Hiya Relic,
The creativity in problem solving and innovation just keeps pouring in. While its a great idea to get as much as we can out of this driver, I think we should pause for a moment and consider who the mediator, suppliers, engineers and manufacturers might be. We certainly dont want to overwhelm them and have them tell us to get lost. When you get right down to it, a simple 3 mode H/M/L driver that can effectively and reliably boost at 4A on a single cell would be very much appreciated by most and still sell like hotcakes if priced reasonably. With that thought in mind, would we do better to have them create the hardware and supply the package with a recommendation for an easy to use USB programmer to modify the firmware later? At this point, focus would shift specifically towards hardware and its ability to do what we want of it - well into the future, with easy access to a clip-on a programmer in such a way that anyone can do it. The How To Build a Flashlight With Perfect Modes thread has spawned many of its own interests.
Here’s why Ive mentioned this sudden change in direction: I truly believe that with all the options that we desire and with the inherent level of technical difficulty, there will be no way of supplying a stable firmware release within the first few revisions. It will most likely be a long evolutionary process of firmware tweaking to come up with an excellent product. At that point, who owns the source code and who has the knowledge, time and desire (passion) to keep tweaking out the bugs and making the code available to the masses? Dr. Jones has been very generous in offering us his time but I havent seen him comment for a while in this thread. Id really appreciate his expert opinions in all of this.
We are a group of perfectionists and everyone has an opinion. Its just the nature of the hobby and of those that revel in it. From previous experiences of observing the group, I feel strongly that many will be very dissatisfied with whatever solution is provided when the inevitable firmware glitch shows up. Most of us are used to some bashing and negative comments but this might quickly offend the provider and make him run. If we kept firmware development “in-house”, there would be more than enough collaboration and knowledge to get the most out of this driver. In all likelihood, it seems logical that there would be several firmware versions available for specific purposes to satisfy the group. A great how-to guide in doing some of our own rudimentary programming to effect our own changes would also be helpful.
You’re the liaison and will have the best knowledge of what Bill might be able to have accomplished. A possible scenario might be that you find out how far he can take hardware/firmware development and then provide you with a copy of the firmware source code so that we can continue the development. We and they would have access to the latest firmware releases, which guarantees continued interest and sales of this driver. After all, we are the enthusiasts, they are the sales people. We both win… or we both lose.
What are your thought? Anyone else also please comment…
Dr Jones, PM sent.