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

I’m not sure if it’s the same issue, but I fixed something like that in RampingIOS between V1 and V2. If the user ran the light on a high mode for a while, then shut it off, it didn’t reset any of the thermal info it had collected. So when the user next turned it on, even at a low level, it would think it was hot and then “step down” to whatever it was going to do in the previous session, and this usually meant it would go from a low mode to a high mode.

Since RampingIOS V1 was a fork of Narsil, Narsil could be doing something similar. It wouldn’t be the first bug the two firmwares have shared.

I completely rewrote all that for FSM / Anduril / RampingIOS V3, and those also allow the thermal sensor to be calibrated. So, that’s available if you’d like the issue fixed instead of just working around it.

I resolved the issue. I guess I used too much solder paste or I moved wrongly with some led and there was a problem - straight anode-catode short. I reflowed leds again and all works fine now. Thanks for ideas anyway ;).

After these “troubles” I have really nice 4000K HI CRI beam of LH351D leds and I got a lot of new modding experiences :).

The BLF Q8 is not available on BG,when back?

Processing time:Expected on October 31, 2018

just in time for halloween.

You can try Sofirn Q8 on aliexpress or amazon :smiley:

the sofirn is coolwhite emitters tho, perhaps he want the original ?

Does anyone have good sources for a diffuser for the Q8? A warm colored one would be perfect.

Fenix AOD-L.

I have a problem. After removing the batteries (for charging), the flashlight forgets the custom setting of the temperature of the temperature control and uses the factory setting of the temperature of the temperature control.
What to do? Or is this the norm?

There is a bug in the software that shows up on very few lights where it doesn’t always save changes made in the menu after battery power is reset.

Iirc it will remember eventually, it may take a few tries plus it helps to cycle the light on/off and basically use it normally before disconnecting battery power.

I think it’s referred to as the Narsil memory bug.

Yes, it should remember eventually…

To completely fix it though, it would be necessary to flash new firmware onto the driver. This requires some extra tools, but the tools are cheap and the firmware is free and the Q8 is exceptionally easy to flash.

A few hours of tests, the results are strange. Thermal control memorized temperature setting. Stepdown worked in any mode, for a given temperature. But as soon as I pulled out the batteries, a change occurred. In turbo mode, custom thermal control remained, in any other mode, thermal control is 7-8C lower. For example, a turbo 57C, in another mode 49C. And so every time you remove the batteries.
Is there a topic with instructions on updating the BLF Q8 firmware and links to buying equipment?

This stuff is too complicated for myself, but I kinda want to learn so I’ve been keeping track of things.

Try this link for parts.

Here are some videos.

Here is a thread on it.

Thanks for the help! :slight_smile:

It seems to me that the error is common, but it is difficult to notice because of several reasons:

- very few people change the settings;

- the factory setting of thermal monitoring (55C) is quite reasonable, but the calibration of the sensor is different for everyone (I have about ~ 48C);

- not everyone has the necessary equipment to control the parameters of the flashlight;

  • if the user changes the temperature control setting, then most likely it is not much different from the factory setting, within ~ 10C. But since there is a delay in the response of the thermal control (about 40 seconds), so it is sometimes difficult to understand whether the user’s settings have been saved or a memory error has occurred.
    Therefore, I am going to conduct an additional series of tests. I set the temperature control to be very different from charging (55C), for example, 30C or 35C. Low temperature control temperature will allow both to speed up testing and easier to control memory errors. And I will try to make the lamp remember this setting of thermal control.
    If anyone is interested, join the tests :wink: . Having a few tests can already talk about statistics.

Di_Joker, there may not be much need to run tests because the issue is already known and was fixed in a related firmware in 2017.

So the issue is pretty well-understood, and updating the firmware should fix it. The original Narsil firmware is mostly abandoned though, since Tom has been too busy with other parts of life to maintain it. So fixed lights are running Anduril instead. It’s not perfect either, but it’s actively maintained and doesn’t have any known eeprom bugs. It also has quite a few more features, and is easier to modify if you want to customize anything.

ToyKeeper, I have seen mentions that in Narsil 1.2 (ROT66) there is also a memory error. Narsil is especially good because in addition to the ramp there is a mode with fixed brightness steps, for some it is very very important.

Yes, the first batch of ROT66 lights used NarsilM 1.2. Later batches switched to Anduril — to resolve the memory error, to get more features, and because Fireflies thought Narsil was too complicated. Both offer a choice of smooth ramp or fixed brightness steps, though the method differs.

Narsil:

  • Steps are chosen from 12 preset mode groups (or sometimes 8 groups, depending on the model of light).
  • Click repeatedly to go brighter.
  • Level locks in after 1.2s, so after that, a click turns the light off.
  • Hold to step down and reset the lock-in timer.
  • Clicking several times from off is used to choose a brightness level; I forget how to access blinky modes.
  • Can either start at the lowest level or the last-used level, but not both (use config mode to choose which).
  • To change UI style (smooth or steps), enter config mode (method depends on which UI style is active) then change the ramp toggle setting.

Anduril:

  • Steps are calculated from the user’s personal floor level, ceiling level, and number of steps. Can be anything. Some people like 3 steps, some like 20.
  • Click for on/off, hold to change brightness. (same UI as smooth ramp)
  • To change UI style (smooth or steps), click 3 times while the light is on.

I have a bunch of NarsilM forks to merge together, and I think I also have a patch to fix the memory bug, but it’s going to take a while and requires a lot of code reorganization and testing, so I’ve been procrastinating. Since Narsil isn’t really maintained any more, the main point of the merges is to simplify the process of GPL compliance, keeping all the forks in one place. But it’s not likely to get any more significant updates beyond some branch cleanup. Development has pretty much moved to FSM, the toolkit on which Anduril is based.

ToyKeeper, Yes, I somehow missed that in the new Anduril there are fixed brightness steps. I have no steps on the Emisar D4 with the old version Anduril.
In any case, on my Q8 Narsil 1.0 and I will be interested in doing the tests. If I can get a positive result, it may be useful to someone else.

Unless you flashed the firmware, the Emisar D4 doesn’t have Anduril. The Emisar D4, D1, and D1S ship with RampingIOS V2, which is a simplified fork of an old version of Narsil. It only does smooth ramping.

The Emisar D4S ships with RampingIOS V3, which is a simplified fork of Anduril. It adds some things, like Anduril’s fixed brightness steps, but it still lacks a lot of Anduril’s other features.

The only stock lights with Anduril so far are from Fireflies. However, there should also be some soon from Sofirn and Lumintop. And maybe Emisar, if I can ever get Hank to use it.