Could you folks comment further on that? I have that light on my sights and would like to know what they got wrong compared with the previous model. TIA!
Here is a review with some comparison between the two models They got a bit more throw out of the PRO model, but some say at the expense of beam quality. There is another thread where the models are discussed… still looking for it.
Lots of back and forth on the two models…
BTW, I saw that Wurkkos still has the original Ts30S for sale $69… So if you are real curious, I suppose you can get both.
I have the PRO and like it. It does have Andruil 2. I think the previous version was Andruil 1 (IIRC) . If that makes a difference.
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Thanks @Mandrake50 for pointing me to the thread and the additional details.
An SBT90.2 thrower is something that has been on my wishlist for quite some time now – and the TS30S Pro looked like an ideal candidate, until @thefreeman popped my balloon 
by disabusing me of the notion it would be compatible with his own (and @gchart’s) flashing kits I currently own. Bah. I don’t really want to buy more flashing kits (BTW that’s the same reason keeping me away from Hanklights so far).
So I guess I will keep looking… I don’t really need another flashlight (my FC13 works more than well enough for my modest throwing needs), so I can afford to wait until my ideal SBT90.2 light is available.
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Yeah, not sure why it uses double-sized pads. I haven’t had any difficulty flashing it though, since it’s compatible with my code fork.
A popsicle stick would work too, but people don’t generally have the right kind of cable on hand, or the pogo pins, or the USB adapter. I wonder if there’s enough demand to be worth making a double-width version of the usual 3-pin key.
I hope things will standardize on the compact 3-pin layout, but for now I have a few different adapters… SOIC8 clip, Hank’s 2+4 pogo, Lexel’s 3+4 pogo, HQ’s universal 4+4 pogo, the standard 1.27mm 3-pin pogo, and the Code Fork.
Haha, code fork - I love it. 
My milk carton lightbox’s light sensor is mounted on a paint can stir stick (because it was nice and flat, and easy to drill holes to pass the sensor leads through). They are then wired to my DMM with some old bits of speaker wire. So in comparison, your fork is a Cadillac!
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could you explain how these two versions concretely differ in practice, please?
many thanks in advance!
I’m obviously not TK but I will give it a try: they are for close but different flashlights, with differing hardware details (eg aux LEDs in different spots as TK mentioned). I don’t think going in more detail would be helpful, but you can always have a look at the sources for that: FC13 and TS25.
Hey TK, besides your innovative use of plastic cuttlery 
I found that adapter you included in the pic to be very interesting:
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Is it that one? Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com
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Can you please tell us more about it? Eg, what flashlights can it be used to flash (once provided with the correctly-disposed pogo pins), etc?
I ask because I’m currently a very happy user of @gchart’s 3-pin UPDI adapter (and have 2 of the equivalent @thefreeman’s adapter making their way to me), but I’m looking for something more “universal”, that can ideally be used to flash not only any flashlight, but any piece of AVR electronics (be it UPDI, USBASP or whatever) – presuming that’s even possible, of course
TIA!
Gchart put some info about using AVR JTAG ICE for UPDI in his 1 seires thread. : Adventures in TinyAVR 1-Series
So, only for UPDI? No USBASP etc? 
Correct. And I’m not aware of a single adapter that can be used for both UPDI and USBASP-type programming.
As far as rigging up something to handle other pin layouts, the easiest thing is likely to be a standard, off-the-shelf CH340 USB to Serial adapter. Bridge the RX and TX pins with a diode (or resistor if that’s all you have available), and then run cables to some 2.54mm pins or whatever you need.
I’ve been tempted to make yet another programming adapter to handle those Sofirn lights with the 2.54mm spacing, but I really don’t want to encourage Sofirn’s behavior. I already made one to accommodate their SC21 Pro, made up a big batch, and have only sold a handful.
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Thanks for the response. I was fearing that… :-/ so to be able to handle any AVR flashing, one would have to have at least two adapters, one for UPDI like your great adapter which I already have, and another for USBASP, right?
Any suggestion on a good one for USBASP? I don’t really want to pay $17 $14.50 [1] for Hank’s (that’s almost the cost for an entire TS10, for dog’s sake…)
Agreed. But just an idea: perhaps you could make a separate, entirely passive adapter that on one side (a) connects with the pogo pins on your current one, and on the other side (b) has pogo pins in whatever layout-du-jour the manufacturer is using. These should be much simpler and less expensive and faster to make, and would be bought only by the people who have a need for these adapters (so you could make them to order).
[1] looks like Hank’s flashing adapter is on sale for $14.50 right now: https://intl-outdoor.com/reflashing-kits.html
Still dog-damn expensive if you ask me, and still the main reason I haven’t bought any Hanklights yet…
many thanks for your response!
sorry that my question does not seem to have been expressed comprehensibly 
i would like to know how the quoted versions differ especially relating to the ts30s pro.
in other words:
in which way does the updated 716 version perform better at the ts30s than the older 715 that i got some time ago?
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Most of the manufacturing cost is very likely from soldering the pogo pins, as I don’t think this can be automated and must be done manually like Gchart and I do, it’s kind of a pain to be honest and on intl-outdoor SPI adapter 6 pogo pins must be soldered on two sides, I don’t know if he outsources this or not but either way it’s normal that it costs significantly more than an regular USBASP from aliexpress.
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The only difference between 0715 and 0716 is how it handles the RGB aux LEDs. 0715 has aux under the main LED optic, so it turns the aux off while the main LEDs are on. 0716 has aux in the button instead, so it shows real-time voltage info on the button during use.
However, the old version from 2022 is missing a bunch of things compared to the current versions. Most of the differences are simply because features have been added. There’s a long list of changes… but the ones you’d probably notice first are:
- Smooth brightness changes when turning the light on/off or changing ramp steps.
- Lower, smoother ramp.
- Easier to see battery status without using battery check mode. (during use and just after shutting off)
- New “tactical” mode.
… and changes are still in progress, so there’s more new stuff coming.
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Thanks for that info. I would never have guessed…
Granted re: AliExpress’. But is it normal that it costs almost 3x (and that’s now with its recent discount) than GCHart’s or yours? Even if 100% of the cost were the pogo pins, as it has 2x of them it should cost at most 2x and not 3x. And that’s also without taking into account that he has (or should have) more gains of scale than you guys, and that he’s located in China and not FR nor US and so should have much lower costs overall.
I know you and GCHart are not into that to make money, but even so I don’t think Hank’s flashing kit price is anywhere “fair”.
many thanks for your detailed and helpful reply!
thank you also for all you do with anduril and for the community 
that’s great!
FWIW, a decent SOIC8 clip by itself is about $18, and doesn’t include the other parts needed for flashing. A $15 pogo pin kit is cheaper and works better and includes everything.
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Point taken. But mine is not that there aren’t worse and more expensive alternatives, it’s that there are better and cheaper ones (even after multiplying the price by the larger number of pogo pins).
Just as a heads-up to people reading this: @thefreeman’s current UPDI adapter, as well as @gchart’s next version, do offer a solution for this in the form of alternate flashing pads.