“REVIEW”: Lumintop FWAA – 14500 – Anduril 2 – Triple Nichia 4000K & 5000K [Pic Heavy]

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 :slight_smile:

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

Congrats on the job! What’s your domain and role? Sleep. Gotta get more sleep. That’s just the way it is as we age. If we starve ourselves of sleep, we lose energy AND we encourage health problems. Buy yourself a new mattress and pillows. Don’t skimp. You sleep every single day on that stuff, so it should be the best you can afford!

I avoid stepless ramping when I can. I am chuffed that Anduril can let us define as many steps as we want. With this, I can hit the brightness I need with ease. When it’s stepless, I can’t decide where to stop! A bit OCD, I guess. :laughing: :wink:

Fireflies lights that i have do not have the flashes during ramping… something i noticed but can’t say for sure (i have several, but have not checked to make sure) although i don’t mind either way.

Sometimes it’s nice to know where you’re at and sometimes it’s nice to be smooth jazzy.

Kind of wish there was a fade in out to memorized level ala klaurus. With adjustable fade speed. Need to upgrade my coding game first unless somebody?

I have some non flashlight lamps like that. Just saying, since we’re talking ramping.

Linking here to document the mod on my FWAA, towards a bastardized FW1AA :smiley:

I’m just curious… what’s the point of doing this? I mean of course it’ll be more of a thrower, but aren’t there other AA lights already in existence of the same form factor with decent throw?

Hum, it will not be a “thrower” per se, it will only have a more narrow beam, if compared with the FWAA triple.

As for the size, the smallest AA light with clicky switch is the DQG Slim Ti, and I’d say that this is the second smallest now! All the other AA lights do not have this form factor! I would bet that it will probably be smaller than the upcoming FW1AA

The DGQ doesn’t allow UI configuration, nor does it allow “turbo” or firelfly modes, or even the blinkies! This one will allow.
I could have kept the original light and change only the LEDs and optic, but then…there would be no fun!

And besides all this, the fun of modding and doing something a) useful, b) usable and c) different, thrills me :beer:

Again, comparing sizes…nothing gets near these FWAA lights, even if mine is now modded!
Jaxman E3 > Tool AA V2.0 > Skilhunt M150 > FWAA modded > DGQ Slim Ti > FWAA

Wow, I really like the middle option, to bad it will not work.

here is another option:

requires using two lenses (I put the sapphire lens on top of the glass lens)

got a new toy (tool), for measuring CCT, CRI, Tint, and Flicker…
Opple Light Master Pro

FWAA w sw35

at 0.3 lumens:

at 14 lumens:

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Got mine this morning, it’s properly small unlike many AA lights, very nice. Very, very floody though, I chose 219Cs 4000K but should probably have gone with SST-20s. I think I’ll try slicing them to improve that a bit, as well as the tint, regarding the later here are measurements with the default advanced UI steps :

L1

CCT = 3781K (Duv 0.0013)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 94.0 [ R9 = 75.5 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 87.54 Rg = 95.84

L2

CCT = 3808K (Duv 0.0014)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 93.9 [ R9 = 74.5 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 87.68 Rg = 95.94

L3

CCT = 3806K (Duv 0.0015)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 93.8 [ R9 = 74.2 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 87.66 Rg = 95.90

L4

CCT = 3873K (Duv 0.0046)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 91.3 [ R9 = 61.4 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 88.55 Rg = 96.06

L5

CCT = 3911K (Duv 0.0049)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 90.4 [ R9 = 56.9 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 88.54 Rg = 96.05

L6

CCT = 3897K (Duv 0.0036)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 91.0 [ R9 = 58.5 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 88.29 Rg = 95.95

L7

CCT = 3896K (Duv 0.0015)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 92.0 [ R9 = 62.5 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 87.84 Rg = 95.71

L2 no lens

CCT = 3892K (Duv –0.0013)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 95.0 [ R9 = 81.1 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 88.23 Rg = 97.17

L3 no lens

CCT = 3895K (Duv –0.0008)
Color Rendering Index (Ra) = 94.8 [ R9 = 80.1 ]
IES TM-30-15 Rf = 88.06 Rg = 96.92

As soon as the FET turns on the tint degrades, it can be seen quite easily.

The lens adds roughly +0.0025 which is pretty bad :frowning:

random update

I really like my Cu FWAA host

present incarnation w led swap, sapphire lens and o ring under the button

FWAA 219c 4000K

Installed the O ring mod in the tailswitch, and added a few dots of glow paint to the mcpcb

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the 219c tint is Peachy, and it renders skin tones much better than LH351d

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Nice work, Jon.

My FWAA Cu is still SST-20 4000k stock. I really enjoy it. For me, the tint works and illuminates colors nicely. My FW3A XPL-Hi 3D (5000k) looks nicely neutral next to it. Now there are so many triples available by other makers. I’ve been tempted, but these work so well.

The FWAA is nice, and comes in fancy metals.

imo the TS10 is better because, the beam is more throwy, the switch is more firm, and the waistline is more centered. Plus the TS10 has Aux, and a better version of Anduril without blinks in the ramp.

otoh, the FWAA clip is better because it is fully captive, and the hatclip portion is slightly longer and easier to put on a hat.

Thanks, Jon. Price wise the TS10 is pretty attractive, relative to the FWAA. Speaking of fancy metals, there is a brass version. How’s the thermal management in the TS10?

> How’s the thermal management in the TS10?

thermal controls are the same as the FWAA,

I do not use Turbo and limit the output to about 300 lumens ceiling. I avoid outputs that are not sustainable. To me, Turbo is 300 lumens :wink:

Yeah, 300 lumens is a good usable ceiling. I’ve left my turbo mode on max, in case I need it, but then just rapidly step down (or go the other way, ramping up from low and stop where it’s needed).

What Anduril build version do you have on your TS10?

My FWAA shows 2020/09/27 - 0312 (according to THIS, ‘0312’ is ‘fw3a-219’). I guess the FWAA uses the exact same Anduril as used for the FW3A.

Btw, Jonathan, I finally reversed the body. I prefer the look of the original orientation as it’s a little more “sleek,” but for practicality the reversal is better. The clip hugs that rim at the back of the head better for a tighter fit. I think I can get used to it. :+1:

Not having played with the regulation for a couple months kind of remember that even the highest output was temperature regulated when I received the light. But my memories may cheat me. Are the modes above mid-range blink non regulated?