That sounds like a great plan DBSAR. 
Thank you for all your hard work!! 
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 canāt wait to get mine, but I still think that we shouldnāt rush it now. Itās 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 theyāve shown themselves to be a good quality manufacturer. But Iād 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 āproductionā 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. Iāll probably put up a video sometime too.
This shows two minutes worth of candle mode, overlaid on the same graph. Itās 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 arenāt 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. Thatās how I like it to work, but people wanted a longer more traditional beacon of at least 500msā¦ so I used that instead. Specifically, people wanted an āalpineā beacon which blinks only once every 10 seconds, for 500 ms.
Iād still rather have something shorterā¦ but I donāt 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 thereās a battery-side flashing circuit for people who have an adapter.
[quote=ToyKeeper]
Can you please link to this battery-side flashing circuit? Iām 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 ālight houseā 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.
Iāve 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. 
It uses 500ms right now, but could easily be shorter if desired. Itād improve beacon runtime without reducing visibility.
if i remember correctly, the standard sea-way/light beacon internal is 3 to 4 seconds, with the half second on flash. ( 500 milliseconds.) 3 or 4 seconds off, 500ms on, and repeat. 4 seconds should be an ideal set point for the beacon mode.
The total cycle time is configurable. Iām wondering about just the ontime. I find 500ms to be much longer than Iād like, and it sounds like Iām not the only one. Do you think it should be shorter?
What is the current beacon on time set at? ( EDIT: if its 500 ms, i agree it is a bit long. maybe shorten it to 100 to 150 ms?
I agree with all above 100%
I couldnāt possibly have any more respect for those involved in this project and I didnāt want to seem unappreciative of all the the time and effort put into this lantern as Iām in for 3 units no matter what, but I am so glad you are considering a final sample and testing that one last step before going to production. It would be a shame to spend so much time on details and testing to have a final production unit that wasnāt a match for the hours and expertise invested.
I understand at some point it seems like it is āso closeā and you are at the end of your patience and just want this thing IN YOUR hands already! The best products I have ever brought to market were the ones where I stuck it out till the sweet end with final samples despite my partners pushing us to just ālet them make a container full asap and ship it!ā Famous last wordsā¦
I have been dealing with very capable Chinese factories for 25 years and with all best intentions, every time I tried to skip the final sample it almost always ended in at least a few regrets.
This project has been inspiring to me. I only wish I had such a competent and dedicated crew working for my company! Thanks again to all involved and I will keep on bragging to everyone I know to come see this project and order.
I am involved in several other forums with my other interests and have never seen such cooperation and professionalism as displayed here.
Thanks again to all involved!
Iām fine with having an alpine beacon mode (very short bright flash, long off time), but I would like to request a simple blinker mode be included as well. 500ms on, 500ms off would be perfect for me.
The reason I ask is that I have seriously nasty tunnel vision. If Iām looking for an alpine beacon, I can easily miss the short flash even if Iām only looking ever so slightly off to the side at that instant. A 1Hz, 50% duty cycle blinker (500ms on, 500ms off) is much easier for me to find. I basically just have to accept the price of increased power consumption.
If the blinker mode isnāt an option, a bike flash mode works as well. The snag with the bike flash mode comes if someone in your party is epileptic.
Taking the Biscotti bike flash as an example, Iād actually like to try a lower constant brightness but keep the existing full-power flash, for more contrast between the two states, but Iām not sure what brightness would hit my mark. I really need to get going on flashing some of this stuff for myself so I can experiment
:+1:
ā¦hi, hope this is the place to request to be put on the List
TanteElfriede wantās to be on it
This is one impressive project. I canāt wait to get one and try it out.
Thanks everyone for the time and attention youāve given to this light!
Please put me on the list for one lantern.
Thank You!