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

OMG!! I see the lantern in green and gold here!! :smiley:

https://sofirnlight.com/products/prototype-of-lt1?variant=31489758068796

Are y’all going to be adding any other colors? Is it just green and gold or should I wait?

I received a code… But an not going to use it… Should I pm sofirn back, or just let it go?

Beat me to it…I was asleep :rage:

Those are prototypes with color test bodies. They are not the production colors we are all waiting for. At that price, I’m waiting for real production units at the GB price.

Got the LT1 just now.

Default 5x7135 configuration resulted in:
355 lm at WW
463 lm at CW

Tint and CRI measured directly in front of the LT1, but the results aren’t meaningfully different integrated, which means the diffuser is doing its job

Cool white

Warm white

3 modes in the middle

Den should add a link to that excellent data in the first post. Thanks for the measurements maukka!

But you never know - in years to come those prototypes might fetch a fortune on the collectors market!

Great testing on the tints & CRI maukka :+1: :+1: I will add a link to this post number on the main OP.

Just curious, who have used their first bought LT1 lantern now in a power outage, on camping, or any emergency needing a long-running, great tint, high CRI, 360-degree light source where no electricity is available?

I have used mine every night since receiving. Mostly on level 2. I somehow made it in the 1st shipment even though I was a little past 500 on the list.

So somewhere around a month of use and charged it only twice if remembering correctly.

Been living in my van since last divorce. Will buy another place some day but it’s a great feeling for now not having all the bill’s and upkeep to pay for.

Loving the LT1 adjustable tint and ease of charging. Deciding to order my others now or wait for other color and upgraded firmware later.

With no batteries connected the buck converter on mine makes a horrible screechy noise on input voltages higher than 5V. On stepped level 2/5 it makes it at 5V as well. With batteries in and charging, there’s no noise.

Doesn’t really work for running from a 12V source without batteries then.

Sounds like coil wine, the inductor is then resonating at a high frequency.

Only solution (I think) is to replace the inductor… (or the driver obviously)

Would locking the inductor down (or just changing its mass) with an adhesive or hot glue work to reduce the vibration?

I guess that potting might be a solution.

With a 12V input and the batteries disconnected my first batch unit does the same. Horrible squealing. So it’s probably not a bad inductor.

Wasn’t the ability to run without the batteries attached “discovered” as an accidental feature? So if this use case wasn’t designed for, it’s not really a concern for me.

It does work happily at 5V like this with no noise, so I’m considering it a bonus feature. This lantern does everything I’ve wanted for a long time. DBSAR, Lexel, TK and the team really knocked it out of the park on this one.

I just flashed the anduril.2019-11-29b.blf-lantern.hex on my unit, because it went into kernel panic strobe mode more often than I cared for, and ToyKeeper said this should improve that.

But I used the Emisar pogo pin while holding another wire for the reset pin, and hitting enter on AVRDude with my third hand. :wink: Needless to say that was less than fun.

Does anyone sell the HQ Universal Driver Programming Key already assembled? I don’t have a reflow oven and soldering the pogo pins to the PCB is not my kind of fun either.

I’ve googled the tar out of this and can’t find a US source for any pre-assembled Lexel driver compatible pogo key. TIA for any help!

Yes, indeed the ability to run with no batteries was an accidental, but great usable feature. :+1: The inductor begins to oscillate at high audible frequencies past 6 volts, but at the standard USB 5-volt input its silent. a low cost 12 volt to 5-volt USB adapter fixes the noise issue for anyone wanting to run it directly from 12 volts. I have test run the first production unit i bought for 5 days/24 hours non-stop on mode-3 of the stepped settings using a 5 volt USB wall adapter. it stayed quiet as a mouse. :smiley:

I have a first batch lantern. I get the inductor whine when I have tried it connected to power supply without batteries. Its completely silent on battery power though. I use it every night as a lamp alternative in my office. Works flawlessly. I have charged it fully one (1) time since I received it. Really is a fuel miser in my experience. Can’t thank the team enough! I was on the list for two lanterns. Getting my second one now with code sent by Sofirn. Awesome lanterns!

If we wait, can we put off using our group buy code for when a colored version is released?

Sorry if it’s a repeat. I’ve sifted through the last hundred or two posts and didnt see an answer to the question.

Watch out with buying multiple lanterns with one code as you only get discount for first lantern. I bought two and only had the first one at group buy price. This happen to anyone else?