I see your point treellama and Agro... the reason for this choice was due to the lack of cheap common K RGB LEDs on non-aliexpress sources (I had ordered some previously on Aliexpress but it's been a few weeks and they haven't arrived yet), so I decided to go with individual LEDs with the benefit of more fun colours (which I already had on hand). In addition, the MCU VCC voltage is 2.5V for this board so we should not use common A LEDs, not to mention, we also want to take advantage of LED dimming in Anduril (which uses the internal 10k pullup), common cathode LEDs need to be used as opposed to common anode. Changing the design to fit RGB LEDs is very straightforward.
Is this something that people would prefer over individual LEDs? If so, I'll release both boards, one with individual LEDs and one with RGB LEDs so anyone can build their own :). They will provide a different look, which I guess is a matter of preference. In order to reduce standby current, Anduril does not PWM the AUX LEDs though, so just something to keep in mind (otherwise we can do a lot of nice effects like blendy RGB modes). Finally, a thing to note about the lowish 2.5V drive voltage - this does have some limitation if you want really bright AUX LEDs - this is just about possible with very small series resistors for the blue LED, but will affect overall look when using the 'dim mode'. This depends on the specific LED used though, and their associated V_fwd. Otherwise, it works ok.
Really great design loneoceans.
3Amps for regulated mode is perfect in my opinion. It is usually enough to keep around 1000 lumen beam.
I saw there was already question for schematics, but I think I missed answer. Anyway I think that if you would like to see this design in more lights it could be good idea to share schematic together with component list as some of us here are able to adapt it to different pcb layouts for other flashlights.
It would be great to bring high-efficiency drivers to a wider audience. At the moment, the more complex switching drivers are generally limited to those who can design ones themselves, or who can do the SMD soldering etc required to have a version of an existing design. (With a few exceptions e.g. buy one from Lexel)
If there could be an interest list to get a better economy of scale, it seems from community feedback that this would prove quite popular.
I think quite a significant proportion of FW3A owners would be interested, especially as that light is already an enthusiast-level design that anyone can buy.
I’m very interested in helping beta testing, I’ve sent you a PM.
Not sure if I ever answered this - might have missed. it. I'm 100% in on Anduril now, was easy to port to Windows Atmel Studio, for me that is, and since adding a couple features like calibrating the voltage reading and tweaking up the max temp regulation setting, it's working out well for me. Also it's got decent flexibility re-configuring I/O pins, which Narsil used to have the advantage of. So a laundry list of features I wanted to add to Narsil are already there in Anduril:
wanted to dump the fixed modes, and make the UI more like ramping -- already done in Anduril
my had-to-have feature was calibrating temp and voltage,and Anduril had the temp calib and was easier to mod Anduril to cal the batt voltage
better support for AUX/switch LED's - already there in Anduril
add support for the 16 KB MCU's like the 1634 - again already there in Anduril
Other things I'd like to do/have:
support for 2 e-switches (got a couple lights to mod, waiting for that), but need a "smart" usage UI to take advantage of them
better multi-channel output support. I got a SD Mini II working with special version of Narsil, where the side LED gets a 7135 and the main LED gets the FET. The UI could be done better though, and again, I think Anduril would be the better option, specially with a 16 KB MCU. I hacked up a FET+1 driver to separate the output of the 7135 from the FET.
[quote=WTF]
Has anyone had any luck finding a spring for the driver? The closest one I found was at Kaidomain and required cutting down.
[/quote]
Does this mean you have one of these, or are making one? Wondering if "loneoceans" is far enough along to release it in some form? I'm definitely interested buying a couple, either parts or assembled.
Ohh, one more thing - loneoceans, have you tried the flex PCB's? I saw what tterev3 did with one, using it for LED's overlaid on an MCPCB. I'm not sure if that's what you did for the AUX LED's or not, but it seems to be a great application. I was thinking of ordering a set of driver boards in flex just to see/feel what they are like!
I’m not making on of these drivers although I did build a GXB172 today. He was looking for a driver spring and asked us if we knew where to find one. It would be a waste of his time that could be better spent proofing out the driver. It’s no fun for him and just slows things down, someone here must know were to find one.
Anduril is a great user interface until it needs to be modified by someone like me with poor programming skills. Everything is scattered in different bits of C and H programs, Narsil I can look at and muddle my way through it most of the time. There are times I want to use one channel to run a cob and then a high power emitter on a separate channel, I can’t do that with Anduril. There are also times all I want is three modes, no off, temperature regulation and low voltage protection. Lone oceans firmware is easier for me since it normally doesn’t have ramping.
Tom E, I’m using your branch of Anduril with Atmel Studio. Thanks for making that available.
I’m considering switching over to the 1634 for all future drivers; I’ve been following TK’s FW thread quite closely.
And now this Lume1 driver is using the 1634, it seems like it’s worth making the switch.
I’m not sure how to integrate it into new drivers though. The D4v2 uses it, so can take the pinout from that, but that light doesn’t use ADC for battery voltage or temp sensing for example. I have at least two different driver designs sitting idle, because I’m not sure what pins people are already using (or planning to use).
Oh, and then there are at least three different programming pogo-pin standards…
I can see the flexible PCBs being used for some interesting things… maybe a driver curved around the ID of the battery cylinder to shave a few mm off an EDC light.
Good to hear you are using my special Anduril! I've been getting very frustrated tweaking voltage and temp cal's for each light I do with Narsil. Yep, I'm definitely looking for 1634 drivers, although the newer, better MCU's are out but no Anduril support yet. Mike C is supporting them though.
The D4V2 doesn't use ADC for the readings? Do you know what it does then? That's weird, I haven't researched the 1634 support thoroughly, just a peak or two. I got Hank's programming pogo pin adapter, but haven't used it yet. I got 2 compatible lights - the K1 and D4SV2. Supporting that layout would be great.
The good thing about copying Hank's layouts would be we know TK actively supports them - no special mods to Anduril needed. She has all the I-O lights and I'mm sure is on the hook to support them. Of course the ramping tables, etc., may be needed, but that's more to follow the LED output design, like 2 channels, 3 channels, how many 7135's in the bank, etc.
For the flex PCB's, classic designs still need a solid footing for the batt+ spring, and best to have the driver close to it for a short wire run. Not sure if could handle larger IC's like the bigger FET's we use. The MCU's are smaller than the classic 85 though. For modding, lot of times I'll strip the stock components and piggyback in a board, but now for those, I'm always using the 0.8 mm thick ones from OSHPark. Not sure how the flex PCB's handle the heat we get on those drivers though.
The flex boards seem perfect for AUX LED overlays though.
I'm in the process of wiriting up a quick tutorial and guide... should be done in a few days. Hopefully that'll be useful. I'll be using examples on how I customized the firmware to suit the additional features for the lume driver and I think this will be applicable for many use cases that have been discussed above.
Ah, that’s great! The firmware development is dependent on hardware, and vice versa, so getting more drivers running the 1634 will help fuel progress.
Coincidentally, a few months ago, I had a driver design which also needed one PWM out, one enable line, and one FET output for turbo only (it’s a buck driver for triple XHP70s), but I never got around to sorting the firmware. You have reminded me to go back and sort that out as well.
