The official PKDL thread

[ven]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Awesome!!! Every time I see the lantern I like it more and more. So is it infinite control as well then mr fixer? If so that is a winner for sure!

 

[bykfixer]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

I wouldn't call it infinite because after the click to on it starts at what I'd guess to be about 20 lumens or so.
But from low to high can be tailored to your needs.

I went to bed with thoughts of an automobile related issue on my mind along with thoughts of a medical issue my wife faces. Neither are potentially life threatening but being a fixer of sorts my mind was pondering things.

At about 1am my brain turned back on. What's a flashlight junky to do? Go play with the new lantern that's what. This being my first LED lantern ever, and it being a PK invention I set about using my pondering mode to play around with it.

Using the large sized Yankee Candle I set about mimicing a lights out scenario. How many Yankee jar candles equal various outputs of this thing?

I'm not a tint snob, but did compare the glow to that of a candle in a glass vessel. Very similar light is emitted by the two with the PK light being surprisingly easy on the eyes.

On low it equaled about the same room light as 3 Yankee candles. I had 5 total going and at about 1/3 on was what the lantern put out.

The shield is really useful. By starting at the bottom and moving up instead of top down allows the light to become a reading lamp or total area lighter. In reading lamp setting you can tailor it to provide enough light to read by without being annoyed by the light output itself.

I forgot to mention this one came with a 2' cord. USB on one end and micro USB on the other.


More size reference, speaking of jar candles

 

[ven]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Great stuff as always mr fixer with the latern. Hoping all will be well for mrs fixer. Spending some time alone
with illumination tools can be quite therapeutic , good for busy minds.

 

[Tachead]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Thanks for showing us the prototype byfixer. The warmer tint is nice to see and the variable brightness and shield looks cool too. But, the built in battery is very disappointing. Not being able to swap cells like most other lanterns on the market sucks. It means waiting for hours while it charges instead of just swapping cells. And, when off the grid it turns it into little more then a stylish plastic paperweight after it dies. Considering PK is supposed to design things for dire situations like a hurricane like you said, this seems like a weird decision. Hopefully PK goes with a standard cell compartment for the final version that accepts standard protected and non-protected flat top and button top 18650's.

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Does it run when being charged?

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Thanks for showing us the prototype byfixer. The warmer tint is nice to see and the variable brightness and shield looks cool too. But, the built in battery is very disappointing. Not being able to swap cells like most other lanterns on the market sucks. It means waiting for hours while it charges instead of just swapping cells. And, when off the grid it turns it into little more then a stylish plastic paperweight after it dies. Considering PK is supposed to design things for dire situations like a hurricane like you said, this seems like a weird decision. Hopefully PK goes with a standard cell compartment for the final version that accepts standard protected and non-protected flat top and button top 18650's.

Running off 18650 would be great. That would turn them into a little power bank for phones like the F1 does. Also running on a lower mode like the CL25R does (it also can charge the 18650) when being charged would then turn any powerbank into a lantern. Most people who own phones sooner or latter by a little USB powerbank.

 

[Tachead]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Another thing I just noticed is how outdated the cells he chose are. 2200mAh cells? Really PK? Why would he choose old low capacity cells like that? Using a couple of low cost Sanyo NCR18650GA's or LG MJ1's would have given it a 7000mAh capacity. Again, disappointing and far from "cutting edge technology".

 

[Tachead]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Running off 18650 would be great. That would turn them into a little power bank for phones like the F1 does. Also running on a lower mode like the CL25R does (it also can charge the 18650) when being charged would then turn any powerbank into a lantern. Most people who own phones sooner or latter by a little USB powerbank.

Yep, having a lantern run on standard 18650's and working like a powerbank is a great feature and allows you to carry less gear. Hopefully PK will consider this for the final version. Yeah, full infinite brightness adjustment or at least a true moonlight mode would be nice too. Powerbank's are ok but, they are cumbersome and expensive compared to $4-5 high capacity 18650's. Plus, it's just another gear item to carry when the lantern could do the same thing.

 

[kj2]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Another thing I just noticed is how outdated the cells he chose are. 2200mAh cells? Really PK? Why would he choose old low capacity cells like that? Using a couple of low cost Sanyo NCR18650GA's or LG MJ1's would have given it a 7000mAh capacity. Again, disappointing and far from "cutting edge technology".

More juice in the same package, is always welcome

 

[bykfixer]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Great stuff as always mr fixer with the latern. Hoping all will be well for mrs fixer. Spending some time alone
with illumination tools can be quite therapeutic , good for busy minds.

Thanks Ven. As you probably know with age comes mileage. With mileage comes maintenance. Sometimes our gene pool comes with 'design flaws'... or shall we say parts that wear out a little faster in some versus others.

The wife has been plagued with fatigue, headeaches and joint aches. Part is her athletisism of younger days catching up but the doctor stumbled onto a kidney issue that often leads to her symptoms.
When the screen of your bath drain starts to hold buildup things back up in the tub. Well her screen has build up. So we've been studying up on the issue and comparing that to her family's history of kidney woes that begin onset as they age. No biggy, just an annoyance that affects quality of life at times.

And yes playing with a lantern at 2am was indeed quite theraputic. It also helped me understand what plagues my sons car. We diagnosed it and now have the parts enroute to hopefully solve that issue. Meanwhile Mrs. Fixer is excited that we may have figured out her issue and that it's more than a simple "you're 50 years old, get past it" thing.

 

[bykfixer]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

And yes WW it can be used while charging a device or being charged.

