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

[MichielSanders]

Saw some other post on facebook yesterday from someone at lumintop, and by reading that i get the feeling they are indeed selling them already.

https://flic.kr/p/E6ExYg

Sorry i’m on ipad right now and cant get the full image link somehow

[Keisari]

@Far Thrower

Thanks for the info.

I also wondered why high drain cell were done through a deal.

I have plenty of 18650GAs.

Sanyo NCR18650GA and Samsung INR18650-35E appear almost identical at 3 A in lygte-info data.

So do you reckon that there is mechanical battery protection?

On the GT? There is mechanical polarity protection both when inserting batteries into carriers and when loading the carriers into the light.

@Nev

What are the ideal battery’s for the gt , will 30q’s give better run times on turbo , with the 35E’s will it just run longer at lower output?

Look at the battery comparator above, choose 30Q and 35E. Let’s assume 3 A required for the buck driver input during the later stage of discharge to maintain full power. 30Q curve falls below 35E curve after 2.25 Ah have been used, at a voltage of 3.35 V. I can not jump into conclusions as I don’t know how much input voltage the GT buck driver needs to maintain turbo or full. If it needs more than 4*3.35 volts, 30Q would have the advantage in theory. Less, the 35E wins. Theoretically.

Edit: On second thought, 13.4 volts seems very low. I guess there may not be any advantage for the 30Q over the 35E in the GT.
Edit: Sorry, I got confused. The above means the 30Q will have an advantage. :person_facepalming: At full power, that is.

[G0OSE]

@Franz

@bella-headlight

Here is the facebook message referred to by stanmore

What? They dont even sent our lights and now they are starting to sell for everyone?

Thats very bad :person_facepalming:

I don’t think that is the case, they are probably taking orders for later. That said I’m not going to assume anything. Ass uming often makes one look an Ass later on…….
You could always try buying one direct for $250, it may arrive quicker.

[chrisc]

It sucks that lumintop are selling them direct now before the group buy is done.

[IndyArcher]

@Keisari

@IndyArcher

I’m really not speaking to risk, unless we are talking about a risk of integrity.

I know, but I am also mentioning the actual hazard that shipping li-ions has.

I think the GT with batteries in the Lumintop box is de facto a very safe package. What I was referring to, is the reasoning behing very strict air cargo restrictions. The recent bad development is not just a plot by ignorant politicians or evil bureaucrats, but due to demands from several unions of aviation professionals. For the most part I understand their concern, but at the same time I think this has been allowed to go too far.

I don’t disagree with you at all. Bureaucrats whose only expertise is ignorance have a way of interfering with a whole lot of life.

[Wennn]

Seen a pic from someone that just received his, in the same double box that the early US people seem to have gotten, while mine and a few other people got our lights in a single box, which meant wrapped in tape and a box that cannot be kept. ):

At least we have our lights, though im now waiting for strap wrenches and the like to correct the off center LED and stuck rear rotating tailcap.

[IndyArcher]

@G0OSE

@Franz

@bella-headlight

Here is the facebook message referred to by stanmore

What? They dont even sent our lights and now they are starting to sell for everyone?

Thats very bad :person_facepalming:

I don’t think that is the case, they are probably taking orders for later. That said I’m not going to assume anything. Ass uming often makes one look an Ass later on…….
You could always try buying one direct for $250, it may arrive quicker.

Even if they ARE selling them directly right now, it seems rather odd timing knowing that they are going to likely be delayed until after the Chinese New Year.

Bizarre to say the least.

[teacher]

@G0OSE

@teacher

@G0OSE

@teacher

I was thinking a few people in the UK had received their lights………

Just a few sadly……… the trouble is they haven’t exactly thought about it - it’s sent in a box with ‘blf gt’ slapped all over it , and then a huge invoice on top, which should read say ‘flashlight parts’ or something, not ‘blf gt flashlight’ they didn’t have to be so specific, ie, reveal the make/model at worst just ‘flashlight’ would have sufficed.
You only have to type blf gt in to google and you find the price on here or elsewhere, worse still you can find the higher price……or even the final sale price.
Customs aren’t stupid, it’s their job after all.

Hmmmm…… Good points Goose. :+1:
And IF customs ever did do an ‘internet search’ of BLF GT and came across & read the last part of this thread……. all hell would probably break loose. :person_facepalming:

All it would take is one zealous customs person reading what has been written here, in black & white; to really shake things up……

Just a thought…… not a good one either.

