Tue, 28 Aug 2018
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The Emisar D4S flashlights use a firmware named RampingIOS -V3. (The Emisar D4, D1, and D1S -all use RampingIOS V2.) There's not really a manual; the -only thing we get is the diagram on the right. It's reasonably -comprehensive, but there's a fair amount of detail it merely summarizes, -so I thought a textual manual would be nice.
- -The Emisar D4S only works when the head and tailcap are tightened fully. -You can physically lock it out--prevent it from turning on -accidentally--by simply loosening the tailcap a small amount. A quarter -turn will do it.
- -Emisar lights are known for their ramping interfaces. Rather than have a -small number of distinct brightness levels, they can vary their brightness -anywhere between their lowest and highest levels, like a light on a -dimmer. The D4S is in ramping mode by default, but it also has a stepped -mode that can be configured to be closer to how non-ramping lights work.
- -Each mode--ramping and stepped--can have differently-configured brightness -floors and ceilings.
- -The driver for the D4S has two different chipsets. At low brightness -levels, a fairly-efficient but low-power chipset (called a 7135) is -used. These lowest brightness levels are called the "regulated levels". -Each regulated level will always be the same brightness regardless of how -much charge the battery has. Above a particular brightness level, the -light switches over to a less-efficient but high-power chipset (called a -FET). These levels are called "direct-drive". The brightness of the -direct-drive levels is directly related to the battery's charge level; the -more charged the battery, the brighter the levels. The light is at its -most efficient, in terms of power used for every lumen generated, at the -brightest regulated level. When the light is first powered by tightening -the tailcap, it will default to this level.
- -At higher brightness levels, the light's LEDs generate a lot of heat. If -the light exceeds its configured maximum temperature, it will begin -dimming itself automatically until the temperature drops below the allowed -maximum.
- -The D4S has a set of cyan-colored auxiliary LEDs that can be on when the -main LEDs are off. You can configure the behavior of the aux LEDs.
- -Basic Usage
- -The default mode for the light is ramping mode. Triple-pressing the -button (3 clicks) while the light is on will toggle between ramping -and stepped mode.
- -While the light is off, press and release the button (1 click) to turn -it on. It will turn on at the last-used brightness level. (This is -called "mode memory".) Immediately after loosening and tightening the -tailcap (or after changing the battery), the memorized level will be the -light's max regulated level.
- -When the light is on, 1 click will turn it off. The current brightness -level will be memorized for future use. There's a fraction of a second -delay between pressing the button and the light actually turning off. -That's because of the way the light processes input; it's waiting to make -sure you're only going to press the button once (since multiple presses -will trigger other actions).
- -When the light is on, holding the button down will brighten the light. In -ramping mode, the brightness will increase gradually ("ramping up"). In -stepped mode, the light will jump through increasing brightness levels. -If you press, release, and then hold the button, it will begin dimming. -In ramping mode, the brightness will decrease gradually ("ramping -down"). In stepped mode, the light will jump through decreasing -brightness levels. While the light is changing, if you release the button -and immediately hold it again, the direction (dimming or brightening) will -switch.
- -In ramping mode, while the light is ramping, it'll briefly blink off and -on again at two different brightness levels: the maximum regulated level -and the brightness ceiling.
- -While the light is off, double-pressing the button (2 clicks) will -immediately jump to the brightness ceiling.
- -While the light is on, 2 clicks will jump to the maximum brightness -level, regardless of the configured brightness ceiling. Another two -clicks will go back to the previous brightness level.
- -While the light is off, if you hold the button the light will turn on at -its lowest level. If you continue holding the button, the light will -begin brightening from there.
- -Configuration Menus
- -The light has several different configuration modes. Each of those modes -works more or less the same way. The mode will have a series of menu -items that it will go through. For each menu item, the light will first -blink a number of times corresponding to the item number (first, second, -etc.) After that, the light will begin fluttering on and off fairly -quickly. While the light is fluttering, you can click the button a number -of times; the light will count the number of button presses and use that -number as its new configuration for that menu item. After a short period -of time, the fluttering will stop and the light will move on to the next -menu item. After the light has gone through all of the menu items, it -will return to whatever mode it was in before entering the configuration -mode.
- -If you don't press the button during a particular menu item's fluttering, -that item will remain unchanged.
- -Configuring the Basic Modes
- -While the light is on, 4 clicks will enter ramping or stepped -configuration mode, depending on which mode the light was in before the 4 -clicks.
- -For ramping mode, there are two menu options:
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- Brightness floor (default 1/150) -
- Brightness ceiling (default 150/150) -
During the floor configuration, press the button equal to the number of -ramping levels (out of 150) at which the floor should be. To set the -lowest possible floor, click the button once.
