November Blog Post - Next level T-valve

Hi guys,

Those of you who have been on the discord server recently will know that I have been doing some work to improve the functionality of the T-valve.

If you know the fleshlight you will know that one of its cooler features is the case’s screw-on cap, which can be used to control the airflow in and out of the case during each stroke. This effectively controls the level of suction during use, and changes to the cap position can make a big difference to how the stroke feels.

A few months ago I had the idea that automating the position of the cap would potentially add a lot to the experience of using a toy like the OSR2. If the cap function was controlled somehow, successive strokes could be made to feel very different automatically.

So I came up with the T-valve. It replaces the standard fleshlight cap and uses a micro servo to vary the size of a set of three holes by rotating a set of blades. The micro servo can flip the valve open and closed in a tiny fraction of a second, so it allows fine and rapid control.

The problem I have had with the T-valve up until now has been how to control it. When I first created it and added it into the OSR2 firmware I actually set that question aside. Up until now the T-valve has been running on a speed-based algorithm. Essentially, it opens on the downstroke, but on the up-stroke it closes to create a level of suction based on the speed of movement. The slower the movement, the greater the suction.

This undoubtedly adds to the experience, but in my opinion it never even began to explore the potential of the T-valve.

That all changed recently because the guys over at Eroscripts are starting to play with multi-axis scripts, supported by awesome guys like Khrull and Yoooi who have made multi-axis script players available (XTP and MFP). Excitingly it is now possible to run parallel funscripts for the pitch, roll and twist axes. Now, at my request, they have added an additional T-code channel, L3, which makes a suction level script possible.

All of this means that it’s time for a firmware update for the OSR2 (release 2.7b attached) so that we can take advantage of this. Ironically this actually means that the OSR2 gets dumber: the T-valve will now open on the down stroke, and close to the scripted level on the up-stroke. That is, a value of 0 will mean the valve stays open, a value of 999 will cause the valve to close fully and deliver maximum suction.

This direct control means of course that it’s up to the script creators to create the T-valve magic. Obviously it’s going to be a back and forth, as we are still learning how best to implement this. The conversations I have had give me confidence though. For example, one of the guys on discord was thinking about how to create a “pop” effect at the top of the stroke. I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with.

I am also still considering how to implement this control best in VaM. As with the vibration control it is a tricky one to link directly to behaviours of the VaM models. I’m happy to hear any suggestions of course.

To anybody new setting up their T-valve, with this new update the valve now operates on the L3 T-code channel, and defaults to 500. That means with the T-valve servo plugged in to pin 12 on the Romeo it should move to the 12 o’clock position when the OSR2 starts up. The valve blades should be linked so that they are also in the 12 o’clock position. With the link in place, L3000 will drive the valve fully open, L3999 will drive the valve fully closed.

Note that if you are using an older firmware script (2.6 or earlier), the servo should move to 12 o’clock on start up, and then close the valve about 1/2 second later.

We’re coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my Patreon, so I would like to extend a special thanks to all of you who have joined me on this journey. I am excited that I have no fewer ideas now than I did back then, and I am pleased that I am generally managing to keep to my release schedule.

What I would like to achieve in December is get an early-alpha release of the SR6 out. I will keep you posted on that.

Thanks again!

Tempest