I am sure that I read this somewhere here, but I think that using the Q8 battery tube and Narsil ramping UI for this lantern would be a great base to build on. The lighted E-switch on the Q8 has such a low parasitic drain that I do not think that it is a problem at all. In the ideas thread there is talk of making a battery tube to use four 18350’s and a head with a reflector for a pop can thrower. The thrower head, Q8 head, 18350, 18650 and maybe a eight 18650 battery tube would all lego together. How cool would it be to add the lantern head to the Q lego party. I think that this would be a pretty cool system.
This could become an amazing “do it all” lighting kit.
I wonder if there would be any way to turn the lighted switch on/off through the driver? At times the switch might be nice, but for many this may serve as an emergency light source, and I certainly wouldn’t want any more drain than necessary when faced with a multi-day blackout.
Well, with 12,000 mah cells, the lighted switch would take 10 years to run down, so drain is really not an issue.
TK has mentioned that it’s possible to adjust the brightness in software. So perhaps a newer version of Narsil can incorporate that feature.
The current Q8 software can already turn the switch light off with a few precise button actions. And of course the switch light can be programmed to stay off all the time through the menu options.
This is in the design stages at the moment with the small team we have working on it. Right now were discussing the driver design. Between TheMiller, DEL, Toykeeper, Myself, & others. Like the Q8 it will take some time to work out an established design base, then work out details with an established manufacturer, then the pre-testing of manufacturer prototypes before final production of units. ( like the Q8 process) TheMIller can answer those specifics experienced team member based on the success of the Q8.