How about this Interface for Fenix/Quark?

kosPap

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
2,909
Location
Naoussa Greece
Well I was thinking…how to take advantage of the two head positions of these lights and manage to have a simple interface, easily programmable and doing away with the strobes modes (actually hiding them)

So the proposed Ui is this

Factory settings….
Tightened Head = Output 1 (programmable)
Loosened Head = clicking through Output 2 (with memory) Output 3 (with memory) – Special Strobe/Door to hidden modes…the hidden modes do not have memory

The suggested strobing is On-On-Off-Off-Off- On-On-Off-Off-Off-..that can work just as well for signaling as well as a mod changing indicator…

So with the light in this mode the user turns the head twice to the tightened position and back…This way he enters the hidden modes menu...Then he can tap through any kind of funny modes….there will be no memory in these functions.

How to Program the Mode

When in output 2 or 3 the user twists the head 2 times as before….that mode is memorized and assigned to the TIGHTENED head state…then the original mode is shifted to the vacant head slot (a change in places)…

An example

Tight = High (1)
Loose = Low (2) – Med (3) – Strobe

After reprogramming it will be

Tight = Low
Loose = High – Med – Strobe

that happened because he started the programming while in output 2


starting from output 3 he will get
Tight = Medium
Loose = Low – High – Strobe


So with this the following are achieved…

User has his preferred mode ready
He does not have to jump through many potentially worthless modes
A forward clickie can be used
Easily programmable
If a non flashholic messes it up he still will have a steady on mode available…

So that was my try in it…do not know if is feasible or even sound but that is for all to debate
 
Last edited:

Saint_Dogbert

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
405
Location
USA
Yeah, I'd dig that in a light...I think you might have a hit in efficiency running the head loose on max, though. My only complaint about the current Quark interface is that you have to wait 3 seconds after turning the light off before it resets to the first mode in the sequence. If it was 1 second, or even half a second, it wouldn't be necessary to cycle through those freakin' disco modes to get back to low quickly.
 

jeebus

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
19
I'm undecided on the details, but I agree with the general concept.

Adding programmability to the tactical model was a great start, but the result only has easy access to 2 modes where I routinely want easy access to 3, occasionally 4 or 5.

What I'd like to have is a programmable list of output levels for the two bezel tightnesses. You could program a single level into each list to have it behave like the current tactical, or you might pick
tight: high, turbo
loose: moon, low, med
but the point is you'd program whatever you wanted. If you want one of the strobe modes in the list, leave it programmed in. I'm not too concerned about the details of how you program in the above.

People always say you don't have to see the strobe etc in the regular model but I don't see how they can claim that. It's true when you start at low and go to a higher mode, but if the light is already on a higher mode and you want to switch to the next mode down that's when the light drives anti-strobe folks like me nuts, and when a short programmed list like above containing only the modes I want would be wonderful.

I'll be interested to see how the new preon interface pans out. I like that the strobe/etc modes are more out of the way. I'm unclear if it accepts a soft-press to change modes or if it truly has to be clicked off and back on for a mode change. I'm guessing a reverse-clicky can be soft-pressed but a forward-clicky has to be clicked off-on to cycle modes. As much as I like forward-clicky, if I had to pick between those two features I could live without the forward-clicky.

I love how the quark has 5 intelligently chosen levels. In fact I prefer that to my D10's continuously variable levels. The D10 sounds nice, but for me it actually has fewer usable modes than the quark because it requires reflexes like a cat to get a specific target brightness out of it.
 

recDNA

Flashaholic
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
8,761
I love simple bezel rings with good hard clicks to get to each position. I like adjusting modes with light OFF.
 

StarHalo

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10,927
Location
California Republic
Or you could do away with the bezel turn altogether, so the light can be operated one-handed, and provide three programmable modes - that's Jetbeam's IBS interface.
 
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