[PART 1] Official BLF GT Group Buy thread. Group buy officially closed! Lights shipping.

It gets ESPECIALLY cheap for 4 cells because the amperes drained will be very low. That means that laptop pulls, or other low quality cells will provide the same output performance as the most expensive Sony/Samsung. That is very important with this kind of battery guzzlers. That brings the price of the light right down, and brings the battery cost down close to 0$. Which is a good thing.

Correct, with all 8 cells each cell would only need to prove about 1.5A max, so basically any cell will handle it just fine. Although obviously runtime will not be as good.

I have been watching this one from the outset and like what I see.

The OP says this:
A new project
Aim:
BIG thrower that surpasses the latest super throwers like the TN42

I say IF that is what the intent was and still is… then let’s make it a good one. :wink:

Don’t worry about “bells & whistles”. Use whatever ‘parts’ (driver, LED, Reflector) are needed to make it exactly what the stated aim is.
“BIG thrower that surpasses the latest super throwers like the TN42”

Most likely that will narrow the choices drastically of what LED & Driver to use.

In other words, ‘form’ should follow ‘function’ on this one.

My .o2, ymmv. :+1:
:slight_smile:

Sadly it is not always so simple lol. For example with the LED, the XP-L Will technically throw further but be less useful everywhere else.

With the battery tube, going with fixed cells like the Q8 would work but drastically limit modding ability due to not being able to use 3V LED’s, which would throw further for those that wanted to do that. Although honestly with the cell setup, besides the ability to run 3V LED’s it is really more about cosmetics and flexibility.

Going with a solid tube with no carriers would save a little cost, it really depends on how close the pricing is on weather the savings is worth it.

Teacher you forget the price. It can’t be astronomical like the TN42 which is the main problem of that flashlight.

I think we are over complicating this light. Mostly with exactly what you have just said - using 2 types of led (being able to). I for one don’t and won’t.
Ok, a quick look at the results of the poll so far, it would seem to me that virtually no one wants ‘One particular LED’ anyway, in fact it’s such a small percentage that it surely cannot even warrant ANY say in the manufacture of this light - the extra machining, time, planning, etc etc of being able to fit a different led that -

  1. no one seems to want anyway
  2. that many of the buyers will never fit
    seems to be a big waste of funds and time.
    Basically from what I can see, it’s causing over complication of the whole thing for no real valid reason, other that a few of the buyers may change the led to the other type (but likely it will go back to the other anyway) - that is if the poll is to be believed.
    My personal opinion would be to concentrate on the chosen emitter (when voting ends) and design the light soley around that. No moving head parts/locks etc.
    The old adage - ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’

I’m sure people have their own opinions - but this is mine, sorry if it upsets anyone in advance :+1:

carriers offer security, one sees the cell placed correctly and then puts the whole carrier in the tube.
Also when using 4 cells, all the cell weight can be put away from head.
that a carrier could be modded is nice but not the main reason i think

Alright, alright, those renderings convinced me. :sunglasses: Sign me up Scotty!

No one upset here. It is a legitimate opinion.

I guess it is easier to convert down to 1S then up to 2S. All they would need is 4 dummy cells to convert. They would not be able to run 8 cells with an XP-L.

The conversion would actually not be as bad as I was thinking (used to the SRK that is a pain to convert to 2s or 4s).

Yay, we hooked the big man himself, we must be doing something right! lol.

Never mistake my silence for indifference! :smiley: I’ve been lurking on this thread since day 1.

Is there a way to design in some kind of safety mechanism to reduce the risk?

:smiley: :+1:

Risk of what exactly? risk of someone being stupid?

Sadly Stupidity is an incurable disease that plages millions around the planet ever since natural selection’s cycle was interrupted in the last hundred years or so. It is destined to get worse.

Anyone here ever seen that documentary “idiocracy?

In all seriousness, it should not be an issue but the PCB’s we will have in the carriers would have the ability to use fuses if it was deemed necessary.

Me too, sign me up !

Sign me in for this! :cowboy_hat_face:

I am interested in one depending on the final specs and price.
Really appreciate the effort to beat a TN42 for ~100$. But i have a few concerns.
First the modability (thermal design). The actual design should be capable of running a 20W LED on 100% for quite some time without getting to hot.
But without improving the thermal design (E.g. additional smaller and longer fins to increase the surface area at the base) switching to a more powerfull LED (in the future) will be a problem!
And i think because we are here at BLF, modding the light is not something that only 1 or 2 people will do! Imagine a year from now there might be a LED on the market that puts out 2500-3000 lumen with a die size of an XP-L. I know what i would want to do then. Or maybe there is a high power LED like the XHP70 with 6000lumen but it is one die Like a SBT-70 or MTG-2.
I am definitly interested in this light! But if future modding is not possible or only possible if you put a disproportionate amount of money and work into it to make it work i might better keep searching for a different light.
And it is the same with the cell setup. If modding the setup is not possible or only with a excessive amount of work (near a rebuild) i keep searching for something else.
Still hope that the final product is capable of handling at least 50W+ (it does not have to be like a TM36 even if this would definitely solve any heat problem) and is mod friendly.

The head of this light would weigh over 1.5lb, needless to say it can absorb and dissipate a LOT of heat.

the issue with adding more fins is it would add even more weight.

You need a CPU heatsink and an active cooling fan if you plan to run an XHP70 at 6000lm, unless you’re comfortable with your LED going over 85 or 100C and having reduced output.

Yes, a user-friendly design is crucial. I have another question. Will there be enough room in the driver cavity for an optional driver change? I dont need much, just hope it will not be designed like the Palight Boss1 with 9mm of vertical space in the driver cavity.