MascaratumB and Jiffy : Thank you
.
. Not being able to be a member of the team
.
I help what I can.
-
I ignore (not speak) (not understand) English language
.
Google translator
Output of FET triples is pretty well established and tends to be between 2000 and 3500 lumens depending on emitters. Last I checked a 219C (90 CRI D240 flux) FET triple, it was about 2500. A low-CRI XP-G3 (or low-CRI 219C for that matter) would be higher.
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Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android | Zak Reviews – my flashlight reviews, with lots of runtime graphs
Location: (469219) 2016 HO3 // I get way more privmsgs than I can respond to, so please ask in a public thread if possible, for a faster answer.
I made some progress on the firmware…
Candle mode is updated and more realistic now, simulated using six oscillators — three of which modulate the other three like an old analog synthesizer. The result looks similar to a candle with periodic disturbances in the air.
Fixed a bug in thermal regulation and LVP, which were both running about 1000X faster than intended. So, those work again.
Thermal regulation uses 512 internal steps while searching for a sustainable level, which makes the adjustments invisible by eye. A lux meter is needed to see what it’s doing.
Made thermal adjustment speed change depending on how far it needs to go. It can happen anywhere from 1 step every 8 seconds to 8 steps per second.
Added the ability to calibrate the thermal sensor to room temperature. This should help with the issues related to different attiny85 units disagreeing on how warm it is.
Location: (469219) 2016 HO3 // I get way more privmsgs than I can respond to, so please ask in a public thread if possible, for a faster answer.
Oh, I forgot… I also made lockout’s moon mode use the current ramp floor. Previously it used whichever floor was lower. So, the momentary illumination in lockout mode can effectively have two settings depending on which ramp you left active.
In case this doesn’t ring a bell, lockout mode doubles as a momentary moon mode. That way, after locking it and tossing it in a bag, it can still be used to look around inside the bag without unlocking it.
Location: (469219) 2016 HO3 // I get way more privmsgs than I can respond to, so please ask in a public thread if possible, for a faster answer.
There have been some complaints about the mid-ramp blink on the D4. I find it useful as a reference point, but some dislike it.
Should the FW3A have mid-ramp blinks?
Currently the default setup is:
Smooth ramp floor: Lowest setting which lights up.
Stepped ramp floor: About 10 lumens.
Both ramp ceilings: Highest regulated mode, 8×7135 or about 3 Amps or ~1000 lumens. (full FET still accessible via turbo)
Blink when passing 1×7135 boundary, ~150 lumens, or level 65/150.
Blink when passing 8×7135 boundary, ~1000 lumens, or level 130/150.
Blink when ramp hits ceiling.
No blink at moon, because it’s usually pretty obvious when it hits bottom.
A “blink” means the light shuts off for 8ms. Each ramp step takes 16ms. So, it’s off for half of that individual step, half of a 60fps “frame”, just long enough to see.
So… which of the following reference points should blink when the user hits or passes them?
A. Floor
B. ~150 lm, level 65/150
C. ~1000 lm, level 130/150 (highest regulated level)
D. Ceiling
Some prefer “none”, some might like “ABCD”. I like “BC”. What sounds good to you?
[…]So… which of the following reference points should blink when the user hits or passes them?
A. Floor
B. ~150 lm, level 65/150
C. ~1000 lm, level 130/150 (highest regulated level)
D. Ceiling
Some prefer “none”, some might like “ABCD”. I like “BC”. What sounds good to you?
Thanks, ToyKeeper, for such a great effort! The more I see this, the more “need” the FW3A in my hands
I know we will all enter in the field of personnal preference while answering your question, and maybe it is “dangerous” to answer it here on this thread, risking to “derail” it to the FW and not the FW3A
At the same time, it is appropriate to inform the people interested on this light about the FirmWare it will probably use!
My personal answer/preference to: “What sounds good to you?”
C and D !
Why C?
If we pass the C blink, we know the farthest regulated limit has been passed, so we may wanna go back a bit to enter the “regulated zone”, helping to save some battery even with it producing near 1000 lumens.
Why D?
Sometimes I see myself pressing the Emisar D4 switch trying to realize when it reaches the highest limit, when ramping up. If there wasn’t any “top blink” we might get “stuck” pressing the switch, because we don’t know if the highest limit has been reached or not. So, the “top” blink would be a nice indicator to let us move the finger away from the switch!
Why not A?
Obviously, as you said, the moonlight is easy to perceive when it is not getting lower!
Why not B?
If it will be regulated till the 1000 lumens, would it be necessary to have a previous blink to know the 1st regulated limit? Sure, it would help to save some more “juice” from the battery and produce less heat, but comparing to the D4 (as example), this one will have a wider regulated “space” so I don’t see a need for the B blink.
I don’t really mind the blinks as long as we don’t have “too much”
2 would be great to mark some important points, but at least 1 (the C) may be important to have it!
My perspective, only!
Thanks for your work again
Location: (469219) 2016 HO3 // I get way more privmsgs than I can respond to, so please ask in a public thread if possible, for a faster answer.
To give people a better idea what some of the extra modes look like, I made videos…
Dale sent me a diffuser for my BLF Q8, and it makes the candle mode look a lot more like a candle. The light is warm-tinted and spread evenly in all directions. Everything still works without a diffuser, but for that it’s best to ceiling-bounce the beam.
3 minutes of lightning storm mode:
3 minutes of candle flicker mode:
Play both videos at the same time if you want to simulate taking shelter by a fire while a storm goes by. ;P
Whoa that’s awesome! And i thought Zebralights had complicated UIs. Makes me want 2 now……this place is really bad for my wallet.
Candle mode is sweet TK!
[…]So… which of the following reference points should blink when the user hits or passes them?
A. Floor
B. ~150 lm, level 65/150
C. ~1000 lm, level 130/150 (highest regulated level)
D. Ceiling
Some prefer “none”, some might like “ABCD”. I like “BC”. What sounds good to you?
Thanks, ToyKeeper, for such a great effort! The more I see this, the more “need” the FW3A in my hands
I know we will all enter in the field of personnal preference while answering your question, and maybe it is “dangerous” to answer it here on this thread, risking to “derail” it to the FW and not the FW3A
At the same time, it is appropriate to inform the people interested on this light about the FirmWare it will probably use!
My personal answer/preference to: “What sounds good to you?”
C and D !
Why C?
If we pass the C blink, we know the farthest regulated limit has been passed, so we may wanna go back a bit to enter the “regulated zone”, helping to save some battery even with it producing near 1000 lumens.
Why D?
Sometimes I see myself pressing the Emisar D4 switch trying to realize when it reaches the highest limit, when ramping up. If there wasn’t any “top blink” we might get “stuck” pressing the switch, because we don’t know if the highest limit has been reached or not. So, the “top” blink would be a nice indicator to let us move the finger away from the switch!
Why not A?
Obviously, as you said, the moonlight is easy to perceive when it is not getting lower!
Why not B?
If it will be regulated till the 1000 lumens, would it be necessary to have a previous blink to know the 1st regulated limit? Sure, it would help to save some more “juice” from the battery and produce less heat, but comparing to the D4 (as example), this one will have a wider regulated “space” so I don’t see a need for the B blink.
I don’t really mind the blinks as long as we don’t have “too much”
2 would be great to mark some important points, but at least 1 (the C) may be important to have it!
My perspective, only!
Thanks for your work again
Thanks ToyKeeper (and the rest of the team) for your work on the FW3A. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished torch, and then probably flashing Anduril onto everything that can run it.
I’d like to give a +1 to MascaratumB’s suggestion of blinks at point C and D, but I also have a question. When you reach reach either the minimum or maximum ramping level, does the light simply stop adjusting, or does it start ramping back in the other direction?
Please count me in for 1. Thanks.
I guess you should be “promoted” to a team member!!!
