Is 100% FET really an issue with 219C ? I haven’t heard that’s an issue with any of the 219C’s used in high-power quad emitter lights which use FET, even with the best high-drain cells. Does going to a triple make that a concern?
That's a good shade of purple.
I know it probably isn't going to happen, but I would like a FW3A in blue or green. 
No. My FET 219C build is now using a 18350 tube but when I first built it I did plenty of turbo measurements and such with 18650 tube and full bypasses. I guess Cree is doing some guerrilla marketing.
The D4 219C got a firmware change fairly early on to throttle it to 80% FET. This is probably not necessary in most cases, but Hank didn’t like the failure rate.
If you have a 219C and an XP-L HI, put them both on turbo, one in each hand. If the 219C gets hot faster, it’s 100. If it doesn’t, it’s 50.
Wow, that’s interesting. So 100% FET might work, but the risk of the LEDs burning out is significantly increased?
I have a Astrolux S43 (4 x 219C) that I got tired of ramping down so quickly, so I disabled thermal controls altogether. It gets extremely hot, but I figured if it doesn’t burn me, the LEDs should be able to take it. I guess I’ve been lucky so far.
50% FET seems kind of underwhelming, though. It’s not much more than 8x7135. Sounds like sticking with the XPL is a better choice.
They also overshot temp but I bet if anything the quality of the reflow is more critical in determining if it will survive or not. I’ve taken apart enough lights only to find out half or less of the thermal pad is bone dry.
I tested the XP-L HI with 50% FET and it was a bit over 2000 lumens. In theory, FETs produce a square wave. In practice, that’s not quite the reality, and 50% is more than 50%.
It’s also getting 100% of the 7135s still (I’m guessing) so I suspect that makes the majority of the difference
Okay, so it’s eight 7135’s, plus 50% of the FET? That might be somewhere around 70% of the maximum if the FET was 100? I’m sure I’m getting something wrong, but I’ll accept what you’re saying that 50 is actually more than that in the FW3A.
I’m not sure using the 50% FET setting for the Nicha 219C is a good idea, even if it’s more like 70%. It means that anyone wishing to replace the emitters, will be stuck with a driver that is crippled in output. Okay, maybe that’s just a concern for modders, and they might already have the equipment to re-flash the driver.
It would need over 22Amps with all the other resistance in the light to even get to a dangerous point. Seems highly unlikely
Just read this thread: BLF Interest List: EX3 High Current Beryllium Copper Silver Plated springs - Still selling my springs :)
looks like SST-20s FD2 95CRI below BBL are available, if BLF members can score them then it shouldn’t be a problem for lumintop I suppose. What are they waiting for?
Well, actually after a bit of digging around I found it had been delivered to our Stores dept, but no one there decided to let me know…
Took off the clip. It’s a fraction shorter than the D4, and thinner. I think I may prefer the sideswitch of the Emisar’s, but the FW3A does feel nice in the hand. The 7A is also nice and warm. :+1:
Completed three successful endeavors with my FW3A:
- Updated it to the latest Anduril release
- Installed some glow tape
- Printed a nice little diffuser thanks to Minocc
Some thoughts:
While removing the driver for flashing Anduril I notice the construction on the MCPCB side leaves a little bit to be desired. Mine is a bit dirty and seems a little loose (is there supposed to be thermal paste below it??). Being able to completely pull the driver out without any switch wires inhibiting it was nice. The glow tape adds a cool touch, I wish it glowed brightly just a bit longer.
I can’t seem to add the 219C version to my basket on Nealsgadgets. I was waiting to see if anyone else could confirm that these were the good tinted emitters, and now that I have seen confirmation, I can’t seem to order one for myself. Sod’s law I guess!
Anyone else experienced this issue?
I think a few posted earlier they are now sold out. I think they just made a few with emitters they had on hand.
Damn, I should have pulled the trigger as soon as they were available. I’ll happily sacrifice 5 CRI if it means I get a nice rosy emitter instead of a lemongrass green SST-20.
I really hope Lumintop manage to score some below BBL SST-20s.
Yeah, I had one in the cart & never pulled the trigger either. 
Didn’t especially care about the CRI…. just the lower price @ $30.
Oh well. “Ya’ snooze, ya’ loose”… Grandpappy always said . 
Grandpappy was right too…. 
hi, I was wondering if there will be another version of this light. I read large parts of this thread (but not every single post) and )I was wondering whether there might a new production batch with the latest firmware, different leds, or maybe different anodization or a copper body, or maybe an entirely different upgrade later to this light?
I am sorry if this is too much detail to estimate or ask for, I know that it would be impossible to foresee the future. But so many on here seem to be very knowledgeable and involved in this project.
Thank you!
I think it’s safe to say there will be more versions of the FW3A. The FW3C (copper) is already in development, and looking at the history of the GT, I’m sure both more LED options and derived designs like a single-emitter version are in the works.
I will buy all of them. A Safe double or single-emitter version would be the perfect give away.