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

Thanks! As a certain famous General said, “[This lantern] ”will make a fine addition to my collection.“:A fine addition to my collection - YouTube

Thanks for the welcome! Have lurked long enough, time to join. Please put me down for interest for two (2) of these lights. Thank you.

thanks for pointing out my omission, you are down for 2 now.

The battery tube is going to be the old one of the Q8 instead of the one planed for the Sofirn Q8 v1.5 with a batteries carrier ?

its is possible to shorten it a bit, ( original design was to make sure there was enough space for the driver circuits, plis a stand-alonw USB & charging circuit original, but Lexel has designed a great driver with all the components on the main driver board, (Lexel is needed to comment on that) as long as there is space above for the wiring, on-off button, and USB ports.

I thought about having knurling added to the mid-section, ( but either leave space there for the name & model in the mid section, or have the name & model logo on the side of the head.

if costs allow and Barry with is engineers can do it, i think other color options would be nice for this project. ( standard black anodizing, with white/silver , possibly olive green, & other colors.

Which ever is a lower cost option we will go with likely.

Just a thought, the tailcap of the Q8 is it’s weakest point IMO. A thin fragile shell that would not withstand any kind of abuse, drop, etc. and very finely threaded.

I have long been waiting for something much chunkier to be made, spreading out a little wider for better stability ||(and grip, when handholding, the Q8 is a slippery devil), also with provision for attaching a lanyard.

This is very important for a lantern that will be expected to tail-stand. The Q8 tail cap is completely unsuitable IMO, It is also flat on the bottom, so only stands on a completely flat surface.

Something like the tail cap of e.g. the Astrolux MF01, also providing for attachment of a lanyard if desired. I have one of these, and it is far superior to the Q8 design.

Edit: with three, not four, raised parts, for stability.

The Q8 tube was left to Thorfire to design, the team just focussed on the head, which is a decent design, (Edit: in version 2) but the tube, and particularly the tail cap, could have been done much better. Sofirn have corrected the tube in their new Q8 by removing the flats that never registered properly for those with OCD, but still haven’t addressed the very poor tailcap.

Some way to attach a string to the top and suspend it is also required for a lantern IMO.

I don’t think the Sofirn Q8 with battery carrier and optional extension tube is going ahead. No need for a complicated battery carrier on this thing.

No need for a FET in the driver either, keep it sensible and efficient.

Will the charging be USB C?

Because most of the new smartphones are adapting USB C, in 2019 I think there will be not much use for devices with no USB C. We will need to carry an adapter.

Apart from that about a cm can be sliced out, there is too much aluminium there, the driver cavity can be widened making it more lightweight.

I agree with Tom Tom that a bit wider base of the lantern with 4, no 5 looks nice :slight_smile: , short legs would allow the lantern to tailstand better on rougher terrain.

I think that these fins (above the button) are unnecessary. And without flats on the battery tube it would look much better. As it is in Sofrin Q8.

Can I be added to the list? Thanks! :slight_smile:

If it is designed like the BLF Q8, with the batteries slotting directly into the body tube, the flats are an effective way to remove unnecessary material and reduce weight. It could even be mostly square, like an original Skyray King or Blackshadow Terminator. But if the batteries go into a round holder which can rotate in place, the body tube should probably be more round.

I don’t really have a preference, but it would make sense to match the outside to whatever is inside.

The part with battery not take part it cooling so It should be as small and light weight as possible. Ribs are not needed at all
The part with LED should have radiator and good mass and surface. Even 5W , for current construction is too much.

The tail cap now also is too large.

I think that is to allow room for a tripod mount on the tail.

Thanks, I see. But maybe it is possible to find more space/mass efficient solution. For example to place this room in the hole between batteries (don’t know the dimensions )

The threads for the bolt seem very shallow. The bolt will hold on 4-5 threads. In a fall, the aluminium is the softest material and it will dethread easily. It needs at least three times larger “nut” for the bolt. Or a hexagonal slot for a nut. This as is will break at the nut very easily.

Also the charging port should be USB C, as I mentioned.

If mass was a concern, this would mostly be made out of e.g. polycarbonate.

Which would require much more tooling expense.

But it seems a heavy chunky Al lantern for base-camp and SHTF applications is the way it is going. So at least make it aesthetically pleasing, very solid. And efficient, practical, useful.

The powerbank, solar charging and USB charging is compelling stuff, but not really my cup of tea. I’d better disconnect from this thread, for fear of coming across as a bit negative.

PS: I do use lanterns often, as well as torches with diffusers, in the “great outdoors”, but still don’t feel a great desire to add this one to my arsenal.

Bye, and good luck.

I’m interested for one depending on the final pricing.