Just can't resist ordering the BLF Q8.

[ImA4Wheelr]

^

Upon rereading my post, I totally see that and worse.

[sb56637]

@ImA4Wheelr

@sb56637

@sb56637

I finally received mine today after some problems with the mail system. Wow! This thing is a real piece of engineering, and is a real testament to Thorfire and the thousands of man/woman-hours poured into it by the BLF team. I love the interface, and I can’t wait to test it in the dark. Machining quality is top-notch, clean reflector, well centered LEDs, and butter smooth threads. :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: So that’s four thumbs up from me. (I’m all thumbs when it comes to manual work, which is why I can do that and still have enough thumbs left over to type this. )

When I tested it for the first time, I used new Samsung 30Q cells that I had never charged. I later tested them to be somewhere around 3.0V. I thought the light was pretty bright then, but now that I charged the cells up to 4.2V the light looks about 50% brighter! :sunglasses: I love it. My only complaint is that strobe mode doesn’t feel very bright. It might just be because the frequency is so high that the full brightness is never reached, or maybe it’s actually a lower power setting. I’m one of those rare few that actually uses the strobe fairly frequently to scare off nighttime prowlers and miscreants, so I’m probably the first to notice.

My wife and I also regularly use strobe mode. There is a very effective dual-frequency strobe on the Q8 that we love. It is the second mode in the strobe cycle. Once you get into Strobe mode, half click one more time to get into it. You have to do the half click pretty soon (< 1 Second) after getting into Strobe mode.

Ah, thanks for the tip! I never found the other additional strobe modes, the click window is pretty short. What a fun light!

[Aleister]

@Boaz

@zespectre

I have a couple of lights where I stick a tiny little neodymium magnet to the top to make a “button” on the flat top batteries.
It works pretty well.

Magnets are just a bad idea . they are dangerous / move around and dent your batteries because they are usually much smaller than the surface they sit upon .The forces of pressure created by screwing down a tailcap can be pretty massive .
A solder blob works much better .So damn easy I wondered why I ever waited .Never seen a light that wouldn’t run on a flat top cell with a solder blob …
Too easy !

A few years ago I had a moved-while-screwing-the-tube magnet short a Panasonic 18650PF inside a mechanical e-cig. In 1-2 seconds it heated up to to a point that I couldn’t keep touching it and I almost burned my hands while unscrewing the tube to open the circuit. What was going to happen next, I am not sure. Maybe just melt the e-cig, maybe vent through the vent holes of the e-cig and successfully launch it to outer space, maybe the vent holes wasn’t big enough and couldn’t prevent the tube from exploding. And these are my thoughts about only one “safe”, high quality, high-drain battery in an e-cig with vent holes. I can think of worse scenarios than that if using a flashlight with no vent holes, 2/4/8 18650s and, maybe, less “safe” cells.
So, yes, no magnets.

[zespectre]

Magnets removed.

I only did it with one light but that was obviously a very silly thing to do

I’ll be honest. I have NO idea why I ever thought that was a good idea. (DOH!)

[ValuseekeR]

Ack!!

Good: Banggood delivered my Q8 much more quickly than I expected.

Bad: They split my order, so I have the light, but no batteries or charger… :person_facepalming:

If the rest of my order doesn’t show up in a day or two I might be hitting up the nearest vape shop.

[nick779]

I impulsively ordered one of these too. Im a sucker for fast shipping too, so I paid the $10. Should be here in about a week.

[Zulumoose]

I have the light, but no batteries or charger… Facepalm

If the rest of my order doesn’t show up in a day or two I might be hitting up the nearest vape shop.

If you really are that desperate, buy one high drain button top cell, you can run the Q8 fairly well on one cell, you just won’t see the peak output.

[ValuseekeR]

@Zulumoose

If you really are that desperate, buy one high drain button top cell, you can run the Q8 fairly well on one cell, you just won’t see the peak output.

Yeah, might do that. I have a S2+ in the mail that I need a cell for anyway. I was going to use a protected cell in that one, but I’ll stop at the vape shop and see what they have if nothing shows up in today’s mail.

