Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light

[The_Miller]

@strango

@Tom E

I tried assembling it anyway, but it’s not a good solution - LED’s aren’t positioned well, partially clipped now.

Have you checked if LEDs centered well?
as I see from the photo on the first page there were some issues with alignment on prev version.

oh you are mean, I do F5, see LED’s aren’t positioned well, partially clipped now. thinking DANG, clipped?!? what is up, only to see you quoted an older post :person_facepalming:

[Tom_E]

Yep - that was proto #1, not the new ones. Protos # 2 and #3? Boy, I'll label them... Pics to come.

[The_Miller]

luckily proto 1 has a distinct color patern now

[DavidEF]

Words can’t describe how excited I am! No hurry Tom, but get those pics up quick!

[ZozzV6]

Me too a vote for XP-L2

[The_Miller]

@ZozzV6

Me too a vote for XP-L2

ATM no votes no XPL2 onbthe table
When it takes a long time we can debate a LED change.

[ZozzV6]

I know just take this as my opinion on the leds. I’m OK with XP-Ls and I can change them myself later to XP-L2s

[Tom_E]

Some early info:

Initial readings of output numbers is, I'd have to say, outstanding. No modding around, all stock:

Proto #2 on Samsung 30Q BT's at 4.19V:

lumens: 6,430 @start, 5,950 @30 secs, throw: 64 kcd @5m (506 meters)

Proto #3 on Samsung 30Q BT's at 4.21V:

lumens: 6,320 @start, 5,880 @30 secs, throw: 57 kcd @5m (477 meters)

More views:

Definite real Stainless Steel bezel. LED's are better centered this time, but not perfect.

[Magbrite]

Wow. Very nice numbers!

[MRsDNF]

Its good to see you got home from work ok Tom and thanks for the teaser pics and output numbers. Looking forward to the next update.

[teacher]

Nice…… :+1:

[DavidEF]

Stock over 6000 lumens? This is sure to be a big seller for years to come! Good job Thorfire! Also - the BLF Q8 logo - Lookin’ GOOD!

EDIT: Oh look, more pics! I like it! :heart_eyes: Anybody else notice the bezel is a little lower profile than the Proto-1 bezel?

[Tom_E]

More pics added to post #5271.

[goshdogit]

Very impressive! This is getting exciting!

Nice photos, Tom!

Great progress Q-Team and ThorFire! Keep up the good work! :+1:

[ZozzV6]

Great! I like to push the buy button somewhere

[Tom_E]

@ZozzV6

Great! I like to push the buy button somewhere

Hold your horses a wee bit before we go pushing buttons . There's some issues we are addressing with ThorFire. Hoping nothing major.

Yes - the bezel is a nice lower profile, and makes the prototype II a little shorter now. It's really nice in Stainless Steel - first prototype was in aluminum.

There's one thing missing in this picture I took above - the brass driver retaining ring. We noticed the addition of the black plastic polarity protection, but the loss of the retaining ring was not noticed in the picture in the OP from ThorFire.

[ImA4Wheelr]

Thank you Tom E. Really looking good. It would be nice if they could turn down the brightness on the side switch light. If it is that bright in lighted conditions, it must be distracting in the dark. Not a deal breaker by any means.

[sb56637]

Looking fantastic guys/gals! I’m seriously excited now.

Speaking of pushing buttons…

@Tom E

For the BLF Q8 driver, the parasitic drain was measured at 0.037 mA - that could be reduced to 0.025 mA, or by about 1/3. What this means is to drain 1 Ah (1000 mAh), the time was extended from 3.1 years to 4.6 years. Using 4 3000 mAh cells in the BLF Q8, there is a 12000 mAh of capacity. Clearly the electronic drain on the cells will be less than the drain if the cells just sat on the shelf.

Does this still apply even with that nifty lighted button? Or is that an additional drain on the battery? I ask because the Q8 is looking like one of those go-to lights for possible emergencies in the middle of the night, so I would probably want to leave the batteries installed and everything tightly screwed together for immediate action. But lights with parasitic drain always make me pause before leaving it that way.

[lightlight22]

@The Miller

NICE! F5ing here, getting really annoyed by emails NOT from you
ANXIOUS

Ive been F5’n every day 1,000’s of timese since some posts/update notifications dont get to me, man is this exciting.

@Tom E

@ZozzV6

Great! I like to push the buy button somewhere

Hold your horses a wee bit before we go pushing buttons . There’s some issues we are addressing with ThorFire. Hoping nothing major.

Yes - the bezel is a nice lower profile, and makes the prototype II a little shorter now. It’s really nice in Stainless Steel - first prototype was in aluminum.

There’s one thing missing in this picture I took above - the brass driver retaining ring. We noticed the addition of the black plastic polarity protection, but the loss of the retaining ring was not noticed in the picture in the OP from ThorFire.

=( Reading that my heart sank. Hmm, hope its not a big deal getting that retaining ring. Out of curiosity, since this light is going to end up in the hands of many people new to 18650 what are the pro’s and cons of having the polarity protection instead of the brass retaining ring? Is the driver unsafe having no brass retaining ring?

[Tom_E]

That's with the switch LED's off. Yes, the switch LED's definitely will bump parasitic drain. These prototypes actually have two LED's under the switch and they sure are bright. Didn't mention their power drain yet, but will. I have a feature in the latest Narsil though that's a quick way to toggle the indicator LED. From OFF, click/hold and the light goes to moon mode, and if you release the switch quickly, then click to turn the light off, the switch LED will go off. To reactivate it, simply click the light ON, then click OFF - normal operation.

Of course low parasitic drain and a locator function LED don't go hand in hand. For that, trits are a better option.