Q8 3rd batch or the same as 2nd?

Well, if there is any place where you would find the answer on that it would be this very thread, with just 24 posts it is doable. You would find that there was no complaining about batch 2 and so any alteration for a ‘batch 3’ would be Thorfire’s initiative, not from the Q8 team, and there’s no report from anyone yet finding differences. All I can find on alterations is that the Q8 may get new firmware at some point. Not that NarsilM 1.2 will be noticably different though…

From this thread:

Thanks. Obviously nothing to be worried about then even if I get Batch #1 as I don't mod my flashlights.

Both of mine from the 1st sell are excellent.

Hey robert, can you find out if my blf q8 is from 1st batch?? I ordered it on september, 7 and got the light on october, 16…, thanks

If i remember well a lot of people ordered their Q8(s) on that day. Maybe a thousand orders went through i believe. What made the difference between batch #1 and #2 was the ‘order count’ on the Banggood Q8 page. Mine was #674 and i got a batch 2 (over 500).

That said, the main symptoms of a batch 1 Q8 where:

- uneven switch leds - that went faulty for some lights

- damaged screw heads all over the place (driver, tail pcb, reflector…)

  • driver retaining screws too large for the driver holes, that would thread into both the driver and the head shelf

The last point was sometime having the driver not completely sit flat against the shelf and making less then optimal contact with the battery tube (carrying the negative part of the electric flow) resulting in slightly reduced performance.

After a ‘pause’ in production, all those issues (and possibly others i don’t remember) have been addressed and implemented in batch #2.

I’ve never heard of a batch 3 Q8.

Mine came in perfect, no problems at all and was within the first 50 shipped. So did the majority.

The switch leds were not just uneven, but would fail within an hour or two. Initially the actual cause seemed mysterious and a myth about operating LEDs below data sheet currents became widespread. It seems the actual cause were bad solder joints. Majority never reported, but it can’t be “rare” and unlikely to be minority.

Screw heads were ruined all over, true.

Driver screws were forcibly screwed into aluminum. When replacing, new screws of the larger type will probably do just fine.

Tilted driver is present on batch 2. Otherwise, my batch 2 example was flawless as far as BLF GB standards go. Threads were more dirty and squaky than with b#1, but that’s to be expected. Switch led works after quite a bit of use and had the correct screws all over, none damaged.

Will be available eventually. Could be from a totally different source, and it’s the same thing that went on with the SRK clones. Someone is going to decide some features are unnecessary and the light “works” without them.

No idea what batch is what….But I ordered a Q8 for to a co-worker …
I found that when his Q8, batteries and charger arrived, his Q8 is noticeably brighter than mine…
I had them both outside last night, the hot spot is brighter and a bit larger.

I wonder what aspect mine is lacking in…

One thing that can come into play is the battery tube contact with the head. If the cross section is dirty or the driver is not sitting square (first batch), the contact may be weak and less current goes through. It also needs to be well tightened when screwing back the tube.

When did you buy this latest Q8?
You mention brightness and hotspot size… Where the tint the same?

Yeah. Check first for good electrical contact.

If the tint changed, that could mean 2 things:

1. The Q8s now include AR glass, which according to my testing, lets 7-8% more light out of the Q8.

2. It’s using XPL2s, which would easily explain why the tint would change and why the brightness would go up noticeably, since it does have a much lower forward voltage.

If it would use XPL2 you would probably detect it because its yellow corona

I have a brand new Q8 with AR glass and an older Q8 with plain glass. I tried swapping the glass around and the output dropped about 4.5%. I didn’t bother checking the tint because the emitters are going to be swapped anyway. Interestingly, the AR glass is thicker enough than the plain glass to make a noticeable gap behind the bezel.

I would definitely try cleaning the contacts, they used to come pretty filthy and can also build up dirt in use.

I have an q8 bought from banggood not long ago and mine doesnt have any AR how come? Unless they changed this very recently or?

The Q8 isn’t supposed to have AR glass in the original design specs, as evidenced by the poor fit of the bezel with the glass they used. Q8s started randomly showing up with AR glass during the initial group buy, and I’m not sure if Lumintop Thorfire ever specifically confirmed whether a production change had been made. My latest Q8 came from Thorfire Direct on Amazon and has AR glass, and my original from Banggood doesn’t.

It’s not Lumintop who is making the Q8, but Thorfire via Sofirn’s factories.

Also, it looks like the AR glass that Kaidomain is using is of much higher quality compared to the one Thorfire used in the initial batch.

I keep accidentally claiming Lumintop makes the Q8. I even got it right in the Amazon store name :person_facepalming:

Could someone measure the thickness of the Kaidomain AR glass?

Dual springs vs single springs could cause a brightness difference too, along with batteries of course.

All Q8s feature dual springs from what I have seen.

So I just noticed this on my latest Q8. The screw isn’t missing, the head is snapped off. Fine QC, Thorfire :+1:

ouch that isnt good :frowning: