FW3A Useful Information.....

Not that simple. :slight_smile:

There is a ‘shelf’ between the driver and LED MCPCB. This light is not a ‘pill’ design.

Remove bezel, lens, and optic from head.

Unsolder red and black wires from LED MCPCB.

Remove LED MCPCB.

If you are swapping just the LEDs, you can leave the driver in place. Otherwise, remove driver ring and remove driver.

Clean the old thermal compound from the shelf and the MCPCB. Use a small amount of new thermal compound.

Be careful not to twist the red and black wires when reinstalling the optic/lens/bezel.

Here is a photo from CRX’s FW3A Mods & Teardown thread:

and thank you for that heads up… most helpful regarding this noob’s purchasing decision…

Thank you for great info. Is anyone able to help which emitters should I pick. What are the pro and cons between XP-L HI 3D , SST 20, Nichia 219c for this beast?

Would like to have high lumen, high cri (will this matter?), good flood with enough throw, and keep it low temperature. But I know I cannot have it all.
I don’t have any experience other than XP-G2 S3 with my Mecarmy SGN5.

What is the good balance for overall EDC around the house and night street walk?

I sure do like the xp-l HI 3d’s…brightest of the bunch, “least” heat…

The XPL 3D is not high CRI, but to me, it is the best emitter for this light.

Yes, it’s more neutral white, but a very “clean” tint without being clinical. I find it very powerful and considering the turbo output plus form factor, it performs very well.

I suspect that illumn.com is NOT calibrating the copper version which is vacumn sealed to prevent tarnishing. (There was someone in another thread reporting an electrical contact problem with their new copper FW3 they purchased from illumn. com. Had illumn calibrated that light, I am sure that they would have noticed the problem and fixed it.) But if you are ordering the FW3A, illumn.com is the place to go in the USA. Perhaps, even with the copper version, you should go there, because their custumer service is great should you ever have a problem.

ok… thank you for that referral as well, BabyDoc…

I agree . I was the one with the problem, and it got resolved in a couple of hours.
They are in the USA and ship quickly.
I am certain the copper is not calibrated by them because it is indeed vacuum sealed.
In fact, the clip corroded the copper a bit on the tube. I cleaned it up with a salt/vinegar combo, and a little toothpaste!
I have not calibrated the heat, but it gets so hot so fast you can not keep it above 800 lumens for more than a few seconds.

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Thank you very much for the helpfull info and instructions.

Exactly the advice I was looking for without trying pushing it first and damage the LED MCPCB and the driver in the process.

Much appreciated :-)MonkeyLight

That's correct, we are NOT calibrating copper models to preserve the seal on the light. There should have been a note in each box saying so.

Calvin, can we tell by our order date/order number which version of Anduil is installed on a flashligh?

No answer to that question. Oh well.

Here’s a lanyard ring:

you can do that with rope

google ‘constrictor knot’

wle

Do you know of any good sites or videos for showing some excellent lanyard making?

You can look at toykeepers changelog and test what added feature is in your light.

You can look at toykeepers changelog and test what added feature is in your light.

Hank - USLight coincidentally started a thread asking the exact same question on the same day you did.
Assume you came across this already by now, but just in case you didn't here is a link for completeness in this Useful Information.
FW3A Anduril firmware version?
Summary:




There are so many references to the FW3A I get lost and confused.

I have an early version, first batc FW3A that is going to get an emitter transplant from the xp-l hi 3D to 3500K LH351D’s. While I am at it I want to update the firmware. The other FW3A I have is a later verson with the momentary that has a choice of 2 different levels when locked out. I want that.

Is the firmware version anduril.2019-08-05.fw3a.hex the best one to use? Can anyone verify if tis version has that 2 level momentary when in lockout? And does that version have the version check built into it?

Thanks much.

If you had to keep only one FW3A, which tint would you choose ?