ZozzV6 is number 761 on the list
(send the updates when you get the time and i will add them to the op. 
OK.
I AM IN!
One for now. …for now.
I cant pass on the chance to own the most useful and best quality lantern ever made. I have gone from indifferent to excited for its arrival. Good job all involved. I just ordered the batteries for it.
I have not read every page so excuse me if Im being repetitive…
Was there any discussion of having an external partial/adjustable or rotating reflector/shield that could attach to the outside of the lens?
It would block light at certain angles or say 90-180 degrees to provide a dark area or “no light” zone. It would also reflect that same blocked light back to the rest of the unblocked area actually increasing output or allowing a lower setting to the desired areas. This would allow light to be directed to areas or parts of the 360 light pie that need it and block or black out direct light in eyes or windows on bedrooms of motorhomes or tents where people are sleeping that don’t need it.
I have been in camps where there was discussion as to whether to turn the lantern up or down or off altogether for certain people who either didn’t want so much light or just wanted to block it from shining directly on them. We have actually tried to hang things to block areas from being lighted in the past with standard 360 lighting. We wanted the table behind the lantern well lit and the people on the front side could have seen fine and not been blinded by the direct beam with just the reflected light bouncing off the trailer and table.
This dual purpose shield/reflector could be attached so as to rotate or possibly be raised or removed completely. It would serve to block the back side light and increase front side lighting (flat white) and could be made inexpensively.
Just cut the ends of a pop can and wrap the aluminum tube around it however you please.
So my attempts at sharing the list via google docs has been a learning experience. The links above required folks to request access from me to read the document, which is a PITA for the folks that want to read it as well as me. I believe this link works and folks won’t have to ask permission. You should be able to copy the text and paste it where ever you like, or search it for your (or anyone elses) name.
Let me know if you have success or not, thanks!
PS, google docs takes 5 minutes to update a “pushlished” document, which this interest list is.
I have not read every page either, but I don’t pretty certain this in not a feature of the light as currently designed. I think it would be an interesting enhancement though . . .
Boom. It doesn’t get more simple than that! I guess we can see that I don’t camp much and am not MacGyver.
If it came with the lantern it would be more functional and well finished, but I will use something homemade if needed.
Just throwing it out there to see if anyone else had this need.
Thanks! It works. I just saw my name. That was fast.
thanks for the feedback! I looked right after I added you, and it was not there yet, that’s why I edited my post above. Glad it is there now, 5 minutes is not too long to wait.
In order to upgrade to the premium version of the reflector, put tape on the sharp tin edges so you don’t cut yourself and add a rubber band for extra holding power.
This premium upgrade sounds like a winner if the removable adjustable rotation angular selective luminance reflector/decreaser unit does not make the final cut.
I will make one from my favorite of the canned species of beers I often drink to proudly showcase my metalworking taping prowess.
Good ideal though. maybe can be something built as an accessory kit for the lantern once we get the lantern itself in production, ( kit could include a reflector, storage case or sleeve, wall-charger or solar charger & cable, etc.
Edit: going to do some photos of the beam pattern tonight on the V2 versus V1 & other lanterns.
I am interested, can I get on the list as well. Thanks!
I would be in for the kit and assume others would as well.
The only reason I bring it up now is that the pivoting or removable mounting design I had in mind might need to be tooled into the lantern from the get go. It could snap on the same way a belt clip does and slide around the unit while gripping the notch and suspending it away from the outer lens a bit to prevent rub marks. If it was plastic, it would be inexpensive, durable and would not scratch the ano. It could have a top and bottom groove to add stability.
kit options:
base
tripod
reflector
cable
case
solar charger
wall charger
Since the lantern is based from the Q8 body, it currently has a side 1/4-20 threaded tripod mount, and the reflector/shade could even mount to that point, ( its probably easy to leave that side mount on the production lantern model too for that.
Add me on the list for 1. Thank you! Super Excited!
Thanks.
UPDATES, May,18,2018:
- Did some Beam-pattern comparison shots tonight of the new V2 prototype against the original SRK-based V1 prototype, the BLF Q8 with the best diffuser i found (and have tested that fits perfectly) and compared it to the best & most used other modded LED lanterns i have, a modded survival multi-lantern, a modded Noma dual-LED lantern, and a modded Coleman LED.
Photo below shows them from left to right:
First up, is a collage of the lanterns placed against a white flat, smooth back-drop to show the beam patterns of the lanterns, with a flat-plane below them to simulate a table or counter surface. The Nikon D5100 DSLR settings were the same for all 6 photos, (F5.6, S-1/180,) and all lanterns were on low or medium modes set so they were all roughly the same output, ( averaging 250 ~ 300 lumens)
Now here is where the details of my findings are shown…
- photo #1 is the V2 BLF Lantern prototype, with two down-firing XP-L 3000K LEDs. As of right now this new head design has the smoothest, most even beam pattern of all my lanterns with the least artifacts and least tint shift. This is due to the moderately frosted main lens/globe, (with not second inner globe) and the use fo 2 or 4 LEDS & senter post instead of one LED and side post design. Also, the trick here to get this smoothness and higher beam angle from down-firing LEDs, is both the top surface & bottom surface painted with a clean-white “Flat” coating, (not gloss white, or chrome coating like 90 % of commercially available lanterns we see on the market today. Chrome plating or shiny surfaces just adds glare, hard-lighting, and artifacts. ( as seen on the #2 , #4, #5, and #6 photos. Flat-white surface form my past tests reflect the most light in a smoother flood-pattern than polished or shiny surfaces, and with the top & bottom surfaces of the head flat white, the reflecting back & forth also “amplifies” the light out the sides, increasing efficiency and flood angles. Notice in photo #1, where the V2 has the smoothest pattern, least tint shift, and most down firing light for table illumination, and also the least hard-light glare.
Image #2 is the V1 prototype, with a single down-firing XP-L 4000K LED, it only has a bottom flat-white surface, but the top surface around the LED is shiny. for some reason this increases the tint shift and hard lighting, (though better than the other lanterns, its not as good as the V2.
- Image #3 is a stock Q8 with the diffuser. As most flashlights with diffusers, there is almost no illumination downward on the table that it rests on, and most of the light
is directed upwards. While ok indoors, but outdoors its impractical and has the most glare on the eyes of all these lanterns when resting on a table below the eye line.
- Image #4 is a much larger Coleman modified LED lantern, with single down-firing XP-L 4000K. while it has good table illumination because of its much bigger size, its diffuser and single LED produces some hard-light artifacts in the beam.
- Image #5 is a Survival Lantern i modified with a single down-firing XM-L 3000K LED, While its tall lens/reflector adds to the beam angle, it has some artifacts due to the shiny bottom surface.
- Image #6 is a modified Noma dual-LED lantern. with two XP-G2 3000K LEDs, This lantern has both down-firing AND up-firing LEDs, and in between them is a diffuser “tube”. While this design does increase the overall beam output angle, the up-firing LED does produce more eye-glare, and the framed lens adds shadows & artifacts.
Next up below, i added the bottom tripod mount to the lantern as talked about earlier in the topic, ( in this case i added a 1/8” aluminum plate inside the bottom cap, then threaded it with the 1/4-20” standard tripod hole. then sealed in the inside to make it waterproof.
then here below showing the V2 BLF lantern prototype on a camera tripod. This would be a great option outdoors at a camping area, where it will illuminate a larger area.
