TK's Emisar D4 review

Would a hex intended for tiny85 not flash to a tiny1634 driver? Is tiny1634 a significant improvement?

Tiny85 and tiny1634 are not binary-compatible, so a .hex for one doesn’t work on the other.

The new chip is a significant improvement in some ways. It has twice as much space for code, and it has quite a few more pins available for inputs and outputs. Past designs have often been rather limited because there weren’t enough pins, and that restriction mostly disappears with t1634.

Nice!!! Sounds like it’s time for your to start writing firmware to take advantage of the new chip TK!!!

So what new features are you going to add support for to take advantage of the extra space and pins?

Some suggestions:

  • Support for a speaker - so when we enter lightning storm mode in Anduril the light will play the sounds of simulated thunder with each lightning flash.
  • Support for a sprinkler - Why just limit lightning storm mode to the sounds and sights lightning? The light should also provide rain so we get the full experience!
  • A calendar - so the light can sing us Happy Birthday on our Birthday (using the previously referenced speaker)!
  • An accelerometer - so the light can detect when it’s been dropped and then tell us so through the speaker. I’m sure we’d all like to hear our light yell out “OUCH! WATCH IT DOOFUS!!!” when we drop it.
  • Support for robotic legs - Why change the battery manually when our light can just sprout legs walk over to the charger and change the battery itself?

:laughing: :innocent: :partying_face: :stuck_out_tongue:

You joke, but I’d actually like to add sound and an accelerometer. What I have in mind won’t fit on an attiny though… it’ll need something more like a raspberry pi zero. I’m hoping to eventually make a lightsaber driver which synthesizes its sounds on the fly, using an accelerometer (among other things) as one of the inputs to the synth engine. The lighting would be tied into the same engine too, so sound and light are generated in sync and both would be personalized for the individual person using it.

Also hoping I can fit a contact mic in there somewhere, attached to the blade, so it’ll incorporate the sound of whatever it hits. This method is used on the Korg Wavedrum, and it works surprisingly well. That might be a bit ambitious though.

In the short term, more pins and more space means we can do things like a 7+1+7+1 driver on the next lantern, for adjustable color temperature with more fine-grained brightness control. Or a dual-constant-current driver, like two of what the BLF GT uses. Also, maybe the ability to have more than one switch, have both a flood and throw LED, or more than one aux LED channel, or … whatever.

The tricky part will be incorporating all that into FSM, and into Anduril, at the same time. Keeping the code and the interfaces clean will probably require some refactoring.

I wish Hank would make it so the tube for the 18350 would fit in the D1S :frowning: AND make a 26350 tube for the d4s :smiley:

Just got my emisar d4 xpl 3A with Anduril from Hank! Man, this thing is a light weapon. Lol!

Quick question. I’m assuming it’s normal that there’s like a little “notch” in the ramping. I’m assuming it’s just as it switches from regulation to FET? Or it’s just an anomaly because the firmware is expecting 3 7135 in the d18 as opposed to one 7135 in the D4?

Doesn’t really bother me, just curious.

you nailed it, the “flicker” is the transition from linear regulation via the 7135 to PWM via the FET. Or maybe better put, there is also PWM with the 7135 until it gets to 100% duty. That’s when you will get the flicker. Higher outputs add PWM via the FET to the 100% duty 7135 current (nominally 0.35A IIRC).

I hope Hank (the real one, not me) will soon be selling a bundle — flashlight and programmng hardware and instructions.

And that TK will be opening a Flashlight Programming for Dummies school ….

Bummer, muggle is the main reason that I like Anduril over other ramping UI’s.

Okay, done playing with it for now. The D4 has pretty much rendered all my other flashlights pointless. Lol! My custom Convoy M2 with FET driver and MGT2 got its ass whooped!

I really dig the candle and lightning modes!

Seems to like my LG HG2 more than my efest purple 18350. not surprising.

I have some pocket clips that work but I think I like it au natural. Haha.

I take that back a tiny bit. The color rendition of my MGT2 is more neutral. And my BLF A6 XPL 3D is more rosy. There’s a touch of green at low levels with the D4. Totally nit picky… About on the level of my Astrolux SC and S2 XPL 3B.

The “notch” in the ramp is only there as a reference point, to indicate that it’s roughly halfway up the ramp and has just gone between a regulated mode and a hybrid mode. It’s basically a mile marker.

Speaking of the Anduril D4 though… I spent almost all day and half of yesterday trying to tweak the thermal regulation response for it. It runs so hot that it’s really difficult to make the light respond correctly. And while testing, I managed to break the hardware — emitters started dying. So I think I’m done for now, at least until I get some new hardware. Then again, this was intentionally set up as a worst-case scenario for testing purposes. I was using a 219C model with the FET running at 100% power with a full 30Q cell. Hank normally sells those with the power artificially reduced, so my test case was theoretically worse than the real thing.

In any case, the results aren’t perfect but they’re a lot better than they were before I started. Before, it was overshooting and bouncing pretty badly. It still does now, to some extent, but it’s much milder and flattens out after one cycle, maybe one and a half at most.

To the right, the graph is basically just flat with occasional small step-ups to compensate for voltage sag as the cell drains.

Virtually every other light I’ve tested responds really well without bouncing, but the D4 is particularly stubborn because it’s so ridiculously overpowered. The 219C version especially so, because the emitter type makes it run extremely hot.

A lightsaber shouting “OUCH! WATCH IT DOOFUS!!!” when you hit something with it?
Would make a cool present to a lighsaber fan. :slight_smile:

From what TK told me, my order was like 3 days short of having the new/true version of Anduril on it. I ended up with a dev build. I believe the new orders have the full functionality, but I could be wrong. I thought I remembered reading that Hank specifically requested no muggle mode, but I cant find that post to reference. Might have been on my reddit post.

Ha, arent PID controllers fun? Got my first taste of them with race quadcopters and the associated tuning. Nothing like trying to tune changes in attitude to be fast, responsive, and crisp with no wobbles on a quad with a 14:1 power to weight ratio.

Emisar D1S lightsaber mode when? Pschewww, vwooooom, vwoom, schooooop. Can we get a fog machine built into it too? :smiley:

I also find the D4 with Anduril quite interesting and I am thinking about purchasing one, perhaps the 3000K version with the SST20 LED.

Hopefully this does include the muggle mode. I cannot imagine, how muggle mode might be too confusing (since it a special additional mode).
Perhaps it would be helpful if the shop clarifies which version of Anduril is actually shipped.

So, in the version of Anduril that Hank uses does lockout still take 4 clicks?

Thanks for the description Toykeeper. What are the revision differences between the last few versions of anduril? Mine shipped on 5/21… Maybe 5/22.

It’s fun as heck! So far, I’ve got it set up for 6 steps, low mode is moon, ceiling is 50%, double click turbo to freak people out.

Is there are shortcut to moon?

I was going to start the adventure with programming adapters. HQ PCBs are on the way. Maybe for fun I could try to do some for D4.

But probably someone will overtake me.

I would need dimensions. I already have three D4 and one on the way and I would not like to buy another one.

I have d4 white blaster, after 2 month of daily use, 2 holed pockets and generated habit to squeeze the head, I changed the driver to buck one with stabilized modes. No more pocket weapon, 4A max. Still love d4.