Is it time for the next generation Q8?

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T00:40:44.000Z

Caleb:

I travel for a living and the original BLF Q8 is a permanent fixture in bottom of my bag. Not only is it a great light, but if needed I always have several “spare” 18650s available.

I wonder if it is possible to develop a USB charger retrofit.

<tap, tap> This thing on?

Airpro DC7.

Fitty bux with 26buk-off coupon… right… now.

I started to make a “charging cap” for my Q8. PVC end cap to screw onto the battery tube and charge all 4 cells at once, but don’t quite know how to cut threads on the inside for it to stick. No lathe or anything fancy. Was thinking press-fit, weighted, etc., but nothing jumped out at me.

Caleb · 2019-04-16T01:23:02.000Z

Lightbringer:

Caleb:

I travel for a living and the original BLF Q8 is a permanent fixture in bottom of my bag. Not only is it a great light, but if needed I always have several “spare” 18650s available.

I wonder if it is possible to develop a USB charger retrofit.

<tap, tap> This thing on?

Airpro DC7.

Fitty bux with 26buk-off coupon… right… now.

I started to make a “charging cap” for my Q8. PVC end cap to screw onto the battery tube and charge all 4 cells at once, but don’t quite know how to cut threads on the inside for it to stick. No lathe or anything fancy. Was thinking press-fit, weighted, etc., but nothing jumped out at me.

It’s in my cart… coupon applied… finger twitching… sweat on brow… MUST… RE… ZIST…

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T02:31:51.000Z

Resistance is futile.

BOMBAY · 2019-04-16T02:57:15.000Z

dc7 has a lighted switch only when the flashlight is on?

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T03:08:13.000Z

Yeah, and was wondering if it’s settable like the Q8, but couldn’t find anything in the manual.

I did up a review on Amazon, mentioning that, but it wasn’t “published” yet.

Good thing I waited, as I got an invite in email to be an “early reviewer”! I’m gonna get a 3buk gift card, too!

Now Maw kin git that opurashun…

BOMBAY · 2019-04-16T03:42:41.000Z

It’s a small inconvenience. It may be related to the charging function

BillyBobJoe · 2019-04-16T04:15:52.000Z

The DC7 keeps getting mentioned…It a decent light? Wanting to get my first soda can and not sure where to start. Q8, D18, Meteor, DC7? Is there another thread that could help me out?

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T04:35:29.000Z

BillyBobJoe:

The DC7 keeps getting mentioned…It a decent light? Wanting to get my first soda can and not sure where to start. Q8, D18, Meteor, DC7? Is there another thread that could help me out?

Which one would you recommend? Niwalker MF5SV1 vs BLF Q8 LED Flashlights – General Info

Wellp, I can’t speak to the Niwalker, but as far as Q8 class lights, you have BLF Q8 Sofirn Q8 Airpro DC7 I got a few BLF Q8s. Pretty good build quality, nice floody beam, great CT/tint right out of the box. No Sofirn Q8s, because a) they’re throwier, and I find the BLF’s floody beam lots more useful, b) it’s more CW than NW, again, a negative to me, but Sofirn’s quality in general is spot-on. The Airpros are quite nice, excellent build quality that I’ve seen, everything nicely lub…

AEDe · 2019-04-16T05:10:59.000Z

Just 10000-15000lm for several seconds is already boring. There are many such lights.

Is is interesting to see some new hardware features. Good charger with modern parts. CcT adjusting, active cooling and so on.

Tangra · 2019-04-16T07:13:24.000Z

AEDe:

Just 10000-15000lm for several seconds is already boring. There are many such lights.

Is is interesting to see some new hardware features. Good charger with modern parts. CcT adjusting, active cooling and so on.

Active cooling is good solution. What about oil cooling? Like those in big transformers.
Other budget LED option is 4 x SST40.

Spartan · 2019-04-16T08:05:10.000Z

Tangra:

AEDe:

Just 10000-15000lm for several seconds is already boring. There are many such lights.

Is is interesting to see some new hardware features. Good charger with modern parts. CcT adjusting, active cooling and so on.

Active cooling is good solution. What about oil cooling? Like those in big transformers.
Other budget LED option is 4 x SST40.

Nooooo….I can imagine the leak issues!

