FREEME ✌ ASTROLUX FT03S SFH55 9300lm & FT03 SFT40 2200lm 1300m NarsilM v1.3 USB-C - ALIVE

I have a weird concern about this light and hope other owners could chime in. Is it normal for the tailcap to smell like paint? I actually posted this a few weeks back but deleted it because I tried to air it out disassembled(head, battery tube, and tailcap)and it disappeared(and no one has replied to it). The smell came back though after storing it assembled and found out that the tailcap was the cause. It was just in storage with no cell in it prior to noticing the smell. Is this normal? or normal for any electronics in general?

Sounds wierd. There should not be any paint on it at all. It’s anodized aluminum.

They might have used a certain kind of smelly glue to hold the pcb to the tail cap. That’s my best guess.

There shouldn't be any unusual smell for the light.

Sorry it only smells like paint. I didn’t know what else to describe it with.

Asked around on reddit as well and u/Equinoxe pointed out that it might be the flux or glue. I’ll try wiping it down with some 99% isopropyl alcohol as suggested. If not I’ll just keep it as is. I only need it to open it to change batteries anyways. I was just worried something burned as I was using it prior storage. Thanks for the replies!

My light smelled like fried electronics, this will probably be the case since i had an abnormal high parasitic current draw when off.
Yesterday i replaced the driver with the new one from mateminco, and now it works as it should, current draw just above 5 mA, and when the MCU goes to sleep only a few uA.
Now i am happy with it!

Probably not. His smell is from the tail cap, not the head.

Well, I use my FT03 daily, but then again I don’t own a C8 myself. I’ve given some C8’s away as gifts and do like them, but the FT03 is my daily thrower.

I did not buy this light for any sort of “throw bragging” rights and, in fact, this is not the light for people who want to light up a water tower at a mile away. There are bigger, badder lights for that purpose. This is a practical thrower that’s somewhat more powerful than a C8, but much less pocketable. It feels very good in the hand, however, and more like a traditional flashlight than the small LED flashlights that we’re accustomed to.

I do want a holster for this light, but so far it seems that there hasn’t been enough interest to actually make one happen :frowning: .

In stock form, this light has a somewhat larger hotspot than the C8’s I’ve seen; the SST40 is domed emitter, after all. My eyesight isn’t what it once was, but with glasses I can usually see further than the FT03 can viably throw on most nights in my humid climate.

With that said, I’m very happy with the light and my only “criticism” is that I got exactly what I paid for; a budget light. The light is quite lightweight for its size, which is a benefit for carrying, but a negative in terms of heat sinking. However, it heats up no faster than the C8’s I’ve used and I’ve had no problems due to heat.

I do miss the nice thick body and square-cut threads that nicer lights have, though. Sofirn sells “budget” lights that have much nicer machining. Astrolux threads feel and sound pretty cheap, though the sound and feel certainly remind me to be extra-careful with them.

Anyway, if you’re happy with your C8, then skip this light. Still, I see no reason that the FT03 would be purchased for “show”; it’s not gorgeous, is not a marvel of craftsmanship, and doesn’t shoot a pencil beam for a mile. In its stock form, it throws a well-sized beam for a good distance and has plenty of spill for walking around with.

Oh, and NarsilM (you can also flash Anduril) is nice and I was somewhat surprised how much of a difference good firmware can make when compared with most factory firmware. For example, I hated ramping on Sofirn’s C8F 21700, but love it on the FT03. To my knowledge, stock C8’s don’t have anything quite as enjoyable to use.

Got the hex for that? :smiley:

To Pete7874, C8’s are 18650 and tail switch. The FT03 is side switch and 26650 so you get longer run times and a totally different feel when using it. Things like battery check, fully configurable thermal stepdown, etc…

C8F used Sofirn’s ramping UI, FT03 uses tried and true NarsilM. Very different in feel and timings, etc…

This should be the firmware for the FT03. Pretty sure they just copied my S43 Driver / Firmware when they made this light.

Is that the Narsil or Anduril? I’ve still got stock firmware, but I know Zozz got Anduril working on it. I saw the post by TK about using the ROT66 firmware with PWM changes… might do that on the 6/2 ftw.

Thanks though :slight_smile:

Yeah, that is the stock narsil firmware.

I got my light today, but im confused, is this light really meant to take 21700 batteries ? because my samsung 40T seems too big it sticks out a bit and i dont wanna compress the springs or so ? and u only got a tube for 18650 battery, but no tube for 21700 ? My efest and liitoakala 26650 fits perfect, it seems its made for 26650 and even the manual mentions 26650 and no 21700 ?.

for the price its just as good as mf02 but way less bulky…

I’d be wary of using a high drain 21700, especially if it compresses the spring by a lot.

Fully compressed copper alloy springs can act like a bypass, and push even more current to the SST-40.

So, yeah, I’d be careful with one.

Safer to use with 26650 as 21700 length varies with models. Never never ftighten a tailcap by force if you already heard over-compress sound created the spring (on either end).

yeah the plan was to use 26650 so thats what im gonna do :slight_smile: Great light and very nice it has ramping mode.

I just noticed something weird about my light.

For the past few days, I’ve occasionally been hearing a ‘ping’ sound, and today I determined that it came from my FT03 after I had played around with it. I realised that it’s the same sound that I hear when I tap the lens with my fingernail, so I was wondering whether it’s the result of the glass contracting when the light cools down. That led me to turn on the light in turbo mode for a bit longer than usual to try and replicate the effect, and alas - after about 20-30 seconds on turbo it made the same pinging sound! I shook the light (gently) and noticed that the lens rattles, so I unscrewed the bezel - which was very easy to do - to check whether the o-ring between lens and the bezel is missing. At first I thought that was indeed the case, but then I noticed the silicone o-ring inside the bezel.

Now I’m wondering whether this happens to other owners of the FT03, or whether I am dealing with some kind of manufacturing defect?

Hm i also hear some ping sound or how u call it ? But the light seems to function normal so idk whats up ??

I’ve not got a problem with the sound per se, but I’m wondering whether it could be due to some inaccuracies in the manufacturing process that might affect the light’s waterproofness.

Ping is normal expansion, but you say you have a loose lens? Maybe tighten up the bezel more, but the rattle is usually the plastic insulator by the driver spring…remove battery tube a check by shaking, if it rattles, hold it and shake again… see if something else is ratteling?