[PART 1] Official BLF GT Group Buy thread. Group buy officially closed! Lights shipping.

[vol]

@The Miller

Ehm, Vol, that is a lot of input.
And a lot of it has been covered.
Yes it will be a long tube for a maximum of 8 cells with the two carriers one could use only 4 cells.
No this is not a 26650/32650 light.

This is not a negotiation at this point, it is a long tube and we strive for a setup with two carriers right now.
If you want to know all that was spoken about this, please read the thread this has been discussed for many posts.
Positions are clear, decision has been made. Sometimes decisions are to be made in order to progress in the project, this is one of those examples.

I talking about a longer tube guys. 4 in series straight up and down … double the length and cut the tube.

[vol]

Basically put two L6 tubes together and fit the head on.

[Jerommel]

@vol

Long handle or short handle 4 in series straight up and down…not around.

And no it wouldn’t look silly. It would look awesome.

I can assure you a long thin battery tube will look totally silly.

Here’s the “fat bastard” 4x 26650:

But it’s gonna be a double length Q8 / SRK / TN42 tube.
As Miller said too, it is decided.

[The_Miller]

would be a nice mod, two tubes, 4P4S

[vol]

@The Miller

Ehm, Vol, that is a lot of input.
And a lot of it has been covered.
Yes it will be a long tube for a maximum of 8 cells with the two carriers one could use only 4 cells.
No this is not a 26650/32650 light.

This is not a negotiation at this point, it is a long tube and we strive for a setup with two carriers right now.
If you want to know all that was spoken about this, please read the thread this has been discussed for many posts.
Positions are clear, decision has been made. Sometimes decisions are to be made in order to progress in the project, this is one of those examples.

Just trying to make things easier less expensive and pleasing to everyone. It’s just my opinion.

[vol]

@Jerommel

@vol

Long handle or short handle 4 in series straight up and down…not around.

And no it wouldn’t look silly. It would look awesome.

I can assure you a long thin battery tube will look totally silly.

Here’s the “fat bastard” 4x 26650:

But it’s gonna be a double length Q8 / SRK / TN42 tube.
As Miller said too, it is decided.

Show me the long bastard.

[vol]

With 4 26650’s single file.

[The_Miller]

Love input vol, good to have people think along :+1:
But this is kind of passed station and a 3 or 4 series 26650 or even 32650 light is not the GT but could be a different project as the recoil thrower idea was started besides the GT and discussion and energy could be used in a separate thread about it

[vol]

@The Miller

Love input vol, good to have people think along :+1:
But this is kind of passed station and a 3 or 4 series 26650 or even 32650 light is not the GT but could be a different project as the recoil thrower idea was started besides the GT and discussion and energy could be used in a separate thread about it

I got you.
This is gonna be a modders light and just not a throw king.

I get it.

But dang you could you imagine what kind of weapon “light” this could be for many that don’t have mile of flat land and a target all the time?

[Jerommel]

@vol

@The Miller

Love input vol, good to have people think along :+1:
But this is kind of passed station and a 3 or 4 series 26650 or even 32650 light is not the GT but could be a different project as the recoil thrower idea was started besides the GT and discussion and energy could be used in a separate thread about it

I got you.
This is gonna be a modders light and just not a throw king.

I get it.

But dang you could you imagine what kind of weapon “light” this could be for many that don’t have mile of flat land and a target all the time?

Stop trolling.

[johny723]

read the entire thread and stop spamming

[vol]

I promise I’m not trolling. I’m hitting the sauce a little.
But I’m not trolling.

[ImA4Wheelr]

@Koenta

I don’t want to say someone is wrong. It was just an observation that the IM reflector has not the optimal design, that’s it.

Grow some and either say it or don't.

@Enderman

It certainly doesn’t look like it either.

Factor in perspective and I have to disagree.

Last time for the record. I don't endorse the IM reflector that I suggested as a candidate. I don't know jack about reflectors, but I feel comfident the folks at Illumination Machines do. That is why I suggested it as a candidate for those that know more to consider. I keep coming to this thread hoping to hear about other options as I am a large fan of big reflectors. I can not lie.

[Texas_Ace]

As soon as we have a manufacture on board the reflector will be the first thing on the list, till then we can’t and won’t be making any large strides in that department save for possibly a few quotes for datas sake.

I have nothing against the IM reflector myself from a purely performance perspective, although not having any data to work with I also don’t have much for it either other then being a well made large reflector.

I just simply do not care about reflectors until we find a manufacture. Finding a reflector is not a large problem, convoy gets them custom made and they are a tiny operation, I am positive a larger company could as well without an issue. The question is will the quality, price and performance match or beat that of a pre-made reflector option.

We will not know until we have a manufacture.

