【I WOULD LOVE TO CHOOSE 3 PEOPLE WHO GIVE GOOD SUSSGGESTIONS, 1 FREE PRODUCT FOR EACH】
I receive many complaints on flashlight turns on accidently in pocket or backpack which may cause damage.
sofirn engineer added auto lock-out on some model but also some complaints.
Flasholics know how to use powerful flashlghts safely but I can NOT expect from the muggles.
So, I need help on the auto-lockout design.
How about this one?
Manual LOCKOUT
From off, press and hold the side switch for 1 second, you have moonlight. But if you keep holding for 2 seconds, the flashlight is locked.
From LOCKOUT, press and hold the side switch for 1 second, the flashlight is on moonlight, the lockout is disactive.
Auto LOCKOUT
When flashlight is off for 1 mintue or longer, the flashlight is locked. Any clicks will not turn on but blink on Eco. press and hold the side switch for >1 second, the flashlight is on moonlight, the lockout is disactive.
Do you think the “press and hold” to lock and unlock is good?
I like the press and hold a lot better than the SC33 that I have. Multiple clicks to disable auto lockout irritates me especially when taking the head off to take the battery out reactivates auto lockout. Anyway to change this so that taking the head off doesn’t enable lockout?
I think holding it for more than 2 seconds, say 4-5 seconds, to lock it would be better. You’re going to have people who want moonlight but will hold it down for more than 1 second before releasing the switch. Plus on auto lockout 1 minute of non-use to lock it is too short. Many times when I’m using a light I’ll put it down for a minute or 2 so I’d bump the time before lockout to at least 5 minutes.
To be honest I’d prefer something that would permanently disable auto lockout.
Thank you for your opinion!
I don’t it doesn’t matter if you take the head off or not, but the time is the key, after 1 minute from off, it is locked automatically.
I agree with the longer time for holding to lock.
As for the auto-lock time, maybe 1 minute is too short but I don’t know if flashlight is put in pocket or backpack, how long it will be turned on accidently.
You prefer a way to disable auto lockout permanently, no problem. Do you have a good way to fulfill it? (the SC33 uses 4 clicks to disable)
I don’t think holding to disable the lock is a good idea. That can easily happen by accident in a pocket or a bag. Anduril uses three or four clicks to disable the lock. There are some other UIs that use four clicks. It would be a good standard.
When locked and the button is pressed, maybe even make the light blink four times (on the lowest brightness). This might help people to realize it is locked and they need to press four times to unlock.
The ability to disable the auto-lock is critical.
Also, it would help to make sure the button is not too easy to press. The button on the SC18, for example, is way too easy to press and turn on accidentally.
Of all the implementations, standardizing with 4C from off seems to make the most sense. If people are really worried, physical lockout from anodized tail cap threads works fine in my opinion.
Thanks for the giveaway/contest, Barry0892!
What I think works best is my Acebeam E70-AL.
It has an electronic switch, and to turn it on, you have to quickly double click the electronic switch.
That type of lockout works really well.
It only works with electronic switches, though.
EDIT:
I should add that my two keychain flashlights (that I EDC) have a similar lockout, but those have side e-switches.
(For a full-sized flashlight, I prefer a tail e-switch because I like tail switches.)
Any light with auto-lock MUST have a way to permanently disable it. What seems like a nice feature at first could drive you buggy in repeated use.
4C for standby fairly standard, and hard to implement accidentally. When off, 4C to lock, another 4C to unlock.
4H could be used to turn auto-lock on/off as a toggle.
You could do something like letting The Muggle select how long until locked. Eg, holding up to 3sec does nothing, but then 1sec between blink, blink-blink, blink-blink-blink, etc. Release when you get to the right delay. So it could be 1min, 5min, 15min, 30min, 1hr.
If you carry a light in a bag or pocket that easily gets turned on accidentally if squeezed or bumped into, 1min might be best. If you’re a plumber and want to use the light uninterrupted for up to 1hr per job, then let it lock after 1hr when it’s bouncing around in a toolbag, that 1hr might be best.
hi. i dont like hold for lock out either. i use ramp and hold for that. not sure if they can mix up but maybe hold for moonlight and ramp might be lost.
i like switch light ON no lockout. i like switch light blink when lockout. i like switch light off when i turn tailcap switch light is important because then you know if autolock is on or off by just looking. no button press needed to check
4 click turn on or off autolock. or 3 click ok too. ts10 3 click.
edit.
autolock. not just lockout. i have sp33s and i kind of like how it is. turn on led switch and no auto lockout . 5 click. but i want the switch led light to blink when autolock is on and or locked but it currently doesnt do this. i dont like on my if23 where it is autolock forever and ever. and i have to check if it is locked out by pressing the button because the switch led only cares about battery life. so instead of 4 click to unlock i just alway turn tailcap to turn off. then when i turn on, 1 turn tailcap instead of 2 or 4 click with flash!!! flash sux in pitch black darkness. make switch led care about locked state too please. thank you
I vote for NO auto lockout. I will always vote NO for auto lockout. It is a terrible feature and I refuse to buy any of Sofirn’s or other brands of flashlights models with this ‘feature’.