Not exactly desperate, wasn’t really even expecting to have it already, but I will have opportunities to use the Q8 this weekend and it would be a shame to leave it at home.

[zespectre]

@Zulumoose

If you really are that desperate, buy one high drain button top cell, you can run the Q8 fairly well on one cell, you just won’t see the peak output.

I KEEP forgetting it will do that.
Thanks for the reminder. LOL

[joechina]

No,
please don’t do this.
If you run a Q8 on full power on a single Samsung 30Q it can heat up the spring and it will lose tension and sags.
Somebody in the Q8 thread had done this.

Edit:
It seems it was the Miller with two 30Q on full throttle.

Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light

Argh and I just notice you are a BLFer much much longer then me, sorry automatic response with 1 or 2 posts members asking to be put on the list Yeah David you are right. Sigh The S70 springs are nice and thick though Looking for a solution that requires the least redesign My two springs where I emptied 2*2 30Q on turbo on have indeed sagged about half a mm

Djozz too

Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light

I found a likely problem with my Q8 when using short batteries like my solder blobbed 30Q's and BD's. I was testing the light output with 1 to 4 batteries, on both types mentioned above, when unexpectedly on 3 BD's the ouput was not better than on 2 BD's. And this is what caused it: [image] The springs are loosing tension which caused one battery not to touch the batt+ contact ring on the driver. This may be caused by the one battery test that causes quite some current through the battery spri…

Haven’t you read the Q8 thread completely?

[ValuseekeR]

That’s good info Joechina, thank you. (No, I haven’t quite made it through all ~17k posts over there yet lol.)

[sb56637]

@joechina

No,
please don’t do this.
If you run a Q8 on full power on a single Samsung 30Q it can heat up the spring and it will lose tension and sags.
Somebody in the Q8 thread had done this.

Edit:
It seems it was the Miller with two 30Q on full throttle.
Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light - #7637 by The_Miller

Djozz too
Q8, PMS SEND TO THOSE WITH ISSUES BLF soda can light - #7593 by djozz

Haven’t you read the Q8 thread completely?

Wow, good to know this, thanks!

[joechina]

Yes thats true. The lamps where prototyps. But I don’t know how much better the production springs are.
The principle is the same with one battery you have 4 times the current and a 30Q can deliver this, the spring gets hot and weakens the tension.
I wouldn’t risk it.
But you can use the Q8 and one cell if:

- don’t run it on MAX or

- you use a half empty high drain cell

• when you have bypassed springs you can use MAX on a fresh 30Q

[mikeymikey]

Having hard time finding decent button top batteries for Q8. Most places are out of stock.
Is Banggood or aliexpress reliable to get batteries? Any other US source with good batteries in stock? Leaning towards Samsung or Sony but open to suggestions.

thx

[Lightbringer]

Got a set of 30Q buttons from FT a while back.

[GreenLights]

MTN Electronics 30Q in stock

Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh Unprotected Button Top

[GreenLights]

I just ordered the Q8 as well. It will be my first venture over 1200 lumens. I’m excited. Now the wait……

[ValuseekeR]

Well, my nearest vape shop didn’t have any 18650s I thought would work in the Q8 without a solder blob and they wanted $12 a cell, so after some more reading I ordered a pair of flat top Sanyo NCR18650GA’s from Illumn. They’ll ultimately be for my S2+, but since their tops sit proud of the wrapper they work in the Q8. Pretty amazing light when you’re coming from the relative muggledom of AA & AAA edc lights!! Will definitely buy from Illumn again, ordered on Sunday and arrived today (Weds.,) with the cheapest shipping which is awesome.

[teacher]

@Winnowill1984

Dollar per lumen it’s hard to beat.

Yep… real hard to beat. It costs around a penny per lumen.

Hard to best that……. :+1:

[ValuseekeR]

I forget where I first saw it here, but I ordered a camera flash lambency diffuser the other day and it looks like a pretty sweet diffuser option for the Q8. :+1: