NB vs. PC

[Cire Yeldarb]

Hello!

So my first saber was very straightforward and simple. For my second saber, I want to add sound and a "power indicator" led (because I plan on using a recharge port with li-ion cells this time).

My plan originally included a Petit Crouton sound board to accomplish these objectives. As I kept adding things up however, the price tag on the Nano Biscotte started looking more and more attractive...

Basically, I was wondering what all the plusses and minusses would be of going with each board?

I know PC has the addition of FOC (which I wouldn't be using anyways), a Mute feature using the aux switch, as well as blaster, force, and lockup sounds using the aux switch... Those are the main differnces I was able to locate, are there any others that may influence my decision? Feature-wise, performance-wise, operation-wise?

Thanks for any help you can give!

[Silver Serpent]

You've found the differences. Also, the PC has a built-in LED driver capable of up to 2A of power, so it is better suited for multi-die LEDs. With the NB, you'll need to use a resistor with your LED.

Another point to consider is that the NB uses a single li-ion, while the PC needs 2 li-ions.

Performance on either board is basically identical. Operation is the same, with the difference being the lack of aux button features on the NB.

My suggestion would be to start with the NB. If you later on decide you'd like a more feature-filled saber, then you can build another with the PC.

[GFJedi]

Aside for what you already listed, the PC has 2 accent led pads, while the NB only has 1 3.3v pad that is always on whenever the board is powered. You could get away with using the accent pad on the NB as a power indicator. The NB also does have a simulated flash on clash which fiddles with the flicker effect, and is not that bad if basic is all you want. The mute feature is nice but can be accomplished with a small selector switch wired to one of the speaker wires to break the circuit.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Hmm, thank you for the input guys!

One more question: I see the NB only takes momentary switches... I haven't seen anything about it anywhere so does the switch have to be contantly depressed for the power to stay on, or are the boards smart enough to keep the power on after one press, and turn it off after another press? The "anti-power-off" feature makes it sound like that is how it works, but I just want to make sure I won't have to be holding that switch the whole time I want it on...

[GFJedi]

Yep it's a smart signal board. A quick press puts the board into an active state, another short press puts it into a standby state. After a set amount of time in standby the board switches to a deep sleep mode to conserve battery life.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Alright cool.

Thank you guys so much again!

Now I just need to decide if the Aux-switch features are worth it to me haha