ArmyTek Predator owners...post your program!

I think I have the hang of this interface.

I kept line 1 as MILITARY default.

Line 2, I selected 4 modes...firefly (.1 lm), beacon, SOS, and a custom mid-frequency strobe.

I hafta say, while a 370 OTF lumen pencil beam looks sweet in the night, I am really digging the firefly mode. .1 lumens is unreal!! great for signalling, map reading, etc when you're eyes have already been acclimated to the dark for awhile.

not a real fancy program, but it's mine!

Line 1 Default Military

Line 2 - 0.1, Slow strobe to act as a beacon, Strobe.


I don't like Armytek's default beacon setting, it pulses too slow.

Line 1: 25%, 100%, 75%, 50%, ~15%
Line 2: Firefly (0.1lm), 7lm, 5Hz strobe

I have mode memory disabled on both lines, and usually leave the light switched off on line 2, so the default 'switch-on' mode is firefly.

My most-used modes are firefly, 25%, and 7lm, in that order.

line 1: 100% and about 20%
line 2: 0.5 lumens and about 7 lumens.

i also disabled memory on both lines. and turns on to 100% or 0.5 lumens depending on head position.

My set up:

Line1: 100% - 75% - 50% - 25% - 10% - Firefly3 (1,5 lumen)

Line2: Strobo - S.O.S - Beacon - Firefly3 (1,5 lumen)

I have keep the military full stabilization with auto memory and I work the light with CR123's.

I've read all the topics about predator armytek inclusive watched videos on youtube, but I'm feeling rather stupid rs, because until now I could not set my flashlight. I've seen the picture that petrev posted yet goes nowhere. Could someone give me a step by step please. Sorry for the english, but I used google translator hehe (I'm a cop in Brazil).

My setup (Predator v2.0, XP-G2 warm):

Line 1: 100%, 25% - full stabilisation
Line 2: 5%, 1.5lm, 0.1lm, beacon - semi stabilisation

Mode memory enabled


Cheers

jefersonbs said:

I've read all the topics about predator armytek inclusive watched videos on youtube, but I'm feeling rather stupid rs, because until now I could not set my flashlight. I've seen the picture that petrev posted yet goes nowhere. Could someone give me a step by step please. Sorry for the english, but I used google translator hehe (I'm a cop in Brazil).

Click to expand...

Initially I found consulting the full double sided A3 sheet of instructions a bit overwhelming when trying to make a few changes, so I put together a single side of A4 as a set of condensed programming notes:

(click to open the full size version)


This summarises the three main tasks:

Setting up the Line 1 modes output levels.
Using the main Setup menu to configure the majority of options.
Displaying the battery voltage

You will still need to consult the ArmyTek instructions for the detail and planning what you want to set up, but hopefully this condensed guide will help you actually carry out the programming.

This is included in my review:
ArmyTek Predator G2 V2.0 and Predator X V2.0 dual Review (1x 18650 Li-ion/LiFePO4 or 2x CR123/RCR123)

line 1: 100% / 50% fully regulated with memory
line 2 firefly / 25% step regulated no memory

Line 1 - 5 modes: base (7L?), 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% - memory on
Line 2 - 4 modes: Firefly, Beacon, SOS, Fast Strobe - memory off

Full regulation

Line 1: Memory on ; Full regulation ; .1L, 5L, 100L, max


Line 2: Memory off ; Full regulation ; max, ~15HZ strobe

I've not long had my Predator but pretty much settled on:

Line 1: Max, 50% & 25%; Full regulation; No Memory.

Line 2: Min, Firefly, slowest strobe; Step regulation; Memory.

subwoofer said:

Initially I found consulting the full double sided A3 sheet of instructions a bit overwhelming when trying to make a few changes, so I put together a single side of A4 as a set of condensed programming notes:

(click to open the full size version)


This summarises the three main tasks:

Setting up the Line 1 modes output levels.
Using the main Setup menu to configure the majority of options.
Displaying the battery voltage

You will still need to consult the ArmyTek instructions for the detail and planning what you want to set up, but hopefully this condensed guide will help you actually carry out the programming.

This is included in my review:
ArmyTek Predator G2 V2.0 and Predator X V2.0 dual Review (1x 18650 Li-ion/LiFePO4 or 2x CR123/RCR123)

Click to expand...

Firstly congratulations for excellent review of the flashlight and also for helping me. Now I can enter the menus, there is only one question: when I'm inside a menu, for example to configure the type of battery, when the battery indicate 18650, how do I confirm this choice?

jefersonbs said:

Firstly congratulations for excellent review of the flashlight and also for helping me. Now I can enter the menus, there is only one question: when I'm inside a menu, for example to configure the type of battery, when the battery indicate 18650, how do I confirm this choice?

Click to expand...

Tighten-Loosen is the way to select/confirm a menu item.

Have a look at the bottom right hand corner of the summary sheet and it goes through the selection process.

subwoofer said:

Tighten-Loosen is the way to select/confirm a menu item.

