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Anduril is an open-source firmware for flashlights, distributed under
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the terms of the GPL v3. The sources can be obtained here:
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After putting a battery in the light and tightening the parts together,
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the light should quickly blink once to confirm it has power and is now
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operational. After that, basic usage is simple:
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- Click to turn the light on or off.
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- Hold the button to change brightness.
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- Release and hold again to change brightness the other way.
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That is all the user needs to know for basic use, but there are many
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more modes and features available for people who want more.
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Before reading the rest of this manual, it is recommended that users
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look at the Anduril UI diagram, which should be provided along with the
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Ramping / Stepped Ramping Modes
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-------------------------------
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Anduril's normal operation mode uses a smooth ramp or a stepped ramp,
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depending on which style the user prefers.
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Each ramp has its own settings -- floor (lowest level), ceiling (highest
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level), and the stepped ramp can also have a configurable number of
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There are four ways to access this mode when the light is off:
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- Click: Turn on at the memorized brightness.
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- Hold: Turn on at the floor level. The light should give a very
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subtle dark blink when the user can let go of the button to stay at
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the floor, or keep holding the button to ramp up.
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- 2 clicks: Turn on at the ceiling level.
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- Click, hold: Turn on at the ceiling level, then ramp down.
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While the light is on, a few basic actions are available:
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- 2 clicks: Go to or from turbo (full power).
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- Hold: Change brightness (up). If the button was released less than
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1 second ago, or if it's already at the ceiling, it goes down
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- Click, hold: Change brightness (down).
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- 3 clicks: Switch to the other ramp.
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- 4 clicks: Go to ramp config mode.
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Anduril has several other modes too. To access these, press the button
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more than 2 times when the light is off:
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- 3 clicks: Access the blinky / utility modes.
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- Click, click, hold: Access the strobe modes.
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- 4 clicks: Lockout mode.
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- 5 clicks: Momentary mode.
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- 6 clicks: Muggle mode.
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Blinky / Utility Modes
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----------------------
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Click 3 times from Off to access Anduril's blinky / utility modes. This
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always starts at battery check and the user can proceed to other blinky
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modes from there. The sequence is:
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In all of these modes, some basic actions are available:
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- 2 clicks: Next blinky mode.
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Additionally, in beacon and temperature check modes:
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- 4 clicks: Go to the beacon config mode or thermal config mode.
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In more detail, this is what each blinky / utility mode does:
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Blinks out the battery voltage per cell. Full is 4.2V, empty is
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about 3.0V. The light blinks the whole-number digit first, pauses,
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then blinks out the "tenths" digit. Then a longer pause, and it
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So for 4.2V, it would be "blink-blink-blink-blink .. blink-blink".
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A "zero" digit is represented by a very quick blink.
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This starts at a low level, then dims gradually for an hour, and
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then shuts off. It is intended for use when going to bed.
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Blinks at a slow speed. The light stays on for half a second, and
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then stays off until the next blink. The brightness and the number
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of seconds between pulses is configurable:
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- Brightness is the user's last-ramped level, so set this in
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ramping mode before starting beacon mode.
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- Speed is configured in beacon config mode. Click 4 times to
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enter beacon config mode, wait for the light to stutter, then
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click to enter the number of seconds per blink. For example,
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to do a 10-second alpine beacon, click 10 times.
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4. Temperature check.
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Blinks out the current temperature in degrees C. This number
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should be pretty close to what a real thermometer says. If not, it
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would be a good idea to click 4 times to enter thermal config mode,
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and calibrate the sensor.
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Thermal config mode has two settings:
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- Current temperature. Click once per degree C to calibrate the
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sensor. For example, if the ambient temperature is 21 C, then
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- Temperature limit. This sets the maximum temperature the light
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can reach before it will start doing thermal regulation to keep
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itself from overheating. Click once per degree C above 30. For
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example, to set the limit to 50 C, click 20 times. The default
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Anduril includes a few extra modes for a variety of purposes:
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- Lightning storm mode
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Click 3 times from Off to access these, but hold the third click for a
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moment. Click, click, hold. The last-used strobe mode is remembered,
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so it will return to whichever one you used last.
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In all of these modes, a few actions are available:
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- 2 Clicks: Next strobe / mood mode.
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- Hold: Increase brightness, or strobe faster. (except lightning)
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- Click, hold: Decrease brightness, or strobe slower. (except lightning)
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Additionally, candle mode has one more action:
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- 3 clicks: Add 30 minutes to the timer.
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In more detail, here is what each mode does:
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Brightness changes randomly in a pattern resembling a candle flame.
