DIY Emerald Build w/ RGB Accent Crystal LED

[Vex]

Where did you get the strobing color changing led? That would be sweet for some accent leds.

[DarthDaddy]

Where did you get the strobing color changing led? That would be sweet for some accent leds.

Hey Vex -- google RGB LED -- or RGB strobing LED . . . there are many different providers and different types.  (5mm, 10mm, 3 watt, fast strobe, slow strobe, etc)

Here are some links:

https://www.google.com/#q=5mm+rgb+led&tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=rgb+fast+strobe+led&tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=rgb+slow+strobe+led&tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=3w+rgb+led&tbm=shop

If you intend to use the strobing LED as an accent LED on the outside hilt - might I recommend going with one of the 'diffused light' LEDs . . . rather than a clear plastic calumniator, the 'diffused LED' is more translucent -- and the LED is a softer light -- the one I showed in picture / video is a super bright for the illumination of a crystal.

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

Where did you get the strobing color changing led? That would be sweet for some accent leds.

I just found mine on amazon

[DarthDaddy]

The build starts!

I just got the emerald driver, obsidian 3.0, and pre-wired ledEngin unit from Emory.  Thought I would post the pics so that everyone can see how the wires look in reality compared to the wiring diagram I posted earlier.

You can see the eight wires on the led unit . . . 4 positives and 4 negatives, and UltraSabers labled each wire with the masking tape -- so no guessing. . . the obsidian is standard with the wiring harness . . . and the emerald driver is nice because the positive lead wires correspond to the LED die color (again - no guess work) -

Now waiting on several components to come in from The Custom Saber Shop.  Will post results of my pre-wire testing and lessons learned as I progress.

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

Sweetnes. Can't wait to see your w.i.p.

[Jedijosh]

Awesome keep us updated:).

[DarthDaddy]

I got my other parts from TCSS today.

18650 battery pack with acrylic internal framing.
2.1mm recharge port and acrylic framing
Positioning rods
PLI
Illuminated AV switch
Kill key

I will have to sand the framing in order to accommodate the obsidian. The big trick will be figuring out how to position the emerald driver near the bottom of the hilt.  The other option would be cutting a door in the hilt to access the micro USB. I'm thinking of some type of sliding door. Still need to architect that out. Does anyone have any experience with creating an access door or panel in the hilt?

I also got the TCSS power level indicator. This is their newer model and I think it's a little easier to wire in. But does anyone have advice on installing the PLI?  Or a wiring diagram for that with a recharge port?

[DarthDaddy]

Ok - first pics of some early soldering prep work.  I'm gonna be waiting for my saber hilt for a while (which I am buying), but everything else inside is going to be UltraSabers. 

First pic is a test wire of the Power Level Indicator (PLI) . . . like I said in earlier post TCSS has a new model now and considerably easier to wire up . . . doesn't require any custom resistors . . . they must be using a dynamic resistor inside now . . . only thing I had to do was bridge some pads on the right side to configure it for a 7.4V battery pack -- and then wire in the Pos / Neg on the left side. 





Then I toyed around with my grab bag Dominix hilt that I use to experiment on before doing anything to a hilt I want to build out . . . tried cutting a square hole with a round bit for an access to the emerald driver micro USB . . . as you can see it ended up with a clichéd outcome . . . not happy with that -- so I think I will simply drill a clean hole with my drill press large enough to accommodate a micro USB cable.  I can use a dremmel to square it out if I need to with a cutting bit.



The full idea is to create a small rectangular panel that will slide up and down on one or two screws (which can be tighted down to prevent accidental slippage to cover the access port.  this way I will never need to unscrew the pommel and fiddle with trying to get the electronics to drop out - and then worry about stuffing back in.  I am either going to go with a cut out from a chrome sink tube . . . OR . . . go with this copper tubing.  It's 1.5 '' diameter so it should match the curve of the hilt . . . I will dremmel out a section just large enough to cover the access hole . . . and then I think I might try acid etching a design into the outer section . . . maybe some circuitry design (see photos below)  Does this sound workable?  Anybody else have any experience with what I'm thinking?

[DarthDaddy]

Hi all

I received a sample of my accent LEDs and I test wired the rgb flashing diode. Glad I got it working but I don't know how it will look in the final saber crystal. It may be too cartoonish to pas off for a misfiring crystal or sparking crystal concept. Once the hilt arrives I will test it to see if it's passable.

I've re-worked the wiring diagram to now include the power level indicator device. It wires direct to the battery and recharge port. Does this look right to all you long-timers out there?

The second version of the diagram shows what the wiring would look like if I use the flashing rgb diode. You can see how things get simplified greatly. It will also greatly reduce any issues with fit inside the hilt. Regardless of how it looks I may be forced to put in the flashing or a stationary crystal color if I am severely constrained on internal space.

I have question for all the readers out there . . .

