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

Thanks for the info Neal, that is starting to sound much better. :+1:

Yes, but feeling certain isn’t the same thing as having accurate information. There’s a reason why there are so many adages and quotes about certainty, like counting chickens before they hatch.

In other words….

How about a dab of quality rubber cement for the nub?
It will remain flexible as opposed to the rigidity of cured superglue.
A dot under the nub, and a thin smear over the sides and surface would create a cocoon for that little nub to live in for good.

Hmm, looks like I could fit about 57 20mm cylinders on my build plate, perhaps more if I crowd them in manually.
Estimated time of around 3 hours per plate.
My filament supplier has gitd on hand, I could pick it up tomorrow.

But on the other hand, PLA has a lower melting point than silicone, I was able to soften the top of a broken print with my D4 in around a minute.
This could melt inside of a light.

Is a 3d-printed gasket appealing?

stronglightsllc.com is another place with gitd stuff that might work…

nvm bad brain day

Guys and gals, I have received my units. All are in perfect order and working. I just wanted to say the wait was worth it. ALL OF YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB ON THIS LIGHT!!!

Side note - ordered 30q’s with mine. Anyone else’s come bone dead and have to revive them? Lol

Of course you have to charge them.

There are multiple reasons for coming close to dead during shipping:

1. Less energy stored = less risks for damage in an absolute worst case.
2. Lower voltage = lower self-discharge and better cycle life.

Yes of course I have to charge them………… _

Maybe bone dead wasn’t specific enough. My charger had to do it’s revive cycle on them to get them going. Took about 5-6 hours to get them about 75% charge as it had to do alot of trickle charging. My previous 40+ units of 30q’s came about 20% charged. Again just wondering if this was just me. Not complaining just asking a question that doesn’t need a smartass response.

Ah ok.

Must have been around 2,5-3,0V.

Absolute perfect for shipping, but not too smart for storage.

Typical shipping voltages are about 3.4v as set by the aviation industry. I forget the details. It’s usually not below 3v.

Do you know the voltage the cells were?

Anything below 2.5v or so could be fatal.

I would agree. I’m thinking I got some hot and fresh out of the battery extruder :smiley:

I sure didn’t even check. That’s my bad. I just stuck them in the charger and walked away. 20 mins later I noticed the “revival” cycle or whatever the fancy name is was active. I will say all 5 Batts are under 40m(ohm symbol) lol first time that’s happened

Is the innovative switch construction done to keep the tailcap as short as possible, vs. the usual larger switch types?

No, I haven’t been following the 10,000 comments here over the last few years here, so I do not know everything “we” are aware of.
Just curious.

Hi guys, I’m a bit confused at the moment.

I read the first page of this thread and jumped to about page 310 and read until now. I initially found out about the FW3A from reddit’s /r/flashlight, about a month ago, when I was looking for suggestions on replacing my Zebralight SC62w as an everyday carry light.

I’m seeing multiple mentions about a list and you should express your interest in purchasing/being put on that list. Is that still going on or can I buy directly from Neal’s website?

I found a link to the store page on a recent /r/flashlight post about someone receiving their FW3A. On that recent post of the FW3A, I asked which one to get to be as close to the Zebralight SC62w’s tint and I was informed to go for the SST-20. With the recent postings about the uncertainty of acquiring SST-20s and I have a camping trip coming in late June, should I order one of the existing options?

I wouldn’t say I’m a tint snob, I actually don’t know too much about emitters, tints, etc. I’d just prefer the color of what I’m illuminating to be accurate to as if during daytime. I’ve had a few lights in the past where they were very cool white and made colors appear blue-ish/washed out. However, I do enjoy a light that can have the longest and/or brightest output too (for fun!). With that said, should I wait for the SST-20s or pick from an existing option? If picking from an existing option, which would be better for matching the Zebralight SC62w’s tint so that colors look their true colors? I’ve tried looking up some of these options but couldn’t really find a definite answer or I didn’t quite understand what what being discussed.

No, it’s mainly to allow for the advantages you get from an e-switch. Things such as the ramping.

With a regular, big clicky switch you can’t have ramping or all the extra features like “candle” “lightning storm”, etc…

As the title of this thread says, this Group Buy is now closed. You would need to buy from Neal’s site. I believe he has a coupon to bring the price down closer to the Group Buy area. I’m not sure, though. No one has mentioned this. He was selling it for $36 earlier.

You don’t mention what tint SC62w you have, but I’ll guess it’s not the 6500K. Maybe the Cree XM-L2 Neutral White (Nominal CCT 4400K)? Maybe there are warmer tints as an option for this model Zebralight, I’m not familiar with this light.

The current FW3A tint of 3D is supposed to be 4800K and there’s little to no yellow in it. It’s a bit pink or rosy tinted. Very nice.

Like you said, the time frame to get the sst20 is unknown. It should definitely be before late June, though.

Maybe some other folks can chime in about the tint between these 2 lights.

Probably so, along with e-switch benefits as Jason mentioned.
Two (2) years.
Roughly, 13.699 posts per day. :+1:

No, because brand new li-ion cells should always arrive at their storage voltage, which is about half full (ish). This gives them the longest shelf life; being stored totally full or totally empty decreases their lifespan faster. If they were low enough that the light couldn’t turn on, low enough that a charger had to revive them, they might actually be damaged.

In general, li-ion cells are considered damaged and should be replaced if the charge ever gets below 2.5V. Discharging below that causes permanent reduction in capacity, and can increase the risk of fires if the cells are charged and used.

If I set my bench power supply to 2.4V and connect it to a FW3A, it still at least turns on and can run at a very low level, like a moon mode. Then it steps down and shuts itself off, but it at least runs for a few seconds first. So if the cells were so low that the light refused to turn on at all, they were probably below 2.4V… and are probably not in very good condition any more.

In practice, I’ve seen cells remain pretty usable after discharging to 2.0V. But a cell discharged to 1.8V was damaged enough that my charger couldn’t make sense of it. It got to about 4.1V and refused to take any more charge, so the charger just kept trying and trying, and that’s a recipe for starting a fire.

Always check the voltage of new li-ion cells before attempting to use them. If they’re shipped empty, they’re probably no good.

Here is what I tried on my S2+ triple :

It’s a GITD sheep, hard plastic. Unfortunately, I didn’t checked before how bright it is…

Back to glow tape I guess