PDA

View Full Version : RGB hilt wiring



pthomas625
06-19-2007, 05:09 PM
hi everyone, i'm looking forward to building a RGB LED lightsaber. with quite a few extras. i guess the "fully-loaded" saber. lol. would this be how i wire everything up? i know i don't have numbers in yet, but would this be the order? thanks for all your pro help!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/pthomasdance/Light%20Saber/circuits.jpg

p.s. thanks to whoever's the rgb setup image is.

Lord Maul
06-19-2007, 06:46 PM
i think the PLI must go on both the positive and negative lines of the power.

one lead to positive, one to negative. otherwise, the leds on it wouldn't ever turn on

Novastar
06-19-2007, 07:30 PM
I'm pretty sure Lord Maul is right regarding sending something like a PLI through both leads. Although--I can't quite tell from the wiring if that truly WOULD be the case.

Also, the recharge port....? Ditto. Your battery charger needs to be able to "see" both + and -. I also recommend using the recharge port as a general power "kill" switch for battery conservation purposes.

Finally, I wouldn't mind opening up the can of worms about grounding. Does anyone know if there should be a general "grounding" lead?

neophyl
06-19-2007, 11:09 PM
Same with e accent led. It will never light up wired like that. Also the recharge port wont work lke that either as it would need to be switched on to be in circuit and iif you tried to charge like that your charge current is going through the led and all the other bits too.

Break it down into logical sections and make sure each section works before hooking it into another.

xwingband
06-20-2007, 07:33 AM
Yeah, might as well scrap the diagram. There is so much wrong with it.

As noted the LED and PLI need to be connected to both the positive and negative. Id give a good thought to if you want a momentary for the PLI too. Otherwise your batteries would constantly draining.

What will "drive" the LED? I don't see a resistor or board... I'd think about micropucks or those flashlight regulators we found recently.

pthomas625
06-21-2007, 05:10 PM
ok, here's a revised diagram. does this look like it'd work? the reason i haven't 'put' a resistor for the RGB led is because i thought the potentiometers acted as resistors?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/pthomasdance/Light%20Saber/circuits2.jpg

thanks again! multiple and forever thanks!

Hasid Lafre
06-21-2007, 05:15 PM
They do but they dont.

pthomas625
06-21-2007, 05:18 PM
hmm, ok, so do i need 3 resistors (before each pot?)? or only one (where?)?

and concerning the rgb led, i think i read that someone used a special lense for it (being it had 3 leds). where would i get one if it's needed?

xwingband
06-21-2007, 05:23 PM
It uses the same lenses as normal. You were probably confusing it with the Tri-lux.

As for resistors. Yes, you need them or something else to control the LEDs. The pots are over resisting the LED to dim them. So for it to work correctly it must have at least the normal resistance already applied.

pthomas625
06-21-2007, 05:35 PM
hmm, so as for the resistors, would they go before or after the pots?

p.s. thanks xwing for helping with my account issues!

Hasid Lafre
06-21-2007, 05:41 PM
Before. You need what ever resistor/s for what ever battery setup you have.

Remember its a 3W led well 3 1Watts anyway.

So wouldent you need to use one resistor for a red one watt a resistor for a green one watt and one for a blue one watt?

pthomas625
06-21-2007, 06:01 PM
ok, well i guess i need to start putting specifics in. where would the resistor for the rgb led go?

Lord Maul
06-21-2007, 06:11 PM
right before the pots, and you would only need one.

xwingband
06-21-2007, 09:18 PM
NO! A resistor for each. The Red LED is a different voltage... plus if you think about that seriously it wouldn't work well to have one resistor.

It doesn't matter whether you resistor before or after the pot. I always mentally like to put it before, but it doesn't make an ounce of difference.

neophyl
06-22-2007, 05:29 AM
The pot is a variable resistor so altering it changes the resistence value. Unfortunately they usually have a minimum of zero. Thats why you need a normal fixed value resistor for each one to provide a safe minimum value (ie the brightest output). Then as you turn the pot it increses the resistence thereby dimming the led wafer.

pthomas625
06-23-2007, 10:06 PM
ok, thanks everyone! i suppose i need to choose a battery pack. i'm looking at rechargables, and there are a few different ones. there are 4.8 and 7.2 volt packs, pros and cons of each? and with each of those, there are 1000 and 2600 mAh (does that stand for milli-amperes?). what would the differences be?

for my hilt, i'm doing mhs parts, a hilt and a ribbed extension piece (are these female-female ends? because the picture looks like female-male.)

