wight catchup

sb56637 · 2018-10-15T11:46:09.000Z

Hey there wight! Great to see you back here! :+1: :+1:

duramax · 2018-10-15T11:51:59.000Z

Wight, welcome back! We never wrote/read each other on here, but in your absence I joined BLF, ordered and built a wight driver that is still working! Thanks for everything you did back in the day and I am glad you are back!

djozz · 2018-10-15T12:02:58.000Z

Welcome back wight. There’s a lot of nice new flashlights and led choices as well since you were gone.
I know not much about electronics but still use your driver designs occasionally.

raccoon · 2018-10-15T12:58:02.000Z

It's good to have you back, wight!

Tom_Tom · 2018-10-15T14:10:41.000Z

Good summary Wight.

Now, please start contributing again, openly, and if you can, astonish us with something new, which is sadly needed.

I don’t really think that you have not been following things meanwhile. For 2 1/2 years.

Though this place can get far too intense and burn-out the creatives, which has happened rather a lot. Too much take, very little give. Or understanding. Only the most level-headed have stood the pace.

And don’t get sucked into the dark-side too badly (though the money could be tempting, if you play your cards wight). You might even get to see your name etched on every driver (again).

joechina · 2018-10-15T14:30:30.000Z

wight:

Frankly I just came back for the condiments.

Condiments?
There is a hotsauce thread

Hot sauce recommendations Off-topic Chatter

bump

Welcome back!

joechina · 2018-10-15T14:36:27.000Z

When you’re interested in drivers:

BLF programming Key

BLF driver programming key v3.2 launched on Oshpark Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

You can see the archived poll results on the Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20221220093741/https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/72815

and
Look in Lexels signature for his drivers

Schoki started this thread:
LED drivers and Accessories you want, but don’t exist

LED drivers and Accessories you want, but don’t exist Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

I think it’s pretty clear what this thread is about. You can say what driver you want (linear, buck, buck-boost, current requirements, diameter, input voltage range, maybe desired IC, etc…). I’m sure there are some good ideas out there that just need someone to develop a driver. I can try to build driver boards as well, but I can’t program them. Just tell what your driver of your dreams would be, but please stay realistic. Now let’s see what you have in mind. Edit: 17mm boost driver in…

DavidEF · 2018-10-15T15:11:58.000Z

Welcome back wight! I’m glad you’re able to return, and I hope you get to really enjoy BLF once again!

CRX · 2018-10-15T15:59:01.000Z

Nice to see you return :+1:

wight · 2018-10-15T16:07:48.000Z

HQ - You caught me, I did peak! Not much though; I would estimate that I peeked once per 6 months on average. Could you provide relevant links to the boost drivers you are thinking of? I appreciate all the info!

SB - Thanks, it’s great to see so many folks I know still active on the forum.

duramax - I’m glad to be of service!

djozz - So I hear! The Emisar series from Hank seems very good. Someone mentioned the BLF Q8 and BLF GT in a PM; those look interesting and I’ll have to take a closer look at them. Are there any lights from the past couple of years that really stand out to you?

racoon city - Good to see you again!

Tom Tom - I would like to contribute again. We’ll see how it goes. My intention is that if I make any new layouts I would release source materials. I haven’t firmly defined my goals in that respect; I’d have to write everything down and find a license agreement which fits (probably a creative commons one). Making money on flashlights is not a priority for me today, I don’t think I’ll ever break even on my flashlight “investment”. When I do take bribes they’ll be in dark alleys and paid in unmarked flashlights.

joechina - That definitely looks like good catchup info, I appreciate the links!

DavidEF - Thanks, I’m very happy to be back and I hope to spend some time enjoying myself.

EDIT:

CRX - Are you drawing those UI cheatsheet diagrams?

CRX · 2018-10-15T16:18:09.000Z

No, just harvesting what’s available and sometimes editing in places.

Phlogiston · 2018-10-15T16:24:08.000Z

Here are a couple of loneoceans’ boost drivers that might be of interest:

GXB17 Driver – 17mm 6V 3A / 12V 1.5A Constant Current Programmable Single-Cell Boost Driver Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

Hello all, I finally managed to grab some time and spent last weekend reworking my GXB20 driver to a 17mm form factor, which was by far the most popular request. Introducing the 17mm GXB17 6V 3A boost driver! [image] For those unfamiliar with my GXB20 driver, please take a look here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/44107 Update (2018!) The GBX17 has been superceded with the newer GXB172 which handles 2.5x more power! As a result I will discontinue development on the GXB17. See this page …

[ GXB172 - 50W Single Cell 17mm Boost Driver! ] Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

Hello all, [Update Jan 2021 - This driver has evolved to the Lume X1, check it out here! https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/65319 ] It's been a long while (half a year or so?) since I've been back to BLF, and I hope everyone is having a good start to 2018! Over the past some two weeks and a half a lot of things has happened so I'd thought I'd share some here. It all started from when I found some time to do a proper write-up for my GXB17 driver which you can read in detail on my webpage here. …

I joined BLF after you started your break, so I’d like to take this chance to say “thank you” for your previous driver work. I have some of the lights you helped make happen, and they are definitely a step up from the ones I had before that :+1:

wight · 2018-10-15T16:59:05.000Z

CRX:

No, just harvesting what’s available and sometimes editing in places.

Dope, I jumped to a conclusion on that. Thanks for putting it all together in one place.

