Lux- P, thank you for this feedback. Sorry I came across maybe a “Ranty”, I just have been noticing things on here that bother me for some reason. A couple questions and comments on your response-
Are you saying your proposal is to have two UI options for the next generation of the lights, meaning anduril 1 or the diagram you have written?
Is that diagram you have written above ^ a proposed UI or an existing UI from somewhere else? I really like it! And, turbo only in stepped mode? (I only use stepped mode Anduril in my throwers, so that works for me!) I would take the diagram written above over the more complicated UI’s. The best thing for me about Anduril outside of its very nice basic commands, is the ease of checking battery level.
I really like the idea of the sft70 6/12v with boost/buck driver. I have seen that emitter on the forum recently, and really prefer its COST, footprint, output, and COLOR. Really seems like the next best thing for enthusiasts who want higher lumens, good throw, good color, And cost savings. I don’t know if the buck driver / boost driver needed for sft 70 would cost as much as the sbt90 led, but From the little reading I have done I don’t think it will. $35 has got to be one of the highest single costs of making any flashlight (outside of some Awsome big reflector lights like gt94 or x65).
I like where you’re thinking is going for V2! I will be in for that.
No worries, Artiet59. I didn't take your words as "ranty". :-) In fact, I'm really open to negative feedback, too. While some things can never be fulfilled to please everyone (tint, for instance), there is always something that can be improved or made different in rev. 2.0 and following, so suggestions and criticism is more than welcome.
Yes, I was saying there could be two UIs in one flashlight, precisely not either/or but both/and. Users could choose between the simplified (proprietary) UI as default or Andúril UI. The UIs can be changed by some hidden command (IDK, maybe click 20 times or...?). I don't know if anyone has ever attempted to do that but I doubt it's impossible. The new AVR-1 chips should have plenty of memory to fit code for multiple UIs.
The diagram above was drafted by me and first presented in another thread here ("Improving Wurkkos UI"). It is not an actually existing UI and it's basically a more simplified "Simple UI" derived from Andúril 2 and a mixture with Wurkkos's FC11 UI. Maybe one could add 7C to cycle AUX light functionalities but that should be all IMHO. Turbo level is actually available in both ramping and stepped modes, same as in Andúril 1 or FC11/TS30 UI. You just ramp up to the maximum or hit 2C to get to peak output. In stepped modes you have the classic standard modes while holding the button pressed (low-mid-high). Battery level here could be indicated by the side switch / AUX LEDs as we know from previous models. The best thing is that gchart and Tom E (both well-known and reputable members and FSM suite coding experts) have said such an UI could be easily derived from Andúril's code and made in FSM software as well.
I agree with you that costs for a sophisticated buck-boost driver should not reach a level similar to the bare SBT90.2 ($ 40-45 per each). The more models they start to equip with such a driver, the lower the material costs should get. Even if Wurkkos were to offer the TS30S with SFT70 and buck-boost driver for the same price as with SBT90.2, they would still catch a lot of interest. For now, both Wurkkos and I have already come to the conclusion that more efficient and better regulated drivers are the future.
These are great things to hear. I love the idea that wurkkos is on board with your thoughts for this new driver in conjunction with a new led such as sft70. I like this driver for sbt90 but see the value of a buck boost for the 6/12v platform and a necessity for it obviously.
The dual UI is a fantastic idea, and I know nothing about chip technology but if they can hold that amount of memory, I would love to see an option like that. Ship it in the wurkkos UI and allow us to change to anduril 1 if we want. That would be amazing, and the possibilities are endless. Theoretically someday lights could have both Anduril options.
Tom E and Gchart have helped me work through some issues with my early stages of trying to mod and both seem like stand up guys. And they also appear to be geniuses in their own right. I bought a light from Gchart and it’s defintely pound for pound the best performance light I have. Lol.
Anyway, enough of that. Lol. Looking forward for things to come from Wurkkos. And loving my ts30s as well at the moment.
Not sure if your comment was specifically directed to me since I do not know of a way to display posts in a "threaded or hybrid" mode to determine who is responding to who, but:
I did not purchase a TS30 since I already have several multi-emitter lights (multiple Sofirn Q8 and SP36, multiple Lumintop FW3A and EDC18) and I prefer lights with Anduril especially the "3 clicks from OFF" battery check function that blinks out the voltage to one decimal place.
I also have four single-emitter deep-reflector dedicated throwers but none of them are much better than the floodier multi-emitter Q8 for long distances, so the TS30S with Anduril interested me the most.
