WE HAVE A WINNER! - 1000 Post Giveaway - BLF17DD Driver [ENDED]

Giveaways and Contests
21

I love this birthday parties with gifts and all :bigsmile: thanks RMM :wink:
Boy o boy, I learned everything about LED flashlights that I know (and still learning) here.
Most interesting would be dedoming ledā€™s (I really need to get some x10+ magnification googles :D), understanding drivers, adding 7135 chips, MCU flashingā€¦

22

I am in! Iā€™ve learnt ridiculous different type/brand/ models of LEDs. Some friends think twice before asking for a light

23

I am in. I also learnt how to solder a lot better than before. And reflowing using hot air guns. And to tell the color temperature of the headlights of oncoming cars.

24

I can do electronic stuff. I built my own stereo tube amplifiers, preamp, etc. mainly from kits, and I can repair electronics to a certain extent. Iā€™m self taught, so the design side of electronics still alludes me. I can read schematics and the such, but I lack the experience and the skill of design.

Due to work, the last couple years, I havenā€™t done anything. I started collecting knifes at first, then started collecting flashlights, mainly AAA / 10440 types. Recently, I picked up some 18650 and CR123 type flashlights and I recently ordered a Supfire M6 with mod option 1. I had to get that one. Everyone needs a 50 caliber machine gun for their gun collection.

I didnā€™t realize that there was a big flashlight mod / hacker community. Iā€™m still a newbie, but I would like to try and modify or custom build one from parts. That is my new goal. I still have a lot to learn about Li-ion cells, charging them, LED and their various types, what a direct drive is, heatsinking, etc., and the learning path is a bit rocky for me, but I think itā€™s the journey not the destination that makes everything worthwhile.

25

I learned owning one single torch can lead to many. :slight_smile:

The skill learned is how to choose wisely based from BLF reviews, teardown and comments from experienced members.

26

Iā€™ve learned how to hide frivolous purchases!

Thanks for the giveaway and congratulations on the post count.

27

I learned how to dedome an emitter using gasoline. Who knew.

28

I wish my new skill was to solder like a pro but unfortunately it is not. Solder better, yes but still sadly lacking. I have found a new skill here though and wow what a skill that is. Spending money on flashlight parts. Yep, never ever thought of doing that before joining this illustrious forum. What a skill to have. Alas though my family does not enjoy my new skill at all. Thank you all for helping me improve my new skill.

29

Thanks for doing the Give-A-Way Richard.

As in any forum when you read many posts you find how many people are so brilliant on so many strange things.
If you ask a question from simple to complex you will receive a response so fast you wonder if members are just waiting to answer ASAP.

I think the biggest thing I have learned on this forum is how great and non judgmental members are.

30

Thanks RMM, and welcome to the 1000+ club! :slight_smile:
Iā€™ve learned to use mtnelectronics.com almost daily for all my flashlight modding needs. :slight_smile:
Iā€™ve learned to solder using my newly acquired Hakko 888 station. Who knew I could stack chips, solder tiny resistors and every now and then destroy a pcb?
Iā€™ve learned to re-flow emitters.
Iā€™ve learned to re-flow driver boards.
Iā€™ve learned to rearrange UI in a hex file to suit my needs then flash that to an ATiny13A. :slight_smile:
Iā€™ve learned to rely on you, Comfy, Rufusbduck, MattAus, JonnyC, MRsDNF and TomE for the newest and latest breaking technology in drivers and mods.
Iā€™ve learned there really are some nice folks left in this ugly old world. :wink:
Iā€™ve learned that 11A in a handheld flashlight translates into HOT. No matter how much copper you use. :slight_smile:
Iā€™ve learned that stock switches, for the most part, need to be replaced when modding.
Iā€™ve learned that McClicky switches, while excellent up to and a bit over 5A, will suffer melt-downs at 10A plus.
Iā€™ve learned that 3D printed plastic Tofty 10A+ switches are tough as all get out!
Iā€™ve learned that if you donā€™t move the probes on the DMM from Amp to Volt when taking a voltage reading, it hurts. And stinks. And is dangerous.

Please take favor on my learnings and email this list back to me from time to time so I can continue to remember all that Iā€™ve learned. :wink:

And if I win, please send this awesome driver to SB, as a small way of saying thank you for this awesome forum.

31

I'm in.

I've learned to

Turn a flashlight on and off. Open the tail cap. Change batteries. Charge batteries. Check voltage on batteries. Forget about batteries. Throw away batteries.

32

Canā€™t claim that one - in fact I had another soldering lesson from a friend today after botching a couple simple bullet connectors on a motor.

What Iā€™ve learned here at BLF may be even more valuable (for me, anyway). And that is to find a point where I stop over-thinking things and try . . and try again ā€¦ and then some more.

Well, that and not to believe seller specifications that are passed on from the manufacturer without any testing.

33

iā€™m in!

iā€™ve learnt how to get rid of next mode memory, and lots about batteries, leds, drivers and all that other stuff i now know about flashlights :slight_smile:

34

Thanks for the giveaway RMM!

I learned that while I have had different hobbies all my life, that it is way more fun if the obsession can be shared with other obsessed folks.

35

Iā€™ve learned too much. Main thing Iā€™ve learned is that flashlights can be used for everything day or night.

36

Iā€™ve learned that I can take a perfectly good light and take it apart and tear it up, sometimes I can fix it but thanks to blf Iā€™m getting better . Iā€™m about to get brave enough to try reflowing a led

37

Thanks RMM, I learned how to destroy flashlights trying to mod them.

38

Yup, I am in on this one ā€¦ Thanks for the offer ā€¦

39

I think the skill which took me MANY trials and errors to learn was stacking 7135s - it seemed impossible to do it correctly at first especially with my very unsteady hands. :weary:

When I finally got my 7135 stacking skills, learning how to modify flashlights came much easier. :wink:

Count me in, please. :slight_smile:

40

When I was a kid, I liked doing oil painting by numbers. I ran out of paint thinner to clean the brushes so I thought gasoline is a solvent, Iā€™ll use that.

Anyways, so I went to the garage with my little baby food glass jar and put about 1/3 full of gasoline. It worked just as good as paint thinner.

So after I was done, I had some dirty gasoline. Rather than just dumping it outside, my dad had the fireplace going so I thought I would just throw the gas into the fire.

Well guess what happened. The gasoline exploded in mid air as I threw it into the flame. A dark black smoke came pouring out of the fireplace blackening the brick in the front of the fireplace and the white ceiling.

My dad jumped up and started yelling at me.

I was scrubbing the fireplace and cleaning the ceiling the whole next day.

Very Darwin Awardā€™ish I think nowā€¦