Finalizing Things

**Evilpancreas** · 04-29-2015, 06:18 PM

So I have nearly all the electronics to build a saber. CF 7.5, CEx, battery, speaker, etc. I have a wiring diagram for the board, and I'd really like to have someone look over it for me. My main points of question are whether or not the RGB accent LED is wired properly to mirror the blade, and if it's possible to throw in the motor as shown in the picture. I've stumbled on this http://www.shapeways.com/product/X6U...ionId=13209064 and I'd love to integrate that into the build. The motor is a 3v, so I'm not sure if the board can run everything I've put into it. Check out what I've done and tell me if it's feasible, and if the motor is wired correctly.

**DarthMace** · 04-29-2015, 07:39 PM

You need a resistor on the accent LED, but it is wired correctly. The rest of the diagram looks good to!

**Evilpancreas** · 04-29-2015, 08:38 PM

I was actually too lazy to draw the resistors in for the accent LED. I do need help figuring out the resistor needed for the motor.

**DarthMace** · 04-30-2015, 06:44 AM

Here is an excerpt from Plector Labs that should help...(I take no credit for this information)

Calculation of the force-feedback motor resistor:
There are too many various sorts of motors
to determine a specific resistor. The usual
pager motors (ebay) are designed to work in
the 1V to 2V range and the current they take
increases very quickly when the power
supply voltage increases due to the noncentered
weight that produces the rumbling
effect.
We can however take 1.5V as a base voltage
with a 100 mA maximum current to avoid
too much current flowing in the high-power
LED driver and limit heating.
For a red, red-orange or amber luxeon LED the forward voltage is about 2.5V.
Rmotor = (Vluxeon – Vmotor) / Imotor
Rmotor = (2.5 – 1.5) / 0.1 = 10 Ω - 1/2 watt
For a white, blue, green or cyan luxeon the forward voltage is about 3.7 V.
Rmotor = (Vluxeon – Vmotor) / Imotor
Rmotor = (3.7 – 1.5) / 0.1 = 22 Ω - 1/2 watt
For an unknown motor, experimentation is the key, starting for instance with a 1/2
watt 100 or 150Ω resistor and an amp-meter to find out the supply voltage of the
motor within the limit of the max current used (100 mA max). The best solution is to
power the motor with a regulated power supply and to increase slowly the voltage
while monitoring the current and when the current and voltage are found, you can go
back to the above formula. Be sure to use at least a 1/2 watt resistor in all cases.

**xwingband** · 04-30-2015, 03:28 PM

I would strongly recommend that last part from the manual for getting a resistor value of the motor. If you have a power supply there's no reason you shouldn't try to figure out the forward voltage of the motor. The next best thing would be a pot that starts at like 100 ohms and run it off batteries and inside the hilt if possible. You really want to tone a motor down. If it runs too high its like a hair trimmer and quickly gets annoying. You want it low so that the fluctuations of the blade become noticeable in it.

**Evilpancreas** · 04-30-2015, 08:30 PM

Using ohm's law, I came to a 15 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor. Can someone check over this? Motor specs are 3V, 0.3A current.

**Silver Serpent** · 05-01-2015, 04:52 AM

Ohm's Law gives you a starting point. Follow xwingband's advice for vibration motors. He has it spot on.

**Madcow** · 05-01-2015, 02:28 PM

I would run the RGB accent LED off the accent LED pads 6,7, and 8. It's described in the manual. Then you have way more options what you can do with it.

Like this...
https://youtu.be/N32eu8-UUBg?t=4m23s