BLF LT1 Runtime test *updated 12/11 with step level 2*

I added a chart for level 3 at the default tint to the original post.

Nice job! 16hrs at I guess would be the medium setting.

Great work GreenCampfire! :+1:
Are you still testing other levels? I can a link to this topic on the main LT1 topic so others can see your test results if you like.

Sure! Yes Iā€™ll be testing level 2 next, which I suspect will take awhile :wink: . And thanks designing such a great lantern!
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I am confused, is this GreenCampfire or another member? (I see a different username. :confounded:

Haha, whoops BFLAlias is my roommate and I was replying on his computer (I also convinced him to order a lantern). Yes please feel free to link on the main LT1 topic.

ok :+1: link added to the main topic.

After reading all your current measurements during the tint ramp, I was wondering if you also measured the brightness, because I am not sure if we even need a linear current curve during the tint ramping. At least theoretically the effiency (lm/W) of the Leds should be higher when the current is spead over more leds, which means that we should have a slight dip in the mid of the current curve, although I am not sure how noticible the effect is in this case.

Unfortunately the firmware programming ā€œholesā€ om LT1 donā€™t work for me.

I do have the Lexel programming key, 3 pieces, purchased from Fireflies. This tool worked for Fireflies E01 and PL47G2 (I upgraded their firmware successfully more than once), however it didnā€™t work with Fireflies ROT66G2 and BLF LT1. ROT66G2 and LT1 have a newer design of programming ā€œholesā€, while E01 and PL47G2 have the old design ā€” programming ā€œpadsā€. The old ā€œpadsā€ make much better contact with the pogo-pins, so you can easily reflash as long as the pins are aimed at the pads correctly. However with the new design of ā€œholesā€, the contact cannot be made reliably.

I have spent more than 3 hours on my ROT66G2 and LT1, hundreds of times, making sure that the pogo-pins are all pushed into the ā€œholesā€ each time, however AVRDUDE couldnā€™t even read the MCU id correctly, each time. The only reliable way to reflash the firmware for ROT66G2 or LT1 is to pull out the driver and use a programming clip directly. That involves removing the soldered wires each time, and itā€™s tedious.

I also sanded the tips of the pogo-pins on the programming key, slightly or heavily, and tried several times, still didnā€™t work.

I like both ROT66G2 and LT1, however I think the programming feature is fairly important and should have been well testedā€¦ :person_facepalming:

EDIT: I just soldered wires directly from those programming ā€œholesā€ to the USBASP programmer. However it didnā€™t work either. So most likely those holes themselves are not working at all in the design circuit, or both my ROT66G2 and LT1 are defective units.

I can not verify your problem

I have here both lights, plugged the programming key in just a minute ago, started Atmel Studio and flashed with Attiny25 command so it gives me error wrong MCU
I have flashed several drivers without any problems with the programming key, both all vias and with only 2 align viases
The design was changed to all viases after another programming key maker said to me when all pads are viases the flash proces is more reliable

The v3.1 key has mirror problem, so the leads need to be soldered not as marked on the key, did you check that?

The main goal is to have a key with aligned Pogo pins mine is not perfect but works

Yes. And with the same key/configuration I successfully flashed PL47, PL47G2, E01, E07, so I believe the same thing should work with ROT66G2 and LT1 directly. But it didnā€™t work.

I even soldered wires directly from those ROT66G2 programming viases to my USBASP programmer (so no key was involved) and tried again, however that didnā€™t work either.

Is your ROT66G2 / LT1 unit a mass production one?

EDIT: my Lexel programming key is v3.2.

I updated the original post with a runtime test for for step level 2. I also updated the charts above for step levels 4 and 3 to more accurately reflect what the relative lumens output is at each step. The steps levels is not a linear progression, for example, step 4 is not 80% of max, step 3 is not 60% of max, etc. This is done intentionally since our eye wouldnā€™t perceive the change in output as linear even if it was.

I was doing some work on the PL47 G2 and ROT66 G2 last night, and it took forever to get the ROT66 G2 to flash sometimes. Iā€™m not sure why, but it worked pretty okay a few times and then failed, and it took hundreds of tries to get it to flash again. I was sure I had bricked it somehow, even though the fuse values werenā€™t touched.

So Iā€™m wondering if maybe thereā€™s still some sort of interaction with the aux LED board like what happened with the first few iterations of the aux LED boards. On the E07 I have to physically disconnect the aux LEDs before flashing firmware.

Eventually I got the ROT66 G2 to flash again, so itā€™s not bricked. It seemed to respond more often when using a 3.3V setting instead of 5Vā€¦ but Iā€™m not sure if that was actually relevant.

I havenā€™t had this issue on a LT1, but I still donā€™t have a production model.

Thank you so much for doing this GreenCampFire!

I did try to disconnect the aux LED wires before flashing, but that still didnā€™t work either after so many times of trialsā€¦well, at least Iā€™m not alone :weary:

Hi all, I wrote my review of the LT1 lantern here: https://greencampfire.com/blf-lt1-lantern-review/

A nice review GreenCampfire. :+1:

One small critique, the statement below could use a tweak.

The only short blinks during bat check are for a zero.

You misspelled Sofirn otherwise Great write-up!

And BLF.

Great review! :+1: :beer: I will certainly bookmark your website and share the review with others asking about it.

Thanks for the corrections sbslider, dealgrabber2002, and raccoon city, Iā€™ve updated the review to correct the spelling mistakes and blinking behavior.

Also, the manual says the LEDs are 2700K and 5000K, not 3000K and 4000K like I originally wrote which I have updated in the review as well.