Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light

For now it is keeping an interest list
We will provide info on how and when to actually order in this thread and I’ll send all on the list a PM (in groups of 10, yay looking forward on making 70+ groups with names separated by a comma :D)

That sounds reasonable,
and I am definitely interested in 1.

Got the prototype in my hands now. I do like the feel of it - like the balance. Dropped in some cells, but it's not behaving right - think the fuses might be set wrong. Hard to say what's goin on - working intermittently. Dbl-click works well to max, and it is bright for sure. LED's are a bit off center, as I thought maybe the pictures indicated.

It is a prototype, so I/we shouldn't make too many judgments at this point. More to go...

Thanks for the update Tom.

Sorry, but is that a software thing? Something that can be easily tweaked in firmware?

Fuses are programmed separately from the firmware, but they define critical things the firmware needs to be in sync with, such as the clock rate, brown out detection configuration, etc. Not sure yet what's going on though. It's gotta be clock related - it's all fixable of course .

These are the fuse values I use, and we use this tool to make it easier to configure them: http://www.engbedded.com for ATtiny85

I thought as much. I’ve never done much avr programming so I wasn’t sure. Thanks for the explanation.

First Look

Here's some comparison with some common lights, and SRK style lights:

Alone:

Under the tailcap:

Contact plate on the driver - looks like nice brass:

Couldn't resist to get some #'s. So... It's impressive. Right about dead even with my home brew Q8 proto, built from a Securitylng 4X SRK clone.

On Samsung 30Q BT's fresh off the charger (not rested) @4.20V:

  • Lumens: 5,710 @start, 5,320 @30 secs
  • Throw: 46 kcd (429 meters), taken at 5m (may be higher at 10+ meters)

The Securitylng 4X SRK clone proto on same Samsung 30Q BT's @4.20V did:

  • Lumens: 5,627 @start, 5,447 @30 secs
  • Throw: 52 kcd (456 meters)

The 4X SRK clone had a UCLp lens and had bypasses on the springs. It appears the real Q8 proto has regular non-AR glass lens, and large springs, not doubled and not bypassed. The real proto has more of a drop in the first 30 secs, so not sure if it's voltage sag from the springs, or something else going on with heat. Haven't taken her apart yet to get a look at the MCPCB - that will tell us a lot more.

I would say the tint is in the 2 range, 2A or 2B - not the 3D we were asking for, but I'm assuming they are top binned at V6 or maybe V5 based on the performance, but that's hard for me to judge.

Dimensions:

  • 59.0 mm head
  • 50.0 mm battery tube
  • 52.0 mm tailcap
  • 135.1 mm height

Very nice, can’t wait to see inside the head. Kinda odd that it dropped more then the SRK @ 30 seconds.

I do see they redid the driver, curious if it is even the same setup inside.

It’s not a bad looking light, the numbers don’t seem too bad either especially since nothing is bypassed.

I am in for a second. My first is on #125

I like it a lot!

Thanks so far Tom!

Interesting to see that what is discussed long and hard (the housing and switch) seems OK

But the reflector (thus also led centering) and sudden rework of driver does seem like troublesome now. They wanted to rush a sample so the reflector setup was not heavily discussed and well if they reworked the driver they have a lot of excellent BLF work to catch up on :wink:

We’ll get them there :smiley:

Will the final product have bypassed springs?
I see in the OP specs double springs are mentioned, is that as effective/more effective than a bypass? Or are double springs for a different reason?

Thanks Tom E

for now looks great especially the contact plate on the driver.

Hi Tom, great to see you got your hands on it. Thanks for your work to make this a classic.

How is the grip on the tube, how is the knurling compared to the Supfire M6? Main reason I prefer a classic SRK over the M6 is that the M6 is too round and too slippery for its weight. Is the Q8 better?

Much obliged

OK so far though the tint could be an issue for some. I like heavy springs; my A6 has the bump for mode change issue and a spring bypass is easy enough though we did call for double springs. It seems to be going along well but Santa will have to wait this year- oh well.

LIKING IT :smiley:

Phil

I’m liking it too, it is good to see that many details are right, the output is good, the output drop at 30 seconds is limited, so the design is solid sofar and more than delivers what we aimed for.

And there is much that must be improved still, and that is what a prototype is for.

I can't see how anyone appreciates extra brightness when it's mostly just in that blue peak. Unless it's for a disco party, no thanks, but there's something for everyone I guess. Nothing $20 worth led's won't solve, oh wait, that's half the price of the light. Anyway, it's not like they can't ship it with different leds.

I've discussed in detail, and provided pics to ThorFire on bypass wiring. Hopefully they will do the bypass's because a bypass is more effective than double springs. The new Convoy L6, for example, comes with bypass's. Even if they used thin wires, like 24 or 26 AWG, it's a good improvement, and I think still better than double springs, but also depends on the type of spring or spring quality.

I would say it's slightly better - just compared the two. The knurling is slightly gripier and longer on the tube, but you have the 4 smooth spots around the tube, bigger patches than the M6 has. There are far more gripier lights though.