In-Hilt colour switching . . . mk3 (6 switch RGBA)

[JediXIX]

Hey SaberForum 

Over the last year I've been dismantling and rebuilding my US electronics, and experimenting with LED colour mixing using resistors . . . I re-wired an Aeon v2 RGB and tested a small dip switch for colour mixing instead of 3 hilt mounted switches (mk1 http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=25995.msg389663#msg389663), then built my Daughters birthday present, a Dark Initiate LE v4 using an US RGB LED module (previously Arctic Blue) and a 4 way dip switch using 2 channels for red so I could add a purple colour (mk2 http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=26114.msg391011#msg391011) . . . these both used a standard AAA battery pack . . . All along, my dream was to add in-hilt switching to an Obsidian v4 soundboard setup with Li-Ion and BuckPuck so I could change blade colour and sound font without having to connect to a computer, like we do with our Emerald sabers . . . and, include some of my favourite blade colours like SRD, DVA & Blood Orange . . . so without further ado, here's my latest round of saber alchemy 

Started with an Obsidian v4 soundboard cut from another hilt, and soldered on my 2 usual jst connectors for illuminated momentary av switches . . . As I'm using an US RGBA LED module I figured I wanted at least a 6 way dip switch, one switch each for red, green blue and amber, one for a heavy resistored red to achieve DVA, and the last for a resistored blue to achieve SRD . . . For all the LED channels I've used micro jst 1.25 connectors so I can check everything before installing, swap this setup between hilts, and to save space . . . The white wire from the BuckPuck (LED +) is soldered across all 6 pins on the dip switch, then I have 6 wires from each pin on the other side with connectors so I can connect a resistor in line to each channel if I want and change them If I want also without re-soldering . . . from there I made a 6 channel (RRGBBA) into a 4 wire connector (RGBA) . . . The LED module is wired with a 4 wire connector for the positives for each diode, and a single connector for a combined negative from all 4 diodes . . . The combined negative is then connected to the blue wire on the BuckPuck (LED -) . . . Lastly, I made up some different resistors with these connectors . . . Here's some pics of all these components . . .

Obsidian v4 soundboard . . . I removed the double sided mounding tape as I needed to move the board slightly to fit the switch next to the speaker


Setting up wiring & connectors, and dip switch wired up






LED module wiring & resistors





All taped up ready to go into a hilt . . . at the moment this is setup in my Sentinel 



Now to the colours . . . these are my 6 channels and the resistors I've settled on (for now)

1 = red, with a 2 ohm 2w resistor
2 = red, with a 10 ohm 2w resistor
3 = green
4 = blue
5 = blue, with a 15 ohm 2w resistor
6 = amber

Just as US does in their 3 (or 4) switch RGB sabers, there is a need to resistor red in the primary mixes . . . the 10 ohm resistor in red channel 2 is used primarily so I can get DVA, and the same for the 15 ohm resistor in blue channel 5 to get SRD . . . Here are some pics of the blade colours using different switch combinations . . .

BR = 1


Blood Orange = 1 + 6


Mid orange (similar to PO) = 2 + 6


FO = 6


Gold = 1 + 2 + 3 (very similar to Emerald RGBA gold but not as bright)


SY = 1 + 3


Lime green = 2 + 3


CG = 3


SRD = 3 + 5 (this is very close to the old SRD colour from a couple years ago, I'll probably change the resistor in channel 5 to get the slightly more green colour of the SRD that US currently sell)


Ice teal = 2 + 3 + 5 (a lighter shade of SRD)


AB = 3 + 4


GB = 4


Mid blue = 2 + 3 + 4 (a lighter blue than AB with a very slight purple feel)


DVA = 2 + 4


Light purple = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 (a bit lighter than VA)


Magenta = 2 + 5


Hot Pink = 1 + 2 + 5


Warm Pink = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 (if you wondered what all 6 channels looked like, lol)


and . . . White = 1 + 3 + 5 (this surprised me how nice this white is compared to my Aeon v2 RGB)



Of course there are many more switch combinations, and I can get some nice Rose pink colours, but many of the others are just slight variations of these . . .

I can't get all the colours of an Emerald saber with this, but it's really fun as I can switch up the blade colour and sound font on the go . . . cheers

[GregG124]

This is awesome! Point awarded!! Thanks for sharing your creation

[justmutantjed]

Wow, this is amazing! Good job, JediXIX!

