I repeat myself, but still:
(1) No long press for unlock, that lets the user unnecessarily wait and is unsafe.
(2) No time dependent functions. A light is auto locked or not. No timers please.
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I am a big fan of auto lock and implemented it in all of my custom FW for my own use.
My personal preference is:
- Auto timer ~1 min in off to lock the light
- Three quick clicks to lock it manually before putting it in the pocket.
- Three quick clicks to unlock it manually.
- Blink indication for any button press while in lock mode to indicate it is lock.
You can have a look in my Git for the locking code
CavingHeadlampsFW/ClickPress at main · YuvalSob/CavingHeadlampsFW · GitHub
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Interesting! Seems there are more to flashlight firmware than the usual suspects (Anduril, Narsil, Biscotti, etc).
Had a look at your repo but could not identify what lights would it run on – was able to find a reference to Driver type: Nanjg 105c but not about any specific flashlights using that driver. Or is the flashlight something you build yourself, using that driver?
In my opinion Anduril UI have it quite good. Do not reinvent the wheel. Just do a Anduril UI 2.0 Flashlight…
If not, just copy it, or some od it.
Lockout removal should be more then 2C or 2H, as those can be accidental. Any 1H are out of the question, as it defeats the purpose of it…
For me, the Auto-Lock should be memorize, and not affected by battery removal. I would be furious if I had to set it up everytime I charge it, or manually lock-out it. And It does not function as double safety in transit (where I would want it to be in lockout, and on top of that, I would want it to be manually lockout).
Just please, no driver bugs, like on the TS22
Ps. By manually lockout I mean unscrewing the tailcup 1/4 turn to break the electrical connection.
Why users should care about if flashlight is locked or not? Is it so hard to make proper host design with deeper button?
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105C used to be very common driver few years ago.
Basically, it can be flashed to any attiny13 driver with two channels and a momentary switch.
Since it is not really relevant to this topic, you can ask more questions on one of these more relevant threads:
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fwiw, Anduril 2 has an Auto Lock timer feature:
“To enable this, go to Lockout mode and use 10H to activate the auto-lock config menu. Release the button after the first blink. Then at the prompt, click N times to set the auto-lock timeout to N minutes.”
however, Anduril Unlocks itself if the head or tail is opened, such as when changing a battery… then again, it will relock itself after the timer interval (for example, 1 minute)
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Thank you for all the replies.
How about this UI？
Auto-lock after 30 second without any press from off.
You can do 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock completely.
Standard UI is
Press and hold for 0.5s to turn on / off
While on, click to cycle through Low-Medium-high, double lick to Turbo, another double click to Strobe.
While off(locked), double click to unlock and go to remembered brightness. If you do other press, such as 1 click, hold, 3 click, it fashes twice to indicate locked status. 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock and go to remembered brightness.
While off (unlocked), 1 click, the indicator shows battery status for 5 seconds.
How about that?
Wait a minute, where should I put moonlight? 
Auto-lock after 30 second without any press from off.
You can do 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock completely.
Okay.
Press and hold for 0.5s to turn on / off
Personally I’m okay with this, but I know many people really do not like hold for on.
Wait a minute, where should I put moonlight?
I prefer hold from off for moonlight. The other stuff I don’t mind.
If you want timed auto lock set timer for like 15-30 mins not secs
Hi Barry,
I am so glad you are engaging the flashlight community about the auto lock, it was driving me nuts. I suggest keeping it as simple as possible with minimal changes to your existing UI which is already one of the best non Anduril UI’s.
“Auto-lock after 30 second without any press from off.”
Muggles need the auto lock to prevent accidents, 30 seconds should work fine for them when enabled.
“You can do 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock completely.”
This should work just fine for anyone who don’t need the auto lockout.
I would like to suggest the following:
- Disable to auto lock feature by default, changing between enable/disable with 4 clicks.
- Muggles probably won’t take out the battery much and mostly use the onboard charging which will result in the flashlight remembering the auto lock setting.
- Enthusiasts would be more likely to take out the battery or unscrew the head/tail, they would prefer the feature to be disabled by default.
