BLF Q8 user interface / manual /request for a video

BLF Special Edition Products
1

Hello all and first off I just got this lamp via a slow boat, but it finally arrived! What a teriffic light, and I need to start by thanking everyone involved in the development and production of this beast!

Now, I’m scouring forums and using a magnifying glass to try and read the tiny manual that came in the box, and yes it’s Friday evening. But I’m having a hard time figuring out the UI.

It would be teriffic if someone smart could do a short video exposing and showing all the features!

Here is a quick link to a UI link …Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light - #2 by The_Miller

2

JasonWW did videos

The manual is not clear?
What would improve it?

3

The manual can be found here

The set up is very similar to Bistro
Instead 12 taps you need to press the button >8seconds
Then the light starts to blink to show you are in programming
Then it blinks 1 time
After that blink press the button if you like to change
Blinks 2 times
3 times
4,5

You can configure each point, just check the manual which point does what

4

to someone who doesn’t understand the UI, your instructions above would not really be of any help, honestly. Appreciate that you were trying to help, but even the posted videos were confusing . This comes easier to some than to others. A teacher must reach the student at the student’s level, amen?

5

Sure.As a teacher for 35 years,I fully agree. :slight_smile:

6

I always liked the flowcharts that TK had with her UIs.

The cheat sheat (http://i.imgur.com/27pESgw.png) is most of the way there, but maybe one with more visual rather than text? It would still be a pretty large flowchart though.

7

Hi,

First of all, to TheMiller, I instructions and want to tell you you did a good job. Also, I realize you’re a volunteer and you do this out of “th love of cool stuff” -:slight_smile: , So thank you!

That said, I’d encourage and everyone who writes product user manuals ( and I was a product manager for a servo motor and drive manufacture for years where I took all sorts of “voice of customer” data and helped my engineers and writers continually improve things(manuals in this case))…… I’d encourage the manual to be as simple as possible and geared towards the lowest level intelligence consumer as possible. The flowchart is great, the manual is a great start, but let’s say it still needs some help.

Let’s start by saying it would be best to have all documentation in a single spot and easy to find. I’m on an iPad, and literally have 10 tabs open with various documentation and videos , plus I’ve got my google drive open with the manual Second, it would be preferred to have the documentation correct and current. An example, and perhaps the only example, I see “to get into set up mode the documentation sais to do 12 taps, but a note in à for un thread tells us that’s not right, you hold for >8 seconds. Well, now I know that, but if I looked at the documentation, I wouldn’t. And I’m not sure the average joe ( idiot me) can scour all threads about this UI on the Q8, and find the one line referring to the discrepancy ( an de I think I’ve seen that a couple places)….

Next, try and write a SIMPLE text on how things work. Just as an example, Im still in ramp mode, and struggling on changing the strobe or beacon settings. Yes the instructions seem clear to get to strobe, but I can’t seem to change strobe mode regardless of clicking or click and hold etc., the lamp seems to just turn off.

This seems to be the “best manual…??? Is it? If so, it would be nice to have in PDF or word format, or even plain txt… Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light - #2 by The_Miller

I’ll offer further ideas, but wanted to at least thank you for the work, and offer some feedback before my kids and weekend take control of my life -:slight_smile:

8

Have you read »Navigation has “Lock in Modes”« on the backside of the cheat sheet?
There is a 1.2sec timout to change strobes.
If the lamp goes off you are to slow.

9

I have read that and see through the flowchart ( Flashlight User Interface Cheatsheets ) that a “medium” press should advance the strobe setting. However, it seems no matter how long I press from the first stone mode, the light just turns off.

I am in ramp function, so I press and hold a bit to get the lamp on, gen double tap to get full power, then double tap to go to the first strobe mode. So far so god. But it seems no matter how long a press I do now, the light just turns off. Clearly I’m misunderstanding, doing something wrong, having a bad day or whatever.

Any help on changing the strobe mode is appreciated. If this doesn’t get resolved quickly, I’ll move this to another separate post, as is post was intended to have a single collection of user manuals, videos, cheet sheets, and other needed support info on this cool light,

10

Hm, can you go forward in strobe modes?
Double tab, double tab, single tab should you bring to the police strobe.

Navigation in all MODES is:
single click = forward
click&hold = backward

11

Ok. Got it I think. From a strobe mode, a single click must happen within a second of entering strobe mode to change the strobe mode!

A swear a clearer manual would help. Simple “step by step” directions with details … please…

Onward to looking at other aspects of the modes.

Is there a “reset to factory default” sequence a user can use to… well, to reset to default if one accidentally changes things they didn’t want to?

Thanks!

12

Factory reset:

Ramping mode, From OFF or ON : 3x click > 2x click > 2x click > press and hold 1-2 seconds will blink 4 times to confirm reset.

MODEs(not in ramping mode), From OFF : Click + Click and hold for 3 seconds > 2x click > 2x click > press and hold 1-2 seconds will blink 4 times to confirm reset

13

Thank you!!! It’s awesome to have such great knowledgeable ppl here to support this rally eat light.

However, it would be even better to have all this IN THE USER MANUAL. I know, it’s a new release intended for us flashaholics, but earlier the miller asked if th manual wasn’t clear and what could improve it… voila a couple examples to work on as time permits.

14

The following is a message yesterday in another thread from jowchina.

I still don’t know which of the documentationS you want.

1. Advanced Notes and Usage document for the Q8 NarsilM v1.0. Please find it in both docx and PDF format in the BLF Q8 google drive share here .
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1IxYZuk4DjcT09aME82VzQ3T2c (link is external)
2. Under the same google drive is NarsilM reference for the Q8
3. The normal NarsilM stuff (not Q8) is this Googledrive https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1IxYZuk4DjcQWhOOGhTMExCNjg (link is external)
4. NarsilM Cheat Sheet is under http://bit.ly/narsil-cs (link is external)

All docs are PDF, Toms stuff is also doc.
The cheat sheet is a missused table and in 100% view cells are overlapping, so no WYSIWYG. The only way to see it completely is a PDF viewer.

15

Finally, you where to slow :slight_smile:

Another source of information:
Tom has a Thread for NarsilM NarsilM - configurable e-switch firmware for Multi channels, v1.3

And there is a Firmware discussion thread

One problem with writing proper manuals is it’s moving very quick. It’s nearly useless to write things down.

And the next thing is already cocking, please read in the Spaghetti Monster thread if you like:
From Toykeeper: Anduril a UI for FSM
A firmware under development similar to Narsil.
Anduril is described in post #3in the thread of Spaghetti Monster (FSM)

16

It would be much bigger.
It must be split in two parts, for RAMPING and MODES. And something for configuration. To look nice it would be 3 pages.
And TK has not everything of here firmware in the visual.
The Emisar D4 UI has a lot of extra text.
The Nasil CS has nearly every blink signal described, URLs and other stuff.
I know it’s small text and packed and I don’t think it is nice, but hey, you can store it in the lamp.

Or you can store the PDF on your smartphone.

17

Lol Joechina! Yup, I was too slow! I must have been admiring the light!

Now, I guess I realize the fw is indeed à moving target, but the fw as shipped in the first 500 units should be a consistant batch? I certainly have no easy way to flash new updated firmware… that I’m aware of anyway… and I won’t even ask in this thread on how to, as I’d like to keep this on topic and not go all ADD on everyone -:slight_smile:

I guess it would be teriffic to have someone knowledgeable do a …? Three part video series, including links to the reference material on:

1- unboxing and using the primary features in ramp mode (as shipped from th factory). This should include things like getting into and changing strobe, resetting to factory defaults (I call this the escape hatch), and general overview of operations.
2- getting into programming mode, explain the ins’s and outs and tricks of getting into programming, saving various modes etc.
3- a fairly detailed video of actually programming the various and multiple modes

I know… I should take this on and finally contribute to this thread rather than stir things up, but I’m no where near capable of doing so at this time. This light is certainly not for a rookie or good to gift to non-techies, but it’s very cool. FYI, I am gifting a pile of BLF A6’s including good batteries and a simple but safe charger out as Christmas presents to some friends and family. It’s complicated, but no where near as option-Ritchie as the Q8!

Anyway, thanks to JasonWW for his vids. They are good, but I’d still like to see a more thurough and precise/specific video that, as the Germans would say, “step by step” (and as Americans may say (the Q8 for dummies).

Cheers,

18

As I’m playing with it more and reading the CS more closely - I’m realizing I just skimmed over some of the details too quickly at first. :slight_smile: e.g. I missed the note about mode switches needing to be done within 1.2s each time or the next click turns it off. Had to watch JasonWW’s videos and read some of the other posts to see what I was doing wrong.

I might try to make some kind of flowchart for myself just because it sticks in my head better that way - I don’t see it being any more compact than the CS though.

19

OK, I need help with Narsil. I can’t understand the CS. It simply makes no sense to me. I’m missing something.

I’m totally lost but here is where I am… When I click once I have moonlight, another quick press gives me medium, then another quick press takes me to hi, one more press and off. I have no idea how I got here, but I don’t like it. I was trying to turn off timed heat regulation and get into temperature regulation and got to where I am.

I want to get back to ramping. I think returning to factory defaults would also do it (would it ?). But first things first. How do I get back to ramping and the factory defaults?

Then I want to get out of timed heat regulation and into the factory set 55°C heat regulation.

From off how do I do that? Please assume I know nothing and you’ll be very close to what I need. I tried the CS and I’m definitely missing something critical to success.

Please folks, in text and step by step so that I can read it since I can’t understand the CS. I can understand TKs flow charts but the CS is beyond me.

20

Factory reset is easiest way to start over again. Who knows what else you messed with.

From OFF: Click + Click and HOLD for 2.5 - 3 seconds > double click > double click > Press and hold for 2-3 seconds It will flash 4 times to confirm reset.