[Obrim]

I have been lurking here for ages and finally made an account just so I could post in this thread!

Nice job with the RGB it turned out really awesome. Would you be able to please do a rough wiring diagram of your creation? It would help me understand how I can do this myself

Thanks!

[Dauntless Seven]

Wow this is just amazing.  All hail our Jedi Alchemist of the Sentinel Order.      +1.

Impressive how pure that white is.  Is the illumination on all the colors much dimmer ?   

[RevanReborn]

Dude!! Jed this is SO amazing, holy crap! Points for you man. I will def be all over this post studying up- just to learn in general, plus it'd be awesome to do this sometime myself.  But you make it look so easy lol- I'll be staring at these pics and rereading the description for months lol!  But that's a good thing by following along and understanding how you do these I'm learning all about how the electronics go in/ work.  Thanks for putting this up .  All the info and especially the pics of components at various stages is beyond helpful.  MTFBWY

[Roband]

Awestruck at this.... this is a fantastic build!

RGBA with sound AND a clean look ....BRAVO good sir. And in one of my favorite hilts as well.

[Drahem]

He did it again. Nice job.

[Bulvoy]

Wow Big Time Mod, sweet conversion. clear and crisp pic's , awesome looking color changes, you Nailed that teal color, Don't let my daughter see that or ill be paying to send you a saber.  Be Proud for sure + umm How many points??

[DarthScrub]

This is spectacular! Amazing job

[MavRick]

IMPRESSIVE , MOST IMPRESSIVE!! True Jedi skills you have!! 

[JediXIX]

Thank you all . . . I've always enjoyed swapping LED modules, but this setup is really sooo much more fun  

I have been lurking here for ages and finally made an account just so I could post in this thread!

Nice job with the RGB it turned out really awesome. Would you be able to please do a rough wiring diagram of your creation? It would help me understand how I can do this myself

Thanks!

Sure . . . it might take me a couple days (or a week maybe, lol) but I'll put something together . . . welcome to the forum  

Wow this is just amazing.  All hail our Jedi Alchemist of the Sentinel Order.     +1.

Impressive how pure that white is.  Is the illumination on all the colors much dimmer ?  

Some of the colours are brighter than the others . . . but because I'm using a BuckPuck the brightness is very much the same as standard US LEDs . . . The Blood Orange is very bright and so is AB . . . Yes, the White is really satisfying, I wasn't sure if i'd get a good white but that combination with a 15 ohm resistor on blue ch.5 works great . . .

I'm most impressed with the primaries and dual diode colours like Blood Orange, AB, SRD, Lime Green and even Hot Pink . . . Gold and DVA are really nice too, but I keep coming back to the greens and blues, and this has helped my plans for one of my next projects, a stunt saber using an RGGB module (currently an EG module) with an in-hilt rotary switch to select between a few more green blade colours . . .  

[Obrim]

Thanks mate that would be appreciated.

Another question about the dip switches. How many amps are these rated to handle? The ones I've come across are mainly meant to be mounted on a PCB and are specced for very low current (25ma). Have you had any issues using these in sabers? I know you have used other ones in your other projects, just curious. Thanks again.

[JediXIX]

Yep . . . All these small dip switches have the same rating and its been my main concern when testing over the last few months . . . with my research I was told that if the switch was going fail it would be within the first few times and I literally sat there one night clicking one of these over and over and it didn't fail, lol . . . That was with the same setup, 7.4v Li-Ion > 1000ma BuckPuck > dip switch > LED etc . . . I also left it on running thru the switch for over half an hour and the switch didn't even heat up . . . So I thought I'd just give it a go, lol . . .

As I said in my other project, I'm no expert, I just like to tinker and experiment with this stuff, lol . . . I also bought some small latching flashlight switches rated at 1.5A, they are 12 x 8 x 4mm and could be mounted in-hilt somehow . . . They were going to be my plan B if the dip switch idea turned out to be bad idea, lol . . .

I've been thru 3 recharge cycles on these batteries in this Sentinel now and flicked these little dip switches many many times and so far so good, but I guess time will tell, lol  

I'll post a diagram some time soon . . . cheers

[THX1138]

What a great project.

I was going to suggest a rotary switch but then I saw your next idea!

Looks like your wiring is really tight and great craftsmanship too. I like it!