FW1A Pro - replacing emitter for more throw

A key factor is the surface intensity of the LED, the more intensity the more throw there is.
If you have 2 LEDs with the same total brightness (total lumens output) and one has half the emitting surface area of the other it will have more intensity, more brightness/lumens per area, and will have more throw as a result.

If you have a bright LED with a large surface area and a less bright LED with a smaller surface area that happen to have the same intensity they will throw the same but the larger LED will give a larger hotspot.

The driver comes into play by providing enough power to the LED for it to run correctly, brighter an LED the more throw there is. Sometimes an LED is underdriven so doesn’t reach it’s full potential but an LED can also be overdriven and can lose brightness as a result.

That’s a stainless steel head, it never had a single MCPCB, they’re all triples.

I’m confused by this, from what i’ve seen the FW1A PRO is sold with a single emitter, the XHP50.2 pictured above, and stainless steel will provide some heat transfer through the body to the outside air, not as much as aluminium or copper but certainly more if the MCPCB touches than the shelf than if it doesn’t.

EDIT - It’s entirely possible my confusion is down to me not realising that body means head as well, and not just body as i assumed:

I think that’s the situation. But, I agree it would be better, even with stainless, to get the MCPCB resting on the shelf.

Unfortunately, yes, that’s how it is. Can’t do anything about it.

Getting a reflector from FW1A. It’s a smooth reflector.

Sorry, i meant the head.
It would be perfect if the wires had a channel to run through and the mcpcb sits flat inside the head.
But it still managed to dissipate enough heat through the head after i added more thermal paste into the gap where the wires are.

I’m shocked it came out the factory like that.
As a thought, as you’ve double stacked the MCPCBs for the right height you could possible add another that has been cut in half and trimmed in the middle so it each piece sits flush on the shelf either side of the wires, that would give some direct transfer to the shelf, and if it’s the same height as the wires it wouldn’t affect height.

Nice one for changing the LED though, let us know what you think of the new throw :slight_smile:

I agree, adding another mcpcb with trimmed slots for the wires would be the ideal solution.
But unfortunately i dont have the right tools to do that, and lazy too…lol
I’ll have to wait for the smooth reflector to know the final outcome of the throw.
Will update then.

How about drilling holes in the shelf for the wires in normal positions? I did this years ago on my original FW3A that I converted to a FW1A before they ever existed.

Also, There are some TIRs that work really well depending on emitter. I currently have a LEDIL Leila spot optic and a domed SST20w 4000k. I’m seeing about 21kcd and a fairly nice beam. Not perfect, but very functional. For me the hunt for perfection continues but it’s been my EDC since May 2019.

I do have a 10° TIR lens but don’t have the correct gasket size.
And i don’t quite like the squarish hotspot it projected.
Also dont have the tools to measure cd :smiley:

Drilling through the stainless steel head is not an option for me.
It’s gonna be tough and will probably take me hours or even days to drill it through coz I don’t have a lot of equipment and tools to work with.

I hear you. Spot TIRs can be ugly, especially with small flat emitters. PM1 might just be the worst scenario. I’ve tried so many TIRs from LEDIL and various AE vendors. The nicest beam so far has been from this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32367183046.html. It’s a SOB to remove from the holder, though.

These https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002280736440.html might just be a perfect fit. I have them on order in 10° smooth and pebbled. Hoping the pebbled will still hit 15kcd or more with a slightly softer beam or that the smooth can be focused such that the secondary projection of the emitter can be hidden within the hotspot.

Also in that order where these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/764917590.html in the ‘center sand’ format. They won’t fit as nicely I don’t think but will probably have the beam I desire.

I do have the second one here, perfect fit but that’s the hotspot I’m talking about.
The rest I didn’t try as I want the lens to fit nicely without gaps around the bezel.
So I have decided to go with the smooth reflector from FW1A.

The FW1A reflector is actually a light orange peel, I have a FW1A with CULPM1 with the older style reflector.

Do you have a source for the older FW1A reflectors? I've wanted to get another FW1A with SST-20 or LH351D but the FW1A now uses the same reflector as the FW1A Pro.

Also have you by chance tried the TIR optics with SST-20 or other emitters besides the CULPM1?

I run an old FW1A, my current favorite EDC. It has an LH351D in it and I would never swap it out. Great combination of throw and spill for EDC use.

I ordered from this store in aliexpress.

Lumintop Official Store

You need to PM and enquire coz the item is not listed.

I have not tried any lens on SST20.

Ok, time for some updates.
I have split the bottom piece of the double stacked mcpcb… Sorry guys i forgot to take a photo of that.
So there’s a channel for the wires now and the split mcpcb sits flat on the shelf with the led mcpcb right on top of if.
I also found the closest smooth reflector below.

Some mods needed on this reflector, need to shave about 0.5mm off the outside diameter.
This relector is 16.6mm height as opposed to original of 14mm.
So with the height savings I get by sitting the mcpcb flat on the shelf, there is still a 2mm gap.
You can see the photo of the reflector and the gap.
Still scratching my head on how to solve the gap but it’s fine for now.
Beam is more refined now with slightly more throw.

Got those TIRs in from AE. Sticking with my LEDIL for now. They need a small amount of filing/sanding of the flange diameter to fit in the bezel, but they fill the opening perfectly. Throw was 16kcd with a domed 4000k SST20 vs 20-21 with the LEDIL. Cleanest corona by far imo of all the clear spot optics I’ve tested. There was an odd non-uniform shadow in the center of the hotspot thought that put me off. The pebbled optic creates a beautifully smooth beam, but killed cd/lm too much for my needs.

I’ll tinker more with these another day but wanted to give some feedback for those waiting.

Overall, I’d recommend the LEDIL FA10661 with the holder removed and sitting on a standard XP 5mm butterfly gasket. Cd/lm is on point, beam is acceptable unless you obsessively hunt white walls.