Flashlight User Interface Cheatsheets

I do believe Biscotti firmware was made by toykeeper and doubt they would incorporate NMM so admit to changing the sheet without checking.
The diagram was probably made in China.

I should have a Biscotti firmware driver from Convoy to check on later.

Flashlights with BLF User Interfaces

I think you can rest be assured that Convoy S2+ with Biscotti firmware, does not have “next mode memory”. The S2+ with SST20/Nichia 219C with Biscotti operates similar to the Convoy C8+ with Biscotti — when mode memory is enabled, it will have “last mode memory” instead of “next mode memory”.

I don't see any mention of the F/W check mode in the Anduril guide. Isn't it 15 clicks from off?

Also, I wish there was a date right in the image of each guide at the bottom or top that would indicate the date it was last updated so I could just check the one I have with any possible new versions to verify if I need to update mine.

Thanks for all the hard work on these!

12 click and on the 13th keep it pressed , it will flash and twinkle and then after the brightest flash it’s made a factory reset

I was talking about the F/W check mode put in the F/W back in November, not factory reset. I thought it was 15 clicks to have it blink out F/W version installed on the light. I have the D4V2.

By F/W you mean firmware? I have not heard of this, sorry.

To me, blinking out a date is incomprehensible. I modified my Anduril to blink out a true version #, like 1.1, same as we blink out an n.n voltage reading. I also added the firmware blink out to the grouping invoked by triple click, so on triple click you get:

  • voltage reading
  • temp reading
  • firmware version #

This is what I did on Narsil - seems logical to me. ?

Sounds logical to me too.

Sounds great but I'm not into modifying code and have no desire to do so. I'm an electronics technician for over 30 years so hardware is my thing.

Dunno if you bought a programming cable, but if there's demand, I could look into building a .hex file of the latest Anduril mod'ed as described. This way you don't have to see even one line of that nasty 'C' code stuf!

Oh yeah, I bought the firmware programming dongle from Hank as soon as they were available. I think I was one of the first few to get one. I love being able to put on the latest firmware whenever improvements are made. I just put on the latest one 2020_03_18 this morning.

That's good! You got TK's latest improvements in thermal regulation. I wasn't sure how popular the programming dongle would be.

This is a crosspost from Joechina's thread for his Narsil M Cheat Sheets - just as I wrote about his, your cheat-sheets are a fabulous piece of work!

Would never know where to start without your diagrams handy. Incredible firmwares between Tom E and ToyKeeper's offerings.

Between all the various versions, settings, configurations in just Narsil, Bistro & Anduril, plus juggling all the other niche, budget and designer flashlights with their own UIs, it's becoming impossible to figure everything out without a guide. And I consider myself a techy, flashaholic with a good memory!

I'll even admit that many of the more advanced UIs I frequently end up resorting to a Reset, just to make sure I haven't left it in some ridiculous mode or advanced setting!

Was just wondering if there are any plans or status for the NarsilM v1.3 guide?

It's the default UI on the Astrolux S43 since 2018, and Banggood are even linking to draft documentation in their product pages:

Operation Instroctions:
Click Here To Get: User Manua1
Click Here To Get: User Manual2 ( Detailed Explanation Of The Manual )

Assume Joechina provided these and agreed to their dissemination, although there is no official version available on his Google Drive yet...

Also - as useful as the pocketable charts format from Joechina are, I love the diagrammatic flows you put together for Anduril. Any chance you might create something similar for NarsilM?

All the best and thanks again for all the hard work and continued efforts,

ARH

I didn’t see LuciDrv in there….

lucidrv programming instructions (copied from CPF)

This is the successor of lupodrv with a somewhat more intuitive programming UI; it also features two mode groups.

Two mode groups: You can have two mode groups for different situations (e.g. one for indoors with moon and low modes, and one for outdoors with high/med). Each group is fully configurable with up to 7 modes and it’s own memory type (see below).

Mode locking: Select any mode and use it for a second, then activate mode lock (see below). Then that mode is locked, it won’t change to next mode any more (unless you unlock it again). Good for tactical or signaling purpose.

Programming: You can change any mode to a different brightness, strobe or beacon; you can change the number of modes (1-7) in each group, and you can change the memory type for each group (see below)(no-memory, classic memory, short-cycle memory).

Configuration menu (programming mode): Select a mode and use it for at least a second. That mode is then the selected mode for some of the actions below. Then enter programming mode by 8 rapid taps (half-presses; the light must be <0.2s on each time). You have to be quite fast, however it’s no problem if you tap a few times more.

Shortly after those rapid taps a blinking signal will be shown. This serves two purposes: It indicates that the light is now in its configuration menu (programming mode) and awaits further input, and it also serves as battery level indicator: The number of blinks indicates battery voltage, about one blink for every 0.1V above 3.0V without load (~12 is full, ~4 is pretty empty). If you let them pass without tapping the button again, the config menu is exited without any change.

If you want to change the configuration, you need to ‘input’ more taps while the blinking signal is active, the number of taps specifies the action. Note that the timing is more relaxed in the config menu; you have to be swift and uninterrupted, but by far not as rapid as the 8 taps above. However you must hit the exact number of taps.

