hodor:
Finally bought a FW1A and gotta say I’m disappointed. What’s up with the artifacty reflector/beam?
Also with everyone raving about how much better the FD2 was compared to the FB4 I can’t see why. Maybe I just lost out in the tint lottery again.
I think it’s designed for XP-L HI, so SST-20 doesn’t look quite right. Also, SST-20 generally looks even more green when used in a reflector, and the tint bin probably isn’t better enough to fix that. Even the “good” bins look green at low levels, and a reflector makes the effect even stronger.
Of course, given how many times the FW3A has been changed, the FW1A also could have changed since the initial release.
trakcon
(trakcon)
July 23, 2020, 8:57pm
435
Here is a comparison photo.
On the right is my original FW1A (with SS bezel).
The left is a photo I requested from Craig/Illumn of his latest batch.
treellama
(treellama)
July 23, 2020, 10:17pm
436
My FW1A SST-20 is green tinted and artifacty too. I might try an sw40 in it. Mine has the thick plastic ring as pictured on the left.
trakcon
(trakcon)
July 24, 2020, 2:50am
438
bmengineer:
Wow that’s drastic
Yep. Has me a bit concerned about the FW1T.
BOO5TED
(BOO5TED)
July 24, 2020, 3:58am
440
trakcon:
Here is a comparison photo.
On the right is my original FW1A (with SS bezel).
The left is a photo I requested from Craig/Illumn of his latest batch.
The pic on the left looks like the Pro reflector imo.
These are my two FW1A lights. The pro is on the left, regular model on the right.
trakcon
(trakcon)
July 24, 2020, 4:01am
441
BOO5TED:
trakcon:
Here is a comparison photo.
On the right is my original FW1A (with SS bezel).
The left is a photo I requested from Craig/Illumn of his latest batch.
The pic on the left looks like the Pro reflector imo.
These are my two FW1A lights. The pro is on the left, regular model on the right.
I had wondered if they decided to just use one reflector for both models.
BOO5TED
(BOO5TED)
July 24, 2020, 4:12am
442
I bet that’s it, only need one reflector now instead of two.
cabfrank
(cabfrank)
July 24, 2020, 5:55am
443
Yes, and given all that went into the design and production of these lights, free to Lumintop, this is very disappointing, to say the least.
treellama
(treellama)
August 4, 2020, 3:53pm
444
So, is there anything that can be done about this new reflector? Anybody know of a better one that would fit?
JaredM
(JaredM)
August 4, 2020, 5:38pm
445
I don’t know how the FW1A differs from the FW3A in the MCPCB shelf/cavity, but I used the Convoy S21A reflector. I was probably one of, if not the very first to convert an FW3A into a single emitter. . Currently with a sliced 4000k SST20 —Tiny, tiny hotspot. Looking to try a 3500k LH351 from Digikey next… Very happy with it overall.
AmperSand
(AmperSand)
August 6, 2020, 5:45am
446
Just received a Nichia FW1A, must be from new batch because can confirm has new reflector with wide spacing, a little disappointing to be honest.
varbos
(varbos)
August 6, 2020, 10:29am
447
Disappointed to learn of the reflector issue. Lumintop are total cheapskates who have no pride in the quality of their products.
hodor
(hodor)
August 6, 2020, 11:26am
448
Yup, hugely disappointed. Along with the smushy, doomed to fail switch on the GT mini, its unlikely I’ll be buying another Lumintop product.
large hole at base of reflector with small LED, is not a good match
some possible ways to improve the beam
1. Use a wider LED such as the LH351d
or
2. move the small LED closer to the reflector, by creating a 0.5mm thinner centering ring
treellama
(treellama)
August 6, 2020, 7:46pm
450
What about filing down the back of the centering ring?
I could use a bigger LED, but I was hoping for some throw in a little pocket light. I was expecting more than the S2+ since the reflector is wider, but it’s actually less throwy than the smaller S2+ reflector.
I avoid modifying the original part
fear of breaking
I sand down one these alternative centering rings instead
so I can go back to stock if all fails
Scallywag
(Scallywag)
August 6, 2020, 9:38pm
452
Amazing how they took the FW1A, which I’ve seen praised numerous times for the amount of throw it provides in its size, and ruined it so quickly.
Well, Hank was always going to make a better light anyway.
treellama
(treellama)
August 6, 2020, 9:50pm
453
I have a couple extra of those, I’ll experiment and report back.