Output of FET triples is pretty well established and tends to be between 2000 and 3500 lumens depending on emitters. Last I checked a 219C (90 CRI D240 flux) FET triple, it was about 2500. A low-CRI XP-G3 (or low-CRI 219C for that matter) would be higher.
Candle mode is updated and more realistic now, simulated using six oscillators — three of which modulate the other three like an old analog synthesizer. The result looks similar to a candle with periodic disturbances in the air.
Fixed a bug in thermal regulation and LVP, which were both running about 1000X faster than intended. So, those work again.
Thermal regulation uses 512 internal steps while searching for a sustainable level, which makes the adjustments invisible by eye. A lux meter is needed to see what it’s doing.
Made thermal adjustment speed change depending on how far it needs to go. It can happen anywhere from 1 step every 8 seconds to 8 steps per second.
Added the ability to calibrate the thermal sensor to room temperature. This should help with the issues related to different attiny85 units disagreeing on how warm it is.
Oh, I forgot… I also made lockout’s moon mode use the current ramp floor. Previously it used whichever floor was lower. So, the momentary illumination in lockout mode can effectively have two settings depending on which ramp you left active.
In case this doesn’t ring a bell, lockout mode doubles as a momentary moon mode. That way, after locking it and tossing it in a bag, it can still be used to look around inside the bag without unlocking it.
There have been some complaints about the mid-ramp blink on the D4. I find it useful as a reference point, but some dislike it.
Should the FW3A have mid-ramp blinks?
Currently the default setup is:
Smooth ramp floor: Lowest setting which lights up.
Stepped ramp floor: About 10 lumens.
Both ramp ceilings: Highest regulated mode, 8x7135 or about 3 Amps or ~1000 lumens. (full FET still accessible via turbo)
Blink when passing 1x7135 boundary, ~150 lumens, or level 65/150.
Blink when passing 8x7135 boundary, ~1000 lumens, or level 130/150.
Blink when ramp hits ceiling.
No blink at moon, because it’s usually pretty obvious when it hits bottom.
A “blink” means the light shuts off for 8ms. Each ramp step takes 16ms. So, it’s off for half of that individual step, half of a 60fps “frame”, just long enough to see.
So… which of the following reference points should blink when the user hits or passes them?
A. Floor
B. ~150 lm, level 65/150
C. ~1000 lm, level 130/150 (highest regulated level)
D. Ceiling
Some prefer “none”, some might like “ABCD”. I like “BC”. What sounds good to you?
Thanks, ToyKeeper, for such a great effort! The more I see this, the more “need” the FW3A in my hands :smiling_imp:
I know we will all enter in the field of personnal preference while answering your question, and maybe it is “dangerous” to answer it here on this thread, risking to “derail” it to the FW and not the FW3A
At the same time, it is appropriate to inform the people interested on this light about the FirmWare it will probably use!
My personal answer/preference to: “What sounds good to you?”
C and D !
Why C?
If we pass the C blink, we know the farthest regulated limit has been passed, so we may wanna go back a bit to enter the “regulated zone”, helping to save some battery even with it producing near 1000 lumens.
Why D?
Sometimes I see myself pressing the Emisar D4 switch trying to realize when it reaches the highest limit, when ramping up. If there wasn’t any “top blink” we might get “stuck” pressing the switch, because we don’t know if the highest limit has been reached or not. So, the “top” blink would be a nice indicator to let us move the finger away from the switch!
Why not A?
Obviously, as you said, the moonlight is easy to perceive when it is not getting lower!
Why not B?
If it will be regulated till the 1000 lumens, would it be necessary to have a previous blink to know the 1st regulated limit? Sure, it would help to save some more “juice” from the battery and produce less heat, but comparing to the D4 (as example), this one will have a wider regulated “space” so I don’t see a need for the B blink.
I don’t really mind the blinks as long as we don’t have “too much”
2 would be great to mark some important points, but at least 1 (the C) may be important to have it!
My perspective, only!
Thanks for your work again