*BLF LT1 Lantern Project) (updated Nov,17,2020)

Not really. It depends on the height of the positive terminal above the wrapper.

It’s more of an issue of the top of the wrappers snagging on the POT (inside of the copper ring). It’s useless and can be removed as several people have done with their LT’s.

I suppose the wrappers can also be damaged if the copper ring has burs on it but those can be sanded out if need be.

The tops of the POT on my LT’s are low enough that they don’t snag on and damage the wrappers on my cells.

Makes sense. To be honest, in my mind, I was focusing on just the copper ring itself, and totally forgot there were other components installed on the bottom side of the PCB.
With the new (power-bank equipped) variant I ordered, I guess I’ll only be able to determine compatibility once I get my hands on it and see what the layout of the new driver looks like.
Removing unused components is not an issue for me. I know my way around soldering/rework stations. But if in the new version, there are vital components moved to the bottom, which are in the way, that’s another story…
It might be helpful if someone could share a photo, or 3D model of the new driver. If anyone from the BLF “project team” is still involved, that is… Is Lexel still around?

Just to add info re flat-top NCR18650GA’s = these are actually “raised flat-top”, and will work properly.

Regarding Samsung flat-tops though (30Q, 35E), I’ve notice sometimes these 18650s may be slightly recessed, and if the spring on the body tube is not so good anymore, there may be uneven contact of the Samsung flat-tops (which appear to be slightly recessed compared to other flat-tops like Sony VTC, which are very very slightly raised flat-top). Have also tested using genuine LG HG2 which works well on the LT1.

But as mentioned something raised (eg. “flat-top NCR18650GA) or button-top probably will make better and more uniform contact.

https://sofirnlight.com/products/new-version-blf-lt1-lantern-with-anduril-20-power-bank-function

Orange in new version is available now!

New version uses Anduril 2.0 and charges your devices via 5V 2A (max 3A according to your devices.)

Still waiting for Green

Do the size and posistion of the two screws (holding the driver PCB in place) not cause any problems when using GA’s or similar “raised flat-top” cells? The screw heads seem exactly as tall as the copper ring itself and are rather close to it. And if it were possible for the “bump” of the positive terminal (which is quite wide for the GA’s) to touch them, it could cause a lovely short, since they are at GND potential. Are they far enough from the ring to prevent something like this from happening?

Someone on Reddit took photos of the new LT1 with power bank functionality (there's also now photos of the driver which is quite nice). Looks like they removed the solder jumpers from the bottom of the driver, so I'm going to assume they run 7x 7135 by default now? That'd make lowest mode quite a bit brighter I'd imagine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/oaj762/nld_blf_lt1_powerbank_edition/

They have arranged the flashing pads in a circular pattern with varying distance and removed the labels. Neat. Now they are absolutely useless.

omg :FACEPALM: I didn't even really actively notice before. I did see 8 pads and thought to myself "well, guess we'll have to guess the pinout now" but I didn't even think about pad spacing. That's so annoying. Like, you'd think whoever sits in china designing these drivers is an electronics engineer and understands what these are for. But no, as so often features just get copied over or "improved upon" but also slightly altered in the process, which breaks them due to not a single thought being put into them. Sometimes (not limited to electronics) I really wonder if the people who do these things even understand what they're replicating. Annoying, ngl. Sorry for the rant.

In my opinion, they should include the proper pogo pin adapter to flash new firmwares to the driver. Minimal cost for them, huge convenience for us.

For your information: The final UI diagram for Andúril 2 on Sofirn's new LT1

Very nice! Thank you.
If I may suggest something, it looks like you have some space there to explain voltage calibration.

Great job!
Only one minor issue:
The trigger action (7C) is missing from the transition line going from state [OFF] to state [Brightness of AUX / Button LEDs in Standby] in the Advanced UI section.
Also, on my unit, the advanced UI was enabled out-of-the-box. Not sure if it was a one-off production anomaly or an intentional, generic change, though. In any case, your manual says “default UI==simple UI”, so I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Oh shoot…thanks for telling me. That „7C“ must have disappeared accidentally. I just removed the „default UI“ part to avoid any confusion.

UI diagram is updated, now.

It looks like the new driver not only has nonsense firmware update pads, but also no solder pads to enable the extra chips. Does that mean all chips are active from the factory? This would mean the light will need thermal regulation and stepping down etc, which may be a problem with no thermal calibration in the firmware. Or does it mean the extra, inactive chips were removed and are no longer an option in this driver?

I “accidentally” bought one of the new ones, order a second LT1 in orange and was surprised when manual mentioned power bank and that it has a new driver when I opened it.

As noted already, no pads to control output.

Programming pads are totally messed up, I have oshpark pcb with pogo pins and had no idea I was getting an LT1 I could not program :frowning:

UK comment: Ali steals the tax! They charge the VAT citing Brexit but under declare the value on shipping and don’t pay the tax. I prefer the old way where no one pays the VAT…

It seems the programming pads are actually numbered 1-8. The way they are number indicates that they are a direct mirroring of the attiny85.

This is the pinout:

Of course, the chip can be easily programmed by removing the 2 screws and using a SOIC clip directly on the chip. As a matter of fact, the new driver has more clearance around the chip and is easier to programme that way.

What I want to know is, without the pads to control output, what is the output of the new driver? Have they removed the extra chips or are they connected by default?

Regarding UK VAT and AliExpress, I had not noticed! Horrible behaviour towards their customers!

You received a manual for the updated model? Lucky you :smiley:
Would you mind posting a photo of it?
I also bought the new, powerbank-equipped model, but no manual was included with it.
Of course I can get by using experience, common sense and Lux’s LT1-Andruil2 graphic manual. But I am still curious if Sofirn’s original document holds any extra info…

The Reddit link above shows all the drivers still, it does seem brighter than my existing one, assume all connected all the time?

Can take a photo of the manual, but your not missing anything madcrow it only covers basics and muggle mode