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

[Flintrock]

Nobody is making a competition, not sure where TK's comment came from. Nobody is putting anything down. I think you're seeing what feel is there, not what is there. The only zero sum game is that you can only do so much with one button and at some point have some tradeoffs to make. I made a pretty simple comment about what one of those tradeoffs is (following up on a previous discussion that others started about how they wouldn't like bistro-HD actually because it's long click off). JasonWW asked me to explain. Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm explaining a conversation now.

JasonWW I'm not myself up to speed on the whole history or selection what exists out there. I know basic china lights had short press and "long press" for a long time. Long press meaning after some time some would engage either a last mode or first mode behavior when turned back on.

Bistro, and I suspect probably other custom firmwares like it, added medium press (I say just med for short, in aprt because it's how the programming variables became named, and I can type 3 less letters) to allow reverse.

I wouldn't necessarily say long press off is a good idea at all for a ramping firmware either. Because one advantage to short press off, is that while short press becomes difficult to re-use, long press becomes free... for, well ramping. With long press off, ramping would be click to start, click to stop. My personal feeling for Narsil would be medium press through hidden modes would help a bunch though. But as Tom E said, and I fully appreciate, there are 100 different ideas on changes, and he can't do them all.

But JasonWW you make a good point about 1.25 seconds being annoyingly long but 0.5 being probably ok. In fact press length in bistro HD has been set around clicky and even to accomdate forward clicky (which is more slow to operatre) but on the e-switch I could probably speed things up a little. It actually takes a bit of code (that I've been meaning to add) to increase timing resolution for short presses while maintaining OTSM performance as well as possible. So I may try to do that at some point and squeeze long press off down to 1s. 0.5 is impractical if three click times are used.

[Flintrock]

Oh and as for the length of a medium press, it's anything comfortably longer than a quick tap. On a reverse clicky that can probably be as low as 1/4 second. On a forward clicky, it needs to be up around 0.5s. On the high end of the window, you need enough range to accommodate human brain variation, and I've found 0.5 to 1.25 works well for instance. 0.25 to 1.0 would probably also work well on e-switch for medium presses, or 0.375 to 1.0 possibly.

Another thing you can get by not using long press off by the way is "auto-repeat" medium press actions. LIke holding and it reverses one mode for every half second you keep holding... so bback to back medium presses without needing to release. I don't know if Narsil is doing this and can't check right now.

[MtnDon (Don Miller)]

@JasonWW

I’m just glad we are out of the dark ages of next mode memory or having to cycle through low, med, high, strobe to turn it off. :person_facepalming:

I’m really just fine with Narsil and ramping. :+1:

[Tom_Tom]

Well I just collected my Q8 from the post office (it has been a long long time coming) and first impressions are that it is perfect.

Well, when I say perfect, I mean properly made. The threads on the head were gritty and the grease contaminated with conductive particles. Evidenced by the torch flickering on and off as the tube was tightened the first time. Cleaned off and replaced, now good.

Driver PCB was not sitting flat and battery tube chewing into it around one screw. Screws removed, had a look underneath, nothing obvious, (led wires very short, any intent of modding, be prepared to un-solder for access)

Replaced driver and settled screws, now sitting comfortably with 360 degree witness marks.

Screws good. O-rings good and well-fitting. Light out of the front excellent. Light behind the switch far too bright but uniform. 4 clicks turns it off.

Metalwork, machining, finishing, packaging impeccable. Really nicely done. Good quality.

I have my own personal thoughts about the styling, but when handling the finished product it was ok.

No way to attach a lanyard without extra stuff. A pity, tailcap could easily have provided a hole or two.

A small bump turns it off. Really, a very small bump, not acceptable. Flashy Mike’s capacitor will be my first mod.

Now to learn Narsil.

And suggest, again, that Chert starts his own thread where he can continue to lecture us about his views about UIs, and posit some more, for those who are interested. Maybe with worked out examples. But purlease, not here.

[johny723]

I need some help. How do I change between ramping and modes? Reading the instruction manual is not enough for me… Could someone please post a link to a video showing how to change between modes and ramping? Many thanks!

[MACS0647]

Btw. if somebody might be interested, here are my first beamshots with the fantastic BLF Q8.
BLF Q8 & friends
!! !!

