I have my first one coming and that is all I need for now. I would prefer to wait until colors are ready and the USB c-c is available to order the rest of mine since I donât need them any time soon.
If colors and c-c is coming, I prefer those.
I donât mind being put farther down the list to get the later versions of the LT1. It would allow someone else to get theirs sooner and everyone would be happy.
I too would like to know if the colored varients will be included in the group buy. Would Sofirn be able to comment on this? Iâm signed up for two of them and would prefer to wait for a colored version (fingers crossed - orange!) to purchase my second.
Thank you too Sofirn for bringing this project to life and making it a reality! :+1: Sofirn is doing an amazing job on building the BLF LT1, added with the thanks to all the amazing LT1 team, and a thanks to all the great support from BLF and the members. It has been a honor & privilege to work on, test, develop, and help design a great area lantern for a lacking market.
Note: I am not affiliated with Sofirn and have no influence or special information.
People on the group buy list are under no obligation to purchase anything and your position isnât transferable. We appreciate your offer to let someone else take your current place in line, but itâs too complicated to then keep track of your ânewâ place as the group buy list is permanently fixed.
I recommend that you keep your current âpositionâ for yourself and simply donât use your code until you have the money. Yes, your existing code will expire before January, but I suspect that Sofirn would be willing to renew your code a month from now if you PM them after youâve got the finances in order.
You should ask Sofirn about your situation in a PM and perhaps request a new code a month from now if yours remains unused. There will surely be some reasonable time limit, especially after the second pass through the list is completed, as Sofirn will understandably want to wrap up this process and move on to something else.
@All: If Iâve given bad advice or said something incorrect or misleading here, please correct me and I will edit the post accordingly.
From the beginning, I believe buyers were told that flat top batteries will not work reliably. Or at all for many cells.
The horror that has spread ârequiringâ users to throw away the âfaultyâ (no nipple) cells. I would think there are a lot of users that have the specified cells for the Q8 and LT1 designs (i.e., not flat on top). They are following instructions.
One should harken back to the Q8. You know, that big round black thing (pending possibilities of colored shells) that holds up the lantern. And the electrical paths. And the cells. Which all seem to work pretty well. The power interfaces are essentially identical.
I believe (not going back and re-reading everything) that from the beginning early design of the Q8 project and through the LT1 project, we have repeatedly told potential buyers about not using flat top Li cells. A lot. The reason is quite clear; and outside the design. These cells are neither hugely expensive (they are regular old common cells) and not difficult to find from vendors that add the button and maybe the safety fuse in the cell. Laptop cells are also popular, but likely weak. There are probably more flat tops on the market than any other form; but they are only a step away from solder bumps or vendor posts.
Could we all quit bitching about the tops of cells, start following the design specifications, and move on. I see no reason for supporting some way to make flat top cells work (except in a few cells claiming to mostly be OK). The only responsibility of the team and other members, it to tell the non-button people that the specified battery requirement was included in two very significant builds. It is their problem to work around using the wrong cells; and not a design problem.
The designs are good; and safe.
One short addition: the cell wrappers for sale. I would not generally contest someone helping and maybe picking up a few bucks in the process. But I have a real concern about people (not just muggles) being confused by the wrappers and alternating the direction of the cells. I would not put them on my eventually available cells. Alternating battery orientation is a common thing with batteries. I would not trust my possible users with cells with those markings.
The eBay option method was originally to make an offer on the lantern using the GB price and placing your BLF user ID in a note. Maybe include the code you received as well. Then Sofirn should adjust the price, you pay and then they ship. But I canât find the LT1 on eBay at present. Send Sofirn a PM and ask what to do.
A note to users of the LT1 that want maximum run time - use the lantern either on full WW or NW. Tint mixes increase the current draw by about 15-20% over either end of the tint range. Iâve not tried to characterize this, I just noted some observations in this post.