
YESā¦. DIE!! GRAVE YARD DEAD. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE IN TINY BITS.
FW3AA = Azidoazide Azide
_ SciFi Models
FW3Ad = Adamantium
FW3CD = Carbon Dioxide
FW3DG = Dragon Glass
FW3DI = Dry Ice
FW3Kr = Kryptonite
FW3LN = Liquid Nitro
FW3Mi = Mithril
FW3MF = āMr. Fusionā (power source)
FW3TAl = Transparent Aluminum
FW3Vi = Vibranium
_ PENDING
FW3XX = ???
Please Note:
1.If your model or suggestion was omitted, my apologies; I simply overlooked it.
2. THE LISTwill be update until the FW3A is announced for sale. After that there will be no further updates. . It will be time at that point to get real serious about reading the āI ordered mine.ā or āI ordered 3.ā , etc., etc. posts.
ā¦ā¦ā¦
Please ā¦ā¦ Do Not āQuoteā this looooong post. . Thank you.
ā¦ā¦ Addedā¦. 22 February 2019
FW3AC = Apple Coral (Melithea)
FW3DG = Dragon Glass
FW3F = Fire (an even cheaper copy of the FW3XXX. Use at own risk.)
FW3Iv = Ivory
FW3Ob = Obsidian
FW3PP = Personal Preference (have it your way... everything is optional)
Thanks for the reply TK
I have an 18650 A6 with a reverse clip on a cap that I keep on a nail by the door. I use it more frequently than any other light(including Emisars). Although the business end hangs over a bit, weight is not a problem if the cap is āsecureā. I dont think the FW3A is as long. I was hoping someone might know a good supplier for clips that are similar this one that I could mod. If it involves more than just dremeling the ring, I probably wont go to the trouble. Anyone?
Isnāt it a little difficult to use a tail switch on a baseball-cap light? It seems like it would be a lot easier to use a side switch. Instead of a FW3A, for that purpose Iād probably try an Olight S2 or similar.
Not really with the 18650 A6 but I also tried it with a 18350 short tube and that does carry better but at the cost of runtime. The longer tube really isnt that bad when you need two hands.
You know I agree that generally the dual direction clip is a great theory that fails in execution and real use, mostly due to overall thickness and poor shape. The FW3A though has a really good chance to change that with the tapered tube, since the āgapā in head-down mode is āinsideā the diameter. As demonstrated in the rendering I quoted, thereās no excessive thickness and it looks very possible to work well. Granted, with that said, I donāt ever carry or utilize this design with tail-switch lights and I donāt wear duck-billed caps (I have other headlamps), but plenty may want one, and I think there is space in the after-market for this design to be offered.
Wouldnāt the fake/knockoff be called FW3fireā¦?
Also I didnāt find my own personal led preference (because itās better than everybody elseās preference ), I want lightsaber green, please :innocent: ā¦. for just such occasions I need to defend myself against Tusken Raiders (sand people).
There was never a promise of 67mm, as far as Iām aware. Battery size was only specified as ā18650ā until mid-2018, when I added āmaximum 66mmā to the OP. The only prior mention of 67mm was this comment, which was not official or correct. I have no idea where that number came from. Anyway, old snapshots are available on archive.org if anyone would like to see how the first post looked in the past.
However, in proto4, itās really more of a maximum of 65mm. But Iām hoping Lumintop can fix that because the reduction from 66mm to 65mm was only caused by a manufacturing error.