Nano Biscotte v3, Luxeon Rebel Star, Buckpuck Wiring Diagram Check

[tadboz]

Hey, all! I'm working on my first saber, but I've studied others extensively and I think I'm almost ready to begin wiring things together. Here's my wiring diagram:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/34733168884_475b0a9aae_h.jpg

But before I start soldering, I have a few questions:

1. Am I understanding the buckpuck correctly? It sits in between the main LED and the NB, correct? I've seen elsewhere that I can just add a potentiometer to it to control the light intensity.

2. Is it possible to have accent LEDs (such as my switch light and crystal chamber) running from both the 3.3 V and Deep Sleep pads at the same time? If I have to choose one pad, can I still run the two LEDs? (Assuming it would have to be in series)

3. I bought a wiring harness with my NB v3 and it has a few extra wires (the white and yellow ones with the ? next to them in the image) attached to the LED positive and negative pads. Are those for main LEDs with multiple diodes? Since my main LED is a single, do I just leave those be?

Thanks for any advice. I like to think I'm a technical person, but my understanding of electricity is dubious at best. :P

[Greenie]

The buck puck is not compatible with the nano. It's used in place of resistors in a stunt saber. Wiring diagram for plecter boards are in the users manual.

[tadboz]

Ah, you're absolutely right. I did a little more digging and I get that now.

Okay, I switched some things around. Hopefully now it's better?

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4240/35536342406_a30b2ba5f8_h.jpg

[Greenie]

The returning negative from the LED goes to the pad marked HP-L in your diagram. FOC does not go to the switch and will not be usable with a single die. The negative to the switch also goes to its led and can be shared. Polarity of the switch is not important but but for its led it is. They are the pair marked + & -

[tadboz]

Ah, okay! I think I understand a little better now. I made some more changes to the diagram, let me know if I'm interpreting your words correctly.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4233/34736756694_06caa6f43f_h.jpg

An extra bonus to this is that my diagram is simplifying considerably each iteration. I really appreciate your expertise here. I'm still unsure about the battery-charge port-switch relationship. Should there be a negative lead coming from the switch to LED- on the NB?

Also, my switch is unmarked, it just has four terminals on it. I'll have to experiment to see which are for the LED and which are for the switch itself.

[jbkuma]

Part of the confusion here is your labels. LED+ and LED- should be BATTERY+ and BATTERY-. HP L- is LED-.

Your switch need one leg to the switch pad, the other goes to GND (BAT-).

[tadboz]

All righty, I fixed some of that stuff.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4235/34771348933_6536312bdd_h.jpg

The main LED negative lead now goes to the board.
The charging port and AV switch both connect to the battery's negative terminal.
All three LEDs (two accent and one main) have a positive voltage source coming from one place or another.

My remaining questions are:
1) Are the blue connections redundant? Should I just send those to the battery's negative lead? I feel those elements still need a ground connection.
2) Does anyone know if I can run accent LEDs from both the Deep Sleep and non-Deep-Sleep pads, as shown? I've read and reread the Plecter Labs manual for the NB v3 and it's still not clear to me whether I can both or just one or the other.

[Greenie]

The kill key inserted in the recharge port seperates the negatives to isolates the board. Battery neg is the only connection to that pin of the recharge port (black). The other pin (blue) is the out going negative.
There are various ways to connect the accent LEDs depending on how you want them to function.

[tadboz]

Yes, I understand that. The TCSS Youtube page's video on that was very enlightening.

So, when you say "Battery neg is the only connection to that pin," do you mean I'm wrong to share that negative connection with the AV switch as well? In short, are there too many connections?

Yes, I see that. The two "Power Indicator" wiring sections in the NB manual cover both options, but I've not found an example of them both in use simultaneously. Any thoughts?

Folks, I really appreciate your patience as I ask these bone-headed questions. I'm just desperate to not fry my sound board. :/

[Greenie]

Yes. The negative to the board, the switch and accents should all 'feed on' from the third pin (blue in your diagram). This prevents any voltage damaging electronics when charging the battery.
I'm not sure of the difference (in function) of those two pads but there should be no issues using both. How do you want the accent LEDs to function?

[tadboz]

Okay, excellent. So, it's about as correct as it's gonna get. :P

I just want them to be on when the saber is on. The only difference I found in the manual between the two accent pads is that one is off during Deep Sleep and the other isn't. That difference is moot, though (I think), because I'll be using a kill key.

[Greenie]

Why not connect both to one pad. If the accent led is for a crystal, it can be wired in parallel with the main led and it will mirror the blade flicker/shimmer.

[tadboz]

Yeah, good idea. I'll give that a shot.

I think I've got enough of an understanding now to solder at least a few things and the rest I can plug into a breadboard for a little proof-of-concept test. I'll report back within the next few days on my progress.

Thanks for all your help, Greenie and jbkuma!