If you were me and had to pick a single color to illuminate a visible crystal with the emerald driver, what color would you choose?  In other words what crystal color would be the broadest acceptable match for a blade that can essentially be any color??  My initial thought would be super bright pure white. Maybe white could pass for energy / electricity.

Hoping I won't be forced into that decision but would love to know what the community thinks in case I have to. Thanks all in advance for your opinions on that subject.

Here's the updated wiring diagrams

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

As far as what color to use that's really up to you. I don't see why you couldn't use the flashing led in the chamber.
But it is verry posable to use 5mm rgb common anode just by running a 100 ohm 1/4w resistor to the greenand blue cathodes and a 150 ohm 1/4w to the red. Then just run them each in like from the driver to the corasponding color on the accent led and the main led.
Then as far as the P.L.I. I thaught it had to be run from the battery pos/ neg. And not from the charge port. I could be wrong I'll check again.

Other than that everything looks good.

[Vex]

Hey Vex -- google RGB LED -- or RGB strobing LED . . . there are many different providers and different types.  (5mm, 10mm, 3 watt, fast strobe, slow strobe, etc)

Here are some links:

https://www.google.com/#q=5mm+rgb+led&tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=rgb+fast+strobe+led&tbm=shop
Thanks alot!!
https://www.google.com/#q=rgb+slow+strobe+led&tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=3w+rgb+led&tbm=shop

If you intend to use the strobing LED as an accent LED on the outside hilt - might I recommend going with one of the 'diffused light' LEDs . . . rather than a clear plastic calumniator, the 'diffused LED' is more translucent -- and the LED is a softer light -- the one I showed in picture / video is a super bright for the illumination of a crystal.

[DarthDaddy]

Hey Everyone:

I have some good news and some bad news . . . first the good news:

I successfully completed a full test wire of all my internal electronics this evening and most importantly I confirmed that it is possible to drive a configurable RGB accent LED from the emerald driver along with the main LED.  Thus you can have an accent LED for a crystal illumination that will always match whatever color you configure for the main blade.  I also successfully tested the power level indicator accent during this pre-wire.

All in all I am very happy with what was accomplished . . .

Now for the bad news . . .  I need some help from all you readers and builders.  I didn't get everything to work just right . . . my recharge port is basically a dead component.  See the video that I've posted below for the visual . . . but basically I'm finding that when I put in the kill key, it isn't stopping current to the obsidian board.  When I pull the kill key or plug in the power jack - I don't get an obsidian boot up.  I've double checked all my wiring and it is per the diagram I created on this message board early on.  I have my positive lead going to the battery + and Voltage In on the Obsidian.  I have the negative terminal going to the battery - . And I have the recharge port Ground lead going to the Ground on the obsidian.  Even more curious is that the switch led ring is constantly illuminated even though I have it wired through the LED - on the Obsidian board -- meaning it shouldn't be illuminated provided that the switch is open to the obsidian.  The switch led illumination is very dull.  And when I close the switch to the obsidian - I get a full power illumination of the switch accent led.

Again -- see the video -- maybe you folks can help me figure out what is going on here and why the recharge port is basically not working at all / nor kill key.  I also verified that I wired the terminals up correctly on the recharge port jack. 

I will also post an update to the wiring diagram as I did find a problem in the original version -- I had the power level indicator negative going to the battery -- and it really needs to go to the LED - on the Obsidian -- that way the power level indicator isn't constantly on . . . Of course if the recharge port were working correctly, then I suppose the negative could go directly to the battery . . . maybe that is my problem -- maybe there is some power being channeled directly through the PLI by wiring it directly to the battery and then to the Obsidian LED -- I will try changing that back tomorrow and seeing if that makes a difference.

Appreciate any comments, feedback or thoughts on the matter and thanks for viewing!

http://youtu.be/EI8ulw9R5y8

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

That rat's nest of wires looks about like most of my test set-ups, so no worries there.
Good work with the accent led I knew it could be done.
As far as the charge port and switch problem, I've had a similar issue with one of my sabers. Sometimes its the port itself because I have one that the kill key dosnt work on( it can remain on while charging).

It looks like you have bloth - leads from the port going to the battery and that I think is why the port isn't working and the switch led stays on.

Ok here is my sudgestion.
Port + goes to battery + and switch led +
Port - ( the middle one) goes to V in on the board.
Port - goes to battery -

Try that out it should work.

[DarthDaddy]

Ok here is my sudgestion.
Port + goes to battery + and switch led +
Port - ( the middle one) goes to V in on the board.
Port - goes to battery -

Try that out it should work.

Are you sure I should be putting a negative lead on the voltage in on the obsidian board?  Typically the  V In on the board only gets  positive leads.

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

Oops. I should have checked  my self. It goes to the gnd. battery and port + goes to switch + and v in on the board
Your right
I must have been 1/2 asleep when I posted that lol