This makes me sad to hear they’re goofing around with it. I like mine, though I wish the XP-L HI 5D was available in the first round.
I ended up getting an FWAA before I heard about the additional messing around. It’s a nice form factor but… the optic/Emitters I’d probably change for something that’s not 1.5cd/lm. I’d want sw45ks and a clear optic so I could use it without toasting my hand.
At one point I recommended the FW3A, but with all the shenanigans that keep happening, I’m steering people towards the KR4 as well. I just got one with 219Bs and the 9A CC driver (super nice) and Hank really got it right.
The good, original ones, despite not being perfect, are my favorite flashlights. Between those and the FW4A (especially the vn version), I can honestly say I’ve reached my flashlight apex, which is something I thought impossible. I have some very nice BLF editions, great modded triples, etc, and would trade them for the good FW3s and 4s, and be done with it. That, along with the ungratefullness of a company that didn’t do its own r&d, is why I find this particularly disturbing.
Despite their problems I still quite like the FW3 series lights. Some of my favorites:
FW3A with 18500 tube - a bit smaller than the original FW3A, while still having good battery capacity.
FW4X with 18500 tube - yes the FW4X has a really crappy UI. Much worse than Anduril. On the other hand, the FW4X has variable tint, high output, and unlike the IF25 is small enough to be pocketable. It’s also cheaper than other variable tint options like the PS14.
FW3Ti - looks better in Titanium.
FWAA Ti-Cu - decent output, tiny size, looks classy. Definitely feels better in the pocket than a wider FW3 size light. Much floodier than I’d prefer though. I’d rather have a Carclo 10507 beam pattern.
One thing I don’t like about the aluminum FW3A and FWAA is they look and feel a bit cheap. No fancy anodizing or complex fluting or knurling on the tube.
I agree, the Noctigon KR4 is a terrific light… and if I didn’t have the FW3A I’d have bought it. What’s your opinion of the Fireflies flashlights using Anduril?
I thought I’d reached my apex as well, with just the desire for one really good budget long range thrower (now so many choices appearing)… then Fireflies drew me in with a phenomenal mule. The PL47mu is such a beautiful, useful tool. The opportunity for macro lens photography with attractive lighting is enormous, especially when using a pair of them. Then there’s the NOV-mu with 21 E21A emitters…
I haven’t tried any of the recent ones. It looks like they use a nice LoneOceans driver now, but I haven’t really followed the progress. I should probably get one though, so I can at least make sure stuff works while I’m merging and updating code.
I don’t have one, but the internet tells me it uses product ID 0312, fw3a-219.
I assume this was chosen because the hardware was removed for a 3rd power channel, and the 219 firmware leaves channels 1+2 on at the turbo level. In other words, it’s broken, but it’s arguably less broken on this hardware than the main FW3A build.
Personally, if I was going to flash stock firmware onto a light it wasn’t designed for, I’d probably use the nofet version… because at least it’s designed to use 2 power channels instead of 3. But then, if I was going to make FWAA firmware, I would give it its own build target and calibrate it properly, instead of using firmware designed for a different purpose.
Not particularly happy about Lumintop using FW3A-specific code on so many other lights it was never intended for. It really should be tweaked for each hardware model for best results. Otherwise it ends up with a bunch of things which aren’t quite right, like the bouncy regulation zeroair measured:
I live in China and I bought the FW3A directly from the Lumintop flagship Taobao store about a month ago. FYI, my driver is the red FET+1 version with firmware 2021-01-25-0322 (blf-gt-mini according to your website).
Even by the time the first purple run happened, the reputation of FW3A was declining so fast that someone bought my original group buy version for more than I paid for it.
I’m kind of sad I didn’t get an early FW1A. I meant to, but by the time I got around to it the reflectors were changed.
At over 50 in my collection though, I’m sure I’ll find something else to carry.
I still have 2 of the FW3A XP-L HI 3D versions from original run - BNIB !
I did just pull them out and fondle the “perfect” switch buttons … ahh the good ole buttons.
I’ve had nothing but problems with an Illumn purchased Cu FW3A button(s).
Got 2 replacement buttons - light is STILL unreliable… with replacement switches also being from that then-current batch.
I just refuse to cannibalize a perfect virgin OG light to swap out the switch.
I DID swap buttons with my original user FW3A into the Cu … TADA ! So I know it’s the button and not the assembly or the driver in the Cu that is the problem.
Cu back in the gun safe - good button back in my user.
These FW3As that run flawlessly are a joy to use.
*Funny thing is … the button on my FWAA-Copper-SST20 4000K, which was purchased in July 2021 … is PERFECT and feels exactly as the OG buttons.
All this talk about buttons… I never quite dared to ask what exactly the big issue is. I’ve got a large number of FWxx lights and they all have the same mushy button. But the ones that self-activated could be fixed by aligning the button PCB or tightening the driver’s retaining ring, or both with a lot of fiddling. The button itself, meaning the thing you press and the pieces directly under it, was never the issue.
Should I try to find out if all of my lights have the crap buttons that everyone is complaining about? Do I even want to know, or should I just live in doubt but fairly happy with them?
Sorry I missed replying sooner. Thanks for your response. They seem to be very well put together. Very nice quality machining too. I’ve written to Jack inquiring about Anduril update intentions, but haven’t heard a word as yet.
My copper FWAA has a sensitive switch that reminds me of my original FW3A. There’s something about it that’s nicely fluid, but a bit sensitive. I’ve decided not to modify it as I’d done to the FW3A (nubbin removed, micro o-ring installed), and I just do 4 clicks to lock out. It’s really easy to do and frankly it’s a fun “fidget” thing.
Interesting. Thanks for the field report! Finding out what is being used “in the wild” is a big part of why I added model numbers to the version check… and some of the results have been surprising.
So far it seems like some FET+1 models are shipping with fw3a-219 firmware, and some are shipping with blf-gt-mini firmware. That build is just Emisar D1S firmware with support added for a button LED. And that one, in turn, is just Emisar D4v1 firmware with some thermal settings tweaked to work better in a host with a lower power-to-mass ratio. Since the FW3A has a high power-to-mass ratio and no button LEDs or aux LEDs, they’d be better off just using the original D4v1 firmware. But then, of course, version check would blink out the product ID for a different company, and that might be embarrassing for them.
I get the impression that Lumintop just grabs files from my build dump, and uses whatever seems to work… without any understanding of what the differences are between builds.
personally, I dont have any Burning FWAA Firmware problems… (I did lower the ceilings)
things that prevent me from carrying the FWAA are host related … the beam has a hole in the middle… would be nice to get a narrow clear optic with a bit more focus.
The clip has no grip… I dont trust it to hold in pocket… someone like darksucks should do a run of better clips.
