Anduril ... 2?

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
981

Initially, I thought I must not be seeing correctly, but between both TS21s, that 4th flash in the 1st set definitely has the same intensity & duration as all the others. Because this mode has 9 flashes like SOS, and assuming some manufacturers do their own programming, until confirming what it was intended to be from Wurkkos, I figure it's a simple mistake made by their programmer, whereby that 4th flash was supposed to go into the 2nd set following the 1st pause. Although I assumed that the SOS pattern was for the most part, universally known, the reality may be as Tom E. suggested.

982

How strange. The presence of the pauses between groups is interesting as well. None of my A2 lights with SOS display any pauses between blink groups. Can you take a video so I can compare with my lights?

983

SOS is there in the code, you can just include it or not. Some of the manufacturers made that decision, others just used someone else's compatible build. I know at one point on the older MCU's (ATTiny85), memory was getting very tight and SOS was a thing to cut. I prefer not to include it but to each his own.

For my Anduril 2 builds, a 3 channel with AUX/switch LED's is the biggest, and not sure if SOS would fit in that configuration - I could check easy.

Yep - SOS causes an overflow of 42 bytes for that configuration. Guess there's other features that could be cut, but for a 1616 (1-series) or 1634 build (Hank's new lights), it's not a problem because they have twice the memory of the old ATtiny85, which is now officially going EOL anyway.

984

Unfortunately, I don't have that capacity to take a video. I'm just going to contact Wurkkos next week to ask if they do know about it and another mystery. Collectively, the TS21 and Anduril2 make for an exceptional flashlight, so having that mode in the cycle doesn't bother me at all. Thank you for your input and considerations!

985

Wonder if it's the model number: 423, let me check...

423 is a ff-pl47g2 (FireFlied PL47 G2), hhmmm.

986

Thanks for your input as well Tom. BTW, I really enjoy reading and learning from all your mods and invaluable contributions to the forum.

That 15C version/model check will sure test one's eyes ability to count flashes accurately, lol.

987

Thanks!

Here's an excerpt from TK's current A2 manual:

Click 3 times from Off to access Anduril's blinky / utility modes.  This 
always starts at battery check and the user can proceed to other blinky 
modes if Advanced UI is enabled.  The sequence is:
  • Battery check.
  • Temperature check (if light has a temperature sensor).
  • Beacon mode.
  • SOS mode (if enabled).

988

It was not much different in Anduril 1: only the LT1 had SOS mode. Every manufacturer can decide for each flashlight whether they want to include it or not. What you interpret as “weird SOS mode is just battcheck again.

989

Looks like Sofirn / Wurkkos added SOS mode to some of their Anduril 2 flashlights, at least based on my test:

Sofirn Q8 Pro:

= early batch comes with Anduril 1, firmware version 2020-03-18, (this one has an SMO reflector) ; no SOS mode
= new batch has Anduril 2, firmware version 2021-06-06 model '611' (this has OP reflector)

Wurkkos TS21:

= early batch comes with Anduril 1, firmware version 2020-03-18, this model does not have powerbank function; no SOS mode
= new batch comes with Anduril 2, firmware version 2021-06-06 model '612', this model has powerbank function

In my test, the Q8 Pro and TS21 with Anduril 2, firmware version 2021-06-06 (model 611 and 612, respectively), has SOS mode.

First, set the flashlight to "Advanced" mode (10H from Off, assuming it's in "Simple" UI mode ; Simple mode only has 'battery check')

Then from Off, do 3 clicks, it will first blink the "voltage readout",

double-click advances to the "temperature readout",

another double-click goes to "Beacon",

and the last double-click will blink out "SOS";

another double-click will cycle back to "voltage readout" mode


I can't seem to find firmware version 2021-06-06 in the Anduril 2 repository of ToyKeeper.. so this may be Sofirn's own variant?

( Toykeeper's Anduril 2 repository: http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/?C=M;O=D )

The "SOS" blink out for the Q8 Pro / TS21 with Anduril 2, blinks similar to the LT1 Anduril firmware 2020-06-02 or later (ie. no pause between the letter "S" and "O" and "S" of S-O-S; blinking pause occurs after each "S-O-S")

(see sample of the 2 (slightly) different "SOS" blinking pattern in the following video)

990

Thank you …. And just reading all the other comments, I think one person is cycling back to battery check.

991

This video clarifies it!

At ~45 seconds, the 2nd LT1 dispays the pattern of my TS21.

The 1st LT1's SOS pattern of flashes is clearly defined with 3x short flashes (dot-dot-dot), then 3x longer flashes (dash-dash-dash), and 3x short again with 2x clear pauses between these sets, and a long pause to indicate the end before the pattern is repeated. This sequence more accurately follows the International Morse Code for an SOS distress call.

As for the 2nd lattern's flash pattern, in my opinion the problem begins with the entire series of 9 long & short flashes being programmed to flash far too quickly and without clearly discernible pauses in the right places. In particular, the lack of a clear pause between flashes 3 and 4 is what makes the 4th flash appear to have the same duration as the first 3, at least based on the traditionally accepted pattern of 3 Dots - pause - 3 Dashes - pause - 3 Dots, then a sufficiently long pause at the end to indicate the end before cycling again.

