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

Interested as well.

Also interested, going to follow this post.

Very interested, loving the progress!

Interested, but also holding off committing until a price is mentioned.

(I did not see one but may have missed it in the pages of reading. )

With the 2x7135 and TP4056 charger, this lantern sounds like it would be perfect for camping or long term use, plugging in to a solar panel to top off the cells during the day.

I’m not familiar with the SRK battery compartment setup, but just off hand, with the space of 4x18650, I imagine it wouldn’t be very difficult to rig a carrier for using 3xAA, (or maybe 4 or 5 in 3s2p?) or maybe 3C primaries for anyone not wanting to use Li-Ion?

Sounds great the way the prototype is configured; definitely can’t wait to try one out! :heart_eyes:

The battery compartment is quad-bored resulting in a cloverleaf cross-section. If you wanted to use a 3xAA carrier, you’d have to bore out the battery tube. Doing that would make the 18650 “slots” less stable. It would probably be impossible to hold 1,2, or 3 cells, meaning you’d always have to use 4x 18650. That’s not desirable. I don’t know if it’s possible to make a 4xAA carrier with a cloverleaf cross section. If you were able to get one of those made to fit in the 4x 18650 tube, that would be nice. But then our drivers would have to be made for higher voltage or risk burning up. If you want a drop-in solution (no need to change drivers) you could make it shaped like 4xAA cloverleaf but only hold 3xAA cells. That’s your best bet.

I came across this thread after a while, reading the last post about slow charging with 4P battery config.

Wouldn't be possible to add another port or maybe even 1 port per battery and charge it with multiple microUSB inputs? maybe divided by diodes, so i you just have 1charger than good you charge slow, add another one and you charge double as fast, 1 charger per battery charges it 4 times faster. Many powerbanks nowadays have at least 2 ports of 2+ Amps capable so 4A will be feasible. Dunno about the circuitry tho. Just brainstorming here.... :|

interested

During traveling i don’t think you will have 4 powerbanks and 4 usb-cables with you for charging the lantern.
Also using chargers with different current would result in different voltage cells, which for sure isn’t good.

My idea was just about 1 powerbank as I wrote, as almost every 10Ah + nowadays can deliver more than 3A. You have more than one usb port in the single powerbank and also you can use Y cable to use just powerbank to its maximum rated power delivery. And the cells would all be charged as it would one input so always parallel charging. With lab PSUs it is not uncommon to parallel them to double to Current or put them In series (not this case obviously) to Double the voltage

With my phone I cannot post images but this was the idea

Ahh, I see. Ok, thanks David.
Not that I intended to use primaries, but the thought occurred for a second, (based on someone’s earlier post) that adapting a holder for primaries might be useful in a pinch or for the non-lithium-ion initiated. The idea of a carrier was short sighted however; using primaries would also introduce problems related to someone mistakenly trying to recharge them using the 4056 since it would see the voltage range for Li-Ion cells and, it seems, provide a charge current, yuck :confounded: :person_facepalming:

You have to consider not every traveller has a 10Ah+ (let’s stick to capacitiy, so 40Wh+) powerbank. Means it has to be large enough to fit 4x 18650 cells and weight around 300g if it’s made of plastic.
Most can deliver 1A, some have only one port wich can deliver up to 2A.
Even power plugs only deliver at best 2,5A.

It’s better to stay realistic.

following.

Been following this since a long long time :stuck_out_tongue:

Any new updates on this?

I’m interested. Thanks!

Would it be possible to use a light pipe so that the LEDs would still be mounted in the base but the light would be emitted downwards like a traditional lantern?

Interested

Interested

@DBSAR
Unfortunately photobucket did change the policy. So from 1st of july 2017, no embedding of images on third-party websites, such as personal blogs and forums, is possible for free anymore.
They sell this function now for $399/year.

So is it possible to reupload the pictures to a fair image hoster?

Now the thread has raised to 12 pages, what speaks for your project. I’m very curious about the result too :slight_smile:
Any news for the crowd?