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

Any updates? I’d love to see Thorfire build this along with the Q8.

not at the moment, i believe TheMiller is probably a bit busy working on the Q8, BLF Thrower, and other projects to to want to bother him yet on this one. I do hope someday soon we can get this rolling though. I am adding a USB charging function to the prototype (TP4056 based) to add versatility.

I’m in too, especially with an incorporated USB charging function, as IMO recharging on the road without the need to carry an extra charger seems to be key for such a device.

OOPS.this gave me a little “whoops did I miss something?” feeling.
I thought you picked it up with Barry.

The Q8 has 4 “shade points” at 90 degrees from the head (so when shining it and holding it perpendicular to a wall a shaded point is seen, caused by the point in the middle of the quad reflector.
How about a good diffuser?
Good quality,downwards facing reflective dome, with a metal frame (using the shade areas for there is less light there anyways) that has a handle so it can be hung and carried like those old fashioned storm lanterns.
And maybe a piece that screws into the Q8 between the tube and head that has the electronics for the charging (and powerbank) and connectors in it.
diffuser could be made so it clamp in between 2 cooling fins at the switch side and fixed with a nut in the tripod mounting hole.
So a camping addon set. because of powerbank also cool for normal users.
Could be a big demand for it.

As was discussed in the Q8 thread, adding a lantern attachment to the Q8 should be pretty simple, just a matter of getting the reflector angles right.

Adding a charging circuit on the other hand would be a much larger issue, it would require a new driver and most likely a redesign of the body itself, at least to some degree, at the very least for the USB port itself.

Although charging a Q8 should really be done with a USB type C connection to get any kind of worthwhile charge times, this would need the cells to be in 4S to work effectively though but it would allow for 10X faster charge rates.

You could possible add a charging circuit to the tail section of the Q8, with an extended tailcap, although charge times would be VERY long indeed. Talking ~10 hours for a full charge.

What? Put the cells in 4S to charge? That’s the worst possible way to charge Li-Ion cells! Where did you get the idea that the charger circuit “would need the cells to be in 4S to work effectively”?

Im my opinion, despite all discussion, a lantern should have a downward facing light source, like DBSAR’s prototype. You can add a sideways pointing reflector on top of the Q8, but will then still need very heavy diffusing to prevent looking directly into the leds.

Lanterns should project light sideways and downward, and only little light should go upwards.

I said that it would be faster to charge in 4S, not better. The light would also work better in 4S.

It is very simple why, a USB type C connection can provide up to 100W of power but it can only do that at 20V out output. Thus a 4S would be about perfect at 16.8V.

In 5V mode any USB is limited to around 10 watts.

At 10W (aka, 1,8A) the cells will take about 10-12 hours to charge. Compared to around 2 hours at 100W

Charging in parallel is better long term for sure but it is also MUCH slower.

This is pretty easy to solve really, the bezel screw in point and the size of the lantern reflector could easily block any direct view on the LED’s.

Or worst case you simply turn the Q8 upside down, although that will make it top heavy.

You need the Q8 body to remotely handle the heat unless you plan to limit it to really low outputs.

In order to safely charge a 4S arrangement, you’d need cell balancing, which means a “battery pack” is going to be the only way that makes sense. Randomly throwing in 4 cells and charging them in series is dangerous, and even more so when considering “Fast Charge” capability. Manufacturers can’t afford to leave such an important safety consideration for their customers to figure out. Parallel charging is fast enough, much simpler, and much safer. It isn’t likely anyone will ever find themselves needing a full charge on all 4 cells, and that in a short period of time. If the light needed to be used soon, an incomplete charge would likely suffice, with a full charge left for a more convenient time.

I’m very interested in this project!

Would anybody else like to see this lantern with grey anodizing or some color such as blue or green? Maybe it’s just me, but I always find black to be an off-putting color for a lantern. Probably one of the least important aspects of this project, though!

How do you like this colour?

NEW convoy sand/tan!

looks good. :slight_smile: sort of like a pewter/titanium anodizing color.

If the lantern gets onboard charging it should be possible to use while charging and to use it without any batteries in it. So it might be possible (depending on the cell config) to run it from a powerbank or something.

For the Q8 lantern thing, I would just go for a diffuser type of thing. Whenever I use a FL as a lantern I try to hang it up side down above my head, that way all light is projected downward and none is lost.

I like it, it looks very elegant! And fits better into nature than black or silver.

Both points are a very good idea, that would make a lantern useful in very different kind of situations.

I am interested

Yeah for sure. Thinking about it though, charging at around 3 to 4A (if 4cells are used in parallel) and running the lantern full throttle could cause for some serious heat building up. But since it’s it not a tube light I believe this can be avoided by way of design. Something that would not be possible with the Q8 for example.

Edit: Instead of using micro usb charging, charging like an olight or the way convoy does would definitely be a step up from al the other light using micro usb.

I have ran the Lantern prototype on maximun mode for 7 + hours continuous with no problems. as the LED emitter is located at the top, The lantern head is the heat-sink, meaning all the heat is kept away & rises up & away from the battery tube and driver areas.

You mean like those hoverboards with no balance circuitry that were catching on fire?

It would be a nice looking feature, but microUSB has the practical aspect in the field use. Chance to find a common microUSB cable if one get lost is higer than getting an proprietary charge adapter.
For long-term use it could even be helpful to add an USB c-type plug (additionally to microUSB maybe).