The config is intentionally easy to access. I also used small mode-specific config menus instead of a monolithic master config mode, to make it easier to use. I always have to refer to the manual to remember what Narsilâs config options are, but I hope to avoid that need in Anduril.
In general, I tried to map inputs so the more common an action is, the fewer button presses it takes. For example, beacon mode. One click is âoffâ. Two clicks is ânext modeâ. So it takes three clicks to access beacon config. Then there is only one setting, the number of seconds per flash. Click twice for a two-second beacon (flash once every two seconds), click five times for a five-second beacon, etc. It could be harder to access, but there wouldnât be much point.
In regular output modes, one click does the most common operation â turning on and off. A hold does the second-most-common operation, changing brightness (and if brightness is âoffâ, it changes from there by starting at moon). Two clicks for turbo. And throughout the entire UI, click-release-hold does the opposite of a hold⌠regardless of what hold is mapped to. So all one-press and two-press operations are used. That leaves three and higher for less common operations. Three clicks while on switches between ramp profiles, giving easy access to both without having to enter a config mode. Then to actually configure a ramp, four clicks. Itâs not hard to access, but itâs also not hard to remember what the settings are⌠floor, ceiling, and maybe number of steps. This theme repeats in thermal config mode too â low and high in that order. If entered by accident, the menus are not hard to skip, since with only 1-3 options in each menu it only takes a few seconds to wait through the whole thing.
I could see maybe changing the beacon and temperature config modes so theyâre on four clicks, for consistency. Then weâd have a global âthree clicks for a special action, four clicks for a menuâ theme. I wouldnât want to make them unnecessarily hard to access though.
There arenât many three-click âspecial actionsâ though.
- Ramp: Change ramp style/profile.
- Lockout: Change button brightness, if there is a lighted button.
- Candle: Add 30 minutes to the timer. (not yet implemented)
- Sunset: Add 30 minutes to the timer? (not implemented, currently hardcoded to 1 hour)
Also not many config menus:
- Ramp. (one menu per ramp)
- Beacon timing.
- Thermal settings.
There was also a plan to make âfactory resetâ easy to access, but it doesnât work on the FW3A due to the button being on the tail instead of the head. The factory reset on my other devices is mapped to âdisconnect power, hold button, connect power, continue holding for 3 secondsâ. On my lightsaber, for example, this function is called âself destructâ. It animates an increasingly bright red warning before the reset, then explodes into a fading blue-and-white pattern when the reset has finished. The user can let go during the red phase to abort.