Anduril ... 2?

That Simple UI looks pretty solid.
The only thing I don’t see is a way to go from Lockout to Off, which may be intentional. I suppose if you’re unlocking the light it’s because you intend to turn it on.

Not exactly sure what “15+C” means for the Version check. 15 clicks is also quite a lot and can be a hassle to count for something as simple as a version check. Maybe it could just be a part of the Advanced UI instead? Because it seems like the people who would want to know the firmware version of their flashlight would probably also be the type of people to use the advanced mode.

I’m excited to see the development of Anduril 2.

15 clicks are annoying to count… so instead, it uses 15 or more. It doesn’t care how many, as long as it is at least 15.

About whether version check should be included in simple mode… I’m not sure. It’s a good question. Should version check be in both modes, or just in advanced mode?

If it’s in both simple and advanced modes, it’s always “15 or more clicks from off”.

If it’s only in advanced mode, it’s “10H from off to reach advanced mode, then 15 or more clicks”.

Just like on the Lumintop Geek side battery level indicator.

Ah that makes more sense with the 15+ clicks.
The reason I mentioned version check to be an advanced mode feature was purely so that it would be easier to access. If it’s still 15+C in advanced mode, then I don’t see a reason why it couldn’t be in both.

I had the idea of maybe a “Utility Blinkies” mode within the advanced mode that would display boring information like battery status, temperature (with a way to get to thermal cfg), and version number. Then you could get the version number without having to do the 15+C. Not sure how well this would integrate with the current plans for the advanced mode though.

In simple mode, the only blinky is the battery check.

In advanced mode, it has a utility blinkies group which starts with battery check and then proceeds to beacon, SOS (on some lights), and temperature check. It also includes voltage calibration and temperature calibration.

The version check function could go into the blinky group too, but I made it more direct and easy to access because it’s very useful for customer support purposes. If someone is having trouble understanding their light, they may not be able to navigate into advanced mode, through the blinkies, and to the correct blinky… but they can probably press the button a bunch of times quickly.

I’ve also been thinking about adding a couple extra digits to version check, to indicate which build target was used. Basically, each build target would get a unique number, and that number would be added to the version string… so it would be easy to detect things like how the Astrolux FT03-Mini uses firmware from the Emisar D4V2.

I hadn’t even thought about that. That makes a lot of sense actually and wasn’t something I even considered.

This would be very handy. I’m usually always a fan of more information as opposed to less.

That’s not something you’re doing often, right ?
Just to put 15 clicks in perspective : to unlock a non programmable Novatc Storm to be programmable (hidden feature), you had to click 250 times (or more) rapidely, about 3 clicks per second, and don’t miss one or you had to start again. :wink:

That’s a fair point. It isn’t a big deal, I just figured if there’s a better way then it may be worth looking at. But you’re correct, it’s so rare that it’s needed, it’s a non-issue.

Clicking 250 times to access a hidden mode sounds like a nightmare. At that point they should have just made it something ridiculous like “tap out ‘Programming Mode’ in Morse code” or something along those lines.

I’ve yet to succeed with unlocking my SPL-120. It’s going on the back burner until I can do the KawiBoy method to it (soak it in paint thinner for a couple days, or something) and swap the driver…

To allow the user to change any settings, the HiveLD flashlight driver required the user to solder something onto the driver and then tap out a Morse code sequence on a clicky-switch button without feedback. Probably with a metronome in the background to help with the timing.

… and that’s arguably the easy part. The setup mode itself is pretty complicated. Like, to reach the factory reset function, it requires navigating to menu #4, activating it to enable Setup Level 2, then navigating to menu #18 (or maybe #17, manual is unclear if #5 is skipped), counting 18 blinks, and activating it to restore default settings. This is, of course, after soldering some tiny pads and entering a Morse code sequence.

I, uh, keep a copy of that manual around as an example of what not to do.

Can we have double click to turbo from off? I think it is easy enough to just ramp to top of ramp. We need a shortcut to turbo. Many people love to have a way to easily blast to turbo from off. The way it is now, I always accidentally go to battery check from off when wanting to get to turbo. Because click for on, and double click to turbo.

Also can we have 4H to for lockout? I know many muggles don’t read instructions or lose the instruction. It’s too easy for them to click 4 times and don’t know how to get out of it.

Another vote for double click from off to shortcut to turbo, and double click from on also short cuts to turbo.

Putting in my 2 cents regarding double/triple click shortcuts. On most of my lights, it’s pretty easy to do double clicks and triple clicks. I recently got a ArmyTek that has a super stiff button. I’m OK double clicking, but triple clicking is actually kinda hard. I feel like my fingers spaz out. If I had an emergency and really need to get to turbo, I’m so much more comfortable with it being a double click rather than a triple click on this ArmyTek.

Again, I don’t have that many lights (yet) and the ArmyTek is my only one where I feel like triple clicking is challenging. I also think as I get older, triple clicking could get even more dicey. I think turbo has priority over strobe, so maybe put strobe on triple click.

Thanks for the time and effort on Anduril.

Simple UI can be changed to stepped ? I hate ramping

Am I the only one to like and use the double-click from off to ceiling (lot of light without (over-)heating too quickly) ?
I have nothing against double-click from off to turbo (as requested by others) but only as an option, or as a default setting if this is reversible to double-click from off to ceiling. Please !

Anduril ... 2? - #168 by SammysHP :wink:

In my understanding the ramp is the usable range and there should be shortcuts for lowest and highest levels in that ramp. Turbo should always be a separate level/mode/action.

