FW3A Useful Information.....

One thing really good about this — it has helped curtail buying more flashlights. The Anduril UI has spoiled me. Bistro looks good, as it’s also a TK creation… but I prefer the Anduril menu. Also, the FW3A form factor is really great. HDS/NovaTac were really onto something back in the early 2000’s. :wink:

Great work, thank you!

I like how it shows what’s happening on the UI diagram. It seems like that could really help people understand better. :slight_smile:

However, it didn’t actually show how to change any settings. The light in the video had a badly calibrated temperature sensor, so it would have been a great opportunity to show how to fix that… but it didn’t. And the light won’t really work right when the sensor is so far off.

This is just what we needed, all the intructions/info condensed into one thread not spread over multiple ones.

Apparently, illumn.com, from whom I just purchased my FW3A, agrees with you. In fact, when I received mine, there was a slip inside the box saying illumn.com had already calibrated the sensor. In the process,I am sure they would have picked up and corrected any problems before shipping out the light. Mine was perfect.

I agree too. I calibrated mine right away. They get warm, but not uncomfortably so, and they haven’t stepped down at all yet. I guess that means I am still using them very conservatively.

Just for clarification, your not talking about using them on Turbo are you cabfrank??

On Turbo my XP-L HI starts stepping down at about 12 seconds.

It has also been calibrated.

Usually turbo for just a few seconds, probably not 12.

I just checked mine, and yeah, step down at about 12ish seconds. We’re probably calibrated similarly. I do have a LG HG2 in right now. Step down occurs later with a Samsung 35E. I like the slightly higher capacity, lower drain cells better for these lights. They do work well with both though.

/\ OK, thanks cabfrank. I like the higher capacity cells for the FW3A too. It does sound like ours are calibrated about the same…. :beer:

You got me thinking, and I just rechecked. Two of my lights, a XPL and a SST, do not step down that quickly. My other XPL does. I think I have to recalibrate that one, as it steps down before it seems very hot when starting from room temp. Of course when it has been on and is already warm, it gets hot on turbo quicker. I’m going to reset it tomorrow.

Sounds like a plan.

Hey, teach - recently received my FW3C and wanted to thank you for organizing this Useful Information into one compilation.
Well done :+1:
Thank you again,
OG

Click happy muggles! Gifted my son in law FW3A. My mistake.

Have had to reset the ramp ceiling a couple times for him and his itchy switch fingers.

He gave me the light to check and it was acting really strange in the ramp with different intensity levels.

I couldn’t get into any adjustment settings and really was thinking light had a real problem. Nope muggle had put it in muggle mode on his own.

I did not recognize muggle mode because I think he managed to change the levels in muggle also. I haven’t actually checked that yet.
After I exited muggle I did have to reset the ramp ceilings again though.

I may have to take his away. Funny my daughter never has a problem with hers. And I still love my 2.

Yeah, it’s too easy to get into configuration modes accidentally, in Anduril. IMO, they should be tricky to get into; but once you’re in, easy to configure. Okay, we’ll never get “easy to configure” in a complex UI. But, at least, it should be difficult to accidentally configure.

IIRC, a reset feature was recently added. It was difficult to do accidentally, because I think you had to hold the button when inserting a battery. Something like that. I think all the configuration menus should only be activated that way.

yeah i have done that once or twice, reconfigured something accidentally,
then have to wade through levels again (the most tedious config)

so i would sort of agree with that

also i can;t remember the muggle and lockout sequences, since i don;t do them much

wle

Ah, for the days when such lights connected by USB would allow for programmatic access, and a backup of settings. This way if the config ever got screwed up, you reset and simply reload your backup. :+1:

Thanks Teacher and all other contributors.

Just thinking

How to remove driver with pill and Led MCPCBs after unscrewing the driver retaining ring to be swapped with another FW3A/B/T?

I guess it is just by pushing the driver/pill/led MCPCP from head to tail direction or not that simple ?

I want to purchase a few extra FW3A drivers because I mod and break things often. I have FW3A comming soon in the mail so I am unfamiliar with how it works.
I am unable to find where to purchase the drivers directly.

Also, are there other drivers that are compatible? The drivers I have are only the click ON/OFF tail switches.

I dont know what type of switch the FW3A uses. Is it always connected with momentary clicking, or direct ON/OFF, or something else entirely.

You would have to go to Neal or Lumintop directly for this. The driver is eswitch (“direct on/off” = mechanical switch) and an unusual size and placement of the eswitch area since it is not connected via a wire like most eswitch drivers.

Wait, doesn’t FW3A Andúril already have a ‘factory reset’ option? I know a lot of Narsil lights have that. I don’t own a FW3A, so I can’t test.