FWAA goes CRITICAL with H10 flat top Battery

yay
btw, do you carry clipped, locked?

I mostly leave the FWAA unlocked on my desk
have not pocket carried it mutch, dont trust the clip, nor the switch
I dont lock, but I set the ceiling to 400 lumens and use in simple mode, which prevents Turbo

fwiw, troubleshooting tips
another potential way to short the body tube to the black sleeve is accumulated lubricant… if a problem appears, a wipe out with a bit of alcohol can restore proper function. This issue was also present with Novatacs, that would become unreliable as they aged. sometimes they just need a good cleaning…

Yes clipped in my left pocket, and always electronically locked.

With Anduril-2 being newer than Anduril-1, I would hope that all versions would incorporate the "stuck switch safety feature" of Anduril-1 to protect against the behavior described in this thread, but I do not have a Lumintop FWAA or any light with Anduril-2 to test this feature. I am also assuming that an "inner control tube short circuit" or a "stuck switch" would be treated the same by Anduril since it would probably not be able to tell the difference between the two.

Newer versions of Anduril-1 incorporated a "stuck switch safety feature" where if the switch is held down continuously, the light will ramp up to maximum brightness, but after the light reaches maximum brightness it will only stay at maximum brightness for a few seconds and then automatically ramp down to minimum brightness and if the switch is still being held down, then after another few seconds the light will blink and enter lockout mode.

Both my Sofirn SC31 Pro with Anduril-1 version 2020-03-18 and my Sofirn LT1 with Anduril-1 version 2019-11-29 have the "stuck switch safety feature". I believe Anduril-1 version 2019-09-24 added an automatic ramp to minimum brightness if the switch was held down continuously (this version also added the "15+ clicks from off" version check function) and Anduril-1 version 2019-09-28 added the "stuck switch safety feature" (automatic lockout if the switch remains held down long enough).

I have Lumintop FW3A lights with old versions of Anduril-1 that do not have the "stuck switch safety feature" (or the version check function) and I do notice on these type of lights with the "inner control tube" that if I loosen the light's head enough, I will lose the "inner control tube signal" even though battery power can still be supplied to the LED through the outer tube, so if I do this while the light is at maximum brightness it will stay at maximum brightness and I cannot control the light with the switch to turn it off so the "stuck switch safety feature" would not work in this case even if the version of Anduril supported it.

This is a neat feature I didn’t know about. Just tested and both my FWAAs ramp up and then quickly back down to minimum.

thanks for sharing your experience, it has helped me take the leap

mine seems fine overall, I came prepared to check for loose retaining rings… not a big deal… and the light has been reliable, once successfully assembled…

it definitely gets bright, and hot, but I was able to adjust settings to suit my modest preferences

its a fun little light

wow, thats cool
my FWAA does that too
starting from off, unlocked,

IF I hold the button down it ramps up and back down

and

it also locks the light out after that

Biggest issue I had with an FWAA was a driver wire desoldering itself from the star of my FWAA Ti.

… but it wasn’t the light’s fault.

I had used the shortcut to turbo from off of “click + click-hold”.

That mode gives instant access to turbo and overrides the thermal protection as long as you hold the button down. After all, if you’re holding the button down, you shouldn’t need thermal protection…. you’ll release the button when your hand starts to burn long before the light is damaged.

Well that’s probably true for the aluminum and copper versions. Not so much for the all-titanium version where the head can be burning hot while the back of the light remains cool to the touch.

Fortunately, it was fairly easy to resolder the bondwire back on.

I’m running H10 in both of my FWAA and the only issue i had was their poor soldering on conntact wires to the MCPCB. Once resdered and cleaned it works perfect.

Another (default) safety feature is double clicking going to top of the ramp instead of max, unless the light is already adjusted to top of ramp. But I’m one of few (if not the only one) loving this feature. Likey being removed in customized versions. How’s the FW* firmware working?

I find the 2C command inconsistent
In Advanced, from ON it does not produce the same result, depending when it is used, as you described.

I do like that 2C gives ceiling, in Advanced, in other circumstances.
And 2C from Off, and also from ON, in Simple mode, gives ceiling, not Turbo.
I like that consistency, in Simple mode.

also, 2H is an inconsistent command
In Advanced, from Off 2H produces 150/150 (“Turbo”), but from ON it produces down ramping.

Awesome, thanks for all the potential fixes. Still love the light; A2 is incredible and I truly understand why TK made it “essentially” muggle mode from factory. The lights just not trustworthy at the moment.

Before I started fiddling with inner sleeve and retaining rings. I decided to put efest button top back in, and she works flawless again.

But still pulled apart to give everything a good crank. I didn’t turn GREEN. Still everything is tight and centered. It makes me wonder if cell length and pressure on the driver board is playing a sneaky part. In why Flat top H10 isn’t tolerated in my sample

I have been thinking about getting a FWAA, as I really like the FW3A.

Am I understanding that with some batteries the FWAA works correctly while with some other batteries it does not??

The FW3A can be finicky if not assembled very precisely in a certain order.

Is the FWAA any worse than some find the FW3A to be??

Thanks in advance for answers….

So far that is the case for one user. It does not appear that anyone else has reproduced these results, and I would wager the majority of FWAA owners are using the H10 cells in question.