LAN-ED-TUL
06-25-2007, 05:01 PM
the higher the MaH is the longer life per charge on the batteries will last.

the volts is the main concern. as long as say, you need a 4.8 volt amount, you can have whatever size of mah. the higher that is the better. they last longer the bigger that number is.

pthomas625
06-28-2007, 08:11 AM
ok, well i'm trying to figure out what voltage i need. i looked at the led stats, and it says the typical forward voltages are: 3.4 v , 2.4 v , 3.4 v and the reverse voltage is 5 volts. would this all mean i need a power source greater than 5 volts?

Hasid Lafre
06-28-2007, 08:43 AM
I would say use a 4.8V rechargable pack with recharge port then get an mr board and forgo the resistors.

Lord Maul
06-28-2007, 09:36 AM
I would say use a 4.8V rechargable pack with recharge port then get an mr board and forgo the resistors.

can you even power a RGB with a MR board?

pthomas625
06-28-2007, 12:33 PM
erm, yeah...that brings up a similar question to Lord Maul's. i don't care much about a sound board, but i was thinking of doing a driver (corbin's i think?) would i need to do a driver for each led(3)? or one for all of them(1)?

xwingband
06-28-2007, 12:41 PM
I would say use a 4.8V rechargable pack with recharge port then get an mr board and forgo the resistors.

can you even power a RGB with a MR board?

That's what Gelu did...

If you went with Corbin's you'd need three of the 350mA drivers. Unless Corbin has a few lying around I'm not sure where in the world you'd get them... not to mention that you'd need three PWM dimmers to make dialable colors.

On my own RGB I just got some nice sliding pots. Too bad they are small and metric... meaning I'm going to have to order some of the screws.

pthomas625
06-28-2007, 01:18 PM
wow, looks like i jumped in over my head for my first saber. i don't mind a challenge though. do i even need a board? will it 'hurt' anything if i only do a resistor and a pot for each?

Hasid Lafre
06-28-2007, 08:27 PM
No you will be fine its just snagging an mr board will make things a little bit easyer.

but a resistor setup will be fine.

Proximal
07-16-2007, 04:45 PM
tag. I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. I'm very interested in seeing how it turns out.

pthomas625
07-16-2007, 11:01 PM
ok, here's a newbie question(s), for the mhs blade holders, do you still need a thumb-screw for the blade? and then, i've searched quite a bit without any results, how does the heatsink stay in place?

Lord Maul
07-17-2007, 12:03 AM
yes, you do need a thumbscrew on the blade holders, that's what holds the blade in the holder.

the heatsink is sandwiched in between the male and female threading of the two MHS pieces.

pthomas625
07-17-2007, 09:10 PM
ok, i'm a little confused in choosing which pots and resistors. i read on a different rgb thread that this is the pot i would need to use (for the prolight rgb led). is this correct?
potentiometers (http://www.mouser.com/search/productdetail.aspx?R=249FGJS0XB25102KAvirtualkey59 400000virtualkey594-249-7102)

here's the page for the led:
led (http://cgi.ebay.com/1-PC-3W-PROLIGHT-HIGH-POWER-RGB-FULL-COLOR-LED-70-LM_W0QQitemZ320108085530QQihZ011QQcategoryZ66954QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

it says that reverse voltage (not quite sure what that means) is 5.0 volts. does that mean i need a battery that is equal or greater than 5.0 volts? i think i'll go with a 7.2 v rechargable battery anyway. but just asking.

assuming i go with a 7.2 volt battery, and using an online resistor wizard, i got that i'll need:
red: The wizard recommends a 1.8 Watt capable or greater 15 ohm resistor. The color code for 15 ohms is brown green black.
green: The wizard recommends a 1.5 Watt capable or greater 12 ohm resistor. The color code for 12 ohms is brown red black.
blue: The wizard recommends a 1.5 Watt capable or greater 12 ohm resistor. The color code for 12 ohms is brown red black.

Hasid Lafre
07-18-2007, 04:02 AM
tim can make custom battery packs and I wouldent go to large considering that resistor needs to bleas off all that excess heat that the pack is pushing thru. the pots should be fine.

pthomas625
07-18-2007, 08:14 AM
ok, i suppose i'll try to find a smaller battery, but...will a 4.8 volt battery work for a 5.0 volt reverse current led?

p.s. i'm also putting a PLI and an accent led on the hilt, does this change anything with the battery?

neophyl
07-18-2007, 10:51 AM
Dont worry about reverse current. The important one is vf (forward voltage) which is the voltage you need to supply to light up the led.

pthomas625
07-18-2007, 04:38 PM
ok, well...the red led is 2.4 volts, and the green and blue are each 3.4 volts. would i add everything together (9.2 volts)? or take the highest voltage (3.4 volts)?

Hasid Lafre
07-18-2007, 07:55 PM
Remember the prolight led is a 3 watt bu tnot really. it has 3, 1Watt led wafers inside the one emitter.

So you would need to get a 1W resistor, which is why I said to find an mr board or and forgo the resistors, its easyer to have 3 power wires comming of the one power lead.

pthomas625
07-18-2007, 08:35 PM
well, i'm pretty sure i'm going with a resistor set-up. i'm just wondering what battery i need to use, a 4.8v or 7.2 v. i'm guessing a 4.8v is fine. once i have that figured out, i think i'm ready to buy everything!

Lord Maul
07-18-2007, 10:24 PM
4.8V is plenty for a RGB

pthomas625
07-19-2007, 07:50 AM
ok, coolio. thanks!


EDIT: anyone know a good place/site to buy resistors? i looked in this shop and didn't see the ones i need. i don't think i've seen them at home depot. would radioshack have them?

EDIT#2: which battery charger do i choose?

Hasid Lafre
07-19-2007, 08:12 AM
nimh the redone.

pthomas625
07-19-2007, 08:13 AM
ok, thanks.

Lord Maul
07-19-2007, 05:40 PM
radio shack will have the resistors for sure, so will any other major electronic store

supertrogdor
07-20-2007, 05:28 AM
dont speak too hastily there Maul, not all radio shacks carry resistors. Granted i live in a small town, but it is an average sized radio shack compared to what i have seen in Salt Lake City, Boise and such, and they have almost no resistors. you can occasionally find a useless pack of several very small resistors, but rarely anything usefull enough for even the most basic electronic work.

Novastar
07-20-2007, 07:38 PM
I agree with the burninator. I live in San Jose CA and radio shack has a PALTRY supply of resistors.

Granted, when you're trying to "dial it in" the way that we are with an LED (squeezing out every last lumen are we???)... I am neither surprised nor upset.

If you want to "dial it in"...

1. digikey
2. screw resistors, try a CURRENT-REG driver (Corbin, Erv, a buck/puck whatever, etc.)
3. change your battery setup??

:)

pthomas625
07-26-2007, 09:05 PM
ok, novastar, i'm not completely sure what your talking about, "dial it in"?

and, i've finally ordered everything i need from TCSS! (i think)

one last thing, the pots i was gonna order are sold out. i found some others that someone else posted. would these work?

http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.asp?SKU=753-2915&SEARCH=&ID=80320&MPN=309N%2DPC+250&DESC=309N%2DPC+250

what exactly do the ohms do?

Jedi-Loreen
07-26-2007, 10:33 PM
Ohms are the units of electrical resistance. The higher the ohms, the less voltage that flows through the circuit.

pthomas625
07-27-2007, 03:08 PM
mmkay, that makes sense. would pots with 250 ohms resistance be powerful enough to completely turn off each led?

xwingband
07-27-2007, 03:42 PM
No... but they'll be dim enough that they won't light up the blade. It's actually enough that you can look at the LED.

pthomas625
07-27-2007, 05:22 PM
well...shoot, maybe that's not what i want then. what would be enough to completely turn each led off? 'cause that's the only thing that i can't find now, are the pots. i guess if it comes down to it, i'll go with these.

xwingband
07-27-2007, 06:09 PM
There is nothing to make it not light other than a switch. The resistor limits current and even at 0mA an LED is lit.

Not sure why it matters. It's terribly dim and unless you used a reflector the light is really hard to see below the optics.

Novastar
07-28-2007, 01:08 AM
You do not (really) want to have the LED drawing a decent amount of current from the batteries when it is supposed to be "off".

What I meant by "dial it in" has to do with how perfectly you want to drive each LED. Every LED has its own "sweetspot" which is basically the "best" amount of current and voltage you run it at to make it be the brightest. Which isn't all that necessary, considering if you get close--you'll be fine.