:heart_eyes: &

[JasonWW]

@johny723

I need some help. How do I change between ramping and modes? Reading the instruction manual is not enough for me… Could someone please post a link to a video showing how to change between modes and ramping? Many thanks!

Here you go.

How to Change Menu Settings in NarsilM (Q8)

More vids in my sig.

[SoCalTiger]

@duvallite

Using my 2-cell XTAR VP2 charger takes tooooo long doing 4 cells, so I now need a decent 4-cell charger. Looking at the Liitokala Lii-500 and the Zanflare C4. Since the cost is approximately the same ($25), which one is the better one to get, or is there something else in that price range that is better?

If you don’t need/care about the analysis functions and you’re okay with 4x500mA a cheaper option is the Lii-402.

I like the Zanflare C4 a lot and the fact that I can see stats on all 4 batteries simultaneously. My biggest gripe though is that batteries can be knocked out relatively easily if you are charging 4 at once and I also don’t like that you have to manually cycle the display for each slot.

I can’t compare the Lii-500, since I don’t own it.

[JasonWW]

@SoCalTiger

If you don’t need/care about the analysis functions and you’re okay with 4x500mA a cheaper option is the Lii-402.

That’s the same speed he has now. 4 x .5A = 2 x 1A. You need 4 x 1A.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

I’ve been trying to ignore the new 4 x 3A chargers….

[B42]

@JasonWW

I’m just glad we are out of the dark ages of next mode memory or having to cycle through low, med, high, strobe to turn it off. :person_facepalming:

I’m really just fine with Narsil and ramping. :+1:

I wanted to say that the above is still true! I am so glad to at least have the basic functions of click on/off, double click max, press and hold moon and ramping. You can forget the rest and its still worth it. I and others may complain about click length seeming to change and getting lost in setting strobes and moon, but for the 99.99% rest of the time its so much better than almost any other light out there! At its worst its still better than the rest, good job guys.

Now for the nitpicking again…I seem to find the click length needed to go between modes seems to change depending on how long you’ve used the flashlight here too…just temperature dependent or a function of charge left in the battery?

[JasonWW]

@DB Custom

I’ve been trying to ignore the new 4 x 3A chargers….

I haven’t seen them. Can you tell me what models they are?

I’m not very patient with charging, so I was looking for a 4 x 1.5A charger just for my 18650 cells. Haven’t seen one yet.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

Not sure, I know there was one that had the 12 in the name, for 12A total capacity, but I shut my eyes and deleted the email much to my wife’s delight. There’s a Folomov or something like that at Illumn that does 4x2A and 2x3A, on sale for some $31. I thought the 12A one was at Illumn as well but don’t see it there now.

[ToyKeeper]

@Flintrock

Nobody is making a competition, not sure where TK’s comment came from. Nobody is putting anything down.

Ah, that’s good to hear.

Interfaces are a large and interesting problem space, and each solution represents a local optimum. We start in a valley and want to get higher, so we follow the incline upward until reaching the top of a hill, ending up with a complete interface. Narsil is a pretty tall hill, and popular right now.

Each UI takes a different path and ends up on top of different hills. I certainly took a different path with my code, and ended up on a different hill, solving problems in different ways. So did bistro-HD. But I try not to talk much about my lonely hill when I’m attending a party on Narsil Peak. If people at the party have difficulty with things that are different on my hill, things I solved in different ways, it can be satisfying to hear. But nobody wants to listen to me going on about those things, or how much taller I think my hill is.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

Miboxer C4-12

And posted HERE on BLF

Like I said, I’ve been trying to ignore this. Thank you for making me seek it out again.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

I always want to hear what you have to say, TK.

It’s usually over my head but that keeps me gazing towards the stars…

[MRsDNF]

@DB Custom

I always want to hear what you have to say, TK.

It’s usually over my head but that keeps me gazing towards the stars…

+1 on this Dale. We really do have something in common.

[johny723]

JasonWW Thank you very much!

[JasonWW]

@DB Custom

Miboxer C4-12

And posted HERE on BLF

Like I said, I’ve been trying to ignore this. Thank you for making me seek it out again.

I see you just bought one. Hope the wife didn’t see that. Lol

Its got 10 different charge rates. :+1: Yeah, that’s nice. I might have to get one as well.

[hank]

nobody wants to listen to me going on ….

Me, me, I’m nobody! Pointer, please, to any occasion where you’ve gone on at length anywhere other than BLF so I can catch up.