Golden Harvest v3 Phase 4 - Wiring Check (RGBW - In Hilt)

[atodd]

I am upgrading a cheap Ali Express saber (Kanan Jarrus) so I can install his font, among others. The current chassis has a board similar to LGT but isn't. Above that is a switch/USB-C PSB board that the RGBW connects to. I want to KEEP the switch/USB-C PCB if at all possible. I just want to make sure I translate everything over correctly. There are a few pads on the current board that I don't know what they are. Also, I have a lighted momentary switch and I'm not sure if I connect the LED to one of the high powered pads or an accent pad. I've labeled everything I can see and connected everything that is obvious. Sorry for the mess of a diagram. I wanted to get both boards on the same page to get a better visual. So, here are my questions:


What are pads P and B+ on the current switch PCB?
Of the six pads that connect the PCB and current board, what are VBAT, LED, KEY, and 5V?
Best guesses: VBAT (no idea), LED (switch LED positive?), KEY (something to do with the USB), 5V (not sure).
What do I connect D+ and D- to out of those six pads for the USB port to work?
How do I wire the switch LED?


18111

[RavenXp]

Ok. First, why are you trying to repurpose that usb/switch PCB rather than using a new switch and a seedling that are known compatible with the GHv3? Second, I would need to reverse engineer the traces on the PCB to know for sure what the pads you are asking about lead to, but there is no guarantee that it would be compatible with the GHv3 wiring. And three, why do you have the speaker wired to both the original sound board and the GHv3?

[atodd]

I am wanting to repurpose in order to save money, and also because the saber it cut to fit the switch and USB port. So, if I purchase something different, I feel like it would be too much work to get the new switch and USB port positioned correctly. AND, it is USB-C, which I don't have to have, but the saber is cut for it.

I can take a picture of the boards if that would help. I understand it may not be compatible, but wanted to give it a shot.

I show the speaker wired that way just to show simply where they go. The diagram is not a representation of the final product. Sorry for the confusion!

[RavenXp]

hmm... well I can look over the PCB but I would need high quality clear shots of both top and bottom of the PCB to follow the traces. Can't really promise anything though.

[atodd]

I understand. Thank you so much. I will get pictures asap. Here is an updated graphic.
18112

[atodd]

Here is an image of the bottom side. The top will be hard to get but I will if needed.

18113

[atodd]

I can't remove the boards from the chassis without breaking anything. Below are the best shots I can get of the top side.

18114
18115

[RavenXp]

Well. Only having one side means I only see half of what is going on with the PCB. Kinda like trying to put together a lego set with only half the instruction manual. As for what I can tell from what I see... Looks like the USB is only wired in for power, no data line connections, also no traces for RGBW, just RGB. Meaning if you plan on using quad-cree that is RGBW this PCB will not work. I also would not trust a direct USB connection to power for charging without some protection system in place, and from what I can tell from that one side there isn't any. At least not on that part of the board, it could be built into the existing soundboard.

[atodd]

I totally get it. Thank you so much for taking a look.

Yeah, the USB is currently only used for charging since the board is not accessible. I only included the white line because it has one now. I'm guessing it would work without? I don't have to have the W unless the light requires it. I don't know what it's used for. It does flash white on clash so who knows.

So, bottom line, what should I do? I want to upgrade this hilt no matter what. But the easier, the better. I didn't want to have to purchase everything else like the chassis, speaker, switch, USB, etc. But if that is the only way, I will.

[RavenXp]

Hmm... I can understand wanting to re-use as much as possible, keeps upgrade costs down. But whether that is worth the headache to attempt would be the actual question. Another thing I would want you to consider is the battery compartment on that chassis core, is it designed to use a protected or unprotected cell (there's 2-3mm difference in length). Personally I don't condone the use of unprotected cells as it's risky on the end user, but a lot of china based sabers tend to as a cost cutting measure. Secondly, where did this chassis come from? If it's similar enough to a normal LGT core, I know darkwolf actually makes pre-made GHv3 cores that would simplify install.

How I would personally do it (since I usually do full installs and conversions on commission) is I would just gut and redo with the basics and custom chassis for it (I have a 3D printer, but for those that don't there's always designing one then having shapeways make it). For your specific setup, components used would be 16mm AV momentary switch (light up ring of your choice), GHv3, Seedling (this is only in standard micro USB, but that will still fit in a C port, or you can get a cheap Micro-USB to C converter for the external port), Uber C speaker, protected Li-Ion cell (21700 if it'll fit) and the LED with heatsink.

Circling back to the LED, white isn't really needed since RGB can be mixed to make white, so when it's there it's kinda nice since it's a purer white, but not a requirement, and quad-cree stars aren't all that common to begin with. Most use tri-cree for in-hilt.

[atodd]

It actually came with a protected 18650 battery, which is good. The saber is from Ali Express, from a store called STKsabers. The saber itself is an X-Lightsabers brand. Yes, it was from China but the hilt is actually really nice. And I have a Korbanth LS6 Gullwing. The stock electronics aren't bad either with good sound and smooth swing. The only negative is I can't change the fonts or add more. It is a 1" I.D. size hilt. Speaking of Darkwolf, I just found that they make a switch PCB with either barrel or USB-C. I've also seen complete chassis on Vire Sabers and Crimson Dawn with the GHV3 and either barrel or USB-C. So, I wonder if I can just buy one of those switch boards instead of the seedling and a separate switch.

