Take a close look at the pic…driver retainer ring at the bottom, so the head was bored to .900” (to which saves the retainer ring and bezel threads) and the aluminum pill .899” the copper pill was something I had laying around, the aluminum was counter sunk and the back of the pill was stepped and then pressed into the aluminum pill, the whole package push fits into the head and the glass o-ring and bezel press everything together. The original heat sink wouldn’t make contact with the back of the FW3A driver….just a different way of and easier for me of doing it as compared to the original design…. you’ll see when you strip yours…
Woah. I had a few orings available. I dunno exactly how I feel. That is much - much stiffer. I think I would want something a touch softer. That said, I’m going to run this mod in an edc FW3A and see how it goes. Maybe a thin rubber piece in the middle to soften it up. Definitely no accidental activation though! Thanks for the cool tip!
Small update. I added a couple layers of glow sticker punched to 3/16” for a thin shim. This softens the feel just a touch. Now it’s firm and is unlikely to activate accidentally but not too firm. Love it. I think I can edc this now much more comfortably without lockout.
I’ve ran it both ways and also prefer it with a center spacer, though the difference for me is minimal. I’ve been pocketing this light nearly everyday since I’ve made this mod and seriously can’t remember any incidents of accidental activation. I’d be surprised if your experience is any different.
I’d gotten used to doing lockouts on my FW3A. It’s pretty easy to do… but sometimes I forget. I decided to give your o-ring swap-in a try, as I have a mini o-ring kit that has a 3/16” ID sized one. I hadn’t taken out the nubbin before… so small. So easy to lose. Mine was in pretty tightly though. Anyway, I substituted the o-ring and wow, what a difference. The button is really tight now. Can’t activate from angled press. The only downside is that the click sound is like 3 times as loud now. It’ll take some time to get used to it. But the implicit safeguard for stopping accidental activation seems worth it. :+1:
EDIT: OK, I went for a day with the 3/16th ID o-ring and decided it was too firm. I stepped down to a 5/32nd o-ring. NOW, we’re talking. This is better. Still tight enough to prevent accidental activation, but requires less pressure & it’s about 30% quieter than with the 3/16th ID.
I’m glad others are finding this helpful! For me, if it weren’t for figuring out a solution to the accidental activation, I would have gave up carrying the fw3a as my edc.
It should be noted that I have very large hands and strong fingers. I often don’t keep that in consideration. The 3/16” o-ring w/o a center spacer is “stiff” in my book. For others, it may be unbearably so. Both of you have built upon the concept and adapted it to your taste, so good work to y’all as well. I’m happy there is a tune-able and simple solution to a problem that can be a deal breaker to an otherwise great design.
As for the noise level of the switch, I’ve had very mixed - almost random - results during experimentation. The smallest tweak sometimes will take it from nearly silent to very loud.
I have an interesting anecdote. When I did the oring mod to my early aluminum FW3A, it was super stiff and I needed to add a spacer to soften the feel. When I did the same mod to my FW3T, it made the switch a bit stiffer and more consistent, but definitely not super stiff at all. Not as edc secure (ie prevention of accidental activation) but much better than stock.
Made modifications to anduril firmware source and now I find the light much more edc friendly:
Removed strobes.
Removed ramp blips.
Disabled FET, so it should be regulatet at 2.8A now.
Faster ramping speed.
I am adding link to compiled firmware file (based on latest Anduril from TK firmware repository with my little modifications) if someone is interested. You will probably need to make modifications to ramp setup - lowest level "1" (one click) and highest level "90" (one click). And tweak some other settings.
If it works for me, doesnt mean it will work for you, so no liability or warranty. Use at your own risk and have fun.
So great to see so many accessories becoming available for the FW3A. I wish a stainless steel bezel with trits was part of it… looks like one has to go with the FW21 to get something close.
WOW. Link to the original listing? Just curious as to what kind of pricing is being floated. Looks like an Indiana Jones artifact. EDIT: Found it. HERE.
I reckon quite a bit of work went into it - I must admit I didn’t even look at the price lol!! Still, handmade work like that is worth paying for, that would have taken days to do, even weeks maybe - I’d rather that than 10% brighter and someone’s name scribbled on the outside.
No offence intended, just my take on it/preference.
Shame he’s not on here (maybe he is…)- that would defo win a prize in the ‘handmade light’ compo I think lol!