FW1A Pro - replacing emitter for more throw

Sft40!

Have completed the tests.
Culpm1 vs culnm1 vs sft40.
Stock reflector vs custom reflector vs TIR

1 Thank

JaredM, this sounds awesome. I now have 4 Fw3a's and would be very interested in converting one into a fw1a with an optic. And I know the LEDIL in the D4sV2 is awesome, so I like their work.

could you link the optic you used/bought that you referenced?

this is awesome information! Thank you so much for doing and sharing this testing! These numbers are really impressive! I have a couple questions, sorry for the ignorance, hopefully you can assist:

-where were you able to get a culnm1 emitter? I've never seen them for sale.

-which TIR did you use ? Could you supply a link where you bought it or anything really?

-Where were you able tk get the smooth reflector? Is that stock on the xpl-hi fw1a? I've only owned the pro with the op reflector, but interested in the smooth.

thanks again!

Ledil’s were bought from mouser. I’ll have to find the specific model PN, the Leila family has a ton of variants, often different part numbers use the same TIR, but a different holder. I once upon a time spent stupid amounts of time trying to sort it out. Visit their site to see what I’m talking about. It was a version optimized for XP-E and of the RS (real spot) type. Also had an RS2, but gains in throw were negligible and beam had more artifacts.

The optics he used were from AE yujiamei store (might’ve spelled that wrong) and I have a few I’m not using I could send. Perfect fit with a bit of filing and broad hotspot (reason why cd/lm isn’t maxed out). I linked them earlier in this thread btw.

The CULNM1 is a rare beast, I also have one I pulled from my X1L I’d be willing to let go for a special guy like you lol . There isn’t a place to buy them bare afaik since L4P ran through his one and only batch long ago. If you are using a light with an anodized shelf and that’s FET dd, I recommend using the HHL532.TK. much brighter than anything else I’ve measured. High VF so Turbo is not overdriving.

I believe the reflector he used is from KD and made for the DIY S3 21700. I’ll let them confirm. It too needs filing to fit inside the bezel, but seems well worth it.

The CULNM1 is really difficult to source. I got them from Pusatled in Indonesia via Shopee, a local shopping platform. They do have a website but don’t ship internationally.
https://shopee.com.my/product/514898216/8490554989?smtt=0.1349113-1632184919.9

TIR is from Aliexpress. This is a very high quality optic but need to cut off a small protruding notch on the side top edge and also the 3 mounting legs. Can be done easily with a flush cutter.

The smooth reflectors are from Kaidomain. Need to trim the diameter from 23.8mm to 23mm.

How did you manage to remove the bezel of X1L? I think mine is treadlocked. Not that I want to mod it but just curious :wink:

There is one from yiajiamei that is 23.4mm but i find that difficult to get a nice hotspot, maybe coz I didn’t have the correct gasket thickness. I believe that has an 8° beam angle.
I have also tried a few other TIR optics that fit but they just couldn’t focus the hotspot.

I prefer to use a reflector or optic that is at least 22mm diameter, that’s why I didn’t try the Ledil optic that you recommended :smiley:

Btw, I’m not using any gasket on the current TIR. Might get a better throw with the right gasket thickness but I’m happy with the current result.
And I ended up using the TIR on the SFT40 for now coz I am too lazy to file another smooth reflector… Lol!

I hate the UI of the X1L, and now that I’ve destroyed the driver, I’m extra ready to mod it into the dream configuration. I was only getting about 110kcd, and since I have a Convoy M2 making 102kcd, it just couldn’t earn it’s keep. I’m going to machine a spacer and convert to an Angie quad with probably SST20s in 4000/2700 mix or maybe all 4000. We’ll see. Running 4 Osram’s is tempting too.

The bezel was tight. The o ring is dry and maybe oversized too. I broke it open with just my hands, YMMV.

EDIT: I forgot to ask, how do you like the TIR SFT combo? 41kcd sounds pretty nice with what is probably a huge hotspot. Artifacts? Tint variation? …… Beamshots?

You have strong hands! Lol

Convoy M1 is even a better thrower than M2 with Osram leds.
Also you can checkout Sofirn IF22 with smooth reflector or IF22A with TIR. Both comes with SFT40 and throws very well.

Yes, my thought exactly for a 40mm class TIR was to combine it with the SFT40. The smoothly fading spill really is nice, especially when lumens are high. If I could source a compatible 5050 mcpcb for the X1L, I’d swap in the SFT in a heart beat. I’m eyeing the IF22A, but it’s ugly IMO. Side switch also isn’t my thing for this type of light. I guess I could give it a try and then sell it off. The XT40 is really what I have my eyes on for this.

The M1 has just shy of 20% more reflector area, so yes, it should put up proportionately higher numbers, but it crosses an invisible size threshold for comfortable pocket carry in my book. If I were to do a 35mm bezel light I’d go with the Amutorch XT35. Bigger reflector, shorter overall, 21700.

Yes, totally agree with you!

Thanks for posting your results, great info. That 68,000cd is impressive for a slim 25mm head.

Ya, i believe this is as far as it gets with a 25mm head.
If anyone ever come across any other flashlights of similar size out there that throws further, please let me know.

Yeah, I think so too. I’m drawing a blank on anything else that would out do it outside of lep technology which isn’t a fair comparison. I suppose there are some customs perhaps… you would just need a a longer/deeper reflector, but not aware of any. The only thing that comes close is the Sky Lumen XXI with the sbt90.2,but it’s a hair bigger I believe at about 26.6mm. It’s rated at 70kcd so pretty much the same, and undoubtedly would drain your battery faster and generate more heat also I would imagine. Here’s a link to it. Sky Lumen XXI - Compact SBT90.2 Clicky Thrower Also, the sbt90.2 in a fw1a hybrid body is only showing 45kcd here: Search: 2 results found for "Fw1a" - Sky Lumen Please let me know also if anyone knows of a 25mmish headed light that’ll do more than 70kcd.

I cannot believe Lumentop ships these with the MCPCB just haphazardly squashed down on the wires like that, thats absolutely bonkers.

Your mod looks great though

Thanks!
Actually it is not Lumintop’s fault.
This shelf is for a triple led FW3A, therefore the hole for the wires is in the middle.
I modded it to fit the single led mcpcb.
An FW1A will have 2 holes on the sides for the wires.

Hi, do you have amp draw numbers for the tests? The FW1a driver is an unregulated open FET?
Thanks

This was so confusing.

Question on the F1WA vs FW1A Pro:

As far as made aware they use the same driver. Is one FET limited or disabled and the other not? Or are both fully utilized? In my mind I'd imagine the FW1A having FET either limited (50% maybe?) or disabled altogether is this the case or not the case? If I want to run one with an SFT40 do I need to either buy a Pro or flash the driver or am I good to install with no limitations?

Do you have the correct link for the TIR optic? The link you have provided is for Taobao and it redirected me to an error page.

Im digging this out, recently bought FW1A Pro from Neals and broke stock XHP50. I swapped to SFT40 6500K but it was weird, then i remembered about L90 from Kaido and tried it, boom.


In stock OP reflector it got me 36kcd vs 26kcd from SFT40 ;D Waiting now for SMO reflector and this will be ultimate small cheap hot-rod thrower, less lm than SBT90.2 but more range.

1 Thank