Production quality of the driver PCB assembly (BLF-LT1-A2) in my LT1:
Overall, not bad at all:
the visible solder joints look nice,
the inductor (the only heavy component) is glued down,
the wires they used are of good quality: thick but still flexible,
the wires are not glued down => if you accidentally break them, they can be easily desoldered,
the hand-soldered joints (of the wires) are robust.
There is noticeable “solder balling” on the board, though. I.e. free-standing little balls of solder stuck in the flux residue on the PCB. At least two of them should be noticeable in the photos linked in my prev. post. I counted at least 5 of them, total. Fortunately they were not large enough to be a real risk of short circuit if they break loose by heat / vibration etc. Your mileage may vary though… This is a well known and studied production defect with reflow soldering, usually caused by expired or low quality solder paste or a suboptimal reflow temperature profile.
Funny, I usually rate wires good as high strand count - flexible, while cheaper wires are low strand count - stiffer. Dunno if the cost reflects that though...
Lot of suspect lower quality wires in the lights are low strand count, but the Turnigy brand and what Hank uses/sells is high strand count, also 200C rated. Cheaper wires seem to be 150C rated.
I know the insulation layer can vary in thickness as well, which can get confusing. For our use we want usually moderate thickness - not too thick to fit the holes and for clearance, but not too thin to cut or tear easily.
I would think the LT1 driver circuit and I/O pins assignments/etc. is open source? See post #736 here. Ohh - don't see the LT1 driver though on DEL's OSHPark list.
Maybe DBSAR knows if the LT1 circuit design is available publicly? Sometimes these relationships we have with the manufacturers has some limits, other times it's just lack of asking, or communications, etc.
The LT1 circuity has not really been displayed as a full diagram, but it is laid out as “layers” in the design of the driver for the LT1 in the the team meetings & chats, DEL, Toykeeper, Lexel, Bary, Sofirn, etc. of all who were more involved into the design of the LT1’s driver & firmware as for the MCPCB design, firmware, etc. based on the LT1’s modes & plans from the original prototypes & testings. Maybe we can put together a schematic & diagram of the “brains” of the LT1. I am ok with that being made public, but it really depends on the driver & firmware developers of the team, along with Sofirn if they are ok with releasing it.
Have you had any updates?
I was trying to get more information about this light before I bought it and I wasn’t sure what you were saying lately, other than the situation is not clear to you either.
Did Sofirn make any changes in the led power supply that make the LT1 hotter? If so that’s a bit sad.
You mentioned the button leds, are there any plans to change that in the near future?
Does anyone have the footprint of the new flashing pads so I can try to make a connector to flash the firmware?
In general, should I take advantage of the small promotions to get it on the Sofirn site or wait for a new version? And if I order on Sofirn’s website, will I get the latest version or is it random?
Thanks for the information if you have any.
Have a nice day.
I ended buying a second LT1 on Aliexpress because I liked the idea of having a USB-C compliant chip and being able to use it as a powerbank in a pinch.
Did some comparisons and made some pictures for you:
Does anyone know how to differentiate which of the ground (black) cables from the new (with power bank) driver connects to the warm and which to the cold LEDs?
I had to redeploy my files on Google Drive because the old links did not work anymore.
If you are looking for the manual of the new LT1 with Andúril 2, I need to ask you for patience. It is work in progress already. I do have a manual that Sofirn made on their own and that is currently being supplied with the new LT1 version. But there is a lot of wrong or missing information in it, it’s not worth putting it onto the sharepoint.
In a nutshell, is Sofirn A2 the “best” release of the LT1 thus far?
Also, if someone is OK with Anduril 1 and doesn’t intend to leverage the power bank feature, is it preferable to get the earlier version? I’m really concerned about all of these intermediary board changes. And I’m sure with the way things are, you can’t request a sub-version, only the LT1 Anduril-1 or LT2 Anduril-2.
My Sofirn 1.0 LT1 has limited power bank capabilities. It doesn’t work with Apple USB-C to Lightning while the Wurkkos HD20 works with the cable. It’s also on Anduril 1 without version check.
Good to know this. Has anyone found that Sofirn A2 avoids that problem and a USB-C to Apple Lightning will charge an Apple device (iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc.)?
Hi There. I could really do with a little bit of help.
I bought myself an LT1 Anduril 2 in that really wicked on the eyes orange colour.
Anyway, my problem is that my LT1 will not allow me to set a timer in candle mode.
No signal flashes and also no time attributed to the number of button presses.
I now have a new problem called “Anduril 2 Thumb”
@Fruityfrog
Assuming you’re already in advanced UI (not candle mode otherwise): click five times and hold the last one. The light will flash every second, each adding five minutes to the timer.
- The green power button light is on even when it’s in use. It’s necessary as it’s hard to find the button when you need to turn it off. It’s distracting.
Power bank works with my USB-C to USB-A adapter for iPhone
Sofirn v1.0
- The amber light will be dim when it’s on. It’s too dim to be useful when I want to turn off my LT1.
- Power bank doesn’t work with my USB-C to USB adapter for iPhone
- Power bank works with USB-C to USB-C, I can power the SP36
Anduril 1
I like the Sofirn v1.0 during standby. I keep this in the corner on a selfie stick with tripod mount. With the button towards the corner, it would reflect a very nice ambience light at night. It’s frankly easier to turn off the LT1 with my index finger when the button is away from me.
I will update it to Anduril 2 and see if the power bank will work for iPhone.
I just ordered an orange LT1, but that green light is making me change my mind.
This chart is incredibly useful.
I ordered a BLF LT1, supposedly the older model. It’s brown anodized. I received it and clicked 15 times. It showed flashes: 2 long, 1 short. That’s Anduril 2.1. OK, this is interesting.EDIT: I’m wrong, this is not Anduril v2. No wonder why I heard laughing from the stage wings… It took ToyKeeper to step up and tap me on the shoulder.
It turns out that I have the 2nd driver example, revision 5.0. My understanding is that this is the LT1 v1, with Anduril 1. I do have USB-C to USB-C, but discovered that it’s one way—to the LT1.
Did all of the rev 5.0 LT1’s end up with Anduril 2? Or was there some slipstream change at some point? Either way, I’m stoked! Saved me time & trouble of having to upgrade it.
Btw, the included manual stated that while charging, the switch LED would be blue. It’s not. It’s red. And actually, I prefer that. Who does blue WHILE charging? All of the lights I’ve had with e-switches and on-board charging shine red while charging, then blue when complete.
It took ToyKeeper to step up and tap me on the shoulder.