FW3A mod thread. Post yours!

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Finally got my DHL package on Monday May 6th. Couldn’t help but to start making them my own right away. One is a 219b ~5700k CRI92 from some old KD triple board. The other has got 4000K sliced dome sst20w. The SSTs are very green on anything lower than the stock ramp ceiling but still do an excellent job rendering. The 219Bs are okay as well. Probably fairly close to the BBL.

I’m still not satisfied with the tints here so emitter swaps will continue. Also might try polishing one of the optics. I need more throw and would like some spill too. I think I’ll drill the optic holes in the mcpcb to utilize the KD optic which has a reflector-like beam pattern.

Lastly, I torched my torches. I can’t decide which I like better, but I like em both for sure.

https://i.imgur.com/3QMZrY9_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

Stay tuned…

Here’s maybe a better picture with natural lighting and a white reference.

Beamshots (cd/lm low to high)

8x YUJI VTC-D50 Mule, FW3A 219B, FW3A XPLHI, SC63W

11R 6A2 XML2, V11R STOCK, XPL-dd Triple, Supfire M6 XML2 (7D3,6B2,3A)

D25A 219B-dd, BLF A6 XPL-dd, XPLHI P60, FW1A SST20w-dd (BLF A6 SMO)

KD P60 SST20w, YEZL Y3 XML2-dd, COMETA Clone, Jacob A60 XPE2-dd

Beamshots (CCT low to high)

SST20W P60, V11R 6A2 XML2, Supfire M6, D25A 219B-dd

XPLHI P60, BLF A6 XPL-dd, FW1A SST20w-dd, XPL-dd Triple

ZL S63w, FW3A 219B, FW3A XPLHI, YEZL Y3 XML2-dd

8xYUJI VTC-D50 Mule, Jacob A60 XPE2-dd, Cometa clone stock, V11R Stock

Proof of concept… end goal is either machining a longer bezel ring (possibly from SS) and maybe an S21A reflector if Simon makes them available separately.

2

Wrong Imgur link… Fix it please, I want to see your FW3A !

3

Fixed

4

NICE !

Love the way the switch and clip turned purple

5

The baked ano is going to get a few days for me to decide on. I know I’m not a fan of the blue-gray stock look. But I went a little too far and it started goldening. If you go slow and know ahead of time the color transitions, stopping just before this gives you a very very light grey with no blue tones. Blue is actually the first color to go away. Then it lightens. Then starts browning. Been tempted to continue with the heat and then just strip it bare afterwards if it’s not good. I think I’m going to throw one in a stone tumbler too…

6

@JaredM Could you share some of your beamshots?

7

Can you link to the “KD optic with reflector like beam”? That sounds great.

Not a huge fan of the now-gold color but man that purple switch button and clip are georgous!

8

I can try tonight to get some phone pics. I don’t have a good camera. I’ll do my best though.

9

http://kaidomain.com/Flashlight-DIY-and-Tools/LED-Emitters-or-LED-Star-on-PCB/Luminus-Leds/Luminus-SST-20-J3-HD2-Warm-White-3000K-LED-Emitter

Any triple board comes with them in my experience. They require larger diameter holes though for the centering pins/legs

10

I like the torched version better!

11

Looks like you’ve got some pretty nice mods done or coming soon. :slight_smile:

I’m not really modifying mine much, but I’m tempted to put a longer nub in the button of an older prototype so it’ll stop missing button clicks. Also waiting for the $30 version to be released so I can put 219B emitters into one.

12

So far the only modding I’ve done is to try out different emitters and optics:

  • 3x SST20 95 CRI 4000K - nice throw, reds that pop, but everything looked greenish and not as bright as XPL HI.
  • Same as above but with Lee 279 minus-green filter added. Better than raw SST-20, but 14% dimmer. Also, the filter warmed up the tint and made things feel a bit too orange.
  • 2x XPL HI 5000K + 1x XPL HI 4000K - quite nice. Similar to original 5K, tint but slightly warmer.
  • I thought of swapping in my 4000K 90+ CRI LH351D triple star, but in testing the tint looks rather greenish. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.
  • Also tried different optics including Carclo 10511 with the frosting polished off with jeweler’s rouge, and an unmodified 10507.

Currently my modded FW3A is sporting 2x XPL HI 3D 5000K and 1x XPL HI 5D 4000K with Carclo 10507 narrow spot optic. My other FW3A is unmodified.

I don’t have any plans to modify the exterior of the light. It looks beautiful as-is. However, it is a little slippery. I do wonder if adding some grip tape around the indented portion of the battery tube would help. If I did that I would leave an open area under the clip.

13

All I got so far……they are Works in Progress……

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. and so it go’s… :slight_smile:

14

Yeah. I think I may have to sand and polish one. That looks really nice. :slight_smile:

15

Those pictures make me irrationally want a stainless steel one.

16

Those pictures make me wish that Fritz’s original concept stuck… :zipper_mouth_face:

I’m happy though that we have options now. :+1:

17

Lumintop could use nickel plating like in their hlaaa flashlight for a similar effect.
(Hello, I’ve been lurking for a long time before joining for this group buy.)

18

I’m fairly certain my HLAAA is bare stainless

19

Yes, it’s bare stainless steel.

Trying to nickel plate aluminium is one of those things that’s quite expensive from an electroplating company.

20

Well, Lumintop disagrees with you. This is from their HL AAA page under Features: “11. Made of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy with nickel plating on the surface”.
Also I have been interested in that light and have handled one myself. The fact, that it is not made of steel, has stopped me from buying it.
Anyway, I just wanted to add an idea, that should be doable by the manufacturer.
:beer: