Warsaber Starkiller V4 crystal chamber strip LEDs | r/lightsabers | Page 1

lime crater May 29, 2024, 12:11 AM

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I am building the Starkiller v4 2024 batch. The main bottom LED for the crystal chamber is lighting up in sync with the main blade (data1) but the other 6 strip LEDs above it aren’t lighting up. I’m fairly certain the wiring to data2 is solid as well as the positive and negative wires (otherwise the main bottