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

Are there better instructions on how to program this light? The paper work I got with the light is not clear to me at all. I can’t understand it. Thank you.

Let’s start with some basics. When you say program, do you mean reprogram the firmware? Or do you mean use the current firmware to change the configuration?

Reprogramming the firmware is best left to ToyKeeper and companies posts on flashing code.

Configuring the light depends on what you want to do. Get started by spending some time turning it on and off, ramping up and down and stopping at specific intensities. This will familiarize you with how the light and switch works. Refer to the documentation in the first few posts of this thread and the paperwork that came with it.

Single quick click from off to last used mode - easy to do.
Double click to turbo.
Now try to get the lowest intensity from off - a slightly longer click will get you here.
Click and hold to start ramping up from minimum.
Try locking out the light - four quick clicks. Light blinks four times and goes out, switch light is off. Single clicks of the switch should now have no effect.
Four quick clicks will disable the lockout and let you back in.

What specifically are you trying to do? JasonWW has some good videos on Narsil over on YouTube and posted here in this thread.

Iam not trying to change firmware. I would like to turn thermal protection off in the stock ramping mode. I been holding it for 8 seconds seems to 2 short blinks and one long. Then it does some more blinking that iam not sure what it’s doing. Iam trying to go to setting number three.it would be so much easier if setting three was three blinks. I don’t know what is going on. It seems its overly complicated, the way the instructions are laid out on the paper are more confusing than they need to be.

Just go to post 2, see how to enter config and where you need to click how often to set it as you like, then do it :wink:

My first of three is en-route FedEx, which means they’re giving it the grand tour of the US and it’ll be here in a week since it left California yesterday. The other two have landed in California, so it might be interesting to see which of the three makes it here first.

You really can’t fault the USPS on tracking, since the light was sent China Post to FedEx here at the Customs receiving center, then FedEx hands it off to the USPS when it gets near it’s destination. A 3 way hand-off, amazing it gets here at all!

As far as the details of the light go, this was all worked out in a year of planning, pretty much everyone had time to read the thread and see what was what and how everything worked, so there shouldn’t be any complaining at this point… everything was nailed down when you made your payment. Yes, there are some things about this light that will be new to a lot of folks. Play with it, read the manual, work it out… it’ll grow on you with some use and if something about it bothers you you’ll have a choice of rearranging the UI to suit you or of course you can give the light away. (or sell it, cheap! lol)

Flashing new firmware can be a daunting task, but it’s something that can be learned easily enough if one wants to tackle it. The light is certainly made to be mod-able so getting it to work just so is set up to be easy enough. I really feel though that it’s pretty epic as it is, no time was spared in getting all the details sorted out and it’s got a lot of man-hours invested just as it comes, so, like a fine meal, it should be tasted and savored before any spices are added. :wink:

I have now used my Q8 from 1st batch a couple of weeks and am impressed how long the Samsung 18650-30 batteries work, how much light it gives even at lower voltage when the batteries are starting to drain out, and then without getting hot at all. For $40 I can’t be happier with the purchase.

I just got a notice from my Delivered! app that says mine’s out for delivery today. I can’t recommend that app enough. If you have an iphone get it— it tracks almost any kind of post with great accuracy.

Can’t believe I’m gonna have my Q8 in hand after such a long wait since the beginning! Gonna be hard to concentrate at work today.

OK, Good you are already most of the way there. I was confused by the blink pattern as well - Tom set it up so that there are 2 blinks to focus attention, then a number of blinks to show what setting you are configuring. What helps me is to think or say “Con-Fig” or “Men-Ue” when those first two blinks happen. Then you count off to the appropriate setting.

So- click on, eight second click and hold.
“Con-Fig” 1 - ramping mode (click once to disable, click twice to enable)
“Con-Fig” 2 - set moonlight level (click between one and seven times to set your fav moonlight level)
“Con-Fig” 3 - set stepdown (click once to disable, twice for temp, three times for timed)

  • If you select temp stepdown, the LED’s turn on to max and the light starts to heat up, let it warm up to your level of comfort, then click.
  • If you select timed stepdown, click once for 60 seconds, twice for 90 sec, three times for two mins, four times for three mins, five clicks for five mins, six clicks for seven mins.

“Con-Fig” 4 - blinky mode (click once to disable, twice for one strobe, three times for all strobes)
Light will blink four times to indicate config session is done and turn off.
At any point in the config session, click and hold will exit the session (blinking four times to let you know).

The best and worst part of a community collaborative project is that if you think something should be done differently - you have the power to do so. No fair claiming that “Someone” should make it better. Dig in - learn to use it, document it in a way that makes sense to you, then post it. If it works better for enough people, it will get adopted as the new standard.

This is so well put, gotta quote this in so many threads
Nice
Gonna incorporate it in the FAQ topic, thanks for putting it so good!

I asked to be put on the list for one unit, then asked for a 2nd at the end. Ordered a 3rd one after receiving the first one.
I received the 2nd and 3rd ones today. Shipped Oct/02/2017 & Oct/03/2017…that was fast.
Both are absoletely flawless and are working fine just like the first one.

Again, thanks a lot to the BLF team for this exceptional flashlight.

I also have a 30 digit tracking number, and using Flyt Express to track, my Q8 that shipped on September 30 finally showed movement this morning. The status of the light as of yesterday is listed in Chinese, and Google translation says it means, “Has arrived in Hong Kong”. But at least I am finally seeing some movement!

You would think that. But be prepared to wait for it to sit a few days in customs, then watch how FedEx makes it tour the country. Finally it may sit a couple days waiting to be given to your post office. Then the post office takes a day or so to send it out.
Thats how it seems to go

With the factory setting temperature step down is disabled. It is set for a 3 minutes step down.
You can choose either temp. or timed stepdown.

illumenated, is that app the one by Fernando?

Well I’m absolutely shocked. Shocked, I say.

I’m not saying the bonus indicator feature was a waste of your time designing. I’m saying, the world (production lights) is just not ready for that level of advancement.

The Q8 is finished, the GT probably won’t even have a lighted switch, so I don’t even know why I’m bringing this up. Wait, it’s all the posts from people confused by it. I’m just trying to help. Maybe the next blf light in the far future can have an option to leave the switch light on all the time and have that be default. Then you can choose in the menu if you want it always off, always on or locator features enable.

This is just my opinion. Trying to help here. I’m a big fan of narsil, I think it’s great. I want all my lights to have it.

Sorry

I finally have something that resembles tracking….

2017-10-09 00:00:00
Location:HK
Status:已到港
2017-10-08 18:01:00
Location:
Status:Depart from Origin airport
2017-10-07 01:07:17
Location:广州处理中心
Status:
2017-10-06 16:37:08
Location:广州处理中心
Status:已扫描
2017-09-30 17:02:23
Location:Flyt Express’s sorting centre, Guangzhou
Status:Item dispatched. PKG#:PKG04302130
2017-09-28 13:35:36
Location:Flyt Express’s sorting centre, Guangzhou
Status:Item in transit
2017-09-28 12:35:36
Location:Flyt Express’s sorting centre, Guangzhou
Status:Item received

Yay for progress!

Yes, because it serves no technical function that a solidly lit light can’t. It just does it in a more complicated way for the pure reason of looking pretty.

Now if the pulsation speed increased or decreased with battery voltage, then it would be functional, but it doesn’t, it always stays the same speed.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s neat and cool. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to admit that’s it’s not a functional thing, it’s strictly cosmetic.

Sometimes the relentless questions and suggestions can not feel right. Specially when asked in several threads or repeated again and again.
There is a phase for things and if a station has passed it is not all that good if people keep coming back on things.
A good way to start is give some breathing space, ask once and just wait. Ask in the right place, not in several places, it feels very pushy if the same thing gets posted about here (station passed) in the GT or FW3A topic while there is a Narsil topic where one can ask it once and well in case of work people do there is simply only acceptance if the answer is not what you wanted when asking.
I would even go so far to say “if an answer to a question could not be acceptable, maybe just don’t ask it in the first place”
What LRU says but then said harsh, don’t like it, do it how you feel it must be done, stop or not even start bugging in such cases.
I know what I am talking about here, it was one of the reasons to start these BLF specials myself in the way I thought would be good.

Am I missing something here? Q8 with current version of Narsil already have it, switch light on as default, can set to make it off (I did it to mine), have option to change setting for locator led, battery level indicator led and indicator led.

Advanced Configuration UI Operation
Activated from Battery Check mode by doing a press&hold for at least 1.2 seconds. The light blinks twice quickly, and once slowly. 3 settings summarized below, and operates the same as the main configuration UI.

1. Locator LED feature 1=disable, 2=enable
2. Battery level Indicator LED Only 1=disable, 2=enable
3. Indicator LED Enable 1=disable, 2=enable

May be better to make it off as default, less people will notice and make noise about it.

Mine arrived an hour ago. Tracking # I received the Friday before the Holiday was worthless on any tracking site. It arrived with a bowed out box inside a bag, but the foam and bubble protected it fine.
After the going thru the checklist, dropped in the waiting 30Q’s, and fired it up with a double tap. My coworker thought aliens were beaming her up, with all that light bouncing off our white walls. :sunglasses:
The unit came in clean, free of grit and well lubed. Ran it thru ramping and switch light on and off, and all functions as it should. Compared it to my L6 w/CW, and it seems I’m going to have to get used to the NW. All my other lights and vehicles are outfitted with cooler 5500K+ LEDs.

Thank you to all the developers and programmers for your efforts, and for the delivery of final product that piqued my interest enough to join here.