using a lot of different lights (and UIs) let me think about a UI which is simple to remember (short click is up / long click is down) but is configurable to a lot of preferences…
i came out with:
tap to step up
taaap to step down
hold for turbo
tap (in turbo) cycles disco modes
taaap (in turbo) back to normal
mode memory via SW
number of steps via SW (3 to 10)
nice to have:
soft “dimming“ between steps
mode memory deluxe: off / last mode / specified mode
holding button when fastening batterytube (lockout) blinks the voltage
what else would you miss in my UI?
or do you have a different perfect one?
I like it simple.
Single click to turn on/off. I really dislike the press and hold for this.
3 well spaced modes with memory will do most of the time.
4 well spaced modes with memory and shortcuts to lowest and highest is a nicer advanced option.
I also have seen a lot of uis and all were either to complicated or plain dumb that is why I came up to cycle all modes including off with long and short clicks, which became quite standard for a lot people here. It has the benefit to switch the light from off to on in either moon or turbo. You don’t have to remember in which mode you have switched the light off last time(which I never can tell ending in cycling the whole modes once). The good implementation in the firmware makes it able to click very fast(as fast as you can)without needing a delay, so I can grab any light and click it three times fast and get mode three or once for moon or one long tap for turbo/high. There is no better ui in my eyes, I can grab any light tighten the tail and know what I can have with what click, even people who don’t know how it works can cycle all modes forward without problems.
A sideswitch light doesn’t need a tail switch in my opinion if it can be locked out, but I wouldn’t trust the lockout if it would enable the light. The tail switch only adds extra length to make it bulky.
Well, I rather feel it with clicky of some sort, because just like touch screens took a while to mature, so will capacitive/toucscreen switches, let alone if youre using gloves.
Thats how I see how to implement tapping mode changes.
Optimum would be a user-programmable mode set which could be done with switch-taps and reprogrammed at will- then everyone would be happy except the budget since that wouldn’t be cheap.
Part of my ‘buying plan’ is based on modes; I swapped out a nice EDC light that did L-M-H after I found that I really wanted H-M-L in my EDC light. Both lights were fairly equal otherwise. So yeah, modes do matter. If it didn’t lead to logistics problems maybe manufacturers could offer ‘mode options’ so you could get the light you want with the modes you want.
I have set preference other than EDC; some I want to start with ‘moon’ and some I want all it’s got to start, and some I want ‘M’ at the start. It’s according to what I’m using it for so I have no ‘favorite’ mode set for all lights.
Everyone wants something different- one flavor isn’t going to make everyone happy!
The first high powered LED light I bought was a 2xAA ITP SA2
It came with both forward and reverse switches so you can choose your preference and a side switch with press and hold ramping , mode switching , and it has mode memory for whatever brightness level was last used .
Personally the thing I care about most is a shortcut to moonlight and turbo, since they are the modes I use the most. Apart from that, the ability to step down (instead of just the usual step up) is very useful, as seen in the new Nitecore lights.
i think i might be influenced by the nitecore lights also…
reviewed the MT10A lately and having two sideswitches and a tailswitch is very nice and straight forward in simplicity.
but also toykeepers way to use short and longer pauses on single switch lights is very nice (and a lot cheaper i think)
I love the UI on Nitecore’s 2-button lights like TM16, EC4, EC11, etc.
Direct access to turbo, low, memory and strobe without confusing pressing sequence
LD-2 has UI_2 that's pretty close to some of the opinions/wishes,and it's based on some BLF member suggestions:
UI_2
normal switch press from sleep->last used mode
when on,normal press(<0.5sec)->driver goes to sleep
long switch press from sleep->lowest mode (moonlight if it’s activated)
when on,~>0.5sec switch press->mode up,release switch to stop;pressing switch again for >0.5sec->mode down
quick double press->current goes to max or min(toggle)
Basically,normal-short press is ON/OFF,long press when ON is mode up/down,long press when OFF is lowest mode(moonlight if enabled),normal press form OFF is last used mode,double press when on is shortcut to MAX/MIN mode.It's shortcut to max mode if driver is in lower modes(moon,low),and shortcut to min mode if flashlight is in higher modes(mid,high).So you can toggle between MIN/MAX mode very quickly with double press.
You can’t compare toykeepers a6 firmware with the same style in a sideswitch light. A sideswitch long or short press can be timed way more precisely a longer tap can be a lot shorter and of course it is temperature independent.
If you haven’t the STAR momentary you can’t imagine how good this cycling works.
I haven’t checked the newer generations of brand sideswitch lights as I am done with that crap but as I said the clicking was always to lame and slow for me. I have a sc01 and if I try to switch it on after having used my ui for a while it doesn’t even light up, it don’t reacts to really fast clicks.
Even a long click to turbo or a double click to turbo wouldn’t be faster than one taap from off or some short clicks on the most lights which don’t recognize fast taps if you don’t make a short pause between tapping.
Haven't read all details on all these posts yet, but what you have laid out in the OP is very similar to the "Werner UI" we've been favoring, plus even includes very similar features in my enhanced Werner UI version. I'm working on further enhancements and config settings now for a ATTiny25/45/85 version, which will have many mode set choices, lo-> and hi->lo, mode memory. I also have it doing 2 blinks on power on.
Very much interested what will be posted here to explore more options and get opinions.
+1 Werner! Totally agree. e-switch UI's that use very precise MCU controlled timing are sooo much better, and the e-switch's in general sooo much more user friendly.