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

I mean, Barry did say they found a Samsung LH351D supplier.

So, that means a large company like Lumintop shouldn’t have any problems, right?

I think it stems from the fact that Samsung is South Korean (Racial & Cultural Animosity) and that Samsung does not have a LED plant(s) in China (Import duties? Prohibitions?)….

Lol Samsung, LG and all the other electronics producers in Korea wouldn’t be around if “cultural animosity” was a real issue and people somehow cared about it more than running a business. Where do you think most of their production (or assembly at least) is located?

yeah the only part that is confusing is that the emitter was confirmed ages ago… o well

:innocent: ‘Confirmed’ does not translate directly from Chinese to mean the same as ‘Confirmed’ in the ‘West’….

I’m interested in one.

So very true… :smiley: . :+1:

Most is by far in South Korea, I am surprised there is any in China.

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/about-us/manufacturing-centers/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-china/samsung-to-shut-mobile-phone-plant-in-chinas-tianjin-idUSKBN1OB0YP

Cultural and racial animosity is VERY much part of real life - Keeping, and/or losing face is a very big part of most Asian culture. Chinese - South Korean diplomatic relations BEGAN in 1992 - that is less than 30 years ago!

I assume you have not visited the Far East very much….as far as the people - China is not run by ‘the people’ if you have not heard…it is run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). If they don’t want Samsung LH351D’s in Chinese manufactured flashlights - I’d be willing to bet that you would be ‘discouraged’ from putting Samsung LH351D LEDs in anything. Unless that was approved by the party either directly or indirectly. The tail does not wag the dog.

YMMV, of course. However, I can say that, at least for me, my other lights haven’t gotten much use since Dec 2017 when I got my first FW3A prototype.

It’s pretty crazy that things are taking so long to go to production though… that was 15 months ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a light be my primary EDC for that long before. Some have come close… the L3 L10-219 stuck around for a relatively long time. And if I count my Olight S1 Ti, S-Mini Cu, and S-Mini Ti as one light, I carried those for a long time too. But now I mostly just keep the FW3A on me, and I don’t really feel the need to bring anything else unless I think I’ll need a thrower. It’s a pretty good little general-purpose light stick.

But as stated, your mileage may vary. I’m biased, since I tend to like stuff I made (or helped make) more than I like off-the-shelf stock items.

Please add me to the list for 1 of each. Thanks all!

I’m anxious to have the flashlight. :smiley:

First he asked for help here, then ISTR you gave him a lead.

Then IIRC he basically brusquely told you that he had it sorted and didn’t need your help. Instead of a polite thank-you. Charming.

Now it seems he did nothing.

(I may have mis-remembered the details, but that was the gist).

Now the latest surprise that sourcing the Carclo optics is proving a problem. Doh!

They could always call Carclo in the UK and ask to source them direct, or ask them for leads to serious suppliers who have them or can get them. Even just scrape a handful together to get things moving, and final final, very much final production standard prototypes sent to the key people for a final confirmation, using the real final LEDs, not just the random ones scraped together so far to get something out to a handful of key people.

Once you are at proto 5 with some things still not quite right, you have to question whether things will converge, or basic competency. Or look on the bright side, and hope that it will be absolutely perfect, the best thing ever.

Rare, IME.

The cautious may still delay ordering until user feedback appears from early adopters, the more eyes the better. Paid dividends for Q8 buyers, after Wim bravely stopped the line on the first batch, and insisted many things unexpectedly done wrongly by the manufacturer doing their own thing were fixed before the second run.

I’d have been gutted to get one from the first run.

Hopefully distribution and interest list management will run more smoothly than previous efforts from Lumintop. Doubtless that is all in place and will run like a smoothly oiled machine, lessons having been learned.

Procurement/buying seems not to be a strong point here. Last minute efforts, broken promises, unexpected surprises. It’s not as if they haven’t had all the time in the world to get their ducks in a row and push the buttons in good time. Lack of commitment, or just incompetence, or attempted penny-pinching.

Basic stuff, once a supplier gets a hint that you are desperate, and there are few if any others, naturally the price goes up for rare parts. Consequences of dithering, failure to commit, or not having a long-standing ongoing relationship.

Very disappointing, and dare I say unprofessional. Asleep at the wheel. Had hoped for better.

What will be the next surprise/excuse ?

Rant off.

I think 5 prototype builds might be overkill. The impression I got was all they needed to do to fix the latest build was make sure the cut for the driver was wide enough for the driver. Do that and it should be ready.

Sourcing several thousand Carclo optics for a manufacturing run is not the same thing as you or I going onto a parts shop and buying a few optics. I assume this is a problem that will get fixed in the near term.

Entirely predictable and should have been managed.

Carclo, or others, don’t have machines and moulds standing idle just waiting for orders, they predict demand (probably minimal) for these optics, maybe run a small batch once a year, in a day, to supply distributors who have committed to purchase them.

Moulds also wear out, and decisions are taken whether to bother re-making them or just obsolete the product.

Customers with a good relationship are given notice of these decisions, and offered e.g. “last time buys” to stock up.

Not saying this is the case here, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Carclo could explain what’s going on, if contacted properly.

Meanwhile their machines are dedicated to their serious business, e.g. streetlights, factory and warehouse luminaires etc. R+D, that brings in the big money.

If they have a big order for these keeping them busy, the esoteric little old small margin small volume things won’t be considered.

Another thing: I think the most popular of these Carclo triple optics is the narrow spot 10507. But for this light, the designers opted to use a different Carclo optic with wider beam and frosted front. It is possible that the supply of the optic they chose is much more limited.

At this point I’d rather they just release the light using whatever emitters and optics are available. If I don’t like the emitter or optic I’ll swap in different ones on my own.

You seem so eager to rant that you even “confuse” the names! Barry is from Sofirn… :arrow_right:

Yes, I wondered about that.

Is it not Neal ? (enough said…). I was particular not to name names, being unsure. It was BSM who named Barry, presumably incorrectly.

No, Neal is working in this project with Lumintop; Barry is from Sofirn.

Also, to frame this, I will quote from here:

And honestly, I guess we don’t need to get into more details! The things that are missing will be probably solved (leds, optics), taking more or less time. All that helps finding solutions in articulation with Lumintop and the team, is probably welcome. More than that…I believe not so much, specially considering our inherent expectation (or delusion, in some cases).

tatasal and ToyKeeper are keeping us updated when possible!! It is better to let them bring the news than speculating and throwing stones to the Universe! :arrow_right:

Well, whatever the story, it seems that Neal did not secure the supply from his different supplier, for whatever reason. Who knows who let down whom.

Bottom line is that they are not yet available for the first FW3A build, so we’ve been told. Leading to disappointment.

BTW, why is a middleman (Neal) dabbling in procurement ? Surely that’s the job for Lumintop professional buyers. Where and how has he inserted himself here, and is his continued presence conducive to progress ?

Give the buyers a signed-off Bill of Materials (BOM) and let them do their job. Should have been committed many months ago. LEDs, driver components, MCPCB, optics. all critical items.

The driver design, optic and LED choice were determined months ago, and have not changed. Just refinement of the mechanical parts.