I haven’t looked at the Convoys just yet, since I’m looking at other brands but that is an option. I do recall them trying different colors but not which which ones have alternative body colors so I’ll see.
Not sure if some do have this issue, my S21E (XHP50.3 HI, boost driver) can do C-to-C charging. Simon is always upgrading and changing drivers, so old issues may not be relevant anymore.
Not sure if some do have this issue, my S21E (XHP50.3 HI, boost driver) can do C-to-C charging. Simon is always upgrading and changing drivers, so old issues may not be relevant anymore.
Is brightness ramping fixed as well or is it still linear?
The ones I have have Anduril 1, while not as full-featured as 2 it’s not Convoy’s own ramping UI which I have not personally tried but have not heard good things about. I’m pretty certain mine do C to C charging but can check tonight when I get home and let you know.
Convoys proprietary UI drivers are way more efficient, but the UI is… Eh. I get along with it, but I am planning to replace the driver with an proper UI boost driver eventually.
My main issues:
Can not go from moonlight to ramp, gotta turn off and then on again
10C to enter/exit lockout (wtf, make it 4…)
Too long hold intervals between steps in stepped ramp
Apart from that the driver is fine. No weird blinkies, a nice and easy to reach battery check mode, sensible mode spacings in stepped mode.
My ideal* is the option to disable memory so that a light always starts in low, next best option is a shortcut to low mode accessible from off, acceptable workaround is to be able to ramp to low from moon.
The Lumintop Tool for example would be close to perfect if it wasn’t for its failure to do any of the above. You wouldn’t have thought that the ability to go direct to a low mode would be a tall order for a light, but seemingly it is.
*OK, my ideal is Anduril 2 so that I can program it how I want, but that doesn’t work with mechanical switches.
Convoys proprietary UI drivers are way more efficient, but the UI is… Eh. I get along with it, but I am planning to replace the driver with an proper UI boost driver eventually.
My main issues:
Can not go from moonlight to ramp, gotta turn off and then on again
10C to enter/exit lockout (wtf, make it 4…)
Too long hold intervals between steps in stepped ramp
Apart from that the driver is fine. No weird blinkies, a nice and easy to reach battery check mode, > sensible mode spacings in stepped mode.
Is moonlight it’s own “mode” for their UI?
The lockout confuses me since I’m use to 4. However that said I’m very use to just the quarter turn with the tail cap so I never end up using it in practice?
What’s the normal hold interval for lights? 1s? What’s it for Convoy? 3s?
My ideal* is the option to disable memory so that a light always starts in low, next best option is a shortcut to low mode accessible from off, acceptable workaround is to be able to ramp to low from moon.
The Lumintop Tool for example would be close to perfect if it wasn’t for its failure to do any of the above. You wouldn’t have thought that the ability to go direct to a low mode would be a tall order for a light, but seemingly it is.
*OK, my ideal is Anduril 2 so that I can program it how I want, but that doesn’t work with mechanical switches.
I don’t think I’ve ever had the need for memory. Even on the simpliest light UIs like Biscotti, it can surprise you sometimes if you “left” it on HIGH. Arguably if they want to have memory, they should instead have like 2C Turbo or other modes which make imo more sense and guarantee the same result every time…
That’s why I love the Zebralight UI since I can set exactly what I want and it mostly works. The 2C is a bit annoying though but arguably nicer than memory from off.
While Zebra’s UI is, IMO, inferior to Anduril it does have the advantage of working with a mechanical switch. Setting it up is a bit of a PITA, but I do like having shortcuts to moon, medium, high and batt check and I really like the batt check output of one to four blinks.
I don’t like the lack of LED choice so much with Zebralight, and I really, really don’t like that they will only sell to customers in the US. There are ways to get around that but if they don’t want me to buy from them I’m happy not to.
While Zebra’s UI is, IMO, inferior to Anduril it does have the advantage of working with a mechanical switch. Setting it up is a bit of a PITA, but I do like having shortcuts to moon, medium, high and batt check and I really like the batt check output of one to four blinks.
Are you implying that Andruil only works with e-switches? I though it’s just a Firmware/Microcontroller that’s Andruil which shouldn’t care about the switch itself?
I don’t like the lack of LED choice so much with Zebralight, and I really, really don’t like that they will only sell to customers in the US. There are ways to get around that but if they don’t want me to buy from them I’m happy not to.
I can agree with the last point though since I’d love for them to have more choices. (Sadly I think that will increase in price since they need more SKUs and related logistics.) The US thing is also a thorn but I’ve seen that in other hobbies/fields and also with other variants like Europe-only.
How you imagining press&hold or click&hold function with fixed position switch? In short, flashlight with fixed position switch only have limited capability for UI.
I imagine have a counter that counts the number of clicks and hold with be a continuous read since open/closed circuit is still a thing.It would be a small circuit that’s always powered even when it’s physically not on. It may not be efficient with hold but an idea.
Mechanical tailswitch lights work by the switch cutting battery supply to the driver. On = power flowing to LED and driver, Off = no power flowing through LED and driver.
a small circuit that’s always powered even when it’s physically not on
That is not possible, since when the light is physically not on, that circuit has no power, unless you add a second inner battery tube - and at that point, you are essentially building a tail-e-switch light. Well, or a second smaller battery in theory, but… Well The drivers use large capacitors to bridge a second or so to keep the MCU alive while the tailswitch is off, which allows us to do the tapping patterns, but everything noticeably longer than that would not be feasible unless you have a lot of space in the head.
Also, during any long-press your light would be off, which makes the UI incredibly clunky. “Oh, lemme long press to ramp to a different brightness” - has to guess what brightness the ramp would be at by now in complete darkness since the press turns off the emitters. So the whole UI of Anduril would not work at all, regardless of the technical difficulties. And even during any short press/tapping the emitters turn off for a bit.
Mechanical tailswitch lights work by the switch cutting battery supply to the driver. On = power flowing to LED and driver, Off no power flowing through LED and driver.
a small circuit that’s always powered even when it’s physically not on
That is not possible, since when the light is physically not on, that circuit has no power, unless you add a second inner battery tube - and at that point, you are essentially building a tail-e-switch light. Well, or a second smaller battery in theory, but… Well The drivers use large capacitors to bridge a second or so to keep the MCU alive while the tailswitch is off, which allows >us to do the tapping patterns, but everything noticeably longer than that would not be feasible unless you have a lot of space in the head.
Also, during any long-press your light would be off, which makes the UI incredibly clunky. “Oh, lemme long press to ramp to a different brightness” - has to guess what brightness the ramp would be at by now in complete darkness since the press turns off the emitters. So the whole UI of Anduril would not work at all, regardless of the technical difficulties. And even during any short press/tapping the emitters turn off for a bit.
I tested a Wuben C3 and see what you mean now and reminds me of biscotti on some Convoy and other lights.I assume 1/4 turn disables all buttons on lights since the battery is disconnected right?
The drivers use large capacitors to bridge a second or so to keep the MCU alive while the tailswitch is off, which allows us to do the tapping patterns, but everything noticeably longer than that would not be feasible unless you have a lot of space in the head.