FW3A mod thread. Post yours!

Nice work KB. :+1:

Awesome KawiBoy!

It’s crazy, just an hour ago I was thinking about bezel up carry and how to mod/make a clip work for this. I was going to put it under the bezel ring but the threads are too large for the clip to slide over… I didn’t feel like diving into grinding out the clip today. Gotta get real stuff done today :person_facepalming:

KB, so is the quad sticking around now? Did you machine the bezel opening bigger for the quad?
The polished look is incredible

Thanks!

. Thanks everyone who commented too! :+1:

. Is it sticking around? Dunno… it isn’t done yet….

. I opened the lens aperture up about 1.5mm from stock with an air grinder and tootsie roll, then opened up the bezel bevel with a large chamfer tool in the drill press till it cleaned up, then sand/polished… the spot is a bit cleaner….left pic is the latest….what do you think…. better?

. I have a couple more idea’s I want to kick around, trits in the tail cap, finish the copper spacer in between the driver ring/7135’s to offset the signal tube and close the gap at the tail cap, more or less finish and fit….

Looks better.

In my opinion, the left (latest) beam shot is better than before. Looks a bit like a zoomie light in the medium focus setting.
I think you bring a lot of attention to detail and I am looking forward to seeing the end result.

There’s a big difference. That’s why I put 219B in it. :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, I also see a difference between older XP-L HI 3D emitters and the ones the FW3A uses. The older ones seem to look better, even side by side.

However, I’d still take this newer 3D tint over most of the SST-20s and LH351Ds I’ve seen. I haven’t tried a SST-20 FA3 yet though. I might like that one. And I haven’t scrubbed the AR coating off my lens yet. Still need to do that.

I’m curious. What is the appeal of bezel-up carry on a FW3A?

Usually I go for button-up carry. So, on the FW3A that means bezel down, and on an Olight S-Mini, it means bezel up. In both cases, it places the button right where I need it to turn on the light without flipping it around.

Not just the FW3A any light I carry… specially High Powered lights I carry…

I have had HOT Pockets before….Great Balls of/on Fire… Doing the Mexican Hat Dance in the middle of the Isle at work… ect. ect.

Too funny :smiley:

KB the new beam profile is definitely better after your work, I may need to pick your brain So I can do this mod too

Agreed. The new quad beam profile looks better after working on it.

I’m not sure making this light a quad is any better than keeping it a triple though.

One thing I like about bezel up is that the light can be cap brim mounted for use as a headlamp. :slight_smile:

Good point. I don’t wear caps, but for those that do :+1:

I’ve always preferred bezel down carry, and actually never have used a bezel-up clip. But with the FW3A’s lack of a deep carry clip plus the sensitive, lightly recessed, and large switch often results in accidental activation (without my knowledge mostly). Lockout works, but 5 clicks to turn on the light all the time hasn’t won me over yet. I either always forget to lock it out or when I do then I’m surprised that it isn’t turning on.That’s not to say I’m unhappy with it, as I’m still adapting to the UI and ergonomics.

My thoughts on bezel-up here is that I think the switch might actually be safer from accidental activation inside my pocket (definitely debatable) and if/when it does happen, I can see that it happened quickly. Ergo is a wash for me, either way is fine. Downsides (pun?) are the your lens/optic is exposed and that the direction of the body taper would be reversed relative to the clip.

In short, I’m curious :slight_smile:

This for me too. It works great for grilling out in the evening.

I found that the muggle mode makes the FW3A very safe in my pocket, if activated accidentally, it never gets hot. And the brightness range is adequate for 95% of my EDC-needs.

I think that you do not like it because it is still a very clean white with nothing rosy in it. It is not green by itself but looks “green” next to the high CRI 4000K 219B, and even next to a (70CRI) 4000K Luxeon V.

I always have the memorized mode set to the first flash in the ramp sequence, so it doesn’t get hot if it does turn on. That’s good for obvious reasons, but at the same time bad since it can drain a cell for hours before I notice.

Yep, that is the downside. The FW3A draws about 600mA in maximum muggle, so if stuck in max it drains a 3000mAh cell in 5 hours.

Has he stated he’ll be making one for 100%? And wasn’t it supposed to be 21mm instead of 20mm? I’d love to see E21A’s in this light.

Has anyone measured the current draw with the 219 50% fet firmware Toykeeper made? Three E21A’s could handle around 6A max.

This will also happen with d240 4000K Nichia E21A’s.