Introduction
In the beginning, there was nothing. But at first nobody said “let there be light”, everything started with software development. Back in 2018 I was looking for some small projects I could do in my free time. I only had a ZebraLight SC63w and a few other, simple flashlights and thougth: “Light is nice, it lets me see things. But can’t you do more than turning it on and off?”
And I bought a cheap Convoy S2+ and started developing my own firmware for the ATtiny13. I read through countless pages in various forums about flashlight firmware and what you can do with flashlights. With all inspirations I could find I created a firmware with the not so impressive name “rampinglight”. It uses every byte of the ATtiny13 and includes as many features as I could pack into it: Stepped and smooth ramping, turbo, strobe, beacon, mode memory, configuration options and more. You can find it here on GitHub.
Just half a year later I discovered the spectacular ##flashlight IRC channel and it opened a whole new world for me. Quickly I discovered that there are flashlights with exposed flashing pads for firmware update and an open-source firmware called Anduril! Then I ordered an Emisar D4S and the fun began. I started playing with Anduril, bought more lights, not only with Anduril – I was infected with the flashlight virus. You all know what I mean.
Contributions to Anduril
Over the years I made several changes to the Anduril firmware, some of them are already included upstream, some of them might be eventually. Who knows.
Autolock
The first implementation of the autolock feature. Lock the light automatically after a configurable time of inactivity. Made originally for Anduril 1, it found its way into the official version of Anduril 2.
2C turbo config
A global option to define what should happen on 2C (turbo vs. ceiling). It is now included in Anduril 2.
Don’t ramp up after moon
Another global option to define what happens after entering moon mode. By default Anduril automatically starts to ramp up after a short delay. Now you can disable this to stay at moon until you release the switch and press it again. I think the idea came from tribixbite. Also included in Anduril 2 now.
Ramp border delay
You have noticed the blip when ramping up and down on some lights, right? It marks the switchover from one to the other channel. But it’s almost impossible to stop right at the threshold. Well, this patch adds a little pause at the switchover so that you can stay at the maximum level of that channel.
Smooth sunset
Makes sunset mode much smoother (still not perfectly smooth, but it doesn’t skip ramp levels as before).
More aux patterns
Add more aux LED patterns like short low intensity blinks, short high intensity blinks or no aux LEDs at all (but keep the switch LED enabled). Works for classic and RGB aux LEDs. As a side effect this also adds LVP for simple aux LEDs.
Stepped tint ramping
Stepped tint ramping similar to stepped brightness levels with configurable number of steps (0: smooth ramping, 1: all channels same intensity, 2: toggle between CH1 and CH2, 3+: number of steps).
Anduril PocketUI
Anduril PocketUI – the pocket-friendly UI. If enabled, many button mappings are shifted and require one press more to activate, for example turn the light on with 2C from off. From off you get a momentary moon mode with 1H and lockout won’t have any momentary mode at all. PocketUI can be enabled during runtime.
aux-blink-fix
Fix issue with wrong aux LED intensity directly after releasing button in lockout.
High aux preview
Always use high brightness for aux LED configuration. Makes it easier to see the color.
Manual memory fixed for lockout
If manual/hybrid memory is enabled, use it consistently in lockout and reset hybrid memory when entering lockout.
Turbo in momentary mode
Allow to use turbo in momentary mode (5C).
Save tint optionally
By default the tint is automatically saved on every change so that it can be restored after swapping the battery. But this is not the case for the brightness level! Why this inconsistency? AFAIk it was by user requests. Anyway, this patch adds the possibility to disable saving the tint so that it will be reset to the default value after mechanical lockout.
Wurkkos TS10 fixes
Recently the Wurkkos TS10 was released. It suffered from bad ramping, high minimum output and – most importantly – no LVP for the aux LEDs. My patches already added proper LVP. I also developed a new ramping configuration that allows lower moonlight and smoother ramping. It will be included in the next batch of the TS10.
You can find my modifications in my GitHub mirror of the flashlight-firmware repository. There is also a wiki page with an overview over these changes
I was also involved in many discussions about the development of Anduril, helping with debugging and helping users when something didn’t work as expected. Three years full of adventures, what a journey!
What’s next?
In the past year(s) ToyKeeper, the original author of Anduril, took a break and kept herself busy with other things. Well deserved! That also led to the uncomfortable situation of a rather messy Anduril landscape. New flashlight models required new configurations and changes to the code. People like me worked on modifications and maintain their individual “forks” with their own patches. Now you can live with “good old upstream Anduril” or compile your own version. That’s not an accusation! Just the result of changing priorities we all experience in our lifes.
But Anduril isn’t the end. Someone will create a new firmware for flashlights eventually. Who and when is unknown, but time will tell.
