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

Now it shows a different code for 30% that also doesn’t work.

I have and still use/test the same original production prototype, mine is a little beat up, but i run it often outdoors, for camps, all to still test its durability. I do the same with the very first prototype i built from a Sky Ray King light, that uses the Samsung LH351D 2700K LEDs, (that are the newest upgrade the old lantern got) That old prototype uses a Nanjg 105c modified driver, the SRK body, and a simple TP4056 charging module. It worked, and still works as a simple lantern design that became the predecessor to the BLF Sofirn LT1 we have now.

Yeah, it’s pretty nice overall. I think I actually prefer its more-plain top design with a simple curved handle and no O-ring or extra bumps. It works well.

As for the LT1-mini, I’m not sure how practical it will be outdoors — because of its narrow base and relatively small surface area for the diffuser. This makes it hard to place on uneven surfaces, and the higher surface brightness constricts the pupils more at the same lumen levels as a larger design. But it works well indoors, fits into a pocket, and would probably be good when clipped onto a belt or something. I’ve been using it a lot as a candle and for general illumination.

The LT1-stout seems interesting too, as a lighter alternative to the original LT1. Since it’s wide, it should be pretty stable and have lower surface brightness for less glare. But since it’s also short, it won’t be as good when placed on a table or something… it’ll generally need to be raised up on top of something else.

Yes, it says “96M1P86TR2YN Get 30% off on orders over US $20.00”, but it does not work for the LT1.

I messaged them on AliExpress and was told it is suitable only for the Yakorsei GD12… if so, very irritating and misleading.

hello, I recently received a new version blf lt1 with Power bank, firmware August 2021, I cannot in any way get the temperature calibration menu, the battery menu contains only the Beacon and SOS, even the reset with 13h does not work, has it happened to any of you? I reset by unscrewing the base but even if the reset is successful, the menu situation does not change. Ah, for the LT1S I created a container in 3d to insert it and hold it up (you can find it in thingiverse)

You are in simple UI. 10H to switch to full UI.

no unfortunately it is not that, I am in the advanced ui

All temperature functions are disabled in the LT1 because the thermal sensor is too far from the LEDs to perform any regulation. Also, it needed the extra ROM to make tint ramping work.

If Sofirn produces a newer version with a bigger control chip, like attiny1616, it should include the thermal functions again, even if it’s still too far to use for regulation… because at least then it could work as a crude thermometer.

so you also don’t have the external temperature calibration menu? it seems strange to me, moreover the 13h to reset does not work, I am thinking of having a faulty lt1

All temperature functions are disabled in the LT1.

Different build targets have different configurations. The 13H reset has traditionally only been enabled on lights which can’t do the loosen-hold-tighten reset method.

It doesn’t sound like there’s anything faulty about your LT1.

Thank you very much, very kind, okay, it amazes me that both the seller and whoever reviews on YouTube don’t know, I asked them too, thanks again.

So today I finally removed the 0 ohm resistors to lower the brightness of the 2700K leds. The idea was to keep the 5000K ones. But the WW side is connected to the 5000K leds and NW to the 2700K. Why oh why!? At least the PCB solder bridges are a very nice addition and easily resolved the mixup. I did notice the same WW/NW mixup on the MCPCB in another LT1 that I took apart for an emitter swap. The silkscreen doesn’t match with the LEDs, so this one probably has the same mixup.

Btw, concerning the Anduril 2 driver. Compared to the rev 5.0 driver, does the hardware offer anything new other than power bank functionality? Was thinking of maybe flashing the rev 5 to Anduril 2 if possible.

was wondering this myself. my friend who isn’t an enthusiast is getting an Anduril 2 LT1. mine is an early release.

As Toykeeper mentioned, the temperature are disabled, as they are not needed in the LT1. ( The LEDs & heat sink are at the top (head) of the lantern & away from the driver & battery body area, meaning he driver & batteries are away from the LED heat.

i have an early (first?) release LT1. i found 1 below the top level of stepped is sustainable. top level gets hot.
i don’t know what rev firmware i have, as tracking the flashing is tricky for my old eyes/brain.

My orange LT1 (box labelled Q8LT1) from Sofirn’s AliExpress shop shows BLF-LT1-A4. One difference from the BLF-LT1-A2 is that the indicator LED is now orange. Perfect. Any other differences?

I love how the indicator LED automatically adapts to the main light’s brightness: dim at low brightness, and high at high brightness. Such attention to detail, just fantastic!

The orange anodizing looks gorgeous to me. It looks slightly bronze-ish in some images below due to the camera, but it’s more orange in person. I was also very tempted by the green option, but figure a more visible color is useful to avoid losing it!




Some questions:

  • The only way I found to get out of momentary mode (5C from ON or OFF in Advanced UI) is to unscrew the lantern until power is cut. Is there another way? The UI map shows this mode is a dead end.
  • Sunset mode is reducing brightness in steps, even if the light is set to smooth ramping. Any way to have it decline smoothly?

It’s surprising how pleasant and nostalgic candle mode is, especially in the warmest tint.

Big thanks and congratulations to all involved in the LT1 project!

Great! Too bad Sofirn used the green ones for a while.

No, that’s by design. Momentary mode should allow blinking in morse code and other stuff and with only one button there’s no other reliable way.

It can get better (smaller steps) with a firmware modification, but not perfectly smooth.

Ah, makes sense, and in that case it’s actually a cool feature. The UI diagram should probably still indicate how to exit this mode, even if it’s physical vs electronic.

Other observations:

  • 2H from OFF in Advanced UI is a turbo momentary, unlike what the UI map shows.
  • The ramping seems to go all the way to max/turbo level. Maybe I misunderstood, but it seems the UI map shows ramping or 2C to reach the ceiling level, then a further 2C for turbo. Instead, a second 2C just returns to the previous brightness for me.

Btw, I’m looking at the 2021-08-02 revision of the UI map for the LT1.

As the saying goes, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. Fading in steps is a bit jarring, but I’ll survive. :smiley:

The floor and ceiling levels are configurable. On the LT1, the default is to allow full power because it’s not a hotrod light. This can be changed though.

About fading in steps, it’s mostly because of the power circuit having coarse resolution at a hardware level. I’ve been thinking about ways to work around that, but the only solution I’ve come up with is really complicated and would require pretty major changes to the code.

Basically, the hardware allows for 256 total steps including “off”. When the light is at level 5/255 and needs to fade to 0 over the course of 5 minutes, it’ll slowly drop to 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 then shut itself off. These steps are quite visible.

To fix it, I’ve been thinking about making it alternate between levels very quickly, like at 16 kHz. So instead of dropping from 2 to 1 all at once, it would go 22221 for a while and then 21221 for a while, then 12121, then 11211, and then just 1. And each step there would last for only a fraction of a millisecond, so it would hopefully look smooth by eye. But to make it work, it would need extremely precise, consistent timing, and a bunch of math, and some core parts of the code would need to be completely rewritten.

So… for now, the steps are still visible during low modes.

At high levels, it doesn’t matter. Dropping from 240 to 239 isn’t a visible difference. But dropping from 3 to 2 sure is.

were the green indicators in the description? the orange button is part of what makes the light great.

the momentary mode is indeed for Morse code. unscrewing is the only way i know of to reset.