Ah, so it’s just a matter of reflashing. Hopefully Lumintop will provide a config file. (They are required to, after all)
I can see that.
But at the same time I think it was a dumb decision. I want to be able to always reach turbo when needed by double-clicking from on. A fast ramp-down is fine. If I want to override it I can just double-click again.
But in the FWAA to get it to stay on in turbo, I go through the following operation
- first I probably turn the light on by double-clicking,
- then I have to ramp down for a second,
- then stop and ramp back up to top of the ramp, and
- only then can I double-click to get to turbo. And that seems to be the only way to get the light to actually turn on and stay on in turbo if I have the top of the ramp set at something other than turbo and if I don’t want to keep the button held down with the shortcut.
This a decided step backwards in ease-of-use compared to Anduril on the earlier lights.
wow thanks, that was it… thought that simple mode didnt blocked the strobes… 
thanks again.
i really like this light, so small and compact… makes the original fw3a look huge lol.
Is the FWAA using one of the existing hex files on TK’s database? I don’t see one labeled FWAA.
Depends on how you intend to use the light. How long can the FWAA sustain turbo? 10 seconds? 20 seconds? Turbo is just for fun on these lights.
There is a compile time option to get back the old behavior of Anduril 1. Just enable it in the cfg, compile and flash it. Manufacturers can decide which variant they want to use.
At least it is not a build officially released for the FWAA. Probably they created their own version.
Thanks for the welcoming message, Awesome handle btw! Spent way to much money yesterday, to get free shipping at neals. But all stuff I’ve wanted for a yr now. I wish lumintop would offer LH351D 5000K.
Well. Mine turned on in my pocket. Luckily got warm rather than burn my pocket up. I did the oring mod on my light. It’s a bit too firm but at least I’m not afraid of it coming on I’m my pocket. Also, the button is a touch smaller than the one on an FW3A. Unfortunately not interchangeable.
I disagree. I find 10 seconds to be plenty to when I scan the surroundings for a trail mark or an exit from a forest clearing. When lower modes are enough to give me some expectation as to the direction I need to illuminate, 2 seconds are often enough.
That are situations for that I prefer momentary turbo. There can’t be a single perfect UI and Anduril tries to be as flexible as possible, thus all the compile options.
Just curious, how fast does Nealsgadgets ship out these days?
It’s been quite some time (probably over a year) since I last ordered from Neal.
Ordered & paid FWAA last May 1, but the order still has not shipped out yet.
Order number? I ask for you.
Got mine today, all I can say is I love the SST20 4000k version… Still learning the changes to software, but really welcome the autolock feature as all of my FW’s have that flashed on them, be if V1 or V2. I cannot believe how small it really is, I knew it would be small, but still WOW.
Now, do I do 219b sw45k’s in it???
Does anybody know many amps this pulls on turbo? Is it just as much as the battery will provide? I bought a 4 pack of the Shockli 3A 1000mah 14500’s a year ago when they were the best ones available - I only have one 14500 light, and would like to use the Shockli’s I have in this, but if the max output is gonna be super low with the 3A cells compared to the newer 10A 14500’s, I’m not sure if its worth it to buy more 14500’s for one more light…. The ones I have are button top, so they might be too long anyway / bend the driver springs…
Yeah it’s a FET driver, so it’ll pull as much as it can. I wouldn’t call 3A super low for a light this size, you’ll be able to use turbo a good while longer. You’ll get a lot more output for a lot less time with the 10A cell though.
Thanks for the input! I actually pulled up the review for the older black Shockli cells I have, and it looks like they perform well up to about 5 amps - this might actually be a good balance of runtime and brightness then, assuming the FET will pull 5 amps? How does the FET regulate how much current its pulling i.e. how does it “know” the max current to pull from a cell, say 3-5A for mine, vs 10A for a 10A cell? I think I’ll order one and try it out
The FET does not know. It is a relationship of cell, circuit path and led resistances that determines the Amp draw. The lower the path resistance, the more current will flow. Take a look at Ohms law.
I’m familiar with ohms law and use it when building vape coils, but I believe the FET is playing some role in regulating the amp draw, or at least limiting it. If the amp draw was only dictated by the LED resistance and battery voltage, like a mechanical vape mod, then you’d have low-amp-rated batteries venting and exploding in flashlights often, and I don’t think this ever happens with enthusiast lights? As well, since FET lights produce higher lumens with higher amp-rated batteries, there’s got to be something else at play here? If a FET light is trying to draw 15 amps from a 3A cell, the battery would likely vent if not for the heat of the light triggering thermal stepdown - maybe its the thermal stepdown that acts as a safeguard?
Got mine about a week and a half ago and I love it so far. Neal shipped it quickly, about 12 days from placing the order to the central US, and about half of that time it was in USPS possession - they took forever to move it the rest of the way to me.
I need to clean the board and optics but the emitters and soldering/wires look fine...lots of flux residue and some dust, though. The color on mine is a little disappointing being on the blue side of grey and a different feel/texture than the first FW3A batch. Switch feels pretty decent really, tactile but a bit mushy on the edges. I can't seem to make it catch or do anything weird, which I'm glad about after all of the switch button woes the last couple years. The H10 cells are definitely better in this light than the gold 1000mAh. Clip is pretty well formed and finished and I really like the cigar ring - cigar ring is going to stay on the light (I wish it were black in color, something besides bright white). SST 4000K is very nice at all levels although a tad warmer than I usually like. After seeing pics of the 219C 5000K I might order one of those also. I don't think that I dislike Anduril 2 - still getting used to the changes and missed the development thread - but I think I like the original a little better. Once I realized the division between the shipped-as Simple mode and the Advanced mode, I started to warm up to it more. Be careful with the skinny little o-ring on the command tube if you remove it. I sliced a thin sliver from mine when reinserting it before smearing a little grease there - easy to fail to seat the tube all the way if you aren't aware. I hope they bring out the turbo glow gasket for this one.
All in all I'm really pleased with this so far. Burned a napkin at work...coworker ordered one immediately. I hesitated to order this because although I really appreciate the collaboration that we've had with Lumintop, I seem to get a high failure rate with them and the QC and other issues of late have made me feel like I'm taking a higher calculated risk when I get one of their lights now. Currently awaiting the outcome of their convoluted warranty/communication on a driver-dead ODL20C purchased from Banggood, and it's looking like I may end up holding the short end of the stick on this one. But the FW3A has been fantastic and I hope this FWAA follows suit over time.
yeah the color is a bit more blue compared to my group buy fw3a… but i dont complain i think it looks good either way.
Something I observed on my FWAA:
- Thermal regulation is acting WAY too late, regardless how low the threshold is set. I set e.g. 45°C for stepdown but on turbo mode it’s getting beyond 70°C before actually stepping down. Thermal sensor was calibrated properly, of course.
- If the flashlight gets warm (> 40°C surface temperature) there’s no way of getting back from Turbo. 2 clicks do nothing, I can only turn off. As long as the flashlight is still handwarm or cold, there’s no problem cycling between Turbo and Ceiling.