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

I have a quick question. When I turn this Q8 on in moonlight, via long press from off, and then set it down still on my desk, it stays in moonlight from between 30 and 45 seconds, and then switches to turbo on it’s own. Sometimes, long press from off to attempt to enter moonlight will go to full turbo, too.

I timed the switch from moonlight to turbo with a stopwatch over and over, and it is consistently between 30 and 45 seconds.

Is this normal?

Settings are:
ramping - on
blinky modes - off
moonlight level - 2 (also repeated results in 3,4, etc)

There was a bug involving moonlight switching itself to turbo, but I thought that was fixed quite a while ago. IIRC it was something about moon being a separate mode with an index way above the top of the ramp, so if it tried to step “down” it would end up really bright. Does it continue to step down after that, if you leave it on? Are the batteries low, or perhaps does it think it’s overheating?

so far my Q8 is working flawlessly. I use it quite a bit and continue to be impressed by it every time i ramp it up :+1:
Worth every penny and even if ive said it before, thanks once again to everyone, awesome job!

I was worried mine would do the same thing as I received one of the first lights. Tried it and all is well thankfully. Sorry about yours.

Thank you for the reply, ToyKeeper. Here are the results:

Yes, apparently it does, about 30 seconds after turbo is unintentionally activated, it steps down again, also on it’s own.

Thanks for the idea. I’ve just now ruled this out with some fresh, fully recharged ones, so no. I used fairly new genuine Samsung 25r batteries for this test.

Results:
Disabling the thermal (setting 3, option 1) appears to make it go away. How interesting!
Setting thermal to “timed” (option 1, 60 seconds) also makes it go away.
After “re-calibrating” the temperature based to something so hot I can barely hold it and then allowing it to cool, the bug comes back.

The light shows 1 blink for firmware, which could mean version 1 or 1.1. Who knows. Did you guys install a way to flash this firmware?

I hope this helps narrow down the issue.

Okay, so it is the thermal step-down triggering when it shouldn’t. I don’t recall if that was one of the things Tom fixed in v1.2, but the Q8 is relatively easy to reflash if you want to try it. Remove two screws and the driver should pop out far enough to access the relevant parts.

More information on reflashing is in the firmware repository linked in my signature, in the “README” file.

Or, the timed step-down is probably good enough… no thermal measurements needed.

… and firmware is kind of a rabbit hole. Definitely try it if you’re interested, but be warned that it could turn into a new hobby. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the information. Yep, sure enough. The leads on the driver are plenty long enough. I must say that these solder joints are really smooth and pretty, too, with all residue removed. They’re really well done. Wow! I’ve seen some nasty, scary looking PCBs from China, but this one is fantastic.

I’m sure that in the next few weeks I won’t be able to help myself, although, as you suggested, it truly is a tiny problem.
I do need to thank you for all of your help. Without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint it.

Thanks again.

@Longtom
The Firmware is v1.0
v1.1 was only for the BLF GT prototype.

This is an old bug fixed in NarsilM v1.2. The v1.2 HEX file and a v1.3 BETA hex file are posted on my google drive share, but of course this won't help those that can't download . Sorry bout this.

Here's the latest ReleaseNotes.txt file:

For Vers 1.3 2017-10-16:
tweaks made to battery voltage level readings:
- The single cell mode using the internal V ref and no resistors appears to be more accurate now, rounded to the blinked out value.
- for using R1/R2, it should also be more accurate now - still in testing


For Vers 1.2 2017-10-16:

ADDED : (from MAD777, maybe others) if strobes are disabled, a 2X click from 2X turbo should restore the previous level you were at
FIXED: 4X clicks in modes operation engages lockout - not supposed to
ADDED: operation change: make click&hold in MODES or STROBES wrap from 1st mode to last
FIXED: in LVP switch LED control: the LED sometimes is left on after an LVP drop, and is not blinking the way it should be. The "bug" is that I'm trying to control the switch LEDs from multiple places so it's getting turned off quickly after turned on, and left on when it should be left off. It's a timing thing, so has sort of a random pattern - sometimes left on, sometimes left off. The 8 sec LVP blink need to be qualified better, and should not be calling Setlevel() as is because it wants to control the LED
FIXED: temp stepdown should not happen right away from turn ON. Delay it by 15 seconds
FIXED: for temperature stepdown, in moon mode, a temp stepdown is actually done because moon mode is marked as special level 255, which is considered as a high level of output instead of very low. The stepdown results in the light switching much brighter. This should only happen id the temperature threshold is set to a low temp, or the light is still hot and not cooled down when moon mode is chosen. It can also result in an immediate jump to the stepdown level as soon as the light is turned on in moon mode. Might appear as a bright flash when ramping first starts.

There's more previously implemented:
- added momentary/tactical mode via 5X clicks in ramping mode - only active til a power reset (full turbo only when switch is held down) - It's only accessible from ramping mode, not Mode Set operation
- full BLF GT buck driver support
- capability of setting max ramping to less than full max FET (Hi mode), while the 2X click still goes to full FET turbo. This is being used for the GT buck driver configuration.
- added more compile switches, little better custom configuration of the source in header files

Teacher and Jason, thanks. I will check it out after work tonight.

TomE would you please check your PMs. It’s been over 11 weeks since your last response indicating you were finished modifying my q8. Thanks in advance.

My first thought was no, it couldn’t have, but I’ll check anyway.
The result? Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!
And I’m a dummy.
Thanks.

Excellent!! :slight_smile: … :+1:

Wonder why I thought to suggest that??? :smiley: . :smiley: . :smiley:

Yep…. your not alone. :wink:

It happened to you too, huh? Well, thanks for the suggestion. I guess I’ll give the manual another read, because sometimes it’s hard to get the click sequences and timing just right. I might even look up how to do a factory default reset, and start again.

Oh yeah… more than once too. :person_facepalming: … :smiley: In fact one of mine even came with it disabled from the factory.

Here is the most simple Factory Reset I have found…… :wink:

Restore to Factory Settings

A feature (undocumented in the user manual), to restore all configuration settings to factory default. (The state as Q8 originally shipped.)

To access this feature, while displaying the firmware number ; press & hold the switch until the light blinks quickly. (This acknowledges ‘Factory Reset’)

Cool, thanks teacher.

Your welcome my friend. :slight_smile:

Still no issues with my Q8 after a few months of ownership. That being said, I’m as happy as a pig in #2…. lol

THAT…… is pretty darn happy!! :smiley: . :smiley: