i could not make any script work at all for my part, handy was connected correctly but i always had server connection issues and when tried to use the remote/manual mode did not work as well , tried to make it work for 2h + and nothing would work so i rolled back to FW3 , pretty much the only thing that worked was that is said my handy was connected …
Hello friends
It’s my turn to share my experience after about ten days under FW4.
I specify that my HANDY is new, engine blocked on the previous one which was almost two years old.
I use it with QUICKSHOT vantage that I take out of the hard shell to put the sheath directly on the HANDY.
Positive points:
- Fast loading of scripts
- Parameter to start in wifi on ignition
- The engine makes less noise
- The engine heats up much less
- On slow shots, I don’t know how to explain it I find FW4 softer, more sensual.
Negative points:
- On fast shots: huge disappointment, the feeling is no longer the same as with FW3.
- I have the impression that the length is truncated, it no longer goes all the way up or all the way down and that it no longer plays each intermediate point.
I did a test with one of my favorite scripts (homemade) that lasts 34 minutes and that generally always makes me cum.
There is a move that I use a lot to build up the pressure.
position 0 / 217 ms / position 100 / 217 ms / position 0
Of course, everyone has a different feeling, but for me on FW3 it’s the move that excites me the most, so I use it a lot in my scripts.
Well the same move in FW4 … meh … no more … I would even say disturbing if it lasts too long, while it’s my favorite move. I finished the movie, then I went back to FW3 and played it again straight away.
And there wow, I find my feelings again, the long strokes, the speed, and in the end I explode.
So result despite the great advances of the FW4, I am disappointed with the feeling and so I stay in FW3 for the moment.
In fact I think the manufacturer wants to “preserve” the engine and therefore restrict it.
This is understandable, personally in 4 years I have burned two HANDY, the third brand new one has just arrived, I use it 2 times a week on average, but I sometimes do sessions of 2h30, and that’s when it heats up a lot.
Each time the engine starts to make a noise of scrap metal and then ends up blocking.
So by setting limits the manufacturer hopes to protect the engine.
But I think we should reason in the opposite way.
Instead of wanting to preserve the engine by restricting it it would be better to work on another engine, more powerful and more robust.
Personally I would be ready to pay 40 or 50€ more for the device if with a more powerful engine it could take 100 or 150 more strokes, go faster.
Often during a video I am frustrated, I say to myself “wow if he could go faster”
It even happens to me (I must not be the only one) to stop the HANDY and finish by hand because frustrated that he lacks a little speed to finish.
That’s my personal analysis.
Have a nice day.
5 Likes
I’m staying with FW 3 for the time being. Fw4 isn’t bad but I think it fucks with to many scripts I have
2 Likes
I usually have my handy on 0-100 and I have noticed that it will randomly restrict movement to say 10-70, at first I thought I was going crazy but a quick shutdown and reset fixes it. Still very annoying at times when I’m trying to review my scripts.
Also had the opportunity to test out FW4 this weekend.
The connection and especially script download speeds are impressive, and switching between videos is a breeze on how it picks up the exact point.
But yeah, once you get to the really intense sections all of the times my Handy went in to a complete stop, and wouldn’t continue unless restarted. Starting from the fast part of the section immediately made it go for a bit, but I felt as it was being bottlenecked, artificially limited, and then brought to a complete stop again, so it’s a no go. It’s back to FW3 for me.
I second the opinion that the Handy team should focus on building a more robust motor, along with the components that hold it, maybe for a reasonable price increase and still being able to compete with it’s alternatives, while keeping the same speeds and stroke lengths we are able to enjoy with FW3, and maybe even increasing them!
I love my handy device and it’s been a real performer for 2 years+. The simplicity of it’s connection procedure, as well as ease of use is why I’m not looking at any alternatives. I look forward to them implementing on the tech and build quality and open source code so that we can continue growing as a community.