I like comparing things, even identical things since they are never exactly the same. When I find a light I really like, I cannot resist purchasing it multiple times, sometimes with different LED emitters but not always. After a picky comparison, the particular ones I like the most get treated like treasure and I use them carefully to not damage them. The others I use without caring or worrying about and even abuse or give them to other promising potential flashlight addicts as a surprise (if I believe they can safely care for Li-Ion batteries).
I need to purchase another TS30S to directly compare the brightness and throw differences while simultaneously using different batteries in each light to see how much better a high-discharge capacity battery performs. A contradictory discovery I made while doing this exercise with multiple "Lumintop Tool AA 2.0" and multiple "Manker E03H II" lights convinced me that I prefer the brightness levels of some lights while using NiMH instead of Li-Ion batteries. The "Manker E03H II" multiple moonlight modes are exceptional, but only with NiMH.
The pleasures derived from little flashlights keep my mind from dwelling on the larger more depressing issues of life and I thank BudgetLightForum and it members for this affordable experience.
I was looking forward to Anduril-2 mainly for the "voltage calibration feature" since the "3 clicks from OFF" battery voltage check query on my Anduril lights have always had a consistently inaccurate offset throughout their entire voltage range, but with calibration they could be consistently accurate.
I have not used Anduril-2 and did not realize the "2 clicks from ON" behavior had been changed to only go to "Ceiling Level" instead of "Turbo" unless you were already at "Ceiling Level".
"2 clicks from OFF to Ceiling Level" is unchanged and acceptable, but not having "2 clicks to Turbo from ON" at any brightness level is very undesirable in my opinion also. Thanks for making me aware of this.
I am a first year beginner on this forum, but an avid learner (with spare time being an older retired guy) and are now thinking that I may need to learn how to modify and re-flash Anduril-2, even though the thought of it intimidates me from what I have read and tried to understand, especially for lights that do not have readily accessible flash pads, but I'm willing to try and may someday even reflow an LED.
@Artiet59, after re-reading this thread for information about the TS30, I believe the following question from forum member "hodor" was directed to you:
Also @Artiet59, after becoming more interested in throwers and reading the entire Noctigon K1 info / review thread, I was wondering how your new 4000K XHP35 HI Noctigon K1 compares to the throw, hotspot size and spill brightness of the TS30S.
A comparison between the TS30S and Noctigon K1 with both using the 5700K SBT90.2 would be very interesting and I hope that someone can post about that eventually.
I have never ordered a light directly from China, but the K1 interests me enough that I may if it can be delivered to a USPS PO Box since I live in a remote area where there are no deliveries to my physical address.
Thanks! I have not ordered the ts30… yet, but I plan to. The ta30s is really nice. Also, I used permanent marker on the inside of the bezel and eliminated the larger outside ring in the beam. I got the tip from Vinh at SL and it has really made the Ts30s one of my favorites now. Just thought I’d share
Thanks roostre. I am loving my K1 xhp35 4000k. To have a nice tinted thrower that throws that far is awesome. I do jot have the K1 sbt90 to compare it to, but I do have the ts30s obviously and the ft03s. The xhp35 4000k is just different. It’s more like a nicely tinted osram so a thinner beam and less strong spill. Contrary to popular belief these small die emitter have spill, it’s just not as strong.
Now the ts30s throws as far (to my eye) as the K1 xhp35 4000k, maybe a little less. But the ts30s is much more compact which makes it a better all around light for me. I like the K1 and its performance but because of its size I won’t use it that much. I am always carrying my ta30s because it fits in my jacket pocket so well. Their throw is very similar but the ts30s spill is much brighter from the sbt90
I haven't done a side-by-side comparison of the Noctigon K1 (SBT90.2) vs the Wurkkos TS30S (SBT90.2), but I've made some beamshots from the same distance here in these videos (the flashlights are in max brightness levels).
For the videos below, the oppposite building is around 150 meters or 400 feet away from the flashlight's position.
1) Wurkkos TS30S (SBT90.2) beamshot
2) Noctigon K1 (SBT90.2) beamshot
3) Astrolux FT03S (SBT90.2) beamshot
Per my testing, the Noctigon K1 (SBT90.2) appears to perform very similar to the Astrolux FT03S (SBT90.2), following beamshot shows TS30S vs FT03S
4) Astrolux FT03S (SBT90.2) [left] vs Wurkkos TS30S (SBT90.2) [right]
in the following video, the distance of the flashlight and the opposite wall is approximately 18 meters or 60 feet
5) comparing the Noctigon K1 (SBT90.2) [left] vs Astrolux FT03S (SBT90.2) [right]
The two separate videos of the Wurkkos TS30S and the Noctigon K1 (SBT90.2) were so similar that I could stop the video at almost identical scenery locations and compare the beams.
I have gained useful knowledge along with details for interesting lights from your helpful posts and videos in this and many other threads. Thanks again.