[vol]

@Texas_Ace

As soon as we have a manufacture on board the reflector will be the first thing on the list, till then we can’t and won’t be making any large strides in that department save for possibly a few quotes for datas sake.

I have nothing against the IM reflector myself from a purely performance perspective, although not having any data to work with I also don’t have much for it either other then being a well made large reflector.

I just simply do not care about reflectors until we find a manufacture. Finding a reflector is not a large problem, convoy gets them custom made and they are a tiny operation, I am positive a larger company could as well without an issue. The question is will the quality, price and performance match or beat that of a pre-made reflector option.

We will not know until we have a manufacture.

The light has to be built around the reflector.
That’s the only thing that matters and the only thing that will make it work.
Again just my opinion.

[ImA4Wheelr]

^

I couldn't agree with vol more and disagree with ta more. The reflector is the part that we can not readily modify and has the most influence on throw. It's the key part that will make this a "Giga Thrower" and will be the primary reason on whether I fork out my funds for you light or not. For that reason, it's the part I'm most concerned about.

@Texas_Ace

This was considered many posts back and people agreed, a single cell tube is stupid looking and ridiculously unbalanced to the point of almost unusability. A single cell tube was never part of the plan with this light, this light is a massive hulking monster of a light.

Did they? So we not only decided on a preferred (based on highly distorted renderings), but we also decided that the members that felt otherwise had really lousy taste?

@Texas_Ace

That is what will happen if the manufacture decides that the cell carriers are too expensive for our price point. Till then we ask for carriers. Always aim very high that way even if you fall it is still high. If you aim low then you can only fall lower.

You do this while you are begging the manufacturer? Since it sounds like you will let the manufacturer will be designing/selecting a reflector, will you please also ask for 1 million cd's?

[Texas_Ace]

Yes, you aim high, then if you are let down you end up at the level you need. If you aim at the level you need then you could end up well below that.

Things work differently in China. Us trying to force a reflector on a manufacture is basically gonna mean this light won’t happen. You are correct that it is a very important part of the light but a very minor part of the proposal. All we need to tell them is we want a ~120mm reflector that is high quality and aluminum.

These are flashlight manufactures, I am gonna guess that they know where and how to get reflectors made or where to buy them. Just a shot in the dark but I feel pretty good about making that assumption……

So with that in mind it makes sense to see what they can find locally through their own suppliers first. If that is not acceptable THEN you start telling them to use one of our selection.

This is basic business. You let the manufacture source parts from their own trusted suppliers whenever possible. It leads to far less issues down the road. If their are issues they are far easier to work out as well.

[teacher]

@Enderman

@teacher

Thank you sir!!! :+1:
I needed that……
(checking it out~)
Oh yeah, that works good. Is the “black circle” in the center of the “pinkish/orange circle” the ‘hot spot’? It corresponds with the white part that is inside the green parabola.

Thank you for the instruction ‘Enderman’, I appreciate that.

I’m grad it worked!
The circles below the reflector show the effective reflector area when looking from the front, the small middle circle is the “hole” with no light, the area between small and large circle is where the reflector is reflecting the LED.
Unfortunately it seems like desmos doesn’t allow me to do a<r<b so I had to make two separate circles, r<a and r<b
Example:

Thanks Enderman, it is starting to make sense.

[vol]

@Texas_Ace

Yes, you aim high, then if you are let down you end up at the level you need. If you aim at the level you need then you could end up well below that.

Things work differently in China. Us trying to force a reflector on a manufacture is basically gonna mean this light won’t happen. You are correct that it is a very important part of the light but a very minor part of the proposal. All we need to tell them is we want a ~120mm reflector that is high quality and aluminum.

These are flashlight manufactures, I am gonna guess that they know where and how to get reflectors made or where to buy them. Just a shot in the dark but I feel pretty good about making that assumption……

So with that in mind it makes sense to see what they can find locally through their own suppliers first. If that is not acceptable THEN you start telling them to use one of our selection.

This is basic business. You let the manufacture source parts from their own trusted suppliers whenever possible. It leads to far less issues down the road. If their are issues they are far easier to work out as well.

That is ridiculous. 120mm reflector?
Tell the “manufacturer” in china lol
You’re gonna have someone in their basement in china putting these parts together dude.
We want it cheap and to work. Requesting how it looks seems silly to me.

[teacher]

@teacher

@DavidEF

the IM reflector is a real thing, and is used in real applications (military applications, at that)

ImA4Wheelr’s reflector:

Does anyone have a link to, or know who makes; these reflectors?
What kind of light are they used in??

Sure thing, click on the name of the maker … . Illumination Machines …… it is the link also. :+1:
As far as question # 2, I still have no ideal. :person_facepalming: