BLF EM1....blf designed emergency light...

BLF name is starting to be a brand. Certainly the q8 has put on the map. Usually, the objective is more…more …more lumens on a budget. After all, as the pilgrims use to say….with great lumens comes great power.

Here is something different. Can we come up with and ask a manufacturer to make….

1….single led.

2…above 1000 lumen

3…simple interface. 4 step plus flashing.

4…4 aa cell

5….USB RECHARGEABLE. (everybody has home and car usb recharging capability.) EDIT: removable tail cap to get access to charge port so as to ventilate the batteries while charging.

6……single red flashing led on tail cap. (so one can put it behind the car in an emergency Forward it lights the car, behind it, a red flashing led to get attention)

7…size of a tn4a or sf11 or sp36. Must be able to fit in door pockets or glove compartments.
Of course, the b in blf is budget so the target price is $40…or less.

8…total shut off circuit. These lights will be forgotten so it makes no sense to draw any power.

9……EDIT…magnetic tail to hold the flashlight on steel surfaces.

For any manufacturer, this has potential for massive volume. Unlike li-ion which is not suitable for the role nor easily accepted outside our entusiast community. From Amazon to Home Despot to Costco, this is a slightly up market cost light that is superior to the Coast type of lights carried by the box stores.

What say you? Good idea or waste of time? Of course other then concept, i don’t know how else to get this going.

1. Single LED. Good. Especially if SST-20 4000k 95CRI is the default choice.

2. Good too.

3. Good. I would actually go with a 5 mode, with a moonlight mode for emergency use.

4. 4xAA cells. Good too.

5. USB rechargeable. Oh boy. It would work with us, who only use rechargeable lights with rechargeable AA cells, but not with the general public. It could work, but only if 4x LSD NiMH cells are included in the package.

6. I would prefer something like a small red LED in front of the light, that activates if I triple click.

8. That means no standby LED lights, no nothing.

So, yes, it would be perfectly doable.

Prices:
40$US for the light with 4x 1900mAh NiMH LSD cells, and a USB cable.
30$US for the light without anything included.

BFL?

Big F* Lumens? :smiley:

:smiley:

I really thought we were talking a new flashlight brand, till I saw “q8” on the text!

Spartans, please change it to BLF !!! :arrow_right:

Getting the acronym right would be a great first step. :smiley:

LOL. I looked at this several times. Knew something was off. Just couldn’t shine my light on it.

4xAA rechargeable inside the flashlight? Yeah, I dont think that’s a good idea.

I like the BFL name though, whatever it stands for.

I don’t think you’re supposed to charge NiMH in a sealed enclosure.

Other than that I’m all for the idea, right now all our cars are equipped with little triangle shaped roadside emergency lights from Harbor freight powered by L92’s but theyre really only good for the red flashing sign, the white light they put out is a joke.

Can there be a magnet somewhere? One time my trailers lights went out and I had to get it back to my shop so I just stuck the HF light on the back like a farm machinery triangle and drove no problem.

BFL EM1….bfl designed emergency light…

Hmmmm… BFL?? It has potential I think. :wink:

What do you think of these. 4AA or a D cell.

Yeah, you have to drop either the 4xAA requirement or the USB charging. You can’t have both safely (for muggles). But, if it is truly an emergency light, make the battery integral (not user serviceable :wink: ) and make the whole bottom end of the flashlight glued and/or screwed shut. Then, put the charging port in the threaded portion of the “battery tube” like those new generation of 10180 size keychain lights. You have to take the head off to access the charge port. Now, the light is still waterproof while it is put together. Make the charge port USB-C and make it also a power bank. (this is an Emergency device, right?)

Make an accessory “power connector” to screw in place of the battery tube to allow running the head from alternative sources of power, like the power port in your car, or a phone charger in your home, or some other portable power supply. This could be used in lieu of the battery, so you can still have light while the battery is charging, even in another location. Or, it could be used because you lost your battery or forgot to charge it up the last time you used it while camping… a year ago… and it no longer takes a charge. :person_facepalming:

It should not be a problem if LSD cells are implemented inside of the package.

10 years should be no problem for them :slight_smile:

OK you butt biters……I made a mistake on the name. I was waiting in a freezing car for the big boss to finish shopping so please give this poor taxi driver a break! LOL

The logic of placing the red flashing led on the back of the flashilight is…when one breaks down on the side of the road, best practice is to put the most powerful light 30 feet behind the car and shine on the car and occupants….while the back end emits a red flashing led. The entire safety thing is based on MAXIMUM visibility.

As for the issue of recharging and ventilation. Force the user to take off the back cap to get access to the USB port. Built in safety and pure KISS.

1…We are running on the same path on the ventilation and safety. I prefer to put it at the cap because even if one is stupid enough to lose the cap, the flashlight is still usable but not “waterproof”. PLUS a cap is going to bounce it if it’s dropped, if one drop the head assembly, chances are it’s terminal.

2….I don’t know how many lumens it would run directly from the USB port but that is an easy solution. I’m guessing 200 lumens are not huge but if the batteries run out, it’s better then nothing. 15 foot USB cords are easily available and cheap. I must have 3 or 4 of them hanging around the house.

3….The USB charging is a “must have” because that will allow one to recharge the light while driving. That helps if one has a engine problem which can recur down the road.

GREAT IDEA!

But……

To attach it to the back of the truck/trailer would need a nasty sized magnet. Too much vibration. Certainly a small magnet is really helpful.

I have plenty of these lights hanging around the house and work. Their magnet is just strong enough to hold the light. Cheap and effective.

There are some really good magnets out there. Check out the Emisar D4s review (TK).

4 x AA is too much for an emergency light. I would prefer 2 x AA instead. Everything else is great.

What about something flat like the Nitecore EA45S and you can run it with 2xAA or 4xAA?

Moonlight is definitely a must, because as an emergency light, you could leave it on moonlight for hours.

What is this emergency flashlight used for? What kind of reflector and range does a user need for these emergencies?

I had never seen that Maratac 1D/4xAA light before, it seems to tick most of the boxes of the emergency light of this thread. Reminds me of the BLF-version of the Lumintop SD10, that I indeed keep with some D-cells for emergency (as if I need a light in emergency, with 150+ of them already)

One thing essential for getting a BLF light done: a BLF member, or a few of them, who believes in it must carry the project, put loads of time in it, find and convince a manufacturer and patiently sit it out until the light is in production. Who is this going to be?

About the batteries: I suggested a few times elsewhere that a modern flashlight on AA batteries should not have 4 of them but 3 in series. It makes for a slimmer flashlight and you can use a very simple and robust lineair driver. This used to be impossible a few years ago but the voltage of the new leds have come sown so much that they can be run regulated at high output for most of the runtime of the batteries.

The only thing wrong with a 3xAA setup is that no serious manufacturer has made one yet with a high output modern led (suggestion: Luxeon V), the concept is just used with 3xAAA carriers direct drive on an oldschool XP-E led that has too high voltage to give real light. It will need a lot of convincing to get a chinese manufacturer make something that has not proved itself before.

How do you safely charge multiple AA NiMH cells inside a flashlight?