As I was seeing with the TS21's, there isn't any visually discernible pause between the 3rd and 4th flashes, while there seems to be a slight pause between the 4th & 5th, making the pattern look more like 4 Dots - pause - 2 Dashes - pause - 3 Dots. Before watching this video, with the brightness and duration of all the flashes being clearly understood, but no real pauses in between anything, (except between cycles), I might have remained convinced that the duration of the 4th flash was the same as the 1st three. However, thanks to the video, I can now see that flashes 4,5 & 6 have the same elongated duration (dashes).

If a flashlight with the SOS mode of the 2nd lantern was actually used to signal a distress situation to say, an aircraft passing far overhead, I imagine that such a quick signaling pattern might appear more like a single, flickering light than a clear SOS distress call.

Thanks to d_t_a for clearing up that mystery, I really appreciate you providing the video and clarification.

Although that mode isn't an issue for me, I'm curious how much effort it would it take to replace the current SOS in the TS21, in favor of the SOS of the 1st LT1 shown in the video?

_______________________________________________________________________

FWIW, it was never an issue of somehow not being able to determine the number and types of modes in this grouping before cycling back to Battery Check!

*Now to figure out what the TS21's Switch LED is indicating with the Pink/Purple signaling. There's nothing in the manual and I haven't been able to determine any kind of pattern for their occasional appearance.

992

Here's the SOS code below. It seems like the delay between groupings was commented out - it's a 400 msec delay. She's got a comment in there saying SOS is treated as a single "letter". Sounds strange to me but maybe she's right?

void sos_blink(uint8_t num, uint8_t dah) {
    #define DIT_LENGTH 200
    for (; num > 0; num--) {
        set_level(memorized_level);
        nice_delay_ms(DIT_LENGTH);
        if (dah) {  // dah is 3X as long as a dit
            nice_delay_ms(DIT_LENGTH*2);
        }
        set_level(0);
        // one "off" dit between blinks
        nice_delay_ms(DIT_LENGTH);
    }
    // three "off" dits (or one "dah") between letters
    // (except for SOS, which is collectively treated as a single "letter")
    //nice_delay_ms(DIT_LENGTH*2);
}

inline void sos_mode_iter() {

// one iteration of main loop()

//nice_delay_ms(1000);

sos_blink(3, 0);  // S

sos_blink(3, 1);  // O

sos_blink(3, 0);  // S

nice_delay_ms(2000);

}

993

SOS is a single symbol without pauses: …—… instead of …/—/…
Actually that change in Anduril was suggested by me.

994

From here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code:

International Morse code is composed of five elements:[1]: §3

  1. short mark, dot or dit ( ▄ ): "dit duration" is one time unit long
  2. long mark, dash or dah ( ▄▄▄ ): three time units long
  3. inter-element gap between the dits and dahs within a character: one dot duration or one unit long
  4. short gap (between letters): three time units long
  5. medium gap (between words): seven time units long

From what's defined above for inter-letter delays, that line of comment should not be commented out. 200 msecs is defined as the time unit in Anduril2.

995
996

I've been reading that SOS article over and over again - it's subtle but no pause could be no inter-word pause or inter-letter pause. Not sure exactly what that line over the SOS means, but I guess you are right - it's interpreted as treat SOS as a single letter, not a single word. Dunno why they just don't say that in the article. But if 3B is the same as SOS (can't do the overscore), then there can't be inter-letter delays.

They say spaces, but really it's time, so pauses. I would think most flashlights use the inter-letter pauses in SOS? Sure looks that way in the video of a flashlight in the SOS article.

997

Thanks again to d_t_a, as I received the explanation I was hoping for.

For my part, I don't want to move on without taking this opportunity to express my most sincere appreciation to Toykeeper, and to recognize her generous gift to us all, which I'm sure came as a considerable investment of her personal time and expertise.

By describing with detail what I was seeing with the 4th of the Utility modes, my intention was simply to find out what that mode really was, and/or was supposed to be. My understanding of what SOS represents and how it's supposed to be performed and interpreted was passed along to me by my father, who was a proud Merchant Marine during WWII. Anything beyond that, including details of how SOS should or shouldn't be programmed into A2 is something I'll leave you guys to hash out. Nevertheless, I appreciate everyone's interest in helping solve what for me, is no longer a mystery.

998

Was checking the Anduril firmware repository awhile ago, and noticed Toykeeper’s new additions for tint-ramping lights, although there doesn’t seem to be pre-compiled hex files yet (perhaps TK is still deciding how to best adjust the changes)

https://code.launchpad.net/~toykeeper/flashlight-firmware/anduril2

http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/?C=M;O=D

I’m curious on the 200% Turbo on the LT1.

In stock configuration, the BLF LT1 lanterns uses 7135x5 (up to around 1.8 Amps max current) when set to the max brightness.

Now, if I understand correctly, the “200%” Turbo mode will then mean it uses 7135 x 10 (~3.5 Amps max current)?

999

Post #1000!

(at the moment.)

1000

fixed that…