NB v4 ledstring config

[SchvagnumPI]

This is my first attempt at a ledstring saber and I'm slowly working my way through the config but I seem to be stuck at a point. This is what I've done;

edited the override.txt
ledstrip=140

That got the ledstring to light up but it was on and would stay solid white as soon as I booted it.

edited the override.txt
ls0=12
ls1=24

Ledstring was no longer on during boot up and saber would extend on ignition. The color however is not constant and cycles through all it's variations (red, purple, blue, green etc.) and this is where I'm stuck. I have edited the bank config.txt

bank1 drive=0,1023,0
bank2 drive=0,0,1023
bank3 drive=1023,0,0

So each font should change to a different consistent color but the colors still cycle.
I'm wondering what I am missing for the color to stay consistant

[Tom Tilmon]

Plecter manual excerpts: " ledstrip [0-150]: Enables the ledstrip support 3 channel drive list defining the maximum drive of the high-power LED and therefore the blade color. 0 leaves the board in high-power LED mode ls0 [5-50]: LED strip "zero" timing in multiple of 25.2ns. Sometimes had to be adjusted of 1 or 2 units, depending on the strip used. ls1 [5-50]: LED strip "one" timing in multiple of 25.2ns. Usually the double of ls0. lsfadeon [0-1]: enables the progressive fade in effect combined with the ledstrip scrolling effect, which is the ScrollFade™ feature. lsfadeoff [0-1]: same as above but during blade retraction. lightstick [0-1]: when enabled, it removes the scrolling effect and lights the ledstrip up with all leds at once. Can be combined with lsfade parameters.

Ledstrip timing parameters The board allows for configuring the timing of the data line to adapt to certain brands or part # of pixels. In particular, the SK6812 has slightly shorter timings (-50ns) compared to the WS2812(B). The ls0 and ls1 parameters (override.txt) are there to allow some tuning to adapt to the strip protocol. They are set in multiples of 25.2ns. The default configuration for those is :

ls0=14 // matches WS2812B datasheet 350 nS ls1=28 "

To get the SK6812 running (the Adafruit skinny neopixel use those) we simply changed them to : ls0=12 // matches the 300 nS from datasheet ls1=24 "

Me: "The instructions say that sometimes you have to change the ls0 and ls1 in single increments to get things to work right. Have you tried 13/26 or 11/22 in the override text? Sounds like you have some type of signal issue. Did you resistor the signal line? Did you use a capacitor on power feed? Did you ever give full power on the LED strip prior to connecting it to your board? To test it?

I'm in the planning phases for Adafruit Skinny White Strips on a crossguard saber with Prism, so I'm curious if you get this figured out."

[SchvagnumPI]

I'm using Adafruit skinny too. I have a 470 ohm 1w resistor on the data but have no capacitor.

Below setting seem to work best
ls0=12
ls1=24

The problem seems to be the flicker. If I turn off the flicker the correct color is displayed. By increasing the duration of the flicker I noticed it flicks randomly between red blue and green. So when it flicks quickly it looked like the colors were cycling. So how to control flicker color, I don't know.

[Tom Tilmon]

There are multiple configuration adjustments; however, I leave you to the experts. I am only in the planning phase for my Adafruit build. You're doing it. Keep at it, you'll find the sweet spot they want to be in!

Tom

[Tom Tilmon]

I'm using Adafruit skinny too. I have a 470 ohm 1w resistor on the data but have no capacitor.

Below setting seem to work best
ls0=12
ls1=24

The problem seems to be the flicker. If I turn off the flicker the correct color is displayed. By increasing the duration of the flicker I noticed it flicks randomly between red blue and green. So when it flicks quickly it looked like the colors were cycling. So how to control flicker color, I don't know.

