FW3A mod thread. Post yours!

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.

Yep that too, I have a cute little Quark 123 that I modded that fits the “bill” perfectly.

. But also way back in the beginning of the FW3A thread, I asked if the clip could be bezel up mounted also, somebody said it couldn’t be done, the way the light was designed, I never forgot that…. :smiley:

It’s not, hard to beat the stock light, it was something to do, thats all. I’ll probably have 5 of these FW3A’s when all is said and done, this one will be different then the rest.

OK, fitting the optic and fitting the optic to the light engine were the most time consuming task’s.

……BBQ by Candle or Lightening storm… :+1:

Improved the grip and the looks of my FW3A with a piece of bicycle inner tire (narrow racing bicycle type).

Nice!

Bike inner tubes are really helpful items. They can be used as large rubber bands and even firestarters (gross smoke, but it works). I’ve used an inner tube to clamp some laminates of wood for a project where clamps wouldn’t be practical.

Great idea, KB. I miss the summer storms of the Midwest anyway. I will probably look crazy, but I will give it a try.

How hard is it to replace the optic? Do I have to keep the optic and lens still so as not twist off the wires? If so how is the best way to do that with a piece of tape?

I replaced the leds so I had the optic (and board) off, and did not worry about twisting the ledwires because they come through the middle hole and seemed long enough to allow one or two extra twists around each other. Everything went well.