After reading all other posts, what becomes crystal clear is that there are as many responses as there are people, each one has its own preferences.
So my suggestion to you @Barry0892 is logical: just let each one choose. And the best way to do that IMO is to equip your lights with an e-switch, an AT1616 MCU and easily accessible flashing pads, and ship them with Anduril on board (with whatever UI you think best, even your current one, coded in place of Anduril’s simple mode) and then everyone would be happy.
And to top it off, whoever doesn’t like it (there seems to be a few lud^H^H^Hmore conservative folks that don’t like Anduril) could reflash it with whatever UI they want – I myself would even port/implement it for them if they ask nicely, see for example our community’s work in the Anduril feature change thread: Anduril 2 feature change suggestions - #539 by jon_slider
Ship with auto-lockout (if you must) engaged as default, but provide a method for advanced users to disable it (4C or whatever). Can even leave the “secret code” out of the manual; those who desire it can find it here, or elsewhere online.
Best of both worlds.
Same as simple/advanced Anduril modes, stepped/ramping modes, or any other major toggle that allows the user to choose their preferred mode of operation.
Simple, without having to reinvent the wheel, or disturb other existing UI conventions.
This feature doesn’t even apply to Anduril-equipped Sofirn/Wurkkos lights, only those with the in-house firmware, so I don’t why that would be dragged into it. Another needless complication.
Some time ago I modified Andruil to add auto lockout because I believed it was an essential feature.
I still use it the same way and I think I was right.
I also made sure that after physically cutting the power the light would start locked. It turned out that I usually preferred to turn off the light with a tailcap twist back and forth. Quicker than locating a button and no chance of accidental turn-on during the while when the light is unlocked.
Furthermore I had a medium mode momentary accessible with click-release-click-hold. I actually use it a lot.
One more comment about my Andruil variant:
I use AUX lights to indicate battery voltage.
But I used them to indicate whether the light is locked as well. When they shine bright, the light is unlocked. When they are dim, the light is locked. When they are off, the battery is dead or removed.
This is caused by switch buttons that are too easy to press by accident. Some possible solutions:
Deep set Switch
If you look at the switch on a Zebralight, it can give you some ideas how to protect a switch so it does not turn on by accident. There is no need for lockout if the switch is protected from being pressed by accident.
Another example of a light that has never turned on in my pocket is the Emisar D2. The switch is on the end of the head and it sits slightly below its bezel. It does not turn on when I clip the light into my pocket.
Another example of a switch that does not turn on in pocket is on a Malkoff. Not only does it sit below a collar, the travel is deep and requires deliberate firm pressure.
An example of a switch that could turn on by accident is any switch button that sticks up past the body, for example on the TS25. This could be solved by using a collar around the button, the way some Emisar D4V2 are sold. (the taller collar is optional, I would make it standard)
Disable outputs that can burn.
Ship in Simple mode (anduril), but do Not set default Simple mode to 150/150 (equal to Turbo). Simple mode should have a ceiling that is too low to cause burns, for example an output that does not go above 300 lumens.
Add a proximity sensor. Olight, Surefire, and I think Oveready offer lights with this feature. It prevents high output that can burn by detecting when the lens is very close to something, as when a light is inside a pocket or bag.
Auto Lock, but only for higher modes.
Require a special clic sequence, for example 4 clics, to access high outputs that can burn. This would be a sort of Auto Lock, but only for the Unsustainable outputs, that are prone to causing Accidental burns.
On my SC33 4 clicks disables auto lockout which is fine. But taking the head off will enable it again so changing that will fix the problem, at least for me. In thinking about it holding down to enable/disable lockout will appeal to some but not others.
So the best solution is that when lockout is disabled by clicking 4 times that it stays disabled even when the head is removed.
@jon_slider you tend to focus on the physical damage caused by accidental turn on. In my practice this has never happened. Yes, I know a few reports from people who burned something. But I think that good majority of cases just causes battery to be empty when you need it.
Therefore solutions that focus on high modes only don’t address a significant part of the problem.
I have tested the auto lockout features in work environments. Setup: Sofirn SC33 clipped inside pants pocket.
It works fine for most of the times. I had a couple of times where my movement activated the light before the auto lockout has been activated. Result was some hot pants. So it is a false safety. If something happens <60s since you put it away, it will stay on.
The only auto (non mechanical) lockout that I trust and want is 2 clicks to memory mode ON, but active all the time.
Hold for moonlight, and this also unlocks the flashlight.
There are already lights/brands that implement this.
There is no guessing “if” it is locked out, it is always locked out. And no flashes when you click once.
This solves all current problems with timing and is easy to implement. Since 75-90% of the time you are already clicking twice, just make it a certainty of 100%.
Maybe think outside of the box, is it possible to “disengage” the E-switch with a locking ring in the future? A circular crenelated ring around the switch (like a watch bezel) which can be turned 45/90° into a locked position.
The Frelux Synergy2 has an implementation of a locking button, here is their description:
Physical Lockout
Turn Button Clockwise: This will physically lock the button preventing accidental power on. Turn Button Counter-Clockwise: This will unlock the button.
switch light is important because then you know if autolock is on or off by just looking. no button press needed to check