2 Likes
Firmware Update 4.0.13: Improved Stroke Length & Motor Driver Performance
Firmware version 4.0.13 is now available, bringing updates to the motor driver and stroke performance. These changes aim to address some of the feedback I’ve received about motor behavior, while setting a foundation for further improvements in the future.
Key Updates
- Motor Driver Improvements:
• Enhanced endpoint crash prevention to reduce mechanical issues at the limits of the motor’s range.
• Improved task prioritization to minimize interruptions and crashes during operation.
• Automatic recalibration of the Hall sensor when major errors are detected, allowing the device to recover more effectively.
- Increased Stroke Length:
• The stroke length has been extended by 6mm, providing a wider range of motion for more versatility.
- Hall Sensor Enhancements:
• Faster error handling and prevention logic, reducing the likelihood of certain issues.
• Added an error notification system that triggers recalibration when needed.
How to Access
This update is available for early access via the Staging feature flag branch on https://new.handyfeeling.com/#/ota-optin. If you want to try these changes, you can opt-in there and test the improvements.
Looking Ahead
While there’s still work to be done, I hope this update addresses some of the concerns and offers a better experience. Feedback is always appreciated and will help guide future improvements. Let me know your thoughts after trying it out.
22 Likes
Hello.
I can’t form a complete opinion because I only had 20 minutes last night, so I can’t judge on a single test, a single script, just 20 min.
But I find that it’s much, much, much better.
We find the length of movement even if the impression that it lacks a little compared to FW3.
We also find the speed, but it must also lack a little compared to FW3.
I would say that there is a better compromise between the preservation of the engine and the sensations.
Next week I will have more time to test, but for the moment I am staying on 4.0.13.
To be continued.
4 Likes
I tryed out 4.0.13 Yesterday and i realy liked it so far.
cant compare it to the direct previous version, I skipped some versions of FW4 after downgrading back to FW3 a few monts ago.
It mostly feels like FW3 but more precise to details and smaller movements.
I think i will stick with this version for a while.
1 Like
Yeah, I really like this version.
The only issue I run into with this one is that I have to sometimes reconnect when I go to a new video. Not every time, maybe every 4 or 5 times. I’m not sure if this is an API/firmware issue, or if it’s an issue with Heresphere.
But the reload is so fast, it’s barely an issue. (I should mention this issue also happened on 4.0.12 for me, so it’s not something that was introduced in this version.)
Keep up the good work, I love the snappy loading speed and how fast I can move through videos and have the script kick in instantly!
3 Likes
For me as well this was a big improvement over 4.0.12 (which I ended up downgrading back to v3) I have no issue with keeping this as a daily driver.
1 Like
Using HereSphere I’ve been seeing a problem for the last few weeks with scripts failing to load. Reloading usually fixes it, although it takes a few tries sometimes.
2 Likes
Hello friends.
So following my first very quick test, I come back with a better analysis, having been able to test 5 different scripts.
First of all I confirm my first test (above) 0.13 is much much better.
Unfortunately I went back to FW3, the sensations remain much better!
For my tests I upgraded again to 4.0.13.
I took a 10 min video, I first played my script created by myself, in FW 4.
Then immediately after I downgraded to FW 3 and I replayed the same script.
The sensations are really better.
Then to try to understand I went back to FW 4, and I voluntarily modified my script without following the images too much but only to differentiate the sensations.
Personally, after several modifications and rereadings of this same script in FW3 then in FW4, here is what I notice:
When a move is too long over too short a duration, I voluntarily created a very tense point: 0 to 100 in 100 ms or 849 mm/s (unplayable move), so if FW 3 tries to get closer to it by remaining approximate, by playing for example 0 to 80 instead of 0 to 100, the move is played but truncated, on the other hand FW 4 knows that it will not succeed and skips this point to go directly to the next one.
Where this is most noticeable is on shorter and very close moves, for example to stay on the same crazy unplayable speed a move from 0 to 50 in 50 ms for 850 mm/s.
Same observation, FW 3 knows that he will not succeed but still tries to play something close to it, while FW 4 knowing that it is not playable skips this move.