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If a timer is set, it will run until the timer expires, then get
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dimmer for one minute, then sputter and turn itself off. Without a
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timer, candle mode runs until the user turns it off. Brightness is
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Runs at a medium level, but stutters to a brighter level once per
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second. Designed to be more visible than a normal ramping mode, but
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otherwise works mostly the same. Brightness is configurable.
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Motion-freezing strobe light. Can be used to freeze spinning fans
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and falling water. Speed is configurable.
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Disorienting strobe light. Can be used to irritate people. Speed
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is configurable, and the duty cycle is always 33%.
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- Lightning storm mode
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Flashes at random brightness and random speed to simulate lightning
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strikes during a busy lightning storm. Do not look directly at the
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flashlight when this mode is running, because it may suddenly go to
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full power without warning.
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Click 4 times from Off to enter Lockout mode. This makes the light safe
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to carry in a pocket or a bag or anywhere else the button might be
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To exit lockout mode, click 4 times. The light should blink briefly and
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then return to the regular "off" mode.
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Lockout mode also doubles as a momentary moon mode, so the user can do
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quick tasks without having to unlock the light. The brightness in
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lockout mode is determined by the floor setting of the current ramp.
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Click 5 times from Off to enter Momentary mode. This locks the
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flashlight into a single-mode interface where the LEDs are only on when
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the button is held down. It is intended for Morse code and other
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Brightness is the last-ramped level, so adjust that before entering
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To exit this mode, physically disconnect power by unscrewing the tailcap
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Click 6 times from Off to enter Muggle mode. This is a simpler and
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less-bright interface which makes the light relatively safe to lend to
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children or other people who could use the light unsafely.
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In Muggle mode, there are only a few available actions:
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- Click: Turn the light on or off.
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- Hold: Change brightness.
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- 6 clicks: Exit Muggle mode.
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The brightness in this mode usually goes from about 10 lm to 300 lm.
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Muggle mode is remembered even after changing the battery. This helps
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prevent children from exiting the mode by unscrewing the tailcap.
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However, be sure to supervise children whenever they are using any
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powerful tools, including a bright flashlight.
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Every config mode has the same interface. The menu has one or more
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options the user can configure, and it will go through them in order.
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For each menu item, the light will follow the same pattern:
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- Blink one or more times, corresponding to the item number.
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- Stutter or "buzz" quickly between two brightness levels for a few
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seconds. This indicates that the user can click one or more times
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to enter a number. It will keep buzzing until the user stops
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clicking, so there is no need to hurry.
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- Pause, and then go to the next option.
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After the light has gone through all of the menu options, it should
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return to whatever mode the light was in before entering the config
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If the user doesn't press a button during a menu item's "buzz" phase,
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that item remains unchanged from its previous value.
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While the light is on in a ramping mode, click 4 times to enter the
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config mode for the current ramp.
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For smooth ramping mode, there are two menu options:
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1. Floor. (default = 1/150)
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2. Ceiling. (default = 120/150)
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For the stepped ramping mode, there are three menu options:
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1. Floor. (default = 20/150)
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2. Ceiling. (default = 120/150)
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3. Number of steps. (default = 7)
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To configure the floor level, click the button equal to the number of
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ramp levels (out of 150) at which the floor should be. To set the
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lowest possible level, click once.
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To configure the ceiling level, each click goes one level lower. So 1
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click sets the highest possible level, 2 clicks is the 2nd-highest, 3
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clicks is the 3rd-highest level, etc. To set the default of 120/150,
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When configuring the number of steps, the value can be anything from 2
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Anduril includes low voltage protection (LVP) and thermal regulation.
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LVP makes the light step down to a lower level when the battery is low,
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and if the light is already at the lowest level, it shuts itself off.
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This activates at 2.8V. LVP adjustments happen suddenly, in large
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Thermal regulation attempts to keep the light from overheating, and
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otherwise adjusts output to stay as close as possible to the
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user-configured temperature limit. Thermal adjustments happen
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gradually, in steps so small they are difficult for humans to perceive.
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Aux LEDs / Button LEDs
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----------------------
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Some lights have aux LEDs or button LEDs. These can be configured to do
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different things while the main emitters are off. There is one aux LED
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mode for the regular "off" mode, and another aux LED mode for "lockout"
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mode. This allows the user to see at a glance whether the light is
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Aux LED modes typically include:
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To configure the aux LEDs, go to the mode you want to configure and then
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click the button a few times:
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- Off mode: 7 clicks.
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- Lockout mode: 3 clicks.
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This should change the aux LEDs to the next mode supported on this