I copied the below text from the manual, and I think this is where you need to be:

flks [0-20]: speed of the energy variation / flickering effect of the blade. A high value produces a damaged saber effect while a small value generates subtile energy changes. The value 0 disables the effect (static blade). flkd [0-100]: depth (in %) of the energy fluctuation effect, i.e. the the range over which the LED brightness will be affected during the effect. A low value does not modify the energy very much while a high value « digs » big steps of light intensity. To be used with the parameter flks. shmrd [10-500]: duration of the shimmering effect of the high-power LED during a clash. Make sure this duration is not too much longer than the associated sound to keep a nice result. shmrp [5-25]: periodicity of the light bursts during the clash effect. A slow period will produce tight bursts. shmrr [0-25]: random value applied to the periodicity of the light burst during a clash effect. Allows having bursts that are not regularly spaced in time which increases the realism. For instance, a period shmrp of 20 and a random value shmrr of 10 will produce a period between two bursts varying between 20 and 30 (ie 40 and 60 ms). shmr% [0-100],[0-100] : shimmer effect depth. Defines how the shimmer will "dig" the blade defined brightness during a clash or a lockup effect. A static flash is achieved by leaving that value to 0. That parameter is actually composed of 2 numbers separated by a comma to define the range to apply to the brightness modification during the shimmer.

I think you can zero out the dig of the flicker/pulse so that you just have a steady blade. I thought that the signal would only vary the flicker/pulse of the specific color of the LEDs in the string you're trying to illuminate. In other words, say you're running a blue saber. Your board is ordered: R,G,B, so your configs for blue blade say 0,0,1023. The signal wire should only be sending the wavelength signal to activate/wake up the blue LEDs in the string, and the flicker/pulse is just the voltage being delivered in varying increments to the LEDs via power supply. That is how I understand them to work. So, if you're illuminating all 3 colors, I'd still say: you either have a signal issue up the string, or your string is bad. Hence why I asked if you had hooked up the signal wire without a resistor initially. If you did, it is my understanding that you might only fry that first board on the first LED. Simply cut that LED out of the strip, and solder your 3 wires back onto strip. There is a huge string build going on now over at the 501st SLD, and I am following their thread/videos, and doing a lot of communication back and forth with them about it. The strips are pretty awesome technology, that is for sure. So, that is why I'm so interested in your build to see how you get it working with the bisquit. I'm going to be using the prism 5.1 for mine, when I do it. Probably my second Kylo Saber will get the strip LEDs and prism. Then, while that saber is functional for troops, then I'll build a neopixel string for that same saber, and swap out the strips. Then, I'll have the strips available for other future installs. strips are easier and cheaper (time wise) than hand-built strings. Good luck!

[SchvagnumPI]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!

You got it. The first LED was being a bit erratic. As soon as I cut it off and resoldered it was all golden!

Thx so much for your help mate! I'm checking out the 501st as soon as I'm done here. Good luck with your saber.

[Tom Tilmon]

Awesome!!!!! I am stoked, it'd be even better if you posted a vid of it firing!!!!! Good to know I'm learning from them.

Tom

[SchvagnumPI]

This is it so far.



Attached a second string which had the same problem and stuck electrical tape to the back of each of them.

[Tom Tilmon]

That is awesome! Ha! It is alive!!!!!!

[ADstewart]

Hi, I came upon this thread during research before I even started building my LED strip saber so was aware of the issues. I may be having the same problem! I’m converting a normal saberforge quad cree LED and swapping the cree straight out for the wired strips (my strip -ve goes straight to the L1 pad, not sure whether this is a problem?) I’ve fiddled with 3 different ls1 and ls0 configurations but I only get this:

https://youtu.be/mgbAFT-_Trk

Does this look like a fried chip as well? I was careful to put the resistor (370 ohm) on the data line before I pulled the kill key for the first time.
There’s also some distortion from the speaker which I know is from a weak battery, even though it’s a Panasonic NCR recommended by plecter in the NB manual.

I should mention that I took a gamble and bought the cheapest strips from China for £11 each. Genuine neopixel ones were £50 each in the UK!