I made many tests, going from 0 to 50, from 0 to 80 then from 0 to 100 and at different speeds from 300 mm/s to unplayable speeds at 850 mm/s to compare well.
And this is what comes out of my tests.
In summary if FW 3 knows that he cannot play a move he still tries to do something close to it, while FW 4 knows that he cannot play and directly skips the point to the next one.
Maybe I am completely wrong and mistaken, but personally this is what I was able to analyze during my tests.
This plays a lot on the feeling.
And this is confirmed by pushing the tests, on long shots not very fast for example 0 to 100 in 217 ms or 392 mm/s then FW 4 is better, more sensual, but on short and very fast shots for example 0 to 60 in 100 ms or 509 mm/s then FW 3 is much better.
All this can be in the sense of my first impressions posted here: to preserve the engine.
Personally after all my tests it is decided I return to FW 3 and I stay there for the moment.
The sensations are much better there, despite the enormous progress of FW 4.0.13.
6 Likes
Hmm that sounds interesting and I could test it perfectly myself because I always make sure to never be over 500mm/s to not have any issues. In a way that should make sure that my scripts should feel about the same with both FWs cause there shouldnt be any points where FW4 would skip a point at all. I am just too lazy to give it a go though, but thanks for the testing.
If this is true (I’m not questioning the analysis, but I haven’t tried FW4 myself), it’s really bad. All my scripts relies on that the firmware shortens too fast strokes. I don’t do anything crazy, but I try to find a middle ground by exceeding TheHandy speed limit a bit so that faster devices like the OSR2 can take advantage of having better specs. If TheHandy start to skip strokes then you have to script explicitly for TheHandy specs and do a second script if you want to match specs of devices that can handle faster moves.
6 Likes
To better understand what I noticed during my tests, here are two examples, two shots that I regularly use here and there in my scripts.
I try to remain pragmatic because everyone has their own tastes and feelings, I do not judge on the effect that the shot provides but only on what I observe.
The first on the left side, when played on FW 3 we feel a very brief little jolt at each point, so on the whole of the shot the sensations are interesting.
Replaying the same shot on FW 4, it gives the feeling of the line that I made to its right, that is to say very linear and without the intermediate points.
The second on the right side is faster, but same observation.
Played on FW 3 we feel the little jolts on each point, the same played on FW 4 we feel like the curve to its right: smooth and linear without the intermediate points.
So be careful, I’m not saying that FW 4 skips “ALL” the shots that are too strong, but I find that it still skips quite a few, which means that the feeling is no longer the same at all.
It’s up to everyone’s taste, but personally I’m sticking with FW 3.
And I still think that the designers of the Handy should work on a faster engine, some human scenes in a video that are therefore very real because they were done before our eyes, are simply impossible to reproduce with the Handy because of its limitations, so when you create a script you have to cheat, you shorten the shot to gain a little speed, or you skip an action, or you shift in relation to the video.
I think all script writers know this.
3 Likes
500 mm/s you are in the red.
The Handy manages very well up to 400 mm/s, beyond that it starts to become approximate, up to 440 or 450 it still tries to follow, but from 450 it truncates, the shots played are no longer really the desired ones.
And beyond 500 mm/s there it is really very random …
I finally bit the bullet and downgraded to FW3. The upload issues with FW4 meant I was spending more time trying to get the funscript to “take” than I was watching content.
Hopefully Handy will get their server issues sorted out soon. The “quick start” performance of FW4’s wifi was fantastic when it worked.
2 Likes
Sorry if this has been answered before but how exactly do you downgrade? I updated to FW4 and the Handy just doesnt work period. It connects to stuff like faptap and script player but just doesnt move.
Scroll up in this thread for a link to instructions (quite many pages up, just keep scrolling).
WiFi is backward compatible, but not Bluetooth. If you want to connect to legacy Bluetooth apps (script player) you will need to press the ACTION button and UP button at the same time for more than 2 sec.