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

[Tom_E]

@stephenk

Thanks for looking into this. Unfortunately there is quite a bit of variability in the size of protected GAs depending on the re-wrapper and protection circuit design. The newer Keeppower, Evva, Blazar, and Orbtronic protected GAs are all within 69mm in length and 18.7mm in width. Can’t find the dimensions of the newer black Olight protected.

Widths are not a problem - I measured the PanaB protected at 18.64 mm at the widest (outside strip) and there's still space to spare, even with the strip in the tightest spot. It looks like they designed the battery tube well for handling any size cell - now we just need to hope they don't change the design...

[RocketTomato]

Please add me to the list.

[techieman33]

@stephenk

@techieman33

HKJ says that those EVVA cells are 18.5mm in diameter.
Test of Evva 18650 3500mAh (Black)

That is incorrect. They are 68.9 x 18.6mm (as per the dot points in HKJs review).

He lists 18.6 as the official spec, 18.5 as his measurement in the white box below the official specs.

[DavidEF]

@Flintrock

Even removing anodizing on the shelf sounds to me like an added expense. It’s a production step, not a design step. And it’s nothing that can’t be improved by the owner with a little sand paper is it?

If picking battles, I’d probably aim for the flexible circuit boards or similar design tweaks that are not a production cost but do represent significant modding cost. In production one circuit layout is the same as another anyway.

Removing anodizing with sandpaper from a built-in shelf is not going to be an easy task. I can’t believe that any but the most dedicated modders would try that. Anodize isn’t as easy to remove as paint or other coatings. It is tougher than the underlying aluminum. In fact, there is sandpaper made out of basically “anodized aluminum”. It’s that hard.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

David’s right, most sandpaper’s are either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. The whole point of the ano is to make the flashlight durable, it’s not easy to remove if it’s a well done ano in the first place. And it’s NOT a coating, its an acid etch into the surface of the metal itself, changing the structure of the metal in the first 30 microns or so, changing it into the aluminum oxide sandpaper is made of.

If it’s easy to remove, it’s crap to begin with.

[stephenk]

@Tom E

@stephenk

Thanks for looking into this. Unfortunately there is quite a bit of variability in the size of protected GAs depending on the re-wrapper and protection circuit design. The newer Keeppower, Evva, Blazar, and Orbtronic protected GAs are all within 69mm in length and 18.7mm in width. Can’t find the dimensions of the newer black Olight protected.

Widths are not a problem - I measured the PanaB protected at 18.64 mm at the widest (outside strip) and there’s still space to spare, even with the strip in the tightest spot. It looks like they designed the battery tube well for handling any size cell - now we just need to hope they don’t change the design…

Excellent, that is good news!

[justanotherguy]

@DB Custom

David’s right, most sandpaper’s are either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. The whole point of the ano is to make the flashlight durable, it’s not easy to remove if it’s a well done ano in the first place. And it’s NOT a coating, its an acid etch into the surface of the metal itself, changing the structure of the metal in the first 30 microns or so, changing it into the aluminum oxide sandpaper is made of.

If it’s easy to remove, it’s crap to begin with.

Maybe I can get mine off in a lathe….
This whole project is a wonder to watch develop from the uneducated side line…
Geek-tacular!

[Tom_E]

Here's a variety of batteries fitting, solder blob top HG2, PanaB protected, 30Q BT, Pana 2900 protected:

Fenix AOD-L diffuser, and a 1/4 20 attachment:

On max:

Reflector Details

• Between the Q8 and the clone, the LED's appear to be identically positioned - 21.4 mm diagonal center to center
• Q8 Reflector cups: I.D.: 21.8 mm, depth: 18.8 mm
• SRK clone: I.D.: 24.0 mm, depth: ~16 mm
• the total width of the reflectors are within 0.5 mm of each other, Q8: 51.0 mm, SRK clone: 51.5 mm

[stephenk]

^ Thanks for the tests and photos!

[MtnDon (Don Miller)]

Re: anodizing and heat transfer…. I believe that any attempt top remove the anodizing by any means other than a lathe or a mill would result in surface unevenness that might be worse than leaving it the way it comes.

[LloydV]

alas… i could resist no longer… please put me on the list for one. thanks.

[Flintrock]

@DB Custom

David’s right, most sandpaper’s are either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. The whole point of the ano is to make the flashlight durable, it’s not easy to remove if it’s a well done ano in the first place. And it’s NOT a coating, its an acid etch into the surface of the metal itself, changing the structure of the metal in the first 30 microns or so, changing it into the aluminum oxide sandpaper is made of. If it’s easy to remove, it’s crap to begin with.

haha, well that tells you about my bargain basement lights. I knew it's not a "coating" in the sense it wasn't added on (well, the oxygen was added). Anyway, ok, I'm convinced. (although hardness and ease of removal are not necessarily related at all.)

[Smittymojo]

Please add me to the list!

Thanks

[The_Miller]

@Tom E

<

Between the Q8 and the clone, the LED’s appear to be identically positioned - 21.4 mm diagonal center to center

Q8 Reflector cups: I.D.: 21.8 mm, depth: 18.8 mm

SRK clone: I.D.: 24.0 mm, depth: ~16 mm

the total width of the reflectors are within 0.5 mm of each other, Q8: 51.0 mm, SRK clone: 51.5 mm

thanks again for all the input.
Tom E, the man making it all possible most of all! Core rock of knowledge, information and creator of Narsil!

and one more question, is there a way to test the Q8 proto with that SRK reflector?

[ImA4Wheelr]

^

Really like where you are going with this. Hoping it pans out.

[Tom_E]

Well there's a height problem. The clone's reflectors are shorter in height and secured by a screw. Actually, the proto's reflectors are in a better proportion of width vs. height, as Dale has posted about in the GT thread - wonder if that's why the proto's wall beam pattern is so much cleaner, but also makes the proto's beam pattern tighter, less spill width. Outdoors though, the proto puts out a wall of light, though you can notice the spill is tighter than the clone's.

Also, as requested, the height of the bezel is shorter in the proto than the clone - the reflector/glass is further out than the clone - this could be creating less artifacts because less reflection off the bezel's - maybe that's why the reflector was made deeper.

[The_Miller]

interesting
hmm, this means a SRK reflector only works if stars are used ON TOP off the Q8 proto?
hmm, hmm, uh… don really know how to react more now, but this being BLF, surely others will do giving me handles to do so myself

[ImA4Wheelr]

^

I've been looking at the beam shots again and I have to admit that the new reflector does have a nice even transition to the hot spot. That is just as important as wide spill in a general purpose light. So it seems that it would be best to stick with the proto reflector.

[Tom_E]

I didn't take both lights completely apart to compare and can't recall, but I "think" the clone has a single screw in the middle, and the proto has a center hole in the MCPCB and 2 extra holes for wires, so in theory, might be able to try the clone's reflector in the proto but with no glass, or add a thick shim under the MCPCB to raise the height so could use the glass and bezel.

I guess this is why the shelf hole is so big - they were think'n of goin with a center screw initially.

[DavidEF]

@Tom E

I didn’t take both lights completely apart to compare and can’t recall, but I “think” the clone has a single screw in the middle, and the proto has a center hole in the MCPCB and 2 extra holes for wires, so in theory, might be able to try the clone’s reflector in the proto but with no glass, or add a thick shim under the MCPCB to raise the height so could use the glass and bezel.

I guess this is why the shelf hole is so big - they were think’n of goin with a center screw initially.

Well, as long as we’re speculating…
I’ll go with what a previous poster posited: They probably are using a tube for this, not a solid bar, and the hole in the shelf is most likely the original tube ID.