Anduril ... 2?

add the best function from the Narsil software, i.e. the ability to disable thermal control will save a lot of trouble for some models and their users

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Iā€™m scared of the idea that itā€™ll change because to me itā€™s soooooooooooo perfect already

This sounds very promising.

In stepped mode would be nice to have ability to control space in between steps. Fo example 1ma- 5mA - 20mA 50mA - 350ma - 1A - 3A

my understanding is individually programmable modes (steps) are not something Anduril is going to offer.

see

UI with individually programmable modes will be the best and ultimate UI ever made . Everyone will be happy :laughing:

I think ā€˜simpleā€™ mode should be more simple. Really basic. Click on, click off, or hold to ramp. Thatā€™s it. After all, that is really the only thing a muggle will be interested in. We flashaholics are so used to fantabulous features, weā€™ve forgotten what it was like to be a muggle. Anything but on/off/change levels is more than they want to absorb.

Not that I loan out my flashlights enough to make it matter to me personally. But I gave away a Nitecore EA41 recently along with a copy of the instructions, and the couple was intimidated by the fact that ā€œitā€™s so complicated, it comes with instructions.ā€ :person_facepalming: That really made me stop and think. The EA41 UI is not complicated.

Personally, I think itā€™s getting to a point where we may soon need to add in a feature where we click/hold a certain number and the light projects (in the beam on a white wall) the instruction manual! :laughing:

The steps arenā€™t individually-programmable, but they do accelerate up along a curve like what you described. They are spaced evenly along the ramp, but the ramp itself is curved.

The curve shape is different for each light though, calibrated to make it feel similar despite large differences in the underlying hardware. Except, of course, on lights where the manufacturer didnā€™t bother doing that and just copied firmware from another light. Those end up with weird ramp shapes and sub-par thermal response.

There are lights which work this way. They typically either come with a separate configurator app (which isnā€™t possible for most Anduril-based lights) or they take a long time to programā€¦ like an hour tapping buttons with the manual. Most people never bother configuring those because itā€™s too complicated.

However, a separate UI could be created which allows each step to be whatever the user wants. It could also allow user-defined button mappings similar to the YLP Unicorn. I think Inferion had a good idea there, and really put a lot of functionality into a small space. But if something like that is made, it would be a different UI, not Anduril.

One of the things Iā€™m doing with Anduril2 is to break the code into smaller pieces so itā€™ll be easier to maintain and easier to reuse parts in other UIs. So that may be helpful when attempting to create something more configurable for power users.

Thatā€™s a big part of why I made this thread. Iā€™m hoping to answer the question of ā€œwhat should the simple UI be like?ā€

The old muggle mode was just click for on/off and hold to ramp. Or a longer button sequence to exit. Nothing else. But people often said it was too simple, and they wanted to be able to check the battery status or lock the light or configure the ramp so it wasnā€™t stuck at factory settings.

So for now, thatā€™s basically what the new simple UI is. The currently-enabled functions are:

  • Ramp:
    • Click for on/off
    • Hold to change brightness (or press-release-hold to ramp down)
    • Double click to go to/from the top level (no turbo)
  • Battery check (3C)
  • Lockout (4C)
  • Long button sequence to go to advanced mode
  • Even longer button sequence to check the firmware version
  • Factory reset (hold button a few seconds while inserting battery)

It also respects settings configured in advanced mode, like the smooth/stepped ramp style, manual memory vs automatic memory, and (eventually) floor/ceiling levels. But those require going to advanced mode and back, so they donā€™t really affect anything for muggle purposes.

Are these the right features to have in simple mode? I donā€™t know. Thatā€™s what Iā€™m hoping to find out.

[quote=ToyKeeper]

Iā€™d remove the lockout. It is not really necessary, and might be a pain for beginners to get out again.
However, the battery check is a very useful feature, and not problematic when activated unintentional.

If lockout is disabled by a power cycle I donā€™t see the harm of having it there.

I would love to use the simple mode most of the time, and on lights like the ubiquitous FW-series, physical lockout is not an option. Electronic lockout is needed.

Why not? I do it on mine. Yes I understand that it only disconnects the switch and not the actual power; but it prevents accidental activation, which is the goal yes?

Mine needed nearly a full turn to disconnect the switch signal which wasnā€™t practical when I actually needed to use it. Considering they have been known to randomly turn on at full power when things go wrong, even that doesnā€™t inspire a lot of confidence in me either TBH.

Off topic but running it without the metal switch cover was 1000x better for me personally. No lockout needed, switch was recessed and took more force to press (but not so much that rapid clicks or holds were difficult) and felt very satisfying and responsive. Once Lume1 is out Iā€™m definitely getting an FW1A and running it like that.

Ahhh gotcha. Are you turning the tailcap or the head? I did the head and donā€™t recall having to turn it that much, but I traded away my FWā€™s.

The head. Mine is from the first GB and doesnā€™t have the tailcap retaining ring.

The FW3A (and presumably other related models) has a lot of variability from one light to the next. One of the things which differs is how it responds to having the front half loosened. On some, itā€™ll cut power in a quarter turnā€¦ while on others, it must be unscrewed completely off. I have examples of both in my collection.

Soā€¦ yeah, sometimes soft lockout is the only option.

Iā€™ve pondered whether lockout should be on 3 clicks instead of 4, to make it faster to enter/exit. Then I guess battcheck would be on 4 clicks. Not sure if thatā€™s how it should be though, or if the current setup is better. However, it would definitely be one of the more difficult changes to get accustomed to. I know weā€™re breaking backward compatibility here, but swapping those two seems like it would be particularly annoying for anyone who has lights of both the old and new versions. Weā€™d trip over it constantly.

my FW3A takes about .03 turns of the head to disable the signal path [lockout - or lockin, if the light is on when you do it]

it also depends on the cell dimensions

wle

This definitely sounds like a good idea, hoping that I can flash my D4V2 flashlights with this new Anduril.

I can also vouch for a more subtle candle mode, itā€™s a bit too violent at times.
It can also be a bit repetitive, but thatā€™s probably a memory limitation.
Although itā€™s a lot better than many flickering LED candles Iā€™ve seen.

No doubt Anduril is the best flashlight UI made so far, I rarely justify buying a light without it. If so, the light should be pretty special (like Nitecore TUP with the OLED display).

It could be called Anduril 2.0

I wish my Sofirn Q8 would just have Low , Medium , High and Off .

Candle mode could definitely benefit from higher resolution in the brightness rampā€¦ and more frames per secondā€¦ and some adjustments to the overall algorithm. It also varies from one light to another, since the underlying ramp is different. I try to adjust it to be fairly consistent, but it doesnā€™t always come out quite right.

About low/med/high/off, thatā€™s possible by using the stepped ramp. Set it to 3 steps. Itā€™ll still have the blinkies and other modes available thoughā€¦

ā€¦ so thereā€™s also a simple UI, and it inherits the ramp style (smooth/stepped) of the full UI. It just has safer limits and most of the other modes and functions are blocked. The code for that isnā€™t published yet though; Iā€™m still working on it.