A 1000ma TP4056 will give an average of 250ma per cell if charging all four in parallel, (or take four times as long charging the four cells as compared to one cell so to speak) I have tested a TP4056 charger using Solar panels, and i found that a minimum of a 7-watt solar panel at the 5 volt USB range was required to work a TP4056 to charge a single 18650, ( my original 5-watt panel could not put out enough power to run it, but the 7-watt did.) but never tested them charging four at the same time on the folding USB 7-watt solar panel.
Iām glad your heading up the design. Iāve always been a fan of your work and Iām sure whatever you come up with will be very well thought out.
So far I like things you mentioned in your first post.
1-4 x 18650ās in parallel srk body
Warm hi cri
Down firing
Suggestions that sound good and may be doable but Iām not sure will be needed and may add too much complexity
Separate red led
Usb power out port
Micro usb built in charging
Funny but true story ā¦Sad that people think high high and higher come without cost . for years Iāve run two convoy s2 xml5c 2100ās with diffuser film on medium over our off-grid poker table ā¦ only to see someone has decided to kick them up to high because two mediums are not as good as two highs . money for nothinā and your chicks are free ā¦"lumens "
Cost is the deciding factor for me no matter the appearance or extras built in. Given how little Iāll use it I simply canāt justify a high cost. Thatās why I donāt own a M43 and probably never will
Perhaps extras like a charging board or holders for primary cells could be offered separately or as a build option so that more folks will want one of these. I know that you donāt get what you donāt pay for but letās keep the āBudgetā part of BLF going strong!
The tech behind it is solid, tested on a large scale in Norway if I remember correctly and also in the Netherlands (there is a 32KM long dyk with fresh water on one side and salt on the other. Waste product is semi salt water, well that occurs on all places a river flows in the sea.
Very nice to see this on a small scale, think I am going to back this.
Itās a great idea for sure. I canāt tell you how many times I have looked for a really good lantern that runs off of 18650ās. Of course I make my own, but I really canāt keep up with the demand for the ones I make right now. Using a SRK for the base is a brilliant idea. I canāt say for sure if Iāll be in or not right now. But it sounds very promising.
I have seen that lantern with water/sodium cell, its an interesting idea though it will not likely have a long run time or expect it to have a very bright light output. we will have to see one it does come avaliable. it still used āconsumablesā though, in the form of the metal anode (rod) and water + salt, instead of batteries. ( also it will require maintenance like cleaning & drying the cell periodically, along with draining & clean when storing the lantern.
great concept for long term off-grid or back country use, but will have to wait it see how it really performs when its available.
Definitely interested if in the $20 to 30 range. For sake of size and weight, suggest 3 cells or even 2. Maybe have an extender for extra cells if not too complicated with the batteries in parallel (I have no idea). Whatever you do, please keep the batteries in parallel (and also keep the low voltage detection).
Den, Iād also like to suggest another project for you and your learned colleagues here. Iām also interested in an ultra-cheap down firing diffuser adapter thingy to create a lantern from a standard flashlight. Iām sure youāve made things like this for yourself but I havenāt seen anything like this for sale. Iām not suggesting this as a substitute for your original idea ā I like the idea of a dedicated lantern that is optimised for such. It would however be great to have a bunch of these adapter thingys around the house for emergency use or whatever.
After a few dozen different designs i tested for basic flashlight diffusers, ( including factory built diffuser covers, hoods, etc.) The one that seems to work the best is the ones i have built below. (this sample is a small unit to fit my Roche, Convoy, Olight S15, etc.) The principle of this design is the reflect as much light downward at the same time allowing a diffused flood beam to be directed upward, while reducing the eye-level āglareā as low as possible, in this case this diffuser below almost has no glare at all. (that can even be seen in all the photos of the lantern head below where there is even no camera lens flare.)
The first photo shows the Lantern-Head used on my warm white 3000K Roche F6, on low mode. I placed it against a white wall to show the beam emitting pattern, where it emits more light up and down at the same time, while reducing the āside glareā that is a big fault of 90 % of the factory lanterns on the market. (second inset photo shows the light output in all directions at the levels i designed this lantern head to do.)
The next photo below shows the lantern head close up, ( its built from a simple acrylic bottle with a white frosted top, and a section of ball-point pen tubing in the center as a ālight carrierā.
The inset photo to the lower right shows the Roche on medium mode using the Lantern Head, here you can see how even it directs the light where its needed most. The floor areas are illuminated very evenly along with the ceiling area, while the side glare at eye level is almost non existent. I have used these Lantern Heads out on camping trips, and they work great out doors too with low glare and illuminating everything where the light is needed most.
This will be the principle design of this BLF lantern project of this topic, but in reverse. (also will be much more powerful.)
I like the idea of a bright, efficient. Warm color led. High cri
But it needs to be able to actually go camping with. It needs to be sturdy, wind rain, who knows it could get tipped. Or fall off tree branch.
When I camp I load a military large pack up and hop on my dirt bike.
All of this is difficult to make happen, especially at an affordable price.
But if you can swing it, I am interested.