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

I think using an adapter is even better than safe (when using high-quality ones) because you can force the LT1 to act as a powerbank and the other device to charge itself. When I plug my smartphone in my Q8 Pro the phone tries to charge the light for some reason, so I need to plug in an adapter to the Q8 Pro which has 5.1k pulldown resistors on the USB-C CC1 and 2 pins to activate 5V.

Yes, this is a ‘universal’ problem with plug ends & sockets on various devices.
I have reverted to shaving a little off the moulded plug to get it to fit a socket. Otherwise I use a different cable.

Turn it on (1 click)… then click 3 times. That goes between smooth and stepped ramping.

thank you for your help;
I tried this already, but 3 clicks does nothing : after the 3 clicks, whether I wait and then hold or turn off, it stays in stepped mode. I must be missing something there

Does your LT1 have Anduril 2? If so, you will need to switch to advanced mode to toggle stepped/smooth ramping.

If you got your lantern recently than just like @Rayoui mentioned first you have to switch to advanced mode to be able to use this future.
To switch to the advanced mode: from off 10 clicks and hold

Damned, you and ToyKeeper saved myself from madness :
I was refering to the cheat sheet on the aliexpress page : 22.94€ |Sofin — Lanterne De Camping Led Multifonction 8 X Samsung Lh351d (blf Lt1), Lampe Ultra Lumineuse Avec Variateur De Couleur 2700k-5000k - Led Lampes De Poche - AliExpress, and it said 6 clicks to go to and from muggle mode … (of at least that’s what I thought it would do)

BUT, after you wrote “Anduril 2” I looked for it, and found http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/anduril-manual.txt … that says 10 clicks/hold !

so here is what I did :
from Off, 10clicks+hold > advanced mode
switch On, 3 clicks to switch to ramped (and it works this time)
switch Off, then 10 clicks > back to simple mode

Thank you a lot :slight_smile:

… I should have refreshed the page before searching, that was exactly what I was missing :slight_smile:

thx !

BLF is the best forum around to be a part of.
No worries, glad to hear you got it working.

Thanks guys. I couldn’t change the LED switch light by pressing 7 clicks from off. Was a little annoyed but was putting this down to a software quirk.

Followed the instructions to get into advance mode. I can change the LED switch light now. Bought 2 LT1 over a 2 week span. One was already in advance mode while the other was not.

Patiently waiting for the green and orange one to be available on the Sofirn Cdn webstore.

@Cigarguy
You can get one in Sofirn store on AliExpress
Mine came within 12 days from ordering to GTA, perhaps quicker to Calgary since you`re so close to Vancouver where usually the cargo plane lands, according to shipment tracking.
Without batteries came to a grand total of C$ 64.25 .

I generally order mine off their Chinese website and get them in under two weeks. I get charged sales tax (marked as VAT) but, shipping is free and delivery is fast so I keep going back to their store.

My recently delivered LT1-A2 was received in Advanced UI mode, and set to stepped ramping.

There obviously seems to be some inconsistency in how the units are actually prepared, and shipped, making any assumptions tenuous. Perhaps the same folks who (inconsistently) run Jinba’s labeling machines also prepare and flash the drivers. Any bets on how many “Sofrin” lights have made it into the wild? There must be at least some.

My unit also left the factory with the switch and its lights clocked at 10 degrees off vertical (not unlike this review sample), which my OCD would not allow to go uncorrected.

I was not aware of how the switch PCB and well it rests in are designed, but discovered that they are indeed shaped/indexed to prevent this, and it was a result of sloppy assembly practice that resulted in it being misaligned.

That said, those were the only lapses I found with mine, and overall, the LT1 is quite pleasing and deserved of its reputation.

I don’t mind the much-lamented green switch illumination of the newest revision, but the blue is kind of odd, and I wish the blinking mode was more like the breathing/pulsing mode like the SC31B had. Not sure if that is the result of intention, or a limitation of some sort, but a more refined implementation would actually make it usable in my book.

Last thing I might wish for is some Anduril documentation that is a cleaner, happy medium between a spaghetti-like chart and a wall of text.

Thanks guys.

A package came in today. Do you know what’s even better than an LT1?

Two LT1s.

:smiley:

Some ship with Anduril 1, and some ship with Anduril 2. The version check function (15 or more clicks from off) should show which version it has:

  • 2020-06-02 or earlier: Anduril 1
  • 2020-07 or later: Anduril 2

As for config differences, those can be wiped out using the factory reset function. Loosen the tube enough to break contact, then hold the button and tighten the tube. Keep holding the button for about 5 seconds, until after it flashes at full power, then let go.

It’s a good idea to factory-reset any new Anduril-based light, at room temperature, to reset the config and calibrate the thermal sensor. Generally I also write down what version check says, and then reflash it with the latest firmware.

The “breathing mode” isn’t implemented because it requires keeping the control chip awake to do pulse width modulation on the button LEDs, and this greatly reduces standby time. A breathing mode eats up the battery about 40X faster than the blinking mode. It varies per model, but in general it’s approximately the same power usage as just leaving the light in moon mode all the time.

Another issue is, on many lights, the button LEDs and aux LEDs aren’t connected to hardware PWM pins, so it would have to be done manually… which looks glitchy due to timing issues. Instead of being smooth, there’s typically visible noise in the signal.

So instead it does a 2-level blinking pattern. It’s energy-efficient, reliable on lots of different hardware, and doesn’t use up much ROM space.

Any documentation on how to build a flashing kit for the latest mcpcb?

Nope. It’s really unfortunate that they changed it. :person_facepalming:

It should still work with a SOIC8 clip though, clipping directly onto the chip on the other side of the driver.

I ordered the latest Anduril 2.0 version from the AX store, which has the fifth-generation (IIRC) “BLT-LT1-A2” driver, green/blue switch LEDs, and power bank function (the last of which I have yet to test). The package label also identifies it as “Q8LT1” which someone suggested also indicates the latest version.

After being taken out of locked mode, it turns on, which according to a simple tip, indicates it’s running Anduril 2,

However, unlike my SC31Pro, which clearly blinks out the expected version (2020-03-18) during a version check, I get an odd result from the LT1, seemingly with extra digits:

2-0-2-0-0-1-2-5-0-6-2-1

How should that be interpreted?

I’ve performed the thermal calibration with my other lights, but have read that since the LT1’s remote LEDs aren’t close enough to the sensor to get a usable reading, the thermal functions are disabled, or at least, rendered moot. Is that not the case? Should LT1 owners perform the thermal calibration procedure in any case?

Thanks for providing a clear, and logical explanation, which is often not returned in these, and other discussions.

It is 2021-01-25 0621. The last four digits are the model number.