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

That would be awesome The Miller. Thanks by the way to all the people that made the BLF GT possible. Thanks to Lumintop as well. I bet it would be a quality flashlight like what they manufacture.

Yeah, by “problems” I meant the tremendous amount of work associated with getting people specific serial numbers. Having each light in the group buy numbered the same would solve that headache. :smiley:
Seems you read my mind though…… :beer:

So we would all get a light numbered “1/555”. Cool. :wink:

Is it a serial number if everyone has the same one? No it isn’t. I think that defeats the point, honestly.

Id rather have no number at all, than everyone sharing the same number.

I’d make a vote. If people are OK with getting a random number (as long as it is inside 555?) then we could make the serial numbers happen. If people will make a fuzz about getting a specific number, I would prefer to drop the matter entirely.

Can you at me to the back up list if there is any spots left?

Yes will update the core list tonight, and it is time for a lists updat as well, got the updates from mr.Scott from the last core update so that should give a better idea where we are at.

I could really care less either way.

If we were doing serial numbers, I think 1 of 555 - 2 of 555 - 3 of 555 would be cool for this run. Then 00556 - 00557 - 00558
Or maybe just put “First run” on this batch, or “1 of 555” on all of the first batch…

And, I dont really care if there is no serial or special markings on it. Would be a neat extra, but does it really add to the light? To be honest, I am on the list for one and would like to honor that, but depending on the final price and time of release, I may not even be able to afford to jump on it… times are tough in the Pulsar household. So my opinion may not matter

All opinions matter :wink:

Yes if we do serials it is gonna be ” 001 of 555 ” and so on
Nobody will be able to choose a number they will be send random

Good news, DEL made the first driver prototype
It works at 2,24A with good 90+% efficiency
Parasitic drain is acceptable at 156uA and possibly a bit lower.
Heck of first proto driver results!

Good to hear that, the runtime will be very long
Btw: i love the idea engraving the number on the light, it will be more valuable in my collection

MARK core list updated

Thanks. Cant wait for it to be finished.

I’m in for one piece of this great flashlight!

+1,000,000

Good news, DEL made the first driver prototype
It works at 2,24A with good 90+% efficiency

Parasitic drain is acceptable at 156uA and possibly a bit lower.

Wow this is pretty freak’n awesomely excellent !!! :wink:

Great work DEL!!! :+1:

Man , i can’t wait to get one :slight_smile:

As The Miller mentioned, the prototype driver is built and mostly tested. It is running a tweaked version of Tom’s NarsilM and it has been performing pretty well.

Some numbers:

  • Switching frequency is at 800 kHz with the selected components and at 16.8 V input.
  • 100% output is 2.25 A, but this easily adjusted by changing Rsense. Aim is to have >= 2.5 A stock.
  • Everything is running cool. ‘Hottest’ components are the buck chip and 100 mohm sense resistor, and both have a Trise of barely 20 C.
  • Efficiency is 91% at 16.8 V, peaking at around 93% as the battery voltage approaches the output voltage.
  • With my ‘LED load’ (4 x 3 V emitters on a beefy heat sink), it stays in regulation down to about 13.8 V (3.45 V per cell). An actual XHP35 should do better.
  • As the battery drains further the LED current fades gracefully. About 2 A left at 13 V, 0.8 A at 12 V.
  • Parasitic drain is 156 uA. The bulk of this is the buck chip, unfortunately. Will bring it down to about 125 uA by upping the LVP resistors.
  • The firmware has been set to get pure analog dimming between 100% and 20. From there it is further dimmed using 15.6 kHz PWM. Butter-smooth Narsil ramping! (The 20 analog dimming limit is not set in stone, but some efficiency is sacrificed if trying to go much lower.)
  • Getting a moon mode of 0.44 mA, using a combination of analog and PWM dimming.

Beautiful, DEL. Do you think a lot of efficiency will be lost by pushing the components to 2.5A? What about longevity?

Is it just me, or did the project get a much faster pace in the last few weeks?

Orsm work DEL. :+1:

That is one nice looking driver :slight_smile:

That’s a beauty DEL, remarkable work! :beer:

The heat form this driver should be a non issue in the massive light! :+1: