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

As long as we’re leaving our “few cents” laying around, if you already said it in PM then its been said and you should leave it alone. Clearly this bothers you, but I’ll tell you why it shouldn’t — because its not a big deal. Thousands of folks have managed to find and figure out this thing, many more than Den needed to make this group buy a success. Selling this light isn’t his job. That will (eventually) fall to Sofirn. His job was to design it and make it happen, which by all accounts he’s been wildly successful at accomplishing. I’m glad he’s focused on making the lantern better instead of making this thread better, because clearly the thread is good enough.

Well you did sound pretty rude. And I gave you another solution — ignore it and move on.

Had a look at the video and it looks very convincing: well done Den and Sofirn, and I agree on the decision to get this into production!

Looking great. Especially fond of the no battery needed with usb power feature.

In for one please

Would like 2 please.

One to keep around the house and one to be a little rougher on to take camping and caving.

In for one, please

Please put me down for two, thanks!

I don’t think it was intentional, but it sure is going to be useful

DBSAR,
About the camera app, BigClive uses (i think) open camera on a couple different phones to control focus and brightness in all of his videos. Might give that a look before spending $$$ on camera equipment.

Does it work for the Samsung Galaxy S9? ( which is what i have) ( your link opens a youtube random video.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en_US

I don't know how good it is, but it works with Android phones.

DBSAR, just a thought, and this might be too late in the game to ask. But would it be possible to machine several thin radial grooved ridges in the top portion of the head around its perimeter? It looks like the mill removed a good amount of material that could have been used to create additional surface area for heat sinking.

It’s very good, though a touch screen is not the perfect interface for something with so many controls. Luckily, you don’t need all of those controls in normal operation. You simply put it into Locked focus mode and touch the screen where you want the focus to be (can hold up your hand where your face will be if you wish). Push the video button and start recording.

There are some devices that have various issues with the Camera 2 API that the app attempts to use, but most work fine. If you have focus problems, there’s a switch in the settings to use “legacy” focus mode, but most modern Androids should work well.

It has been talked about before and it came roughly down to this;

Yes it does increase the surface area and will increase the heat dissipation.
But, it is not necessary for this lantern. The amount of heat the leds will produce isn’t enough to cause problems. Iirc, DBSAR did a long term testing and found that the top part didn’t become ‘too hot to touch’.

And personally, especially with a lantern style I find the clean look much better than a grooved / finned look. (but again that’s just a personal thing)
For a possible ‘power upgrade’ it is definitely something to look at.

Fantastic video. One question - how do I cover the bottom when powered with a power bank?

There is nothing to cover it up at this point, if I’m not mistaken.

If you have acces to a 3d printer you could make you own cover very easily. Maybe there will be a cover from Sofirn as it’s easy to make.

I would use the cover for sure. Its a lot easier to throw it in a backpack without the battery holder.

Hi all,

Looking forward to this light a great deal. Like my Finnish kaima Maukka, I also like the idea of being able to run the lantern with solar without having batteries in the unit.

I am wondering if this can be run at full brightness without it over heating? Being its less than 1k lumens, one would think its possible….
which brings be to another Q: did you by chance test how long this will run on max brightness?

Thanks for all the work (to the whole team), this lantern will make many people happy.

EDIT:
i see the solar charger being posted in this thread (ECEEN 10W) and curious if i can leave it plugged in the lantern without overcharging the batteries?

Yes and yes. Run time depends on how many channels enabled and the batteries you choose

Thanks for the link, i will check it out to see how it works.