Lumintop FW3EL Not Suitable For Carry? Not so fast, me!

[aznsx]

LOL, I turned the tailcap on my FW3A and it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to get it to turn back on. This light was suppose to be a marvel of engineering in simplicity when it was first made, NOT...

...but I'd bet the software is fabulous(ly complex) to make up for the hardware

 

[JimIslander]

LOL, I turned the tailcap on my FW3A and it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to get it to turn back on. This light was suppose to be a marvel of engineering in simplicity when it was first made, NOT...

Did this not work on the early lights? My FW3A lights lock out with the slightest turn of the head or tail (I use the head), and they turn back on with the button after retightening to barely hand tight. And they work every time. I've had several since 2019. Still working perfectly.

Or did you undo the tail completely and have all the cool stuff fall out? Did that once. Once.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Did this not work on the early lights? My FW3A lights lock out with the slightest turn of the head or tail (I use the head), and they turn back on with the button after retightening to barely hand tight. And they work every time. I've had several since 2019. Still working perfectly.

Or did you undo the tail completely and have all the cool stuff fall out? Did that once. Once.

Mistakes--the best teacher!

 

[Lips]

Did this not work on the early lights? My FW3A lights lock out with the slightest turn of the head or tail (I use the head), and they turn back on with the button after retightening to barely hand tight. And they work every time. I've had several since 2019. Still working perfectly.

Or did you undo the tail completely and have all the cool stuff fall out? Did that once. Once.

I took tailcap off just looking after seeing this thread. Everything fell out! I think the fix was to get everything aligned and crank down the tail-cap...

I believe on the older lights I remember reading TK said if you unscrew the head a little the switch (edit* Driver) still has power even though the light won't light up. You have to significantly unscrew the head to remove all power (past the point to get the blink). Unscrewing the head most of the way and re-tightening also resets the light (blink) to the most efficient output level the light can give...

 

[idleprocess]

If by "finicky" you mean something else, please forgive my assumptions. And if you would please define what you actually mean by finicky, I would very much appreciate it. My FW3A lights all lock out with the slightest turn of the head or tail, but I turn the head. And the lights always work once retightened.

If the tailcap or head rotate at all - including the application of any notable torque to the clip - the switch will either cease functioning or latch closed.

The primary design failure for the FW3A is that it effectively depends on a line fit for both the inner and outer bodies WRT making contact to the PCBs. At the price point the FW3A is made to this is not feasible (the parts can neither be made to near-zero tolerance nor can the inner body be post-production fitted) so you're at the mercy of the real-world tolerance fit. This could be remedied with a spring (ala Noctigon KR1/KR4) or a design that doesn't necessitate cinching the tailcap all the way down (ala the old Surefire G2), but the former wasn't chosen and the latter would crash into customer expectations that the components should be screwed together completely (and likely PCB damage).

So my ... V2 I suppose since it has a captive switch ... either drew the short straw on tolerance stackup or the frequent calibration damaged the PCB. The V1 is less temperamental but still randomly stops working on occasion and needs tightening.

Ergo, I'd suggest electronic lockout over mechanical for FWx flashlights.

 

[JimIslander]

If the tailcap or head rotate at all - including the application of any notable torque to the clip - the switch will either cease functioning or latch closed.

The primary design failure for the FW3A is that it effectively depends on a line fit for both the inner and outer bodies WRT making contact to the PCBs. At the price point the FW3A is made to this is not feasible (the parts can neither be made to near-zero tolerance nor can the inner body be post-production fitted) so you're at the mercy of the real-world tolerance fit. This could be reminded with a spring (ala Noctigon KR1/KR4) or a design that doesn't necessitate cinching the tailcap all the way down (ala the old Surefire G2), but the former wasn't chosen and the latter would crash into customer expectations that the components should be screwed together completely.

So my ... V2 I suppose since it has a captive switch ... either drew the short straw on tolerance stackup or the frequent calibration damaged the PCB. The V1 is less temperamental but still randomly stops working on occasion and needs tightening.

Ergo, I'd suggest electronic lockout over mechanical for FWx flashlights.

I had no idea. All three of my Gen 1s lock out with the slightest head turn and return to normal operation with a touch of hand-tightening. Really my favorite lights.

 

[idleprocess]

I had no idea. All three of my Gen 1s lock out with the slightest head turn and return to normal operation with a touch of hand-tightening. Really my favorite lights.

I wish you continued luck with them. I still enjoy mine, but don't trust them enough for much more than the likes of neighborhood dog-walking and household tasks.