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

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.

Totally agree with that.Nut and bolt should be made of stainless steel.

I am not a big fan of “throw out everything and start new” without a clear answer on “what I am getting back” and “does it worth it”. Already own 50+ USB cables, many mobile phones, tablets, flashlights, ecigs, powerbanks, battery chargers e.t.c. which all use micro usb and I am not in a rush to throw them all out so I can change the shape of the cable to a “doesn’t matter how you plug it”. So, I prefer micro usb over usb C because usb C needs money to solve a problem that it created in the first place.

There will be a switch to usb C, either I like it or not, but, I am not in a rush until the time comes where all my electronics are dead and replaced with others using usb C.

Just a little rant, carry on :smiley:

The most used device is smartphone. It is define cables type.
Many people already use typeC. And the most new smartphone has typeC. The average life time of smartphone is about 2 years.
So average man will have TypeC smartphone in less than a year.

And we wont have this light in less than a year. :smiley:

…and 20 years later, after usb-d, usb-e…usb-k, we will finally switch to a magnetic usb plug which will solve the problem of worn and broken usb sockets and we will be all over it! :person_facepalming:

If current magnetic micro-usb cables could handle the current draw of QC3.0, I would just had magnetic adapters to all my devices and only magnetic cables with me and on my chargers, but… I burned 10 magnetic cables testing charging like that. When I find high-Amp magnetic cables (charge+data), I won’t care, switch to anything you like, I’d just plug the correct adapter. :smiley:

And I am still ranting :person_facepalming: I am sorry for the - mostly - off-topic, carry on :smiley:

I think the globe can be fabricated very easily from polycarbonate tubing such as this Tubing .
This would be much less costly than a molded globe.

That is basically what they use for lightsaber blades. However, lightsabers also need a few layers of cellophane on the inner surface to diffuse the light. And sabers don’t have to care about CRI or tint. The polycarbonate tubes were chosen primarily for combat durability, not as much for optical properties.

So it might work or it might not. It would probably be very sturdy, at least. Those things can really take a beating.

you are on the interest list as noted in this post
The OP does not always (almost never) have the interest list as I manage it online and provide it to DBSAR periodically to update the OP. You can find the up to date list(s) here:

interest list sorted by entry number

interest list sorted by user names

DBSAR, if you get time and read this, you can copy the links above into the OP for folks that are not seeing their names on the interest list in the OP. The links don’t change when the list changes, so it makes for a bit less work. My home PC died recently, or I would just send you an updated list right now in a format suitable for updating the OP. I will try to remember when I am at work this week, after my whirlwind of meetings end.

you are added at number 1013 to the interest list.

Added both links to the OP just above the post list :slight_smile: