I also dumped mine as I have standardised on Samsung 30Q’s. Camping/travelling, I now have T1 lantern, headlamp (skilhunt H03) and single 18650 handheld (Emisar D1 or D4) with a single 18650 charger.
The T1 provides backup charging capability and all the cells can be swapped between the lights as they run down etc which means I don’t carry a dedicated spare. Wouldn’t feel comfortable putting the stock mystery cell into the Emisars.
Used the T1 a few nights so far this week, seperate cool white mode is annoying, I would rather two seperate CCT &brightness programmable channels or just dropping the CW mode all together.
If the lantern is mounted on a magnetic surface, pulling it off to switch it off is a bit annoying, I’ve accidentally touched the sensor on the top while trying to reattach the lamp, which of course turns it back on.
Two T1 lanterns arrived today. Cute little fellows. :sunglasses: Charged both of them simultaneously with the supplied blue cell. After a bit over two hours one of them finished charging; the red indicator light turns blue. Only within two minutes or so the second one finished charging as well. This inspires confidence; the cell voltage was the same and the charging time as well.
Both cells measured 4.12V right when charging finished. Surprisingly, both lanterns shows exactly the same parasitic drain value. Initially the drain value is 2.7 mA, but after a couple of seconds it stabilises to 0.17 mA. With a 3000 mAh cell you have complete discharged cell in 2 years time. :+1:
Again it inspires confidence that both samples show the exact same value for parasitic drain, which is simply not always the case.
UI is indeed quirky, but the features are there. The capacitive button is easily activated unintentionally; I don’t think I’ve ever had so many accidental activation with a light. But… it’s not an EDC where UI should or must be intuitive and efficient; this is a lantern, so once you’ve set the desired temperature and output you leave it alone. So really, I have eventually no problem with the UI.
This light is a big win, and a fine example of how wonderful budget lights can be. :+1:
Great set-up, Ive been struggling to figure out how to rig something similar up as it obviously can’t stand on a desk upright and charge.
On the subject of charging, I tried charging mine using a 7W USB panel, had to place the light in the shade behind the panel carefully, the grass/ground turned on the touch switch.
The stand for the lantern I made from an old halogen desk lamp. Just pulled it apart and added a metal rod and that was it to hang the lantern. I use this stand with an alligator clip at the end of the rod to secure anything small that I want to solder too.
I was thinking of just cutting off a metal or plastic tube so that I could put the lantern upright too like you wanted and then dremel a slot in the side to give enough room for the micro usb end to connect to the lantern and then another slot so the usb cable to the pc routes out sideways.
I have not picked up on the lantern, it looks real nice and I can think of a lot of uses.
I do have the F1 flashlight and it is pretty good for $20 Can. in my initial assessment.
Protected cells do fit in mine though. The XTAR 3400 (Panasonic B) and generic protected Sanyo 2600 both fit. Spring tension is fairly high even with a flat top cell though. Protected Keeppower 3120 (Sony VTC6) is too thick and won’t fit.
Well, since you say so, I had to try and my protected ncr18650b really "does" fit. When I first tried, I just didn't go further as it looked too long, but yeah, it fits, thanks! On usb to power this lantern, I noticed the threaded cap gets way too hot, so I'm not sure I would trust a battery in it for too long.
Dumb question, but the screw end cap is the negative terminal isn't it? This lantern has springs on both sides and instructions don't say for sure which side is negative.
Thanks for that info!
I’ve never checked but most battery folks say there’s not much left at that point anyway.
Did it just go dark or nag with flashes?
The small red indicator on the side of the black plastic starts blinking when battery is low. This is also the charging indicator.
Lamp shuts off completely without other warning.
Yeah, there’s not much juice left between 3.2V or so and 2.8V. :+1:
