Got a 2nd FW3A from a generous BLF member here. Previous owner had tried to customize the body but ended up hitting a dead end. Mainly the center body had been stripped of anno & had an uneven finish. I reworked it with various grades of micromesh from 1500 up to 12000. Now it’s more of a satin polished finish. I originally planned to do a twisted scoring, but I’ve found the aluminum is rather soft and wouldn’t likely hold up to an even scoring. Later on, I may give it a go with a Dremel. I’m tempted to try a finish like I did on this vintage Pilot mechanical pencil:
(original body was a smooth satin finish metal alloy)
Installed a GITD optic surround, a lanyard ring, and an o-ring for added grip. The lanyard ring doesn’t anchor down, spinning freely. Tried using a few different o-rings, but it doesn’t work (they get squished out). Looks like a special washer may be called for. Some photos, with the first two showing this FW3A next to my first one.
FWIW, no beam shots but FW3A #1 is Cree XP-L HI 3D, #2 is Nichia 4000k 219C.
It seems like 219B mod is one of the popular mods. I have got some questions about the firmware. For 219B, I understand that fw3a-nofet or fw3a-219 should be used to limit the current for the Turbo mode.
The latest version I can find at this time is 2020-03-18 for both of them. I have been trying to find the information about the revisions and the histories, but I have not found them so far. I am sure the way I am looking is not good. Do you know much about the version of 2020-03-18? Which version do you use? My thinking is to go with the latest.
Also, what is the maximum current for fw3a-219? I read somewhere like FET is limited to 50% or 60%.
I have a spare Lux-RC 371D light engine and I want to use it in my FW3Ti.
My current obstacle is to find/create a contact board with the battery because I have to remove its stock driver.
By “white,” do you mean bare aluminum with oxidation or an anodizing that actually dyes the metal white? By a quick Google search, it seems dyeing anodized aluminum white is not possible, rather the anodized metal is allowed to oxidize, giving a whitish silver finish to the bare metal.
I stripped the anodizing of this originally mint green Olight and then lightly buffed the surface. As you can see, the finish is the bare aluminum in a matte silver color. Prior to buffing, the aluminum did have patches of white. Perhaps sealing in the white oxidation would give it a true matte white look.
Hrmm…I was thinking more along the line of the chalk white of the Tool AA. Similar to what kawiboy posted. That and red aux led Mmm…delicious.
Apparently red GITD isn’t very bright.