Karoo 2 ‘Control Center’ with smart lights observations.
First off I absolutely love the new ‘Control Center’. What a fun and intuitive way of interacting with the unit!
It’s great that a simple swipe gives me access to my lights (Garmin Varia rtl515 + Bontrager Ion 200 RT). A couple of things are weird though:
- The nomenclature for the light modes is not ideal. For example the Bontrager flash modes are shown as ‘custom 1’ and ‘custom 2’ but I can never remember which one is ‘day flash’ and which one is ‘night flash’. ‘Custom 1/2’ is just too abstract. It’s similar with the Varia and I think it might be better to adopt the manufacturer’s nomenclature which for the Varia would be ‘Solid’, ‘Peloton’, ‘Night Flash’ and ‘Day Flash’ instead of ‘Solid Low’, ‘Solid Min’, ‘Slow Flash’, ‘Fast Flash’ which is what the Karoo displays.
- The mode slider and the actual mode occasionally get disconnected. For example the slider will show the light being turned off while it’s actually turned on and flashing. I actually don’t see the need for a slider at all. Just tapping the mode button is quicker.
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(FIXED! As Steve suggested further down I simply needed to hard-reset the Bontrager light (pressing the button for 15 seconds with the light on). After that the battery bar showed full.)
The battery status bar for the Bontrager Ion 200 RT never shows full despite the light being new and fully charged. Might be a problem with my light or with the Karoo, I don’t know. Was wondering if others are having the same issue. It works fine with the Varia. -
(UPDATE! I didn’t realize that the preferred default light mode could be preset in the sensor settings. That’s all I need.)
It would be neat if the Karoo 2 would remember the last used light mode. Not sure if that’s possible but it would be nice if I didn’t have to adjust the light settings every time I start a ride.
I think that’s all. Again, I love that lights have been added to the ‘Control Center’. Just thought I’d provide some real world user experience hoping that the implementation will become even better :-)
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Can I tag onto your thread?
It would be cool if Hammerhead could support an advanced custom mode using the light networks, where the Varia could be in radar only mode (no lights), but light up when a vehicle is detected. It would be like an emergency "preserve power to get home" mode, but still provide rear visibility when truly needed.
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I thought I’d post some pictures to clarify some of the issues I’m having with my smart lights and the control center. As explained above the slider and the mode buttons occasionally get disconnected showing different modes. I’d simply do away with the slider and use the space for something else.
Furthermore the new Bontrager front light has been charged just prior to taking the picture yet the head unit thinks it’s half empty.
Also take a guess at which of the modes ‘custom 1’ and ‘custom 2’ is day flash? The naming is less than ideal.
None of this is a major problem but it’s not perfect either. -
@Ali, ah thank you! I didn't think to pair it a second time as a light.
@Sven, I had the same problem with the Bontrager light but I think its an issue with the light rather than the Karoo. Mine reported the same low battery level on my Garmin computer so I did a hard reset on the light (hold down the power button for 15 seconds) and it went back to reporting a full charge.
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Thanks Steve! That worked like a charm (pressing the button for 15 seconds with the light on). Feels great to get help from the community!
In the process of re-pairing the light I found out that the default light mode can be preset in the sensor settings. So I can actually preset my preferred light mode and don’t have to adjust it before every ride. Love it!
I’ll try to edit my initial post accordingly.
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I agree the control center is nice. I also agree that "Custom 1" "Custom 2" is completely non-intuitive. I presume those text descriptions are coming from the Bontrager unit, not from someone's UI design at Hammerhead. However, it would be great if that Karoo 2 could convert those names to the respective "High Flash" "Low Flash" or whatever.
I was also having battery level issues, reset fixed it. It would be nice if this didn't happen. I tried locating a firmeware update for the light, doesn't seem to be one available.
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Haha, even one year after my initial post I still get confused by “Custom 1” and “Custom 2”. I have to double check every time. “Solid Low” and “Solid Min” also have me confused from time to time when looking for the “Peloton” mode on the Varia. I think pictograms instead of text would be a neat solution.
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