If you're using "pots" you can easily find what is best for each LED... which will be different settings.

pthomas625
07-28-2007, 12:42 PM
ok, thanks xwingband and novastar. i went ahead and ordered those pots i posted earlier. now i just have to wait for all these orders to come in. lol. oh, and buy the tools i guess.

pthomas625
08-02-2007, 06:57 PM
well, i'm just waiting on the led now. lol, it's coming from hong kong i guess. i had a different question, but i forget now. but here's another one, how do you secure everything inside the hilt? my main concern is the battery sliding around and knocking into stuff.

oh, i remembered: with a prolight rgb led, what lens holder do i use?

xwingband
08-02-2007, 07:15 PM
A Prolight can take the standard lens.

There is no one answer to how to secure it inside. Maybe a craddle will do... maybe just some bubble wrap and electrical tape. It's up to you and your design.

pthomas625
08-04-2007, 09:03 PM
ok, so i've read about people going to radio shack and buying switches and stuff, i never knew they had them. i've gone to two recently, and i didn't even know that section of the store existed! cool! anyways, i looked for the resistors i need and i couldn't find them. based on this site:

http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz

it says i need a 1 watt, 4.7 ohm resistor for both the blue and green led, a 2 watt 8.2 ohm for the red led, and a 1/8 watt 68 ohm for my accent led. where can i find these?

Novastar
08-05-2007, 12:17 AM
Try the "big" online parts carriers, such as digikey or many others. Radio shack has a limited supply of things. You need a resistor that is VERY specific to the task (for the mostpart).

pthomas625
08-16-2007, 08:08 AM
muahahahaha! guess what!!! it only takes the red led 4 seconds running at 4.8 volts to explode! whahahaha! i was like, "hey, look how bright this led is! {POP!}" lol, i didn't wait for the resistors. now i have to order a new light. lol.

Marsupial
08-16-2007, 11:11 AM
did you at least sink it properly?

what was your power source?

At least you're not waisting 15-20$ worth of led like luxeons used to be at first. ;)

pthomas625
08-16-2007, 07:02 PM
it was on a cold counter-top if that counts for anything. no, i suppose i didn't sink(heatsink?) it properly. lol, and where i get these rgb leds, they do cost like $15 for the led and $6 for shipping. oh well, i learned from it.

pthomas625
10-21-2007, 10:07 PM
well, it's been a couple of months since i last posted. i'm finishing up. or about 3/4 of the way there. i'm really hesitant on actually cutting into my hilt (for a pli). anyways, my qustion: i have four wires that i want to connect together. is there any special or safe way to do it? it's the power wire connecting to the red, green, and blue wires. like just twist, solder, and tape them?

Novastar
10-22-2007, 12:24 AM
Glad to hear you received a replacement RGB...

Twist, solder and tape is fine.

Are you planning to have a switch & POT for each LED? Or just go with the POTs, period? Curious as to what come up with...

Also--you might want to (once you find the "sweetspot" on the POTs per each LED color) find some way to... how do I say this right... prevent the POT per each particular color from being turned PAST the "best" uh... "volume" level.

This way--not even by ACCIDENT could someone turn the POT too high on red or green or blue, or whatever.

pthomas625
10-22-2007, 08:19 AM
well, i have a switch that will 'kill' everything. after that, i have the proper resistor for each led, and a pot after each resistor. then it goes to each led.

should i be worried about over-powering the leds even with the in circuit?

Novastar
10-22-2007, 02:30 PM
If the resistor is fine-tuned to only allow up to the "max" (that is best for the particular LED) through... I think you should be ok. Turning the POT to a position "past" what the resistor allows... SHOULDN'T matter...

Although I've never done that, so I might be missing something. But... since the resistor acts as a sort of "current gate"... I don't see how you'd have a problem now.

pthomas625
10-30-2007, 07:54 PM
okay, thanks for the help. i finally wired everything up (i've been evacuated for the last week. :shock: ) it all works nicely, no exploding leds or anything. only thing is, the blue led doesn't ramp up (i think that's the right term). like i can can spin the pot dial, and the led doesn't light until right at the end, where it just turns on. would this be a messed up led? or maybe the pot?

xwingband
10-30-2007, 07:58 PM
The value of your pot is too high. If you move it really slowly you'll notice it does work at the end.

That's what it sounds like at least.

pthomas625
11-01-2007, 11:02 AM
hmm, that sounds like that might be it. i was playing around with it last night, and i found that i can get about two different levels right at the end. but that seems strange, the blue and green leds need the same resistors so i would guess that they would react the same to a certain pot. anyways, i think that's something i could deal with. :D

xwingband
11-01-2007, 11:55 AM
Nope, Reds as always are a lower voltage. Thus that's why the Red is reacting differently.