I was charging my phone while charging the light and... with the light turned onto low. Did not try using the light on bright at that time.

 

[bykfixer]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Powerbank's are ok but, they are cumbersome and expensive compared to $4-5 high capacity 18650's. Plus, it's just another gear item to carry when the lantern could do the same thing.

Been powerbank shopping lately? $10 or less for things not much larger than two side by side double a's or an 18650... I have one that's the size of an 18650 and has a 10 lumen light. $6. And several little rectangles. 3 takes up about the same space as this lantern.

Each charges my power hungry phone twice from 25%.

 

[Offgridled]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Been powerbank shopping lately? $10 or less for things not much larger than two side by side double a's or an 18650... I have one that's the size of an 18650 and has a 10 lumen light. $6.

Each charges my power hungry phone twice from 25%.

Yes these are very inexpensive and size no problem at all for carry. Great point!!

 

[bykfixer]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

And the rectangle ones pack very efficiently.

But the idea of charging a phone while chatting on CPF under the ambient glow of the PK lantern is high on my list of cool things to do this summer. :thumbsup:

 

[Bdm82]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Now regarding moonlight or firefly in a lantern.... why? What would that be good for? It's unlike a flashlight but is already highly difused so anything like firefly or moonlight low outputs... might as well not have a light. A match lit would be brighter.

1 reason for me. A very big reason.. inside a tent.

In the dark of night, after being asleep, eyes are adjusted to the dark and fully dilated. I wake up and need to find something. Maybe it's the flashlight that I went to sleep with next to me. Maybe it's an extra pair of socks to throw on. The cl25r that I leave hanging from the center roof loop in the tent, with the 1 Lm low, gives me just enough light. 20 lumens would blind me, wake the kids, and just not work.

In addition to the low being too high, that choice of cell and non-renewable battery is a deal breaker. End of story. I'm actually surprised PK would want affiliation it as it says "straight to ebay" more than "cultivated expectations".

It has some sweet features, like the shade (I really like) and the hook, but man it is such a bad miss with that battery. Who wants a lantern with low capacity cells that you can't swap?
And the low being so high means I'd have to have 2 lanterns, which is a total non-starter.

If those two problems are fixed, it'd be awesome. But those problems need to be "designed away" not "defined away".

 

[Tachead]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Been powerbank shopping lately? $10 or less for things not much larger than two side by side double a's or an 18650... I have one that's the size of an 18650 and has a 10 lumen light. $6.

Yes, I mean for a decent quality one, with descent capacity, and a descent amperage output. Considering the efficiency losses, you would need a 6000mAh+ powerbank to charge the PK lantern just once. The cheapest Anker Powerbank(considered a reliable brand with a good warranty) that would cover this is about $24. For the same price you could get four 3500mAh 18650's which would run the PK lantern for over three times as long as the one charge you got from the powerbank and with no wasted energy to boot.

Designing this lantern so it has a normal battery compartment that takes any two easily available 18650's would be a much better way to go imo. That's why many of the other lantern manufacturers went this route. Then you have a powerbank and lantern combined and can just throw as many charged 18650's as you need for your excursion in your bag and quickly swap them out when needed. Unlimited runtime without any charging required until you get home. I personally hope PK considers going this route for the production version because a lot of the other design features of this lantern look great.

 

[Tachead]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

1 reason for me. A very big reason.. inside a tent.

In the dark of night, after being asleep, eyes are adjusted to the dark and fully dilated. I wake up and need to find something. Maybe it's the flashlight that I went to sleep with next to me. Maybe it's an extra pair of socks to throw on. The cl25r that I leave hanging from the center roof loop in the tent, with the 1 Lm low, gives me just enough light. 20 lumens would blind me, wake the kids, and just not work.

In addition to the low being too high, that choice of cell and non-renewable battery is a deal breaker. End of story. I'm actually surprised PK would want affiliation it as it says "straight to ebay" more than "cultivated expectations".

It has some sweet features, like the shade (I really like) and the hook, but man it is such a bad miss with that battery. Who wants a lantern with low capacity cells that you can't swap?
And the low being so high means I'd have to have 2 lanterns, which is a total non-starter.

If those two problems are fixed, it'd be awesome. But those problems need to be "designed away" not "defined away".

+1

And, I agree with the rest of this post as well.

 

[ARsee]

Thread tagged for future designs & evolution's
Bring it on PK. Your work is outstanding :thumbsup:

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

And yes WW it can be used while charging a device or being charged.

I was charging my phone while charging the light and... with the light turned onto low. Did not try using the light on bright at that time.

That's the biggest good thing right there. All other considerations are second fiddle (using 18650 etc etc etc) if can do that. A moonlight mode is kinda nice on a lantern like the CL25R has as I can keep it running all night under the tarp and think nothing about the power. Good to get up for that 4 am **** etc etc and not be too bright to get sleep. That said the 10 ish lumen mode is what I use most on the Fenix CL20 or Nitecore LR30. For groups 50 lumens or more. Hardly ever use the brightest of the bright.

 

[ven]

Re: Paul Kim's PK-PR1

Guys i am sure PK will read comments and take all on board, its hard to please everyone of course. However he will want comments good or bad to put together a lantern that works for most of us. I really like the design, not sure on the built in pack myself. Maybe its easier/safer for the general public to have a built in pack. Would be good to run single/dual 18650 cells just for added flexibility ..............and be passive so you can run the lantern whilst plugged in(if its not already).