Have a look at the bottom right hand corner of the summary sheet and it goes through the selection process.

Click to expand...

Subwoofer. Now everything is clear as day. With your help I can customize my flashlight. And how it will be my tool to work it is very important. I want to once again thank you for your patience in teaching a beginner.

Subwoofer, thank you. This instruction helps me too

Sukram said:

Subwoofer, thank you. This instruction helps me too

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it

I use it all the time. In fact just a few minutes ago, I have programmed one of the new Viking Pro models which has the same programmability as the Predator!


Edit: And the program was -

Line 1: 500-5-100 (default)
Line 2: 0.1-0.5-1.5-Beacon

Predator Pro XP-G2 "warm" (neutral white).

Wanted a few modes to choose between output & runtime. But not too many as head twisting to change modes becomes annoying quickly. So settled for a low-med-high setup. Also wanted all "special effects" available without needing to re-program things.

Head tightened:

• ~5% (~30 lumens) - "don't worry about battery life" mode. Good enough for many indoor jobs, ~35 hour runtime.
• 25% (160 lumens according to spec) - will do for almost any job here, 6+ hour runtime.
• 100% - cause you gotta have it.

Head loosened:

• Highest firefly mode (1.5 lumens?) - useful where regular "low" is too much
• Lowest firefly mode (0.1 lumens?) - lowest possible output that lasts 'forever'
• Beacon
• Strobe, with frequency set to "most annoying"
• SOS

Full regulation, and mode memory enabled on both lines.

Inspired by Grizzlyb's thread Police study of tactical use of strobe I tried to setup an Armytek Predator to be as safe for police use as possible:

Line 1: max. brightness - medium - low. No (!) memory, so the flashlight comes on at 100% every time, with the head tightened.
Line 2: fast strobe - medium - low. No memory, the flashlight start with strobe every time, when the head is loosened.

- I can choose - with the flashlight turned off - , if the flashlight comes on in high or strobe, just with a small twist of the head.
- When deploying the flashlight, I am immediately ready to defend myself, because the flashlight starts in max or in strobe. Both settings are capable of blinding the opponent.
- When the situation is under control and there is no danger, i can choose a medium or low setting from both lines.
- if the situation changes and I need a high output immediately, I just need to turn the light off and on (doubleclick). Because we disabled the memory, the Predator will start in either high or strobe after turning it off... And the user changed from a low to medium output to a maximum output within parts of a second.

This is a setup for duty use. For camping or use at home, I would choose a very different setup.


Cheers
Michael

My interface:
Head tightened- max, ~25%
Head loosened- lowest firefly, 5lm, ~18hz strobe, ~2hz strobe, SOS
No mode memory, full regulation, 18650 optimized.

My reasoning:
for the head tightened modes I have max first because I always want to be able to get to the highest mode a light has from off the reason of simplicity. After that I have ~25%, which Selfbuilt's measured in his review to actually be ~200lm. I like this because if I need to use the light on a high mode for a long time I can switch to this to concerve the battery life, and to the human eye the jump from 500lm to ~200lm isn't that noticeable. I haven't added any modes after this because I haven't needed anything between 200lm and 5lm, and because I like being able to switch between this and max quickly.

For the head loosened modes I have the lowest firefly mode first because I can turn it on at night without disturbing my night vision, or others that may be around me. After that I have ~5lm, which I can go to for a little more light if I am looking for something or want to light a path in front of me. After this I have strobe, both for the practical use of disorienting a two or four legged attacker and the impractical reason that my friends like to play with it. I have strobe three modes in because I don't want to activate it accidentally and because just the max output at night would be disorienting enough to an attacker to hopefully change their mind, and if not to give me time to give them a warning shot with the strike bezel. Next I have ~2hz strobe as a beacon for minor emergencies (if for example my car broke down in the middle of nowhere and I wanted to flag down another vehicle to get a ride). Lastly, I have SOS for major emergencies.

I have no mode memory so that I know what mode it will be in when I turn it on. With the head tightened I don't want to turn it in to only 200lm while thinking it was max, and with the head loosened I don't want to turn it on to 5lm and accidentally lose my night vision (or even worse, accidentally activate strobe!). I have full regulation because I almost always have access to a charger at the end of the day, and don't need to run the light for a long time very often. This way I know it will be at 500lm whenever I activate max, and if the battery is low it will give a warning. I have it optimized for 18650s because I use them for their capacity and recharging capability, and if I need to run it on cr123s I have a hand-written slip of paper in the battery tube telling me how to program it to do so (since if I need to run cr123s I probably don't have internet access).
On a separate note about the interface I like the 1 sec. delay when twisting the head to switch modes, so for example I can switch from firefly to 5lm without having the briefly switch to 500lm.

Right now I think my strobe frequency is a little to fast, but the frequency ramps so quickly in the programming that it is hard to get the frequency where I want. Other than that I really like this interface and haven't changed it since I initially got the light a year and a half ago.