It does reduce the pressure, so it is advised to use an extra o-ring under the glass less (between that and the optic), or get a thicker lens 
yes
the internal tube has a lot of resistance to sliding towards either end
by tightening the tailcap onto the “head” (the flared end) of the body tube, with the clip installed, I was able to push the inner tube towards the “tail” (not flared). Now it works with the head on the flipped body. As pictured: (light is ON to show it works)
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Hey jon_slider, congrats on getting your first Anduril UI flashlight! And thanks so much for the comparative beam shot photos. I’ve got one of these on the way as well. Very encouraged by the emitter tint. I was worried there might be a greenish tinge but it’s obvious that it’s more golden in color. A nice pale golden that’s closer to neutral than it is to full-on warm. That’s pretty much what I’ve been looking for in an AA sized EDC. There’s also something nice about sleek copper like this, as opposed to chunky, busy designs.
exactly right, pale gold for the 4000k color temperature
and very neutral tint,
it is an overcast day, the SST-20 does not look green at all
and flipping the body is fun too
all but the FWAA SST-20 4000k have sw45k mods
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info request for Customized Anduril 2 for FWAA
I would like to learn more about what is needed for me to be able to reflash the FWAA firmware
besides my own custom ceilings, I want to turn off the double blink in the ramp, and make the ramp half as fast.
can someone point me in the right direction…?
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my custom FWAA settings wishlist
Anduril reflashing required:
(workaround is to use stepped mode)
double blink OFF
ramp speed 50%
Custom UI configurations:
advanced ceiling 90/150 (400 lumens)
simple ceiling: 78/150 (200 lumens)
thermal limit 40C
memory set to 15 lumens
hybrid memory set for 90 minutes
12 stepped modes
I got notice that FWAA glow gaskets are available
despite the price, I was about to pay, but, there is no paypal option, so I have not followed through
maybe others will be interested…
I’ve purchased multiple lights/items from Jared and never had issues. He’s awesome to deal with. He got burned once from paypal, that’s why he doesn’t accept it anymore.
That being said I already have two on the way lol.
congrats, the glow gaskets look very nice
Today I took the bezel off my FWAA, in order to paint glow onto the mcpcb… I also polished the lens. Output went up 9% and there are no bad beam artifacts.
the previous coat of acrylic paint around the inner bezel (post 128), peeled right off when I removed the optic. No problem there.
(the pro photogirl I hired in my dreams, did not show, so I had to take my own blurry pics…)
the glow paint that peeled off the inner bezel, fits around the tail, so just for fun:
However, a tiny screw fell out of the driver. I put it back. I do not know if that free floating screw had anything to do with my Runaway Ramping issues with the FWAA, during assembly.
So far there have been 3 QC issues with my Cu FWAA
1. The screw fell out of the pill. now fixed
2. The retaining ring for the driver was halfway unscrewed. now fixed
3. One of the LEDs is dimmer than the others… have not tried to fix it… the light is still plenty bright, and the beam looks fine.
Jon, can you explain how you polished the lens? Think I’d like to try it on mine. Thanks.
I really enjoy having a GITD optical insert in my FW3A so I’d like to pick up one for the FWAA at some point. I’m hoping that eventually Neal or other more established sellers will be offering them. I had seen someone buy an early GITD from a small time seller for the FW3A and it didn’t have good glow power. The green one I got from Neal is super bright.
Is it possible to put in a GITD o-ring around the perimeter of the optic?
Also you mentioned polishing the lens… do you mean the sapphire replacement that Neal is offering, or the original?
I used Sunshine Cloth to polish the top of the plastic FWAA triple optic.
I put the sunshine cloth on a kleenex, on my desk, and holding the optic in my hand I rubbed it against the flat polishing cloth. A few strokes in different directions, including a few circles… (few= 5-10 swipes… )
I use Sunshine Cloth to polish my Ti lights … works very well for copper too.
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Nice work! I’ve not tried the Sunshine Cloth before. Is it less abrasive than something like the Cape Cod polishing cloth
I do not know the relative abrasiveness. Cod Cloth ingredients seem to include mineral spirits and vanilla… Sunshine cloth has neither volatiles nor aromatics.
I like the Sunshine yellow because it works faster than red rouge, while still leaving a very high gloss polish, not too abrasive.
