The ability of the lamp to run by USB only is a HUGE advantage and opens it up for precisely this.
Iād like to see a V1A created (āAā for ABS plastic). Tough ABS plastic body instead of anodized aluminum. This cheaper version could be priced more like $19. And then with subsidies, it could be made available at half that (or less) to impoverished nations. This was done previously with a solar cell project, to provide a cheap renewable power source for people in impoverished nations. So the whole product cycle for a cost-effective version was probably already done. It could be repeated with any product, I imagine. Including the BLF LT1.
I wish I could speak more authoritatively about this, but Iām going off of an article Iād read a couple years ago and donāt have any practical experience in this area. But it might be worth tracking down the agency that was the conduit for that solar cell project and see if there might be interest.
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V2 feature request: Either a dedicated switch or some UI control that will govern how the light is charged. This is to address the possible batteries overcharging when the light is on plugged into USB. So you could optionally āshut offā battery charging when not desired.
The main intention is to prevent overcharging of batteries. Now there might be several ways to address this without any manual control. Iām presuming that the battery charging stops once the software detects that the batteries are fully charged. If this is the case, thenā¦ maybe reroute the circuitry such that when plugged into USB, the driver pulls power directly from the USB source rather than the batteries. Iām guessing this would be too complicated. Soā¦ maybe something more simple? For instance, the logic test: if USB plugged in ā> if light is ON ā> if current power cycle has detected 100% battery charge, delay battery charging again until 90%.
The other thing Iām thinking of is a manual lockout to the battery. So it requires some user intervention. The idea being that when the user sees that the batteries are fully charged, twist the body to break the battery connection. Now the LT1 running off USB will not affect battery drain.
My apologies if any of these ideas have already been discussed. I was AFB for a good number of days and now thereās too much to catch up on.
Hey BSM, thatās absolutely something Iād not managed to address but youāre totally right ā for such a project youād definitely want 4xAA. Because 18650 are probably scarce and costly in impoverished nations. Iām sure some people have gotten into harvesting 18650ās from dead laptop battery packs, but commercially the cells would be significantly more expensive than brand new rechargeable AA cells.
Yeah, itās easy to get ahead on this when LT1 hasnāt even gone to retail mode. But itās hard not to, because itās such a wonderful tool ā well thought out and opening up so many possibilities.
Fantasy. It has been mentioned as a possibility for later, but no concrete plans have been made that Iām aware of, and the focus is on getting V1 released.
Unlike most on this site Iām happy to wait for the better product and not have 2 of them with one being inferior.
Lucky Iām the minority but yes I see your point.
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I know exactly what you mean, thatās what Iāve started to do with torches especially now that anduril is now common ,there are a few versions of it , IMO it peavs me when stuff is released before itās ready with bugs or things not working like they should ,then a newer version is released , we all rush out to buy it then discover thereās a better version ,BUT hundreds of people have already paid good money out & not everyone has the tools or knowledge to update it themselves ,so to get the better version they have to spend the same money again for the newer one , Iām speaking for myself here when I say I would rather wait for the bugs & unreliability to to ironed out before I spend money on a device eg Fw3a ,D4 etc , but Iām confident the Lantern will be up to par because Iāve seen the way DBSAR has been thourally testing it & making sure all is perfect before it goes to production.
Oh & reguarding the charging of cells whilst using the lantern & the possibilitie of cells not terminating , I have a Philips Bluetooth speaker that I can charge while using it & I can confirm that the battery will stop charging even though itās still connected to the charger & being used at the same time , Iām not sure if itās the circuitry in the speaker charging circuit that is responsible for it terminating charge whilst itās still connected & being used or if itās the apple wall charger , either way ,it can be done.
I like the concept of a less expensive version (e.g., plastic) for countries with no light or money. There could be a BLF project.
I do not think that AA batteries are suitable. In the target users, the AAs in-country probably cost some days of food. Decision points: have light for their children to do home work and reading, eat. Rechargeable only.
To be useful, it must be dead cheap.
If you want to pursue this, I would suggest including reasonable quality bare bones Li rechargeable and a low cost solar panel. Not garbage: but durable. Donāt leave it in the rain. This people can use without having to scrounge for batteries.
A target operation. Minimum - day of solar charging for 8 hours of night light. Possibly an external port for charging ultra cheap flashlights and maybe radios and very simple phones. These could be NiMh or Li for cost reasons. An absolutely lowest power LED portable/pocket light and area lighting would be huge.
If you can present a viable price package, you might be able to sell high volumes to the groups helping people with pretty much nothing, to help educating their children and making a more comfortable and productive night environment. Much better than fumes for various combustion generated light sources. And probably cheaper. I think there are those sorts of devices around. But a beautifully engineered BLF lantern - priceless.
Maybe we should be making a 4x18650 LT1A made of durable recyclable plastic.
To make it less expensive by using a plastic body, weād need to sell a lot of units.
It would be using a 4x7135 driver with 4x SST-20s 95CRI at 3500k or 4x LH351D 90CRI 3000k/5000k, 4x included 18650s with capacities of 2400mAh, a micro-USB input for charging, and USB-A for output, along with a small handle.
Iād be for including a non-user-serviceable built-in Lithium battery pack, and making the whole light basically ānot meant to be openedā so that the structure of the plastic body can be made simpler and waterproof. A single waterproof USB-C charge port with a rubber cover (port is waterproof without cover, but cover helps keep dirt out) would probably be enough. It doesnāt need to be usable as a powerbank. To be a bit cheaper, a set of 2x or 3x high CRI 4000K emitters would even be enough. But, I guess 4x would make it marginally more efficient in use.
Non easily replaceable 10000mAh internal cell with 4,05V charging for good cycle life and 4x SST-20s 3500k using the same MCPCB as the Q8, but made of aluminium instead of copper.
A lantern like this, especially a cheaper plastic one, would be invaluable for people like Peace Corp volunteers in places like Africa. My middle daughter was in Uganda for 3 years and based upon a 2 week visit there and talking to her about her experiences, a BLF lantern and solar panel would be in high demand. Many places have spotty or no electricity and she told me about hospitals losing power in the middle of surgery with a corresponding loss of life. I think that if Sofirn was smart they would try to market the lantern to people going to or living in 3rd world countries. Maybe produce a version with a non-replaceable battery since 18650ās are going to be rare if not impossible to find in many poor countries.