FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Tom Tom, will it be visible in it’s totality in Texas? My luck it would be but raining, and 33º…

And Tom Tom is correct in his statements about Neal, I have said it before and because Tom Tom stepped out on the limb here I’ll say it again, if Neal is involved it is a SNAFU scenario. I’ve been involved in too many of the group buys that had all sorts of issues due to his relation to the project. Including sending him a couple of quads I built on the X5 platform (the first mysteriously went missing in China, totally my loss) so they could make the S43 or whatever. In that one, despite the time and expense I personally went to, I was left out of the testing loop on their new light. Some folks griped about that and a light arrived with zip explanation after these complaints. I gave it away, had already made my own Ti/Cu quad that I still carry every day. So yes, I too feel like if Neal is involved I do not want to be. It is what it is. (after some run around, surprise, I was reimbursed for the DHL on the second light, which cost $67 to ship to China with a 30% discount as a first time DHL user… yes it was going to be a flat $100 to ship the small quad X5 to Neal!)

And to extrapolate, when the D1S was coming out and Neal had em first …I ordered from him so I could review it, among the first, I thought, that would receive one. He forgot to ship it. Took among the longest to receive of any light I’ve ordered. Others on that deal got wrong lights, wrong emitters, all sorts of mix ups. Like the GT shipments. And on and on and on…

…like the serial numbered X6/X5 sets that immediately went on sale without the serial number, nullifying the collector value of the set. They even sold the “special” boxes! And me and ToyKeeper were the spokespersons on those sets, convincing a great many to buy them when the other team members were absent without leave. Left a seriously bad taste, that one did. And of course, the Cometa SNAFU. I sent Neal a list of the exact components on specific drivers, drivers I’d built by the hundreds with full success, he agreed to use these for accuracy, then of course the components were not used. And glitches occurred. And then there were tubes that were too short. Wrong threads. Mismatched ano… all of this certainly can’t be hung on Neal’s shoulders and I’m sure he played he trying to get things right, but nonetheless he was involved and things went awry. After the X6 group buy I was sent 6 extension tubes and hosts to build lights for the team members of the X6, requiring an MT-G2 emitter. Neal sent the Astrolux X6 hosts and the extension tubes… the tubes were too short by 4 mm and the MT-G2’s turned out to be 9V and wouldn’t work on 2 cells… And on and on and on… The team members never got those special “Thank you” lights as the battery tubes never did get corrected…

It hasn’t been one or two simple things, it’s a long ongoing list of issue…. pretty much like how long this particular “group buy” has been lasting and the shipping errors (omissions) to the obvious right people…

I know all this is beating a dead horse, but does that mean all the folks tied into this are supposed to be kept blind as to how Neal’s deals have worked in the past? Like, do y’all really, even for a second, think I can shut up? I’ve tried, really I have, but Tom Tom is right on this, as well as on some other things. (I know, I know, he’s rarely right, but hey, it can happen! :stuck_out_tongue: )

Here’s to hoping Neal’s wife has gotten him straightened out and all that bunk up above is just that, ancient memories. Good Luck!

Wow Tom Tom! A Supermoon, in full eclipse, with a 5 hour and 11 minute spread from start to finish and a total eclipse of an hour and 2 minutes! This will take some planning!

Nope you’re not making any insults to me but if you read some of the messages directed at Neal and also Martin, neither I know personally, there are some rather personal comments and allegations that were directed their way. Quite frankly I find it irritating reading through some of these negative insulting posts offering advise that clearly is not required or is only really 20/20, add no value and only serve to make bad feelings for the team working on the project.

Maybe this is just a difference in culture, but if the topic at hand brings up some negativity towards an individual or a group that could impact me, I would rather hear it out, and then draw my own conclusions. I don’t hear about the troubles behind the scenes of these group buys. But when projects take extremely long, items don’t get shipped, or people lose money, I would appreciate a “tread with caution.”

I do believe the opinions should be made VERY objectively with little to no speculation. But unnecessarily censoring people who have inside knowledge and/or kicking them off of a topic sounds like a slippery slope to me.

Regardless, I’m thankful for the members that are keeping this project moving forward! :+1:

Just because you’ve had problems -
and Neal was involved, that doesn’t automatically mean Neal was the cause of the problems. It is convenient and natural to place blame on a common denominator. I can’t fault you on that. Is it accurate, though? Probably not.

For every person who doesn’t like Neal, there are 100 who do. If you want to bow out simply because he is involved, that is you prerogative. I think it’s a bit silly, but to each his own. I’m sure you will be able to buy a FW3A after the group buy from Banggood or Lumintop or whoever is selling it. So no worries. It’s all good. :smiley: :beer:

I learnt something today

noun
noun: snafu; plural noun: snafus

a confused or chaotic state; a mess.
“an enormous amount of my time was devoted to untangling snafus”

adjective
adjective: snafu

in utter confusion or chaos.
“our refrigeration plant is snafu”

verb
verb: snafu; 3rd person present: snafus; past tense: snafued; past participle: snafued; gerund or present participle: snafuing

throw (a situation) into chaos.
“you ignored his orders and snafued everything”

If you’d like to continue your education, its actually an acronym. I’ll leave it as a link because its not exactly family-friendly in its fully explained state: SNAFU - Wikipedia

I never said I didn’t like him Jason, I’ve had multiple Personal dealings with him that he skewed. Direct dealings, no way to blame it on anyone but Neal. Believe how you wish.

I won’t be buying one period. My initial interest was in support of Fritz, that light no longer exists. If I still want it, I’ll make it myself… I bowed out a long time ago when the original light died…

I live near a military installation. Seems like I’ve heard SNAFU all my life… Situation Normal, All F’d Up. ( we can call that fracked if you wish, close enough for government work)

Edit: sorry, I was thinking in terms of oil extraction and wasn’t aware of modern translation. To me it means broken, fractured, messed up virtually beyond repair. But yes, it’s a vulgar term coined by frustrated disgruntled soldiers.

A difference in culture? I’m quite sure my original post does not call for censorship, and yes you are definitely entitled to a “tread with caution” warning, but it need not specifically insult certain individuals based mostly on opinion. I’m not suggesting anything contrary to western culture, basically treat your Neighbour as you would want to be treated yourself, nothing more.

The way most logical arguments are rebuffed these days seems to be to push their logic all the way to the most extreme version possible to make the original argument seem illogical

The first time I heard it was in the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. They went to a lot of trouble making that movie more historically accurate than any WWII movie had ever been before, so I am quite confident the term dates back at least as far as the 40’s.

FUBAR

Dammit, you’re right, it’s my memory that is SNAFU (and FUBAR)

Both seem to date back to WWII though As per this nice summary

In for two please

Please remove me from the list. The list in the TLF is now updated.
Thank you very much for your efforts and apologies for the chaos caused.
1717: leo l.
1718: leo l.
1719: leo l.
1720: leo l.

can you put me down for one please? Thanks for doing this

I don’t need this, but what the heck. It’s an impressive collaboration, and the tail e-switch is neat. Put me down for one with LH351’s.

I missed the discussion surrounding emitters - was SST-20 ever considered? I’ve been pretty happy with them in smaller TIR lights. I don’t mean to say that an established decision should be reconsidered or anything, I’m just curious. It’s a swap I might consider down the road, if they weren’t specifically rejected for some reason.

No SST20 came simply to late for the game.

It definitely seems worth trying a swap, given the low cost a triple board with SST-20’s can be had for. I’m hoping to compare it LH351D’s and SST-20’s and decide which I like better.

Hi I would like to sign up for the buy if I still can. I’m in for an XP-L HI and a Samsung LHD!

Thanks!!