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.
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.
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.
Nice work CRX. Good idea on the signal/inner body tube wrapping and lining. I’ve been using cells that have an extra clear layer of heat-shrink to take the rattle out of the batteries. The less the battery contacts scrub the better…
Yeah I really don’t like battery rattle so usually line the battery tubes with thin sticky back felt if there is space or use the CF wrap if it’s a bit tighter.
Replacing the optic in the FW3A isn’t hard. Simply unscrew and remove the bezel. The lens comes with it. The optic is then revealed on top of the star.
The only difficult part is that the top edge of the optic lines up with the top of the head. You’ll need a tool of some kind to reach under the edge of the optic to lever it up. I use a tool that looks similar to a dental pick for this. Just lever it up and work your way around the edges. The optic should come right out.
This is true, they usually fall right out but what I’m saying is my one was fairly well stuck into the MCPCB.
Just be wary of that as it will not be the only one like that.
I have changed a few in my time
The Carclo triple in my Jaxman E2L was stuck so hard that I had to resort to pliers. Believe it or not I didn’t break the optic… So yeah, these things can be hard to remove.
One of mine wanted to stick, and I think it was caused by flux in places where it’s not supposed to be. So it may be a good idea to clean the MCPCB if you open it up… or at least check to see if it’s clean.