Small fan behind the head. Cheap and effective, like CPU fans.

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T19:09:37.000Z

BOMBAY:

dc7 has a lighted switch only when the flashlight is on?

Try 5 clicks. Mine’s at home, so can’t do it now, but while I here and remember…

Tally-ho · 2019-04-16T19:30:02.000Z

Tangra:

Active cooling is good solution. What about oil cooling? Like those in big transformers.

Dialectric oil is used to isolate different parts and also to transfer heat from parts that can’t touch metal or touch each-others (short). In a flashlight, it’s the metal that is used to transfer heat, oil won’t help.

Scallywag · 2019-04-16T20:37:14.000Z

Yeah, more and more light is boring for me, too. Larger and larger lights to do anything more than scorch your fingers and eyes for a handful of seconds. The "more light" category needs some major innovation in lumens/Watt before I'll get super excited there, or at least some cooling innovations.

Throw is also relatively stagnant these days, with people still putting XP-G2s in some throwers. Larger optics was the game, and then the GT and MF04 did their thing.

USB-C charging is beginning to see adoption in the flashlight industry. 21700 size, too.

Interfaces are getting pretty advanced, especially for single-button. I think the FW3A will nearly "solve" the single-button tail-switch UI. There's a few nice dual-button configurations out there, but not many, so I guess there's room for innovation there, or for further adoption of selection rings like the RRT-01.

What else is there? Small OLED displays like the vapes have? I still need to be able to fumble in the dark for it, and turn it on without blinding anyone. I could go for every driver ever from now on having a battery check mode of some sort.

I'm also not sure how much I like TIRs these days. Are there any good options for throw? I've lately been feeling like my TIR lights need 1000+ lumens to be useful outdoors at night, for example to see across a parking lot, but admittedly that is the tiny TIRs of triple/quad. Maybe I need to find a big TIR for an S2+ and try it for a bit. They would probably be nice to mod with, too, so I could stop worrying about shorting onto reflectors...

BOMBAY · 2019-04-16T20:52:19.000Z

Lightbringer:

BOMBAY:

dc7 has a lighted switch only when the flashlight is on?

Try 5 clicks. Mine’s at home, so can’t do it now, but while I here and remember…

I only have Sofirn Q8. Maybe if they offer neutral white I will buy DC7

Lightbringer · 2019-04-16T21:28:07.000Z

Tried it, it’s a “breather”. I’m leaving it off. Beacon or constant-on, sure. Breather, nope.

Tangra · 2019-04-17T06:02:16.000Z

I thing BLF Q8 is just fine. Only improvement we can do is how to increase time in turbo.
First we can use XPL2 and second to put active cooling.

Agro · 2019-04-17T06:11:35.000Z

Tally-ho:

Tangra:

Active cooling is good solution. What about oil cooling? Like those in big transformers.

Dialectric oil is used to isolate different parts and also to transfer heat from parts that can’t touch metal or touch each-others (short). In a flashlight, it’s the metal that is used to transfer heat, oil won’t help.

Actually with some CSP LEDs it is not easy to cool the phosphor. Clemence has shown that submersing the LED in liquid allowed driving it much harder.

As to active cooling: lots of complexity, big cost, noise, problematic waterproofing….not my style.
However a big passive radiator shell like Olight X6 Marouder with liquid metal and magnetic pumps would be:

also very complex and expensive
silent
waterproof
And unless it springs a leak it should be very reliable.

Though heat pipes would be even more reliable, much cheaper and should work well enough.

Di_Joker · 2019-04-17T06:24:19.000Z

Tangra:

I thing BLF Q8 is just fine. Only improvement we can do is how to increase time in turbo.
First we can use XPL2

The difference will be a few seconds.
Only setting 4* or 6* XHP50.2 will give an increase in the operating time to a stepdown in the 5000Lm mode.

ZoomieFan · 2019-04-17T07:18:51.000Z

Tally-ho:

Spartan:

I have to check it out, but I’m pretty sure 3 21700 are smaller diameter then 4 18650s

Slightly bigger if i’m not wrong with my paint skills :

4x 18650 fits in 44mm diameter, 14000 mAh
3x 21700 fits in 46mm diameter, 15000 mAh
4x 21700 fits in 51mm diameter, 20000 mAh