This is kind of a new twist on the MR conversion, but these sabers are pretty unique, I'd almost dare to say that these are no longer Hasbro Sabers at all. These were 6 months in the works! Here is my previous thread on the idea behind this chassis from several months back, which is the nexus to these sabers: 26650 Chassis Thread
Parts List for each saber:
TCSS
3 neopixel pcb sets
3 1" LED Module Adapter sets
3 1" thin-walled blade PCB sets
2 tactile switches
1 switchcraft recharge port
3 1" LED modules
1 Veco High Bass Speaker
2 full length 1" thin walled blades with LED Strip Diffuser inserts (one for main blade the other for quillions, still working on neopixel icicles for quillions, cramped quarters for diffusion there)
3 bullet tips (mirror removed, drilled out)
3 470 ohm resistors for data lines
Elsewhere:
26 ga. PTFE Stranded Wire for positive/negative feeds to strips.
30 ga. PTFE Stranded Wire everything else
Teensysaber V3 and Teensy 3.2 sandwich board and pins
USB to micro USB cable
MicroSD
1 foot of 1" ID aluminum pipe. I used this to scratch build my chassis/blade holder that fits inside the saber head.
Neodymium magnets (for board hatch)
Lego 4x2 hinge for board access (allows board to rotate upwards for SD/Micro USB access for programming updates/font updates
8-32 set screws
10-24 hex bolts x2, replace the 4-40 screws in the sides to secure hilt into saber head.
8-32 hex bolt to secure saber head onto hilt in plastic housing where the pin used to go. Hole drilled in plastic trim to allow for access to this
Adafruit Skinny Strips with white PCB X 3 (2 for main blade, 1 for building the quillions)
Dish packing foam cases (used for strip diffusion foam)
Clear cellophane gift wrap (used for floral arrangements, comes on a gift wrap-like roll craft stores)
26650 battery holder
26650 battery
4-40 screws to hold battery holder into chassis
18650 batteries would drive this saber just fine, as a matter of fact, I tested saber on bench with 18650s driving all 3 blades, and they work just fine. (the have the same length as 26650, just a different diameter). My logic behind the 26650 batteries was to achieve some greater run times with the higher mah. 26650 batteries are huge. A lot of people complain about the Hasbro Kylo BS being too big. Well, I'm a big guy, and I like its size. The ID of this hilt lent itself well to the 26650 battery solution.
More to come on this build. I have been brainstorming, learning Arduino, and thinking about this saber for months. Once TCSS released the neopixel adapters, it was on like donkey kong! Learning Arduino programming, and soldering the Teensysaber sandwich were the hardest parts of this build, along with proper diffusion of the neopixels. It seems like everyone is struggling with this right now. It is tough to eliminate corncobbing and shadowing; however, I believe I have produced some pretty solid blades with a great deal of experimentation on my bench.
...and so we begin.
Tom
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