FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Also the FW3A is sized for 20mm triple stars. If you want put a 24mm quad star inside you will need to file down the edge of the star and optic.

Centrally grouped “quadrix” arrays could work. I ran a 3500+4500k mix of e17s in my fw1a for a under a frosted ledil leila. Beautiful beam, but the emitters kept getting damaged. Those little things are DELICATE.

That can work, but the FW3A is designed for Carclo optics and only has 7mm of clearance between the star and the lens.

I suppose you could buy a stainless steel FW1A bezel if they are available. Maybe you could convert an FW3A into an FW1A this way. If you can source an appropriate reflector.

FW1A vs FW3A have holes drilled through the shelf in different places for led wires.

Oh yeah.

But fortunately that’s easy to fix. Aluminum is quite soft and drills easily with any hand drill.

I’ve turned my FW1A into a kind of “mule” light but with a lens from a cheappo zoomie flashlight.

I am not using a reflector and I am actually using the FW3A bezel instead of the FW1A (the FW3A’s is shorter so it makes pressure and keeps the lens in place.

The beam is completely round, without hotspot in the center, and it quite nice for close/mid range (max. 30 - 40 m, as it looses throw). I have a Luxeon V2 4000K there, so it is a nice tint although not High CRI.

Something like this, but warmer:

Maybe those “quadtrix” LEDs could be used in the same way :wink:

Have Lumintop been made aware of our distaste towards their changes to the driver and reflector in the FW1A?

I’ve made an FW1A out of an FW3A. Definitely possible.

I converted my triple to a single 2+ yrs ago. I’ve gone through many configurations over the years. First was a custom, intermediate length bezel made for using an S21A reflector, then later an odd 20mm TIR. After this, I bought a SS bezel from Neal and have been using Ledil Leila optics. First with sliced SST20w, then the Nichias, and I’ve been back to a domed SST20 4000K. Pretty happy with the current setup. 22kcd with an ~11 degree spot and 95CRI. 8kcd runs indefinitely without hardly getting warm.

Hello guys! I got my warm crees on mcpcb from kaidomain and also found soldering kit. Seems like now I’m ready to swap mcpcb on my fw3a coz it is impossible to find version with warm cree on internet right now.
But could anybody please give me some advice about this process? How can I disassemble a flashlight and not break anything the first time?
do I need to unscrew the driver from the side of the spring using two holes along the edges? Or I can just pull out mcpcb using the holes for fixing the optics? How tight is it there?
Thank you!

Modding the FW3A LEDs is easy, you don’t have to mess with the driver, you only need to access the LEDs board from the top (removing the bezel, lens and optic) and then you’ll see the wires that you need to unsolder.

Make sure you don’t have a battery inside to avoid accidental short-cuts in case you touch both wires.

Good luck :wink:

This!!

I’m not sure. I haven’t been in touch with Neal since 2019, and never successfully got in touch with Lumintop directly.

Got my FW3A 9 days ago , but the UI is kinda confusing. It does not line up with the original post, with the temperature blinky being after the BattCheck. Had a look at the generic Andúril UI but still can’t set thermal limit as the light does not do the “two blinks”.

Am I doing something wrong? I just do 7H from TempCheck then wait for the first blink, then enter the current temperature. The light then just stops flickering and goes to blinking the now calibrated temperature.

Have I made a mistake in getting an “Inferior” light?

(Edit): I bought from Lumintop’s official AliExpress store.

(Edit 2): Should clarify that I have firmware 322

What color is the driver pcb inside the head? Purple or red?

Red :frowning: (20201226) and a Golisi S26 for the battery

To set the thermal limit you must enter TempCheck and do 7H and keep holding the button for the second blink and then let go. The first blink is for setting the current temp.

Thanks for the tip! Have I just not read the manual right?

(Edit): Yes. It didn’t make sense to me

Anduril 1 worked as you said, where after entering the current temp the menu would then enter into temp limit setting.
Anduril 2 was changed to make it quicker to get to the specific menu item you are looking for, but it can be confusing if you haven’t used Anduril 2’s menu style before.

FW3A with Philips diffuser

FW3A with a diffuser from a Philips LED lightbulb on a custom 3D printed mount.