Phlogiston:

Here are a couple of loneoceans’ boost drivers that might be of interest: GXB17 Driver – 17mm 6V 3A / 12V 1.5A Constant Current Programmable Single-Cell Boost Driver [ GXB172 - 50W Single Cell 17mm Boost Driver! ] I joined BLF after you started your break, so I’d like to take this chance to say “thank you” for your previous driver work. I have some of the lights you helped make happen, and they are definitely a step up from the ones I had before that :+1:

They definitely sound interesting! I’ve only taken an initial glance, but I see that loneoceans has released the work under the CC BY-NC license which is great as well. I see that loneoceans also has an interesting FET tailswitch project: GFS16 - Battery Indicator Tailcap Light & 1mR FET Tailswitch! (Rev B)

Cereal_killer · 2018-10-15T17:18:35.000Z

Welcome back amigo!

wight · 2018-10-15T17:23:49.000Z

I’m glad you’re back around CK; you took a long break yourself!

Joshk · 2018-10-15T17:47:21.000Z

Hello. Who the heck are you?

joechina · 2018-10-15T18:32:06.000Z

Some interesting Lamps in the making:

FW3A Thread

FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public BLF Special Edition Products

Warning to potential buyers (2022) In addition to the 2021 warning below, there are now reports that all the 7135 chips are removed from the driver, and it has no power regulation at all. For example, in this thread, Lumintop turned down a request for the original driver, saying: If this means what it looks like it means, then the current models have no moon mode, terrible low modes, low efficiency, lower sustainable output, visible steps even in smooth ramp mode, and poor performance in ge…

IMHO, the Firmware alone is a reason to get it.

BLF Groupbuy, a Sofirn AAA with high CRI yuji 5mm LED:
Sofirn C01 for $6
(First 165 Posts are only about Fenix)

[Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED BLF Special Edition Products

Focus of this thread The Sofirn C01: a single 1.5V cell AAA twisty with 5mm high CRI Yuji LED (one version in 3200K, other version in 5600K); co-creation between BLF community and Sofirn; commemorative clone of Fenix E01 and Arc AAA; cockroach light. Update (2020-10-27) YES! Available again, perfectly in time for bringing light in days of darkness Sofirn website: https://sofirnlight.com/c01-aaa-flashlight-5mm-3400k-led-95-cri-p0152.html Sofirn AliExpress store: https://www.al…

Renderings

[Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED BLF Special Edition Products

An update from Sofirn. They made a first drawing based on the specs, so nothing is actually made yet and nothing is final. But pics are always very nice . In fact it is a 2nd drawing because it had one clip groove (I was pleasantly surprised by that they decided on clip possibility) and I asked if a second groove could be made to allow the clip to be reversed. A clip will not be standard but can be ordered separately, it is the PF04 clip. So it is not much more than a E01 copy wi…

BLF Special Sofirn SP70
A big plunger style flashlight. With 2x 26650 a lot of runtime, with the size no heat problems
9cm Head, ca. 7.7cm smooth reflector
XHP70.2
UI is from Sofirn. No NarsilM or Andúril but similar for the basics.
SP70 thread:

Sofirn SP70 Alone $50, PM for AMZ US CODE(LIMITED) Commercial Sellers' Spot

Hey BLFers, * UPDATE May 8, 2019 * SP70 Alone only USD$50 with code, SP70 Bundle with great price with limited code. Please contact us@sofirnlight.com or PM me now! [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] * UPDATE 03/29/2019 * sofirn SP70 on aliexpress You can preorder on aliexpress now, the sale price is US $61.59 for flashlight alone, but you add it into cart, leave a note of your BLF ID, we will lower the price to USD$50. Orders wil…

Specs from Sofirn for Design 1: Sofirn SP70 Alone $50, PM for AMZ US CODE(LIMITED) - #543 by Sofirn (2018-08-14)

DavidEF · 2018-10-15T18:34:34.000Z

Joshk:

Hello. Who the heck are you?

Well, if you’d read this thread, you’d know.

ToyKeeper:

Welcome back. Did you miss us?

He’s White Ketchup! Duh! :smiling_imp:

Phlogiston · 2018-10-15T18:36:14.000Z

Don’t forget the BLF Ultimate Lantern

*BLF LT1 Lantern Project) (updated Nov,17,2020) LED Lanterns

New Update section is here February,08,2022 An update on the LT1, and other projects including the LT1M (mini) The pandemic has slowed things down quite a bit, including my big move, lifes-change, etc. But i am still dedicated to new progress on this BLF project with Sofirn for future models, advancements, etc. While it may have been myself who got the project started a few years back, I do not deserve all the credit in this what so ever… I could not have done this alone at all… And with an…

ToyKeeper · 2018-10-15T20:33:24.000Z

wight:

The OTC (“off time capacitor”) method used by clicky drivers to measure click length is now outdated by the OTSM (“off time sleep mode”) technique.

It’s probably worth mentioning that OTSM has not gotten any widespread use yet. It’s only implemented on a couple drivers, and is only supported by one firmware. Part of this, I think, was due to the overall difficulty of making it work right. Part was probably due to the relevant code being tricky. And a lot of it was probably due to a general shift toward e-switch lights around the same time. Not much need to measure offtime when power is only disconnected to change batteries.

Lately, when there is new hardware needing firmware, instead of writing entirely new firmware to fit the hardware, I mostly just add a few bits of code to FSM to support the new hardware. And then the FSM-based interfaces mostly “just work” on the new hardware. For an idea of how FSM changes or simplifies the UI code, here’s an example of implementing an Olight Baton interface using STAR as a base versus using FSM as a base.