Edit: If I were you and you want one, I would purchase from Killzone since you appear to be in the US. In the case that you do receive a bad light, their customer service is excellent. I haven’t looked at their stock recently but I know they carry the FWAA.

My solution for my dangerous as hell fw3a was to take the battery out and never put another in there, although I don’t think heat is an issue anymore since it did get hot enough to give me second degree burns and desolder 2/3 LEDs.

Acebeam has many as well, and I think nitecore and Fenix have some versions
Spark did it a long time ago
Probably others

FWXX just does it worst with poor machining tolerances (thanks Lumintop) and no sort of spring element.

yes, there is a battery length limit
the H10 is not too long

I have had the same issue as the OP, that sometimes when I assemble the light, it goes into Automatic ramp up, and the only way to turn it off is to remove the battery, and reassemble in the correct order, tighten the tail over the clip first. Tighten the head last.

Im dont think the issue the OP had is battery related. As I said, Ive had the same issue, and imo it is an assembly problem…

imo, the FWAA is entertaining, finnicky, and dangerous. I dont recommend it as an edc due to the button being too sensitive, and Im not a fan of 4 clicks every time I want to use a light… works fine unlocked, on my desk.

for EDC, I still vastly prefer the Jetbeam RRT-01. It has none of the dangers of the FWAA, wont turn on in pocket, no need to lock out, always starts at a safe level, and dead simple to dial in the right amount of light, intuitively.

The FWAA otoh, requires ramping up and down to find the sweet spot, and ramping down is not a consistent commant, sometimes it just requires 1H, other times it requires 2H…

the mental overhead to use a FWxx is quite demanding… having to remember what memory mode was set to, whether to turn on with a click or with a hold… reading the manual to change settings… worrying about burns… none of that comes into play with an RRT-01

oh and the clip on the FWAA is imo, not very secure… the RRT-01 pocket clip is far superior…

I like the RRT-01 too. Specifically, the 2014 edition. I find the 2019 and 2020 versions just a bit too heavy. If only they used an aluminum instead of brass pill.

However, the 2014 RRT-01 isn’t perfect:

  • The ring takes space. While not large, the RRT-01 certainly isn’t the smallest light around for its battery type.
  • I thought the ring was intuitive too. But when I handed my RRT-01 to someone she tried to press on the lanyard ring on the back and wondered why the switch didn’t work.
  • While the ring isn’t likely to accidentally turn on in the pocket, I have had it happen. The ring is loose enough and the knurling grippy enough that just shifting around in my pocket did cause an accidental turn-on. This is disturbing since the 2014 RRT-01 has no low-voltage protection. Still… this only happened to me once, so the chances are very low.
  • Low output. Even when updated with a 2020 RRT-01 driver, the output on an RRT-01 isn’t going to blow your socks off. I wish they had a driver that provided as much output as the RRT-03, but with the UI of the RRT-01.

Overall, I still rate the 2014 RRT-01’s UI as probably the fastest to use and most intuitive out there.

The button on my FW3A was too sensitive for my liking. I had gotten into the habit of doing a hard lockout by twisting the head slightly. But then I saw a tip about removing the nubbin from the switch (under the metal cover) and installing a small O-ring in place of it. That worked! My FW3A has a nice firm click that I like. No accidental activations. I’m wondering if the same kind of mod is possible with the smaller switch of the FWAA…

I agree that the control ring on the RRT-01 is often too loose from factory.

I take pains to remedy that, so the ring cannot turn unless I do it deliberately

also agree the RRT-01 is a bit Phat, but I forgive that, for the ability to use 18350.

I also prefer the earlier model, it is not as large in diameter, and not as heavy as the 2019 and 2020 models, but beggars cant be choosers, and imo, any RRT-01 is worth the experience of the Rotary UI.

output is the only reason to choose an Anduril light over a Rotary, imo

for my needs a single LED with a focused hotspot is much more efficient, AND has higher LUX on target, than a FWAA

my FWAA set to 200 lumens, has almost 3 times more output than my 80 lumen Novatac,

but the Novatac hotspot is 3x brighter on target (much more efficient power consumption)

I also find the ring of my RRT-01 just a bit too easy to turn. There is a notable detent for on/off, but with the right swipe pressure against my wrist or something in passing and the ring can turn. So for me, I always do a hard lockout. But… I don’t EDC this light because the FW3A isn’t painfully much larger and it’s totally workable for my needs (plus an 18650 is more versatile than CR123 or 18350). Better tint as well (XP-L HI 3D). I really do appreciate the low light adjustability of the magnetic ring RRT-01. Seriously useful. I really wish Jetbeam had done the Sunwayman design of having a separate on/off switch.

The FWAA looks to be about RRT-01 sized. I’m expecting it’ll be nicer to pocket. I’m just hoping the switch mod is possible to reduce accidental activation… but I’ve been so accustomed to the small twist for lockout, I really won’t mind if I have to resort to that again.

Thanks for the comparison shots, Jonathan. I guess for your needs you use your EDC for more longer range tasks, hence the desire for a focused hotspot?

One thing I do enjoy about the NovaTac 120P is that it has reasonable spill. I just don’t care for the tint… That FWAA tint looks wonderful in comparison. I seems to be just a weaker version of the FW3A. For close range tasks, I enjoy a good rich spill. But if I’m needing to focus on something small and for detail, a concentrated hotspot is certainly preferable. The Lumintop Tool AA should suffice for that, I think.