Thanks for the work done so far pepinfaxera
MY REVIEWS THREAD /// My Flashlight Collection /// YouTube Channel
Mods: 1 / 2 // TIR: 1 / 2 // Others: Biscotti 3 + 1*7135 / Triple TIR w/ XP-G2 /// My Review's Blog (PT) /// OL Contest 2019 /// OL Contest 2020 /// OL Contest 2022 /// GIVEAWAYs: 1 / 2 / 3
Agreed! Thanks pepinfaxera
MascaratumB and Jiffy : Thank you
.
. Not being able to be a member of the team
.
I help what I can.
-
I ignore (not speak) (not understand) English language
.
Google translator
Sorry for my bad English
(google translator) , (https://www.deepl.com/translator)
Pero, estas haciendo un trabajo muy bueno y de gran valor para lo seguimiento de este proyecto
Gracias!!
(But, you are making a very good and valuable work to follow this project! Thank you!)
MY REVIEWS THREAD /// My Flashlight Collection /// YouTube Channel
Mods: 1 / 2 // TIR: 1 / 2 // Others: Biscotti 3 + 1*7135 / Triple TIR w/ XP-G2 /// My Review's Blog (PT) /// OL Contest 2019 /// OL Contest 2020 /// OL Contest 2022 /// GIVEAWAYs: 1 / 2 / 3
Put me down for one plz
In for (2)!
EDIT: Let’s make it an even (2).. hehe
I’ll take one as well…Thanks BLF and all who’ve worked on this design !!!
I am interested.
Forgive me for not going through 75 pages of messages, is there a lumen output approx. on this light? And any idea how long until completion?
Output of FET triples is pretty well established and tends to be between 2000 and 3500 lumens depending on emitters. Last I checked a 219C (90 CRI D240 flux) FET triple, it was about 2500. A low-CRI XP-G3 (or low-CRI 219C for that matter) would be higher.
Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android | Zak Reviews – my flashlight reviews, with lots of runtime graphs
I made some progress on the firmware…
Candle mode is updated and more realistic now, simulated using six oscillators — three of which modulate the other three like an old analog synthesizer. The result looks similar to a candle with periodic disturbances in the air.
Fixed a bug in thermal regulation and LVP, which were both running about 1000X faster than intended. So, those work again.
Thermal regulation uses 512 internal steps while searching for a sustainable level, which makes the adjustments invisible by eye. A lux meter is needed to see what it’s doing.
Made thermal adjustment speed change depending on how far it needs to go. It can happen anywhere from 1 step every 8 seconds to 8 steps per second.
Added the ability to calibrate the thermal sensor to room temperature. This should help with the issues related to different attiny85 units disagreeing on how warm it is.
The UI diagram is updated too:
Very sweet ToyKeeper! Thank you!
Nice TK!!
… Thank you. 
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
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I’m in for a single FW3A.
I’m down for 2. Thanks
Oh, I forgot… I also made lockout’s moon mode use the current ramp floor. Previously it used whichever floor was lower. So, the momentary illumination in lockout mode can effectively have two settings depending on which ramp you left active.
In case this doesn’t ring a bell, lockout mode doubles as a momentary moon mode. That way, after locking it and tossing it in a bag, it can still be used to look around inside the bag without unlocking it.
There have been some complaints about the mid-ramp blink on the D4. I find it useful as a reference point, but some dislike it.
Should the FW3A have mid-ramp blinks?
Currently the default setup is:
A “blink” means the light shuts off for 8ms. Each ramp step takes 16ms. So, it’s off for half of that individual step, half of a 60fps “frame”, just long enough to see.
So… which of the following reference points should blink when the user hits or passes them?
Some prefer “none”, some might like “ABCD”. I like “BC”. What sounds good to you?
When ramping down to the floor (or up to the ceiling) won’t it simply stop? If so, I don’t think they need a blink.
I like the blink on my D4 so I wouldn’t mind B and C to give a point of reference as to the power I’m using.
That said, I wouldn’t care much if no blinks were the consensus.
Toykeeper is definitely the queen of flashlight drivers! That new UI is droolworthy!!!
Thanks, ToyKeeper, for such a great effort! The more I see this, the more “need” the FW3A in my hands
I know we will all enter in the field of personnal preference while answering your question, and maybe it is “dangerous” to answer it here on this thread, risking to “derail” it to the FW and not the FW3A
At the same time, it is appropriate to inform the people interested on this light about the FirmWare it will probably use!