Once you entered the config menu (by 8 rapid taps) and see it’s signal, tap the button a number of times to do the following:

1 tap: Mode lock; lock the selected mode (see above). If locked, unlock.
2 taps: Switch between the two groups (also lifts a mode lock).
3 taps: Set brightness. The light will ramp the brightness up and down twice in 16 visually linear steps (the output doubles/halves every 2 steps). Tap once when the desired brightness is reached to change the selected mode to this brightness (constant brightness).
4 taps: Change the selected mode to strobe.
5 taps: Change the selected mode to beacon (a blink every ~10s)
6 taps: Delete the selected mode.
7 taps: add a mode; the new mode is inserted at the position of the selected mode. Example: If you have 3 modes, L/M/H (with M selected), then add a mode, the result is L/M/M/H, i.e. the selected mode is doubled, and the first of them is selected. It can then be changed by entering the config menu again.
8 taps: Set the memory type for the active group to no-memory.
9 taps: Set the memory type for the active group to classic memory (cycle through all modes).
10 taps: Set the memory type for the active group to short-cycle memory (after memory kicked in, skip to first mode; see above).

Battery monitoring: Whenever the battery falls below 3V under load, brightness is reduced (about half). The reduced load usually brings up the voltage a bit. When it drops below 3V again, brightness is halved again - and so on, down to a very low level. It will not switch off and leave you in complete darkness though.

PWM frequency is 18 kHz.

Note: The brightness ramp hast 16 steps, from #16(100%) downwards the output halves every 2 steps. The lowest modes however deviate from that due to limited PWM resolution, also the actual output on the lowest modes depends on hardware variations like LED forward voltage.

The levels (in %) are: ~.2 .7 1 1.5 2 3 4 6 9 13 18 25 35 50 70 100

New features for lucidrv drivers sent since September 2013:
Disable programming (proglock): Solder a connection from the 4th star (the rightmost one on the images below) to the outer ring to disable programming (some conductive paint etc. might work, too). Mode locking and switching between mode groups (1 or 2 taps in the config menu) will still work, but all config options below that won’t. Remove the solder bridge to enable configuration changes again.

Thanks for posting the information :wink:
Actually lucidrv2 has an external link (redirecting to an image) in the part “Others” in the end of the post#1 :wink:
Still, thanks for posting it :+1:

And I wish DrJones was still around :beer:

Hi all,

Although I'm a long-time flashaholic (with a special interest in tiny lights, AAA and 10180), I'm new to all these great UI. I've just found out that thanks to a few voluntary developers (thumbs up and thanks to them) and the BLF community, it is possible to find not-so-expensive flashlights whose UI is far more versatile than those of the "high-end" manufacturers.

At the same time I must confess I'm a bit puzzled, although CRX's post is extremely useful. Hence a few questions:

Are these UI compatible with forward clicky switches?

  • Can they be used with two-button flashlights (e.g. tail switch + side switch), and corollary question: are there any double-switch flashlight who carry one of these programmable UI?
  • Once you have bought a flashlight with such an UI, is it possible to upgrade the UI if it is modified in the future? For example, I see that the Anduril UI doesn't allow to activate Strobe when the light is ON, only from OFF. If this became possible some day (which I would appreciate), will I be able to modify my UI so that it has this new possibility?
  • How do these UI relate to the "Biscotti" firmware, which I have seen mentioned several times in flashlight descriptions?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'll give it a try:

Can they be used with two-button flashlights (e.g. tail switch + side switch)

--> Anduril has pretty nice support for it. Works well with a fwd clicky power switch. Comes ON at the last used level. The fwd clicky acts as a momentary mode - as long as you hold the button in, it's ON, let go and it's OFF. Can be used for signaling, etc.

Are there any double-switch flashlight who carry one of these programmable UI?

--> Not sure. I got a modded Nitenumen TK-35 running Anduril2 with the feature supporting the power switch enabled. I have several other modded lights with the 2 switches but all are running Narsil or Anduril without the support - they work fine. Power switch has to be ON, then use the side switch to turn the LED ON.

Once you have bought a flashlight with such an UI, is it possible to upgrade the UI if it is modified in the future? For example, I see that the Anduril UI doesn't allow to activate Strobe when the light is ON, only from OFF. If this became possible some day (which I would appreciate), will I be able to modify my UI so that it has this new possibility?

--> Yes and No. The UI's that are open source, yes you can download the latest but you have to know what driver and what features you have - basically the right software for the right hardware. Some of the lights now have external contacts on the backside of the driver to allow pogo pin programmers. On other lights, you may have to remove the driver and use a special clip/USB dongle. Sometimes a driver can pop out or be accessible with normal tools, but others you may have to de-solder wires to get the driver out, then re-solder to re-assemble.

How do these UI relate to the "Biscotti" firmware, which I have seen mentioned several times in flashlight descriptions?

--> Biscotti is one of those listed above in the first post. Not sure what you are asking. ToyKeeper wrote most of these, including Biscotti.

Subbed

Thanks Tom E for the explanation.

To be more precise about my search: I'd like to find a flashlight that would be both tactical (using the tail switch) and EDC (using a side switch). I've just bought an Olight M2R which almost fills the bill, but I will return it because:

  1. The tail switch is slightly recessed and somewhat hard to press with the thumb, therefore difficult to keep it halfway between "too hard = Strobe" (which I may want to use but not always), and "not pressed enough" which causes the light to flicker.
  2. The UI doesn't satisfy me: when ON in EDC mode, you can access Turbo and Strobe through the tail switch, but releasing it will cause the light to turn OFF instead of returning to the last EDC mode. Other users have complained about this in various reviews.

So I'm hoping to find a similar flashlight with a more usable tail switch, and a more customizable UI.

Battery should be 18650 (it will be my first light with such a battery), form factor cylindrical (no big head), size about 1" x 5".

Since I understand that there may be very little options with two switches, a one-switch light (preferably forward tail-switch) might do, as long as the UI allows:

  • Instant access to moonlight for night bathroom trips
  • Other EDC modes without memory (I don't like to be blinded by High when I only want Low)
  • Easy access to Turbo and Strobe against an intruder, be the light ON or OFF.

Sorry, I had overlooked this UI in this long post.