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View Full Version : need help with an idea for my luke rotj black series fx lightsaber



acmusic
01-14-2018, 04:31 AM
i would like to make my black series luke rotj lightsaber blade removable while keeping the led strings intact, then make my own blades with different color leds so if i wanna change the color i just pop off one blade and snap on another.

i wanna keep the scrolling effect. its nice


so can anyone point me in the right direction?

i searched here, on google and fxsabers.com and i cant find any kinda tutorials with pictures or anything. :(

i know its a matter of adding two connectors (male and female) between the wires that goes to the soundboard and leds. (i'm pretty sure unless im talkin nonsense lol) housing it in the hilt and one in the blade. if anyone can help me, that would be awesome.

what connector would be good? and how would i go about doing this? thank you very much!

adacey
01-14-2018, 08:06 AM
Start reading up on Neopixel blades. It's relatively new as far as I can tell (I'm just planning out my first build so I haven't been around long enough to say exactly how new they are, but I'd guess this past year from the looks of things). The Neopixel LED strings are RGB so there's no need to swap out the blade to get a different colour and you'll get sweet looking scrolling effects. There's a few options floating around for connectors, but I'd say just go for the TCSS Neopixel connector, http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/NeoPixel-PCB-connector-and-pin-set-P1338.aspx as it's designed to not have to fuss with orientation.

acmusic
01-19-2018, 04:00 AM
is neopixel compatible with the hasbro black series sound boards?? i dont mind swaping out my blades. thats kinda what i wanna do anyways so...

RarestSquirrel
01-19-2018, 04:26 PM
is neopixel compatible with the hasbro black series sound boards?? i dont mind swaping out my blades. thats kinda what i wanna do anyways so...

Seems extremely unlikely.
Plecter's NB4 and Prizm5.1, along with a couple of Naigon boards are the current pixel compatible options. There's also the open source route.

PCModulus
01-20-2018, 09:29 AM
You can easily add a stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) head phone plug and jack to accomplish this.

acmusic
01-24-2018, 01:27 PM
You can easily add a stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) head phone plug and jack to accomplish this.

how would i go about doing that? :D

PCModulus
01-25-2018, 10:44 AM
Usually the jack will go in the hilt and plug will go in the blade and acts as the connection between the two. You could mount it in the existing LED holder, replacing the LED. Or, just use the TCSS setup.

jbkuma
01-25-2018, 10:57 AM
I do not recommend the audio jack route, use something rated for the currents involved.

Setting up a partner arduino board to interpret signals from the existing board to control a pixel strip. You can see this in my Pathfinder build which uses an arduino with an NBv3 to extend it's capabilities. I actually converted the star LED into a pixel in the process. The best reason to do this would be that a transistor and arduino nano are cheap, and you can control other accent LEDs etc.. swapping out the electronics will give you a purpose built card will require less technical expertise.

PCModulus
01-25-2018, 02:14 PM
I do not recommend the audio jack route, use something rated for the currents involved.

Can you show me any documentation stating it cant handle 1A of current?

Jay-gon Jinn
01-26-2018, 05:56 PM
A stereo audio jack will not be able to retain the scrolling/extension and retraction effect he's looking to keep. The led 's in the blade are made in 6 serial segments, and each segment is wired to the next with a shared positive or negative which are activated in sequence. He'll need a connector with at least 7 pins.

PCModulus
01-26-2018, 06:16 PM
A stereo audio jack will not be able to retain the scrolling/extension and retraction effect he's looking to keep. The led 's in the blade are made in 6 serial segments, and each segment is wired to the next with a shared positive or negative which are activated in sequence. He'll need a connector with at least 7 pins.

NeoPixels only require Pos, Neg and Data.

Jay-gon Jinn
01-29-2018, 04:29 PM
NeoPixels only require Pos, Neg and Data.
I'm aware of that, acmusic didn't say for sure if he was going to swap out the original soundboard or not. The stock FX boards won't run them.

PCModulus
01-30-2018, 10:02 AM
I'm aware of that, acmusic didn't say for sure if he was going to swap out the original soundboard or not. The stock FX boards won't run them.

Oh, i get your point now, i forgot the FX blades scroll. I thought you meant the connector wasnt able to handle the 1A current.