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

I’m not funkychateau but this is Nitecore NU20 CRI beacon mode.
https://youtu.be/IKdCoB0gIVQ (captured in 720p120, YT transcoded to 720p60, link to original in description)
This required many attempts…but I actually managed to capture the blip in 720p960 (720p30 playback).
https://youtu.be/I2jLbf8EWfI (link to original in description)

This is what comes to my mind when someone says beacon.
I’m not good with maths but I calculated the above slow-mo capture should represent ~0.184s of real life and since there’s 177 frames in the file and the blip takes ~21 frames it would mean Nitecore’s beacon duration is ~22ms compared to Anduril’s 500ms which is rather long but that’s just my opinion.
I recall they say a blink of an eye takes ~300-400ms so 500ms certainly is a blink.

However I don’t think this needs to change in the firmware, if someone doesn’t like it they can always modify it themselves and flash it. (assuming the LT1 firmware is available for download after release?)

:+1: Im sending Barry the small list of adjustments today to get this first version LT1 rolling into production.

please put me on the list for one unit

A true beacon has a very short “on” time, so that you can have a high-intensity beacon yet very low average current. All of the Anduril versions I’ve read about only let you adjust off time, and you’re stuck with the half-second or so of on time. Knock that on-time down, and you could run a beacon at turbo brightness for days, or even weeks.

A real beacon, which provides a high-intensity locator function for long periods of time, is a very useful feature in a wilderness light.

You don’t need to be able to adjust on-time, just hardcore it shorter. About 0.05 seconds is a really good compromise. Easily seen, yet uses 10 times less average battery current that the existing implementation.

All of my Nitecores, even the headlamp (I believe), have good true-beacon implementations.

I’d like to be added to the interest list please for x1. Thanks!

I’d also like to be added to the list.

In for one lantern… thanks!

Going in all directions like…

As we all know, we can talk and chat about different changes to the LT1 lantern for weeks, months, & even years more, but its time to set it ready to get this into production. I have decided on the small changes to make it easier to get this rolling for orders, and with the changes i am happy with this version of LT1 as the first. Either way, this will be better in so many ways than ever other area light/lantern i have tested, used, bought, and even modified, regardless of size. I sent Barry of Sofirn the changes list and information today. after long thinking and deliberation, i decided to leave the head size same as the sample, as it is still smaller than most of my more powerful lanterns, but has so much more abilities and capacity.

Once it goes into production, i will continue to work on the accessory kit that can be acquired for the lantern, or added in the future as a deluxe set.

That sounds like a great plan DBSAR. :+1:

Thank you for all your hard work!! :beer:

If you build it, they will come.
Translated, If you build it, we will buy it.

Great to hear that this project is finally coming to an end! I can’t wait to get mine, but I still think that we shouldn’t rush it now. It’s maybe wiser to build and test a second prototype with the changes before starting mass production.

As excited as I am to see this thing coming to fruition, I have to agree with this. Past BLF special group buy lights have shown us that a final production sample is critical to insure that everything is implemented properly. Sofirn has already made several lights for us recently, and they’ve shown themselves to be a good quality manufacturer. But I’d still feel better if there was a final round of testing before full production.

very true, it would be good to do a final review & test of a “production” sample to make sure its up to the final rpoduction readiness, to evaluate the lens frosting level, updated firmware, and alterations. (will depend on Barry & Sofirn once they get back to me on the alterations/changes i set them.

The button LEDs have four modes:

  • Off
  • Low
  • High
  • Blinking

The only candle mode is the one which uses the main LEDs. And, to give a better idea how that looks, I got the logging functions of my DMM working again so I could graph the candle mode power usage. I’ll probably put up a video sometime too.

This shows two minutes worth of candle mode, overlaid on the same graph. It’s wide, so you may need to click to zoom in and then scroll horizontally:

It runs Anduril. Plus there are a couple things added which aren’t on the diagram yet, like how to change the color temperature and button brightness.

In my older firmwares, I set the beacon to about 1ms at full power. That’s how I like it to work, but people wanted a longer more traditional beacon of at least 500ms… so I used that instead. Specifically, people wanted an “alpine” beacon which blinks only once every 10 seconds, for 500 ms.

I’d still rather have something shorter… but I don’t really use beacon mode so I might not be the best person to ask about how it should work.

It can be whatever people want, or the code will also be available for people to customize. The MCU is easy to access, or there’s a battery-side flashing circuit for people who have an adapter.

[quote=ToyKeeper]

Can you please link to this battery-side flashing circuit? I’m very interested in picking one up. And whatever is best for direct MCU flashing as well?

A few good instances where a Beacon mode are great to have, was in instances during our search & rescue operations at night, to locate base camps or out-posts at night, in snowy conditions, fog, etc. Also for camping and those fishing at night, the Beacon is a great “light house” feature for locating a camp on the shore-line from on the water. Same goes for locating a base camp or location on foggy evening & nights for hunters, campers, etc. a 500 millisecond flash ever 3 to 6 seconds has some legitimate uses under circumstances like above.

I’ve been using one of these:

Otherwise, any SOIC8 clip works. More details are at the link in my signature.

The beacon mode can have whatever timing you want. I just need to know what that timing is. :slight_smile:

It uses 500ms right now, but could easily be shorter if desired. It’d improve beacon runtime without reducing visibility.