- This way the auto lock feature would still be available.
- You could also use the led of the e-switch to indicate auto lock state or when auto lock is active
Most people won’t like the rest of the changes below unfortunately, it is also not the same as your default Sofirn UI.
Rather just implement the two changes above.
Direct access to moonlight (press and hold from off) and turbo (double click from off) are important to most users.
“Standard UI is”
“Press and hold for 0.5s to turn on / off”
“While on, click to cycle through Low-Medium-high, double lick to Turbo, another double click to Strobe.”
"While off(locked), double click to unlock and go to remembered brightness. If you do other press, such as 1 click, hold, 3 click, it fashes "“twice to indicate locked status. 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock and go to remembered brightness.”
“While off (unlocked), 1 click, the indicator shows battery status for 5 seconds.”“How about that?”
“Wait a minute, where should I put moonlight?
I would also like to suggest the following:
- Please use constant current drivers, most users would rather pay a bit extra for an efficient driver.
- Please change the battery indicator light to be able to indicate <100%, <75%,<50%,<25% battery states. You could also use this to indicate charging progress.
Long press from off.
Don’t put too many work into this when others have solved the problem already. Have a look at the Acebeam E70 (MINI). That’s an autolocking light done right. Get one and copy the UI.
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This would be making a feature that a lot of people already dislike even more likely to come into play.
IMNSHO this, or something like it, is all that’s required.
When I pull out my SP32A, hold for off is one thing I have to re-acclimate to, realize I don’t miss, and a big reason I don’t use it any longer.
While off(locked), double click to unlock and go to remembered brightness. If you do other press, such as 1 click, hold, 3 click, it fashes twice to indicate locked status. 4 clicks to disable the auto-lock and go to remembered brightness.
While off (unlocked), 1 click, the indicator shows battery status for 5 seconds.[/quote]How about that?
Wait a minute, where should I put moonlight?
It happens a lot in tech nowadays, where schools turn out UX designers who should have been flunked out, or don’t eat their own dog food.
Disrupting a UI that has been familiarized, and pretty consistent between both Anduril and non-Andruil models, all for the sake of a polarizing “feature” is the essence of the tail wagging the dog.
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I think 30s is too fast. sometimes you just turn off the light to check something and you don’t want it to be locked immediately.
2 clicks for unlock can be pressed in the pocket accidently. make it 3 or 4
Make that 3C in this config.
Do not do that.
I have IF25, do not do that…
The moon 2C from turbo is just bad, especially as there is no change in my model, from top of the ramp to turbo.
PPL will strobe by accident. Strobe should be 3C when ON or move it further, like 5C, or 3H.
And I don’t like that you are changing the whole UI.
Just add the auto-lock function to the existing one, or copy the acebeam, or anduril 2.0.
1 minute is way too short for autolockout, and in general, I’m against forcing autolockout at all - with something that divisive, it should always be optional and always configurable.
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Or just put Anduril in the light, with whatever vendor-specific UI coded in place of Anduril’s “Simple” mode!
That way @Barry0892 is saved from reinventing the wheel for us enthusiasts, and the people that think Anduril is too complex (and the muggles we eventually lend our lights to) can stay in Simple mode and be happy. It would be a win-win-win for everyone…
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Many users (me included) don’t like Anduril lights
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Sofirn/Wurkkos already did both for same model before.
TS11 with Anduril + TS11’S’ with simplified UI. And I think a few others. Ofc this would bloat up their lineup even more, but I don’t see why we can’t have both.
That would likely help them sell even more lights.
I’m interested in figuring out how simple UI could be more usable for people who don’t as that’s often the justification for a lot of manufacturers for making lights with noncustomisable firmware - do you just not like ramping interfaces at all and want one that only cycles through preset modes (perhaps in a circular loop rather than the way anduril reverses?), or something else the issue with it? Thinking about the practicality of having an “even simpler simple UI” option for OEMs who want that vs the current “anduril with less features” simple UI that ultimately still works mostly the same as the full UI.