On the basis of just preliminary playing around it works great and looks like a keeper.
I would like to share yet another experience regarding the driver bridge pads though. My understanding was that AMC bridges 3+4+5 were supposed to come bridged standard from the factory. In my case only the pads under “NW were bridged. Under the ”WW” section none of the pads were bridged.
I confirmed the configuration with Current ratings. Current at Max on all Warm was 1.87A (or 5x7135) and Max on all Cool was 1.08 (or 3x7135). I’m not sure whether this was done intentionally to balance the perceived lumen levels between Warm and Cool or whether this was unintentional.
I will probably just bridge them all anyway and use Anduril to configure the limits but for anyone who is planning to only perform partial bridging, On my copy of the LT1, the “NW” pads control the Neutral White (or the warmer of the two color temperatures) while “WW” control the cooler color temperature (contrary to my incorrect assumption that “WW” stood for Warm White.) Sharing FWIW.
Great job Team LT1 and thanks for all the hard work.
Edit - FWIW, the bail handle is now aligned with switch.
Maybe it will help to think of WW as being Winter White.
There were some units shipped with the bridges left open by mistake… i am surprised to see a batch-#2 arrive with that mistake though… as i can see in your photo above all of the W/W chips are definitely open… (let Sofirn know you have received one with that issue) The correct factory config. was to have 5-7135s bridged on each channel, and the last two, (6 & 7) left open for those who wish to bridge them for more light output (but less run times overall)
Which version do I have?
And is the bridging correct?
I also have a question about charging, using the onboard charger, vs. removing the batteries and charging them with something like a xtar vp4 plus dragon. Is one safer or better for the batteries than another?
What portable solar charger would be the high quality, efficient, sturdy, and reliable choices to buy for charging this lantern?
Also what top quality protected button top rechargeable 18650 batteries with a high capacity (3500mAh) range would best match the lantern based on current requirements during output and recharge?
I wondered if anyone has looked at the specs and power usage of the LT1 during use and compared them to 18650 battery output and recharge specs, and if there are batteries matched better to the application than others.
regarding battery charging and selection, the on board max current to charge the batteries is 1.5A. With 4 installed, you can’t charge any battery too quickly. The max output current I have seen measured is 2.5A, so again pretty much any set of 4 batteries will have no problem.
bridging looks fine, a bit messy but fine. The bridging was done by hand it appears, at least on the WW side.
Yes I read that, but the seller I will be buying from is from Liitokala official web- AliExpress
LiitoKala Official Flagship Store. All the bad reviews and fake cells were from Liitokala Factory Store or Liitokala Official Store.
As far as I know, there are no significant differences in the LT1 sold thus far. I have one from the first 500 LT1s, it is the same driver board as yours. I’m sure the electronics are the same. There may have been some subtle assembly differences if you received your LT1 from the “second lot” after the first 500. For example, I think I saw someone post that the bail handle and the switch are lined up now. So far, they are basically all the same to date.
I have not measured the batteries in my LT1 after a complete charge. Actually, I’m not sure I have done a complete charge, I like to stop charging shortly before full if its convenient. But someone else (DBSAR I think) mentioned measuring batteries at 4.17 V after a charge. Very safe, no risk of overcharge at that voltage. If you have a DVM (digital volt meter) you can do the same, or perhaps others who are presently charging/have recently charged can comment. If you like send me a PM and when I go to charge next time I will do a complete charge and send you my results.
If you have a DVM, I would measure the recently purchased batteries and verify they are all within maybe 0.1V or so of each other before I put them in the LT1. Putting them in the LT1 connects them all in parallel. If one (or more) batteries have a significantly different voltage than the others some fairly large currents can flow in the LT1 in order to make the batteries all the same voltage. You won’t likely damage anything if they are more than 0.1V, but I’m not going to recommend that you install batteries in parallel with more than 0.1V difference between them. If you don’t have a DVM and you do have another charger (think you said you do?) I would charge the recently purchased batteries in your charger, then put them in the LT1. Assuming you have a decent charger, by charging the batteries first you can be sure they are all the same voltage when you install them in the LT1. If you don’t remove the batteries, you can continue to charge them in the LT1 for as long as you keep them in there.
Ah . Now there’s a rabbit hole we’ve been down before. I’ve purchased 26650’s and a Lii-500 charger from a liitokala store and they are just fine, but there appears to be no such thing as an “official” Liitokala store (or perhaps more accurately, there are many “official” stores) and the company seems pretty questionable on the whole. Be wary.
I can almost guarantee that all cells from these stores will be “fakes” compared with their branded counterparts, but they are genuine “Liitokala”, whatever that means. Unless proven otherwise, I would never purchase cells with Samsung, LG, Sony, etc model names from any store with “Liitokala” in the title unless I wanted Liitokala cells. I see that the store you mention now has 3100mAh, 35A 18650’s on sale. Yea, and I’m Abraham Lincoln.
:+1: That was the average full charge i was getting, around the 4.17 volt range. I don’t remember if Sofirn had updated the firmware for the 2nd or 3rd batch of the LT1’s, (the latest firmware has the SOS beacon mode added to the hidden modes, where batch #1 did not have the SOS.
I’m pretty sure folks receiving LT1s in December/January won’t get SOS, as that change was made by ToyKeeper in mid or later October IIRC. The driver boards for the LT1s shipping in November would have all been made and programmed by then I believe. Maybe batch 3 (when will that start?) will have the updated firmware? I’ll verify that my batch 2 LT1 (arriving tomorrow, for my son) doesn’t have SOS. Need to do some final QC to be sure it’s fully funciontial, I may even update the firmware with the latest build as a extra special touch.
Anyone with a batch 2/second reservation in the area of #1597 get their second ordering code yet? If so, are you ordering more than 1 as Sofrin said it was ok to do?
Second reservation #1984 and got the code a few weeks ago, but I will wait for the colors now that I have the first one. If you did not get your second code, you can PM Sofirn.
BTW, my first one came properly bridged and works flawlessly. Great lantern!
I have a Ultrafire WF-139 charger, and a fluke voltmeter or multimeter.
My understanding is that I can trust that charger, but I do need to learn how to test the batteries.
Pretty sure I just pick the right meter setting, use black probe on bottom negative end of battery, and red probe on the positive end of the battery. I am not sure if that tests resistance, or charge voltage though.
Btw, is there a preferred battery internal resistance for this type of application?
I will buy another lantern next generation also. How do I get on that list?
I have a few ideas for a screw on base or stand for the lantern. I am going to have my machinist friend build a few versions to try out probably out of acetyl, or maybe aluminum. I will post pictures when I get it done. It wont be right away though.
Any advice on good quality portable solar recharge panels for this?
Maybe I shouldn’t ask that here, and should make a new thread topic for that question.
. Now there’s a rabbit hole we’ve been down before. I’ve purchased 26650’s and a Lii-500 charger from a liitokala store and they are just fine, but there appears to be no such thing as an “official” Liitokala store (or perhaps more accurately, there are many “official” stores) and the company seems pretty questionable on the whole. Be wary.