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RfidResearchGroup / ChameleonUltra

The new generation chameleon based on NRF52840 makes the performance of card emulation more stable. And gave the chameleon the ability to read, write, and decrypt cards.
https://chameleonultra.com
GNU General Public License v3.0
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[idea] Possible enhancement: energy saving mode (aka stealth mode) #148

Open spp2000 opened 11 months ago

spp2000 commented 11 months ago

Hi all! I was thinking of a mode that allows the user to turn off all the slot LEDs. When Chameleon is connected (to the App/CLI) the user could choose to activate it.

Why? This would allow to reduce energy consumption a little (especially when connected with BLE, without USB) but also (or mainly for me) to have a sort of stealth mode in order to be more discreet. The user could activated it when using Chameleon as a reader or to find keys, etc while in BLE. The only information that he would lose in this mode is the active slot when looking at the device, but he can easily find it out from the App or CLI. Furthermore, during these operations it's not important to know which is the active slot.

How? It could be a button in the App and a command in the CLI, which turns off all the slot LEDs. This mode should NOT be saved as a setting in the flash, so the next time you turn on Chameleon it returns to "normal" mode. By doing so, there is no risk of having a dark Chameleon that could cause confusion for the less experienced.

I don't know if it makes sense for you and, above all, if it's difficult to implement due to how the current firmware is written.

I ask you not to trash this idea for the sole reason that there is a lot of work to do at the moment. If that's the only reason, let's save it for the future. Personally I find it useful. Thank you for your time

LupusE commented 11 months ago

While browsing through the settings, I've seen the animation settings:

[USB] chameleon --> hw settings animation set -h
usage: hw settings animation set [-h] -m {0,1,2}

Please enter correct parameters

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -m {0,1,2}, --mode {0,1,2}
                        0 is full (default), 1 is minimal (only single pass
                        on button wakeup), 2 is none

It should be hw settings animation set -m 2. But to be honest, I don't know if this only reduce the blinking or shut down the disco mode. I like your concerns, that a fully silent Chameleon can easily confused with an offline one or empty battery.

spp2000 commented 10 months ago

It should be hw settings animation set -m 2. But to be honest, I don't know if this only reduce the blinking or shut down the disco mode. I like your concerns, that a fully silent Chameleon can easily confused with an offline one or empty battery.

Yes, this refers to the animations after wake-up and before sleep, while I would activate this mode when Chameleon is on and connected to a smartphone/pc