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View Full Version : Petit Crouton and a really good plan.



Storm Sunfire
04-27-2011, 10:36 PM
Okay so I received my Petit Crouton from TCSS (thanks to all for making this board available) and I have been reading the manual. And I have been reading the manual again.
I want to plan out the configuration of my saber before I ever touch solder to the board.
My plan?
Red Rebel Star LED || Red Ring AV Switch and Recharge Port || Accent LED (possibly a PLI) and momentary switch || Two Trustfire 14500 Li-ion

I have read through thirty pages of posts regarding configuring the PC-L and I see nothing regarding the PLI. I understand that the AV LED needs to be wired to one of the accent LED pads but what about a Power Level Indicator? is this something that should be wired to the battery pack before the recharge port? or will it need to be wired to the other accent LED pad?

Thanks for the time. I appreciate it.

(null).exe
04-27-2011, 11:13 PM
I could have sworn there was another thread posted about this recently

*EDIT*
Here it is: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12773-PLI-(power-level-indicator)

Storm Sunfire
04-28-2011, 08:35 PM
Thanks but I've read that post. Maybe I should be more clear; I am wondering if I should use the second accent LED pad for the PLI? Will it tax the board too much if I put it elsewhere? Does an item that cycles through a series of LEDs (like the red LED bubble strip) count as a single accent LED? If it will work how will it function with the parameters of the accent LED configuration?

Lots of questions that I can't find answers to and I am not willing to burn out my PC-L to discover the answers. If it was a cheapy Hasbro I would've tried three or four different things by now...lol.

Jay-gon Jinn
04-28-2011, 08:46 PM
I wouldn't use the accent led pads for wiring a PLI. Those supply a constant 3.3v and 18ma of current. A PLI will need to be wired to the battery pack, probably off the recharge port or off the positive and negative battery pads on the board so it'll come on when you pull the kill plug. also, the AV switch led doesn't have to be wired to one of the accent led pads, it can go on the 3.3v pad or in parallel with the main blade led. Properly resistored, of course. The only way to have it bl8ink in stand-by mode, though, is to use the accent led pads.

Storm Sunfire
04-28-2011, 09:04 PM
Well hello! That was a quick reply! Very interesting!
So if I understand correctly I can wire the PLI (or bubble strip) off of the recharge port, have two blinky accent LEDs, and have the light from the AV switch? That doesn't seem so limited after all. In this configuration a 7.4V Li-Ion should be okay?
Thanks for the help! Give yourself ten cool points.

Jay-gon Jinn
04-28-2011, 09:16 PM
It should be alright to run all of that on a 7.4 volt Trustfire battery set up...you'll eat more runtime with the more you have hooked up, but it'll look cool when it's running. ;)

Storm Sunfire
04-28-2011, 11:07 PM
Yeah that's the goal. I figure after having so many crappy econo board sabers with bad wiring and worse design I would take my time and make something worthy of the PC.

Skottsaber
04-29-2011, 04:56 AM
You do realize what the PLI board actually does?
It shows your battery level as it drops, so I'm not sure what you were trying to achieve with a constant voltage supply, and such a small one at that. You wouldn't even be able to run one of the LEDs on the PLI board, because they run at 20ma.

IndustrialAction
04-29-2011, 06:04 AM
Oops, didn't see Skott's post before I posted...

Storm, PLI stands for Power Level Indicator. Wiring it to an accent pad isn't going to do you any good unless you're just interested in the lights. If you want it to actually do what it is supposed to do, it needs to be wired in the battery's circuit.

Storm Sunfire
05-03-2011, 11:25 AM
Yeah PLI to me just means "blinky blinky!" LOL I figure that I will know that it is time to plug it in when I try to activate it and it makes a dying pacman sound. LOL.Since Tim doesn't have the PLI any how, I've decided to go with the red bubble strip LEDs. I am planning to mount them on the chassis that slides in and drill holes in the body for them to shine through.
Nice note about the accent pad not being able to run the PLI board. I hadn't considered that. I think with the bubble strip I will put it just past the recharge port so it goes off when the board does.
As for the accent pads I've decided to go with *GASP* accent LEDs.
I'm glad you all are here to bounce my stupid around! LOL

grayven
05-03-2011, 03:16 PM
I have a PLI being controled off an accent pad with the use of a PE. You might be able to use a solid state relay instead of the PE to do the same. My PLI scrowles to bat pack power level evey time the accent pad is commanded on. Workes great. Just make sure you wire it in to + after kill switch.

Sunrider
05-03-2011, 03:40 PM
Could that work with the PC? None of its pads can be commanded on can they?

grayven
05-04-2011, 08:07 AM
Yes just like in CF, 0's and 1' it's in the LED file. pad 1 is 0 and pad 2 is 1. 0 = off and 1 = on then there is also the duration.

dgdve
05-04-2011, 09:38 AM
Yes just like in CF, 0's and 1' it's in the LED file. pad 1 is 0 and pad 2 is 1. 0 = off and 1 = on then there is also the duration.

very VERY interesting indeed, and you still keep the free pad for an accent.. but I think in this case he should wire it as Jay-gon recommended (directly after the charge port) for simplicity sake (if he still wants to do it)

Storm Sunfire
05-05-2011, 01:03 AM
hmm.. I don't really understand the led sequence file. That's not to say I won't make the effort to figure it out in the future, but I think I will aspire to have simple leds for the accent pads and wire the bubble strip just past the recharge port. I want to use a quick disconnect so that I can switch it out when a PLI becomes available.
On a side note I just bought a new X-acto pencil-tip soldering gun. I think I will be able to get better results with it than I was getting with my $5.00 Weller. I also got some thin soldering wire. After parts arrive I will be ready to go.

Darth Scorn
05-16-2011, 02:07 PM
What would be the best setting on the parameter to over drive a p4 blue and get the movie flicker effect?

Sunrider
05-16-2011, 08:42 PM
Which movie? They are very different.

Darth Scorn
05-16-2011, 09:24 PM
Well I didn't think about that ill have to play with that one a bit any advice on overdriving the p4? And I was hoping to o get the luke effect from rotj when he's fighting on the skiff

Skottsaber
05-17-2011, 12:13 AM
Honestly I'd just play with the settings (flkrs and flkrd) and see what you like. Start off by reading about the flicker settings in the manual and making some rough estimates from there, and then experimenting based on your results.

Darth Scorn
05-17-2011, 12:34 AM
Sounds good thanks for the suggestion know can someone please tell me what would be the best setting for overdriving my blue p4 I have it set at 46 its bright just trying to make it brighter without frying the thing any help is great and thanks

Skottsaber
05-17-2011, 03:16 AM
led=70 in the config file for 1.5A.

Darth Scorn
05-17-2011, 10:15 AM
thank you