Here is a link for your other thread/post where other discussions may appear about this: http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1267445#comment-1267445
——-
My personal answer/preference to: “What sounds good to you?”
C and D !
Why C?
If we pass the C blink, we know the farthest regulated limit has been passed, so we may wanna go back a bit to enter the “regulated zone”, helping to save some battery even with it producing near 1000 lumens.
Why D?
Sometimes I see myself pressing the Emisar D4 switch trying to realize when it reaches the highest limit, when ramping up. If there wasn’t any “top blink” we might get “stuck” pressing the switch, because we don’t know if the highest limit has been reached or not. So, the “top” blink would be a nice indicator to let us move the finger away from the switch!
Why not A?
Obviously, as you said, the moonlight is easy to perceive when it is not getting lower!
Why not B?
If it will be regulated till the 1000 lumens, would it be necessary to have a previous blink to know the 1st regulated limit? Sure, it would help to save some more “juice” from the battery and produce less heat, but comparing to the D4 (as example), this one will have a wider regulated “space” so I don’t see a need for the B blink.
I don’t really mind the blinks as long as we don’t have “too much”

2 would be great to mark some important points, but at least 1 (the C) may be important to have it!
My perspective, only!
Thanks for your work again
MY REVIEWS THREAD /// My Flashlight Collection /// YouTube Channel
Mods: 1 / 2 // TIR: 1 / 2 // Others: Biscotti 3 + 1*7135 / Triple TIR w/ XP-G2 /// My Review's Blog (PT) /// OL Contest 2019 /// OL Contest 2020 /// OL Contest 2022 /// GIVEAWAYs: 1 / 2 / 3
An esteemed and highly-sought-after title, to be sure. ;P
My vote would be A&D for sure. C also would not be bad, nice to know when its in full regulation
-the- Throw calculator - Pulsars list
I’m not in just yet, but I like the blinks and find them super useful on the D4/D1
ABCD sounds fine for me. on a clicky you would blink anyway when half pressing to change modes
In my Tree
My collection: Emisar: D4 / D1 / D4 (broken) ― Convoy: C8 Clear / S2+ Clear / S2+ / S2+ UV / S6 ― Nitecore: Tube / Thumb / Concept 1 / HC30 / HC33 / TIP / TIP CRI / TINI ― Lumintop: Tool AAA / Tool AA / HLAAA / EDC05 ― Sofirn: SF10 / SF12 / SF12 / SF14 / SF14 / SF14 / SP10A / SP10A (gifted) ― Jaxman: E3 ― UTorch: UT01 ― Trustfire: Z2 ― Skyfire: SF-065 (trashed)
To give people a better idea what some of the extra modes look like, I made videos…
Dale sent me a diffuser for my BLF Q8, and it makes the candle mode look a lot more like a candle. The light is warm-tinted and spread evenly in all directions. Everything still works without a diffuser, but for that it’s best to ceiling-bounce the beam.
3 minutes of lightning storm mode:
3 minutes of candle flicker mode:
Play both videos at the same time if you want to simulate taking shelter by a fire while a storm goes by. ;P
Please put me on the list for one of these.
Whoa that’s awesome! And i thought Zebralights had complicated UIs. Makes me want 2 now……this place is really bad for my wallet.
Candle mode is sweet TK!
Hi there. Please put me down for 2 units. Seems my post from Nov 19,2017 was missed.
FWIW, the FW3A can run a clone of ZebraLight’s 2016 UI too, if you reflash the driver. It’s in the FSM repository under “DarkHorse”.
It took only a single afternoon to implement ZL’s UI.
Thanks ToyKeeper (and the rest of the team) for your work on the FW3A. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished torch, and then probably flashing Anduril onto everything that can run it.
I’d like to give a +1 to MascaratumB’s suggestion of blinks at point C and D, but I also have a question. When you reach reach either the minimum or maximum ramping level, does the light simply stop adjusting, or does it start ramping back in the other direction?
I would like to be on the list for a second light.
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