I made a short 2.5 minute video including a beamshot comparison of the sst20 4000k version of this light vs the aaa sofirn C01s (sst20) lumintop tool aa (4500k) Emisar D4 (sst 20 4000k) and the emisar D4V2 (XPL-Hi 5000k)
Jonathan! And whomever else… slice those ssts you’ll get lower duv and the little guy won’t hurt much losing a little output, it’s a little over powered anyway?? Not complaining, just noting. (I’ve heard slicing sst20 lowers output? Mine might’ve but not by alot). I can only imagine how hot a ti gets…
Anyway, i have no regrets doing it. Slice high to avoid the wires, it’ll still get a duv shift down in a very pleasing manner. And tighten up beam (slightly/ relatively). It went from a novelty light for me to carrying often because i can use at lower levels and still like the tint.
And thanks y’all, I’ve had good lurk reading in this thread, that resulted with another flashlight. Funny how that happens…
maukka agrees w you,
glad youre enjoying using the light
technically tint is still above bbl after shaving sst-20
but, I dont mind the stock tint of my 4000k SST-20 FWAA
Ive become more open minded recently… lol
I like how it renders colors
other results of shaving
fwiw, I “tightened up the beam” (but failed to document the change), by polishing the outside of the Tir on a yellow jewelers rouge cloth… now there is a hint of a hotspot, and its a “bit” (undocumented), throwyer…
Ive been carrying it a lot… its my new hot item
actually, I dont use Turbo, I set ceiling to 400 lumens, and 40C thermal limit…
the copper handles the heat great, I can actually hold Turbo in my hand for 10 seconds, but thats not why I like the light… it has great hand feel, and Im enjoying using it with 12 steps… dont care for the ramping… that double flash bugs the crap out of me
Yes, very balanced and good cri! Your 219bs will miss you.
I am planning on copying the mild tir polish. I thought to try acrylic scratch polish…or the cloth you speak of. I’ll prob be to ambitious, we’ll see.
That tir is so shallow i can see my slice line through it ( not in the center, doesn’t show up on beam at least so far as i can tell
I think I understand what the flashes are when ramping… correct me if I am wrong, ramping from lowest brightness, it’s the 7135, first flash ramping up is FET, then the last flash at the highest level indicates direct drive…
my question is, were the flashes an intentional design choice? Or unavoidable?
I don’t particularly like the flashes, but I like to know where the PWM begins to avoid it when using as a room lamp for long periods, though I wonder what the feel of the smooth ramping would be without the flashes.
Only other comment I have (and it’s the wrong thread for it, but I just don’t have the energy to post much anymore, and I have only occasionally lurked every few weeks), is that had I seen the Anduril2 change in development to have TWO ways to get to that confounded 5C momentary mode, I would have requested against it… I liked manual memory, and now it is buried behind 10H from on rather than just 5C from on. I don’t like that, but I am getting used to auto memory I guess.
I haven’t posted in some time… got a job is all. Exhausting. I don’t remember it being so tiring to work FT, say, even 6 years ago. I just read that new report about metabolism dropping quickly as one ages… must be that. Anyway, missed you all, and will continue missing you 
The flashes during ramping are an intentional design choice. They are there to alert the user when swapping to FET mode.
Removing the flashes isn’t easy, but it’s probably doable. You would need to program out the flashes in the firmware, then reflash the MCU.
I looked into that can of worms and decided to just switch to stepped mode… it does not have the FET flashes
congrats on the new job
yes the midramp flashes mean FET, top flashes just mean top
but ramping is so fast that if I try to get the highest output before the double flash for FET, I end up somewhere between 75 and 150 lumens on my meter…
I get 130 lumens on step 11 of 12 with a 200 lumen ceiling… iow, only the 12th level is above FET…
I have the advantage of being able to measure lumens…
bottom line is the FWAA FET boundary seems to be around 150 lumens, but there is no way I can hit that with smooth ramping… I either overshoot or undershoot
so… to me, the double blink is just an exercise in frustration
plus its inconsistent… as there is no double blink in stepped mode… I cant hit 150 in stepped either, but I can come closer, consistently, using a step I know is below 150 lumens
I just use stepped to avoid the double flash, most of my use is below FET level anyway