I do have a 3D printer and am currently designing a chassis for the Korbanth, so that is an option. Is there any reason to not use the LED that came with it? It is plenty bright and I'm happy with the colors.

[atodd]

None of those switch boards will allow data transmission, so the seedling is the only choice.

I've been looking around a lot, but I'm wondering if anyone has seen a chassis that is made for the GHV3 AND Seedling Module.

[RavenXp]

There likely is, but finding one that fits your specific hilt would likely be a shot in the dark (not all hilts are universal in terms of internal dimensions). Most general chassis will only include bare minimum in terms of compatibility for hilts like wire channels, speaker mount location, soundboard mount location, and typically a RC port and/or kill switch mount location. Things like OLED, seedling, BT modules, accent LEDs and accent strips would be considered extra and are usually only found on custom design chassis or the fancy reveal ones made by people like Goth3D.

[atodd]

True. Thank you again for all your help. I will either have to design my own or buy one and modify it.

[atodd]

I went ahead and traced out the USB/Switch board and was able to complete my wiring diagram. I feel pretty good about it but here it is...

FYI: I'm not concerned about USB Data access. I don't plan on making many changes and the chassis is easy to remove anyway. The switch is lighted which LED6 connects to. Let me know if there are any major issues!

18114

[atodd]

UPDATE: I've been working on wiring up the board and was able to get it kind of working. Ha. More testing lead me to discover a few things:

1. The RGB white wire is Batt+ and the colored wires are negative.
2. There is only one positive wire feeding the LED.
3. The daughter board has the white wire going to the momentary switch, and then to the pin. So, I am planning on bypassing that and going straight from the battery to the white lead on the LED per the wiring guide.

Since there is only one positive, where should the resistor(s) be? I'm guessing I could use either three small resistors on the RGB wires OR one large resistor on the positive wire? If I go with one large resistor, would I simply add the values for each LED color together? I've attached the updated diagram to show my progress.

18123

[RavenXp]

the resistors needed for the LEDs can go on the negative lines. Doesn't really matter too much if the resistor is before or after the LED in the circuit, so long as it's there it'll do it's job. At least as far as simple LED circuits go anyway.

[atodd]

Thank you.

I have it hooked up right now with a 100ohm resistor (I know that's too high) on the positive lead and only red is lighting up. 100ohm is the lowest I have right now. Below are my forward voltage results from my multimeter and calculations after that.

Red 1.62Vf
Green 2.11Vf
Blue 2.41 Vf

So, according to the many calculations out there, here is what I came up with:

R <Ohms> = (VfBattery - (VfLED1 + VfLED2 + VfLED3)) / I

R = (4V - (1.62 + 2.11 + 2.41)) / 1A

R = (4 - 6.14) / 1

R = 2.14 / 1

R = 2.14 (Round down to 2Ohms?)

Now to calculate Watts:

P <Watts> = R * I^2

P = 2.14 * 1

P = 2.14 (I will go with a 3W)

This is all for one resistor on the single positive lead. Will that allow equal brightness for all three colors or should I put a resistor on each color lead instead?

[RavenXp]

it's typical practice to put a resistor on each die (color). Sharing a resistor you would likely suffer from either diminished brightness or even a whole color not working at all. you can also use the resistor calculator on the store page to make things a lot easier for yourself, will give you the true value as well as the closest resistor value TCSS sells. https://www.thecustomsabershop.com/LedCalc.aspx

[atodd]

Ok. That makes perfect sense now. That is why only the red LED is lighting up right now.

I will use that calculator to figure out each resistor. Do I guess and go with 1000mA?

I'm sorry I didn't mention it, but this LED is what came in the saber from Ali Express. It's super bright though so I wanted to reuse it. That is why I have to do all the calculations manually. No data sheet. Sigh.

Here is what it looks like, for reference.
18124

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

I would use 750 mA for Red, 1000mA for other colors.

[atodd]

Thank you so much, everyone, for all your help on this hacked and slashed (maybe a little ugly) budget build/modification!!

I will post some completed pics and results soon, but first...

1. Order and install resistors.
2. Make sure my USB charging port is wired correctly.

[atodd]

One more question. When using the TCSS calculator, can I install the EXACT resistor I need to run each LED at 100% if they don't have one close enough?

For example, if the calc comes back with 84% brightness and the closest resistor is 3.3ohm, can I go buy a 2.7ohm to get 100%? The calculated resistance is 2.773 for red.

[RavenXp]

if you can source it sure, that 'closest resistor' part is just to guide you to the closest value the store carries is all, though some resistance values are harder to find. though usually with about 80-90% you wouldn't normally notice the difference in brightness unless you were really looking with how bright cree LED's are. At least that I've seen, I'm sure there is a tangible difference. Some even overdrive their dies but that has diminishing returns and will shorten the lifespan of the die.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

One more question. When using the TCSS calculator, can I install the EXACT resistor I need to run each LED at 100% if they don't have one close enough?

For example, if the calc comes back with 84% brightness and the closest resistor is 3.3ohm, can I go buy a 2.7ohm to get 100%? The calculated resistance is 2.773 for red.

You would risk blowing the LED. I ALWAYS recommend getting the next highest one.

[atodd]

Thanks again for the advice. I will stick with the next highest one.