Thanks Teacher, I don’t know how customs work, I am just looking at it logically. I don’t know whether they take sample batches/shipments out and charge/look at those (likely, I know that’s what they do with containers) , or look at every delivery (I doubt that). I would imagine DHL etc are an easier target for Customs as they are usually ‘premium’ services and usually you don’t choose that unless the item is expensive, hence more chance of some revenue.
Certainly it is a fair assumption that at some point to find the value of an item, they consult our friend Google………. it just stands to reason, it’s what we’d do right?

Sure thing Goose……. … I don’t know how Customs works either…. just thinking it they did.
BUT…. since the returned lights never left HongKong it hopefully should not be an issue.

[JasonWW]

@Far Thrower

I hope that there isn’t any mishaps with incorrect battery carrier insertions.

So do you reckon that there is mechanical battery protection?

If the carrier is inserted wrong, no contact should be made.

Each battery also requires a button top or solder blob in order to make contact on the positive side.

This should prevent cells being inserted into the carriers backwards.

[bella-headlight]

Apologies to UK members.
I googled UK import duty costs & it said £18.
I was unaware that that was an old figure & that it was now £15 which is about $21.
Again apologies for the misinformation.

[JasonWW]

@chrisc

It sucks that lumintop are selling them direct now before the group buy is done.

You mean it sucks for the people buying them as they will have to wait maybe 3 months before Lumintop has any lights to ship them? I’m sure Lumintop will find a use for that money.

[chrisc]

Let’s see how quickly they deliver their next orders.

[MichielSanders]

@JasonWW

@chrisc

It sucks that lumintop are selling them direct now before the group buy is done.

You mean it sucks for the people buying them as they will have to wait maybe 3 months before Lumintop has any lights to ship them? I’m sure Lumintop will find a use for that money.

I saw a post yesterday that she had already shipped out some
Screenshot of facebook post

Edit, screenshot made 1-23-2018 at 7:19am gmt+1. Can’t find the post anymore.

[JasonWW]

@Nev

@teacher

@Texas_Ace

@teacher

@Nev

What are the ideal battery’s for the gt , will 30q’s give better run times on turbo , with the 35E’s will it just run longer at lower output?

The GT does not require high drain batteries. 30Q’s will work but runtime will NOT be as long as 35E’s or GA’s. Button top or solder boob is required.

Total runtime will be less with 30Q’s but regulated runtime (aka, the time at full power) will be longer with 30Q’s as they have less voltage sag.

Thanks TA… sorry I left that out. :+1:

Thanks teacher/TA, that’s what I thought , does anyone know any run time numbers with both types of battery’s to help me choose?

I don’t think there have been any official run time tests with the 35E. With the 30Q, 4 cells at 2A stayed in regulation for 45 minutes, then ran another 45 minutes out of regulation until the low voltage protection kicked in. With 8 cells those numbers should double.

BTW, 2A is recommended for continuous use while 2.5A is better only for short use. Run times are noticably shorter at 2.5A.

[Tejasandre]

@ MichielSanders post. Well that seems contrary to the agreements, as I understand it

[qandeel]

This thread has now overtaken the Q8 thread with the most number of replies :laughing:

[bella-headlight]

@MichielSanders

@JasonWW

@chrisc

It sucks that lumintop are selling them direct now before the group buy is done.

You mean it sucks for the people buying them as they will have to wait maybe 3 months before Lumintop has any lights to ship them? I’m sure Lumintop will find a use for that money.

I saw a post yesterday that she had already shipped out some
Screenshot of facebook post

Coming from someone who paid in the first 500 & is patiently waiting for their light to even ship that is not good reading that people have bought them directly from LT & have already received them.

[Texas_Ace]

I am looking into these direct GT sales now, was just made aware of them today.

I think it is the same person that made the facebook post back in December that was quickly taken back by lumintop. I have no idea what to make of it but this person has a habit of getting way ahead of the things and not really checking with anyone else about it.

Don’t go hassle her over this, she is just gung hoe over her job as I understand it but still, causes some extra work keeping up with what happens.

[teacher]

I have searched on FaceBook both Lumintop Flashlights & Flashlight Fanatics… I can find NO POST such as these ’screen shots’ show. Not one….

Does anyone have a link to the ‘actual post’, not a screenshot??

I think people are getting bent out of shape for no good reason. Reason based on ’assumptions’ & a screenshot with “NO Date” on it.
………
UPDATE from ’drood’:

Flashaholics Anonymous

[JasonWW]

I updated post #4 with run time charts.

I believe the 35E should perform very similar to the Panasonic 3400mah cells used in the test.

Basically at 2A, the 30Q and 35E perform the same, but the 35E gives a bit longer run time once it drops out of regulation.

At 2.5A, the 30Q gives a bit more output initially, but drops off more quickly.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to explain post #4 as best I can and update it with clearer data.