- -The ceiling is configured similarly, but you press the button equal to the -number of steps away from maximum brightness. To set the highest possible -ceiling (at max brightness), click the button once.
- -For stepped mode, there are three menu options:
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- Brightness floor (default 20/150) -
- Brightness ceiling (default 120/150) -
- Number of steps (default 7) -
Other Modes
- -The other modes largely involve multiple clicks from off. Most of them -are not generally needed for everyday use, but they supplement the light's -basic operations.
- -BattCheck/TempCheck Modes
- -From off, 3 clicks will enter "BattCheck" mode, which blinks out the -current battery voltage. First it blinks the number of volts, then it -pauses, then it blinks out the tenths of volts. Thus, if the battery were -at 3.5 volts, the light would blink three times, pause, then five times. -For zeroes, it gives a very short blink.
- -A fully-charged lithium-ion battery is 4.2 volts. The light considers 2.8 -volts to be an empty battery and won't turn on if the battery is at or -below 2.8 volts.
- -The voltage sequence will continue blinking until you turn off the light -with a single click.
- -While the light is in BattCheck mode, 2 clicks will enter TempCheck -mode. Instead of blinking out the battery voltage, the light will start -blinking out its current temperature in degrees Celsius, first the tens -digit then the units digit. Like BattCheck mode, the light will continue -blinking out the temperature until you turn it off with a single click.
- -While the light is in TempCheck mode, 4 clicks will enter thermal -configuration mode. See the thermal configuration mode documentation -below for how that works.
- -Tactical Mode
- -From off, 4 clicks will enter "tactical" or "momentary" mode. The -light will flash once to show that it's entered the mode. The auxiliary -LEDs will turn off (if they were on). In tactical mode, the light will -turn on at its memorized brightness for as long as the button is being -held down. It will turn off as soon as the button is released.
- -There's no button press combination that will exit tactical mode. To exit -it, you will have to partially unscrew and retighten the tailcap.
- -Lockout Mode
- -From off, 6 clicks will enter lockout mode. The light will flash -twice to show that it's entered the mode. There's a separate aux LED mode -for lockout mode, so you can tell whether the light is in lockout or not.
- -In lockout mode, pressing the button will turn on the light at its lowest -brightness ("moonlight mode") for as long as the button is held down.
- -Another 6 clicks will exit lockout mode. The light will flash twice to -show that it's left the mode.
- -While in lockout mode, 3 clicks will cycle through the various -settings for the aux LEDs in lockout mode. The four modes are, in order: -low, high, blink (on high), and off. The default mode is blink.
- -Remember that loosening the tailcap a quarter turn will also lock out the -light. Using the 6 clicks is called "electronic lockout", while turning -the tailcap is "physical lockout".
- -Aux LED Configuration
- -From off, 7 clicks will cycle to the next aux LED mode. The four -modes are, in order: low, high, blink (on high), and off. The default -mode is low.
- -Beacon Mode
- -From off, 8 clicks will enter beacon mode. In beacon mode, the light -will blink on and off every few seconds.
- -By default, the light will blink every two seconds. To change the timing, -use 4 clicks while in beacon mode. The light will enter a one-item -menu. During the flickering for input, press the button a number of times -equal to the number of seconds between blinks.
- -1 click will exit beacon mode.
- -Thermal Configuration Mode
- -From off, 10 clicks will enter thermal configuration mode.
- -The menu items here are:
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- Current temperature (every click is one degree Celsius) -
- Temperature ceiling (every click is one degree above 30°C) -
The "current temperature" item can be used to adjust the calibration of -the light's temperature sensor. To use it, make sure the light has been -off long enough that all of its components have cooled (or warmed) to the -ambient temperature. Check the ambient temperature using a thermometer -you trust. Go to thermal configuration mode, and enter the current -temperature by clicking the button a number of times equal to the -temperature in degrees Celsius. (If it's 22°C, click the button 22 -times.)
- -You can check the default calibration by entering TempCheck mode from a -room-temperature light. The D4Ss are supposed to go through a temperature -calibration at the factory, so hopefully most of them won't need manual -thermal calibration.
- -The temperature ceiling is simply the highest temperature the light should -be allowed to reach. Once it hits its temperature ceiling, it will -progressively dim itself until the temperature stabilizes below the -ceiling. Note that the number of clicks in that menu option is added to -30 to reach the actual ceiling. (Thus, you can't set a ceiling below -31°C.) The maximum allowed ceiling is 70°C.
- -The default temperature ceiling is 45°C.
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