*BLF LT1 Lantern Project) (updated Nov,17,2020)

New light
I THINK best if it is sharing tube, tail and switch of the Q8.
Same bottom side of Q8 head, so same switch and tripod mount location but above that all new head.
And a new driver so a lower power using MCU is preferred for it is not a lumen monster at all. Runtime rules. I think DBSAR aims for 500 lumens, maybe even less from a single led.
But it is his project so he can say it much better :wink:

If it shares tube, tail and switch it’s still possible to have connections for charging etc. on the (under)side of the head, so definately sounds interesting.
Would also make it cheaper and easier for getting Thorfire interested in producing it.

My best paint skills :

For some reason I kind of expect DBSAR to do the connectors on the same flat as the tripod mount, so a rubber flap can be securely bolted to the tripod mount.
But of course it is up to him, he has the CAD files to go wild :slight_smile:

LOL, is this the same “The_Miller” as before? I think I read probably 20 of your posts before realizing the new avatar and username were you.

username is still the same :slight_smile:
I really liked the avatar with J-Dub74 Q8 beamshot, but it looked not distinctive enough so wanted to change it anyways

I think a nice idea would be to have a second tailcap, that way USB ports and coiled up charging cables can be secured in an already waterproof area. Drawback Is of course tailstand, unless the lantern has tuck-away legs. Diagram looks a bit unstable without legs anyway.

What?! No…

It used to be “The_Miller”… right?

Now it is “The Miller”

Or am I crazy?

edit: I am crazy.

I just used the wayback machine to look at an old cached version and it was “The Miller”. Why in the world did I think it was The_Miller?

I think for a lantern/camp light, water resistance/proof is more important that a typical EDC. I wouldn’t mind seeing connectors protected by something more robust than the typical loose friction fit flap.

edit: I just re-read your post - were you suggesting somehow using the tripod mount as a positive engagement point for securing the connector cover? I like that

Is having the charging port in the tail causing an electronic design problem? (like the need for an extra electrical connection from driver to tail?)

Some bright ideas Zulumoose! And I can understand the tripod mount being more handy on the underside, and thinking of that, if the tailcap is made a bit longer it can both house the tripod hole in the middle and on the inside space around the tripod-hole-pillar for a charging cable. (or a chunky ring magnet :slight_smile: ) The silvered shade sounds useful too.

Yes, hold down a rubber thing to protect the port from water and dust using the tripod mouting hole that is there, maybe even using one of these so it can still be attached to a tripod while the protective rubber is in place:

Djoz, I think keeping the electronics on driver board makes a lot of sense, being a lantern tail standing is natural position
And there is space on the driver boards.
Use it with 3 cells and cables can go in the area for fourth cell

My thougts for this are:  
1. would make the lantern bigger, but maybe there’s a nice compromise (also weatherproof will be more realistic and less expensive than waterproof)  
2. if USB input supports QC 2.0, 12V would be possible with standard gear (regular USB Type-C or 3.0 cable and USB QC powerbank or power supply)  
3. nice idea, also for childs  
4. like with the Fenix CL20R, magnetic tripod mount would be perfect :)  
5. this should be optional, to make it cheaper for people don’t needing it. Clever would be an electronic solution with controlling half of the horizontal LEDs separately (like the Cateye Rapid X3)

ok Miller sent me some info on the Q8 design. I will work on a basic specification description of a combination of my current prototype above using the Q8 battery tube/base possibly, (with drawings) and explanation on how the lantern could be used with the extra mentioned ideas mentioned. The Q8 driver may be a bit to much for a lantern, ( the higher modes would cause severe overheating very quickly and short run times on the higher modes) as for lanterns continuous run times are among the most important. Right now the prototype pulls roughly 700-mA on high, (from a modified 2-7135 Q-Lite driver) and keeps the XP-L U5-5A3 emitter right in its most efficient maximum lumens-vs-amp-draw range, and will give a full weekends worth of use on high with a single charge from four 2500mAh 18650 cells, but giving the light output of an incandescent 40-watt light bulb.

Per the Cree datasheets, 700ma through a U5 XP-L is about 265Lm.

In real world use that is plenty of light to sufficiently illuminate a small outdoor campsite or large room indoors. And I do think 250 or less will be the most commonly used level of the lantern. But I also think that it would be nice to have higher outputs (I mean, this is BLF after all) of maybe 500Lm available somehow.

What kind of driver did you have in mind for the production light, did you want it to be 7135-based?

If it is 7135 based, the PCB could easily be designed to accept additional 7135’s so that even if the production light shipped with 2*7135, the mod-minded users could add one or two more.

There you go…
A smaller MCU, less parts GLR driving the led, leaving lots of space for the cool charging and powerbank functions on the driver board.

Wouldn’t it be possible to have the charging and powerbank fonction within an add-on part screwed between the head and the battery carrier that can be unscrewed when you don’t need it or when the weather turn bad…except it both ports are well protect like the muni-USB of the zenflare F1.

When i first built the prototype it had three 7135s, ( for 1.05 amps) and was roughly 500 lumens on high. a high-mode with 1 amp draw on four 3200mah 18650s will still give a good usable run time of 14+ hours then i tested.

Samsung 35E seems more attractive each day it seems, for the GT and for the lantern.

I was just looking at the 35E the other day on US battery distributor websites (Liionwholesale, IMRbatteries) and they aren’t available on one, and are $6.50/ea +shipping on the other. Has anyone seen them yet on the usual Chinese sites yet? I agree they would be ideal for this lantern or the GT.

(But I have a bunch of Sanyo GA’s ready and waiting for the GT)

I will give one additional - though not particularly compelling - reason why I like the potential of adding a USB-out (powerbank) function. The last time I went out camping I took some LED strip lighting that I had cut and wired up to the right length to illuminate the EZ-up canopy and it worked really well. I used 12V strips, and ran it off a 3S 18650 holder. Those little 2835 SMD LEDs are surprisingly effective, in case you haven’t played with them. If you instead purchased 5V strips, you could run LED strip lights directly off of your BLF lantern. It might not be ideal, because if you want to grab the lantern and go pee, you’d have to unplug the strip lights, but it would be a neat party trick to use the lantern as a power source for the larger camp lighting.

Obviously the much more common use for a 5V USB that most would appreciate would be to charge other electronics like phones.

How many people would try to charge a notebook when 12V out was present ?

12v in seems clever, east to add a car charger to package.
12v out, hmm
I am using 10m and 20m light strings all around (on bridges, ar the fence) that charge a single AA cell with the sun and light up all night. Lots of those stings are sold with 3*AA cases too andni have two with USB that I use with a powerbank during Christmas time. Indeed very cool to use while camping to show where those tent ropes are at night for example.

Laptop will pull quite a bit of of power, think most will easily do 60 watts and probably need 19-20V anyway, so it’s not going to last long or be very efficient.