Neopixels no longer work...

[null]

Hey poconosjon@aol.com

This is all very strange, colour profile look good and you are getting voltage...

You don’t happen to have an old high power LED and some resistors kicking around do you; I’m thinking you could set aside the NeoPixel idea for the moment and wire in a LED just to see if that works or if it is an issue with the board itself. It would be an awfully big coincidence if there was a problem with new pixel strips but it is a possibility.

Like you said I don’t think its a connection issue or I’d recommend hardwiring everything together (eliminate the quick connects & the PCB pixel connector) and see if that makes any difference.

Barring that you could reach out to ‘Erv over on FXSabers and see if he can help out.

- Steve

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Do you have a resistor on the data line?

[poconosjon@aol.com]

Hey poconosjon@aol.com

This is all very strange, colour profile look good and you are getting voltage...

You don’t happen to have an old high power LED and some resistors kicking around do you; I’m thinking you could set aside the NeoPixel idea for the moment and wire in a LED just to see if that works or if it is an issue with the board itself. It would be an awfully big coincidence if there was a problem with new pixel strips but it is a possibility.

Like you said I don’t think its a connection issue or I’d recommend hardwiring everything together (eliminate the quick connects & the PCB pixel connector) and see if that makes any difference.

Barring that you could reach out to ‘Erv over on FXSabers and see if he can help out.

- Steve

Steve,

Unfortunately I do not have any high powered LEDs... Before I unsolder and disconnect all my wiring I will try to test them with the Raspberry PI again using the PCB connections. Then if they do work, I know it is not the connections. If not then it is something with the quick disconnects... I will try to reach Erv and see if he can maybe shed some light on this... Thanks again to you Steve and everyone that has been so helpful.

Thanks,
Jon

[erv]

7.4v to the strips probaby killed them, and eventually your onboard L1 to L4 drivers. Not sure why you'd apply 7.4V to 5V strips.
I'd test the invididual drivers with 5mm led, you don't need HB leds for this, anything that lights up can be used within the current range. You can also test your LS1 output using a small piece of strip or a single pixel.

[poconosjon@aol.com]

7.4v to the strips probaby killed them, and eventually your onboard L1 to L4 drivers. Not sure why you'd apply 7.4V to 5V strips.
I'd test the invididual drivers with 5mm led, you don't need HB leds for this, anything that lights up can be used within the current range. You can also test your LS1 output using a small piece of strip or a single pixel.

Erv,

Thank you so much for the response. I do have regular LEDs I can use to test and I can use the 8 pixels from the old strip that work to test the LS1... I will post an update later.

Thanks,
Jon

[poconosjon@aol.com]

All,

Ok so for a change of pace a positive test result... I tested the strips again with the PI and they worked Now using a breadboard to eliminate the PCBs from the equation I successfully tested the strips using the CFX and breadboard as seen in the pictures below... So the really good news is that my CFX is working properly So now I need to re-work the PCBs to see if there is an issue there possibly...

Sorry for the mess!

[poconosjon@aol.com]

All,

Another quick reply, re-worked(removed and re-tinned all the pads)on the blade side PCB and re-soldered the leads from the pixels and it still works! I am now going to re-build the blade and if it still works, I will post pictures of the PVC build because it will be complete!

I want to give a sincere thank you to all of you who have helped me from the beginning to end of this journey! If you were local I would buy you a beer!

Jon

[null]

Thats awesome news! Great job & looking forward to seeing the complete saber (are you gonna enter it in the 2020 building competition???).

If you were local I would buy you a beer!

As great as that sounds; all we want is for you to “pay it forward”. Its been a learning experience for you (and me too) and that knowledge is sure to help out someone else in the future - help out if you hear of someone having similar issues. We are a Community. NeoPixel and CFX seem to be the way of the future!

I’m glad to hear it finally worked out for you!

- Steve

[poconosjon@aol.com]

Thats awesome news! Great job & looking forward to seeing the complete saber (are you gonna enter it in the 2020 building competition???).

As great as that sounds; all we want is for you to “pay it forward”. Its been a learning experience for you (and me too) and that knowledge is sure to help out someone else in the future - help out if you hear of someone having similar issues. We are a Community. NeoPixel and CFX seem to be the way of the future!

I’m glad to hear it finally worked out for you!

- Steve

Steve,

I will enter both the PVC and Aluminum builds in the competition... I was not even aware that this was a thing . How would I go about this? As for paying it forward, I will absolutely help anyone I can as I have received plenty of help from everyone. I am trying to finish this tonight, we will see how that goes...

Jon

[null]

Alright! It’s on like Donkey Kong!

Here’s the thread from FJK about the contest.

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ilding-Contest

See you ‘round the forum.

-Steve