Yes, it can… but config can’t be changed while in simple mode. So here’s how to change it:

  1. 10H: Go to advanced mode.
  2. 1C: Turn the light on.
  3. 3C: Change to stepped mode.
  4. 1C: Turn the light off.
  5. 10C: Go back to simple mode.

Then simple mode uses steps instead of smooth ramping.

Nope, you’re not the only one. I also prefer “Off 2C” for ceiling instead of turbo. Especially on hot rod lights like the D4, I really don’t want full power most of the time… I just want a shortcut to a high mode.

That’s kind of the whole point of having a ceiling level which isn’t the same as turbo. If every shortcut goes to turbo instead of the ceiling, why bother having a ceiling at all?

So I’m kind of inclined to follow SammysHP’s suggestion and make it so that “Ramp 2C” also goes to the ceiling. If the user wants full power, they can set the ceiling to full power.

However, a shortcut to turbo would be good too, even if it wasn’t configured with a high ceiling. So I’m thinking about making it so “Off 2H” does momentary turbo with no thermal regulation. Advanced mode only though; no turbo in simple mode unless the user configures it that way. So in simple mode, “Off 2H” would be momentary ceiling.

It’s a good question, whether to include lockout in simple mode. I truly don’t know if it’s too complex to be allowed in simple mode or not. Some big-brand lights include lockout, some don’t. So I think there are good points to be made either way.

As for what the button mapping is though… I really don’t want to make it any less convenient than it already is, because lockout gets used quite a bit. Was mostly trying to decide whether to make it easier to access, not whether to make it harder.

After using 3C lockout for a couple weeks though, I think 4C is probably a better default. Shortening it to 3C seems to have more downsides than benefits.

The distinction between ceiling and turbo is definitely a thing which comes up often, and it would be good to find a way to make it work for everyone. None of the options seem like a clear winner though; there are tradeoffs. So it becomes a question of which tradeoffs to use…

Here are a few options:

  • Off 2C = ceiling, On 2C = turbo. This is the current solution.
    • Benefits: It needs only two clicks, gives a nice shortcut to ceiling from off, and gives easy access to turbo while on.
    • Downsides: No shortcut to ceiling while on, no shortcut to turbo while off, and 2C does different things in different modes.
    • Mitigation: User can set ceiling to turbo, if they care more about turbo than having a separate ceiling level.
    • Mitigation: Could map “Off 2H” to momentary turbo (instead of momentary ceiling like it is now). It wouldn’t have thermal regulation during momentary turbo, but some might consider that a bonus.
  • 2C = ceiling, 3C = turbo.
    • Benefits: Gives consistent access to ceiling and turbo, regardless of mode.
    • Downsides: Turbo shortcut is relatively slow. Must move battcheck and ramp style toggle somewhere else. Requires either delayed turbo from off, or a bright flash on the way to lockout/battcheck/etc.
    • Mitigation: None.
  • 2C = ceiling, no turbo.
    • Benefits: Easy access to ceiling level.
    • Drawbacks: No turbo shortcut without changing ramp config. Can’t have turbo and a separate ceiling.
    • Mitigation: User can set ceiling to full power.
    • Mitigation: Could map “Off 2H” to momentary turbo.
  • 2C = turbo, no ceiling except via ramp-up.
    • Benefits: Easy access to turbo.
    • Drawbacks: Ceiling level becomes less useful.
    • Mitigation: None.
  • 2C = ceiling if mem less than ceiling, or turbo if mem >= ceiling.
    • Benefits: Allows both, without sacrificing other button mappings. Avoids turbo unless the user ramped up to ceiling the slow way first.
    • Drawbacks: No quick, consistent shortcut to turbo.
    • Mitigation: Could map “Off 2H” to momentary turbo.
  • 2C = ceiling first, then turbo if repeated, then back to mem.
    • Benefits: Quick access to ceiling. Same behavior from off or on.
    • Drawbacks: Awkward. Must cycle through turbo to return from ceiling. No direct shortcut to turbo.
    • Mitigation: None.

Personally, instead of making turbo easier to access, I usually want easier access to the ceiling level. I’ve even flashed custom firmware on some of my lights to remove turbo… like using the “no FET” KR4 firmware even though my KR4 has a FET and LEDs capable of handling full power.

So I’m kind of leaning toward something like this:

  • Off 2C : ceiling
  • Off 2H : momentary turbo
  • Ramp 2C : ceiling if mem < ceiling, or turbo if mem >= ceiling

This prioritizes the user’s ceiling configuration, so they can decide what the maximum should be… but also provides a way to bypass that temporarily for direct turbo from off.

On lights with thermally-sustainable power levels like the LT1, none of this is even relevant. It uses full power by default. It’s only on higher-power lights where this matters. The ceiling gives users a choice for whether their hot rod should behave like a hot rod or like a normal light.

I’d generally recommend setting one ramp to full power, while the other is limited to a sane level… so it’ll be easy to switch between.

This sounds really good! :+1:

If anyone wants to try it, it’s in the most recent anduril2 revision.

The problem with this solution is that we always end up getting into voltage check (triple click) when trying to access turbo which is real annoying especially under tactical situations where we need turbo access immediately.
This is the ideal and is what most UIs from premium brands like Thrunite, Olight, Acebeam, Nitecore etc. use. It’s the most intuitive and the majority of users like the ability for easy direct access to turbo.
As a compromise, I think this is acceptable. We still have direct access to turbo though it won’t be consistent with the industry standard double click to turbo.

Thanks for your hard work btw!