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

I have had much better luck with SST20s than 219c. If the SST20 version is canceled/replaced by 219C I would be very disappointed. :cry:

…… hoping that there aren’t any changes or new offerings so that I can enjoy my new light for a few days anyway :wink:

[quote=ToyKeeper]

Actually I did calibrate. The issue was head tightness. Once I applied a little more torque to the head, it stopped doing that. What’s the physical dynamic at hand when this happens? As I understand it, with the inner tube not completely seated the emitter shouldn’t have current. So sufficient tightening makes for a solid connection and the light functions. Is there some “in between” state possible, where the inner tube has contact, but not fully, and thus there’s some kind of weak voltage issue?

FM (frequency modulation) radio was invented in 1933. I’d call that old! LINK. :laughing:
But I still listen to it. I’m an NPR junkie (WNYC). I use an Apple iPod Nano, both 6th and 7th generations. The 6th is the smallest radio enabled MP3 player ever made. You clip it on the top of your shorts waistband and you’re good to go for a run. The 7th generation is a little larger, with more enriched UI; I usually take that with me on multi-day trips. It’s unfortunately not WiFi enabled, so you can’t download podcasts over WiFi… need to use iTunes.

That’s great you have that resource in France. In the USA, many of us utilize podcasts. Easily downloaded audio to MP3 players. I have an Apple iPod Touch (5th gen, with retractable lanyard loop) that is WiFi enabled, so I download all kinds of programs to it without requiring that cumbersome iTunes.

I’ve got an iPod Touch 3rd gen that I have been using for the last decade now. I’m not a fan of Apple’s ecosystem, but damn they can make a durable piece of technology. I doubt newer devices would run for as long without issues though. It’s not profitable to have somebody like me only buy once, rather than once every year…

I’m still a big radio fan though. I listen to it a lot in the car and at work. It’s the only way I keep up to date with what music is out now. I should probably check that Spotify out at some point, but I’m just not into music enough to justify paying a subscription.

The earlier Apple iPods were build very solid, though scratch prone. The soft glossy plexiglass fronts and highly polished steel backs were just suckers for scratches. Definitely need a protector on the front and a protector case for the back. Thankfully later on, the newer designs lent themselves for tempered glass protectors — I’ve got one on my 7th and you can’t tell it’s there.

I’m also not a fan of Apple’s iTunes ecosystem—wished they made it optional, so you could transfer files directly. But they did that for copyright protection purposes… which ended up penalizing the convenience of those people playing by the rules (e.g. I ripped my own purchased CD’s to listen to the music on my MP3 player).

Btw, while Apple never put in a dedicated LED for illumination, the iPod screens are so bright! You can really use them like flashlights.

Would you believe that despite having no screen protector for 10 years, there isn’t a single scratch on the front of my iPod? The back has all kinds of little marks though, presumably from when I put it down on the table.

Yep, same here. I just ordered my second FW3A, with 219C leds that after some checking out will be replaced by 2700K SST-20 leds, and hopefully I can McGyver some red aux leds in there as well.
The price after discount was $31.68, close enough to the announced 30 dollar for me.

I also ordered the 219C version. It is close enough to the 30$ and the leds get changed anyways. But i had no use for the XP-L leds.
The 219C will find a new home in a different light.

Just a quick update…

There should be a new batch of drivers soon, and I’m working on firmware updates. So far I’ve got the following…

  • Fixed the bug maukka found — hold-from-off then release-and-hold in stepped ramp wouldn’t work until it had been on for a full second.
  • Made candle mode slightly more calm but also able to burn a bit brighter sometimes.
  • Beacon mode duty cycle is 100ms now instead of 500ms.
  • Made muggle mode do smaller thermal adjustments.
  • Rewrote most of the thermal regulation code. It should significantly improve pretty much anything related to temperature, except for the lack of factory calibration. (still in progress, running tests right now) It takes a while since I need to test basically every supported light, but the ones I’ve tested so far have all waited a sane amount of time to heat up, dropped quickly to a sustainable level, and then just … stayed there. None of this oscillation nonsense from earlier versions, and so far it has managed to step down at a point which is neither too early nor too late.

Also planning to do some other misc updates, as many as I can squeeze in before the deadline. Not sure which other tasks will get done in time. The top tasks are making “hold” auto-reverse in strobe modes, making momentary do the last-used mode instead of just the last-used brightness (so, momentary strobes), and generally making muggle mode a little nicer. Also debating whether to add ten-clicks-from-off as a shortut to thermal config mode. But I wouldn’t count on any of these things.

The main thing is better thermal regulation.

Gaaah!!!

Going to have to open up my FW3As and flash the updated drivers soon. :stuck_out_tongue:

Could this have anything to do with why my switch has gotten stuck at least twice (and started ramping up to full brightness immediately).?

This was posted on the ‘Lumintop Family’ FB group:

“FW3C sample?who knows? :smiley:

Nice, I’ll probably end up picking up another FW3A when the new driver and LED versions are in circulation. As always, thanks for all the hard work TK!

Sounds good.
Have you thought about/ would it be possible to incorporate a configuration lock for ramp config, ie the settings for mode numbers, max ceiling & floor can’t be changed unless a code is entered like the H17F or preferably like the LD4Power drivers?
I’ve slipped into ramp config a couple of times & accidently changed settings.
Just a thought.

Thanks for working so hard on updates TK! Now to figure out how to flash new firmware as someone who’s a dumbass.

Yep, it looks to be about ’medium-well’. :wink:

Woohoo!

I received my FW3A today...

(I think it was delivered yesterday, but we didn't get the mail.)

This thing is really small!

It is much shorter than my Convoy S2+ Triple.

So far, I really like it, but I've only played with it for a few minutes.

Thanks to everyone that made this awesome little flashlight possible!

Yes. It’s probably caused by something like that, something physically out of place inside the light. I found similar metal shavings inside an earlier prototype, and sent Lumintop a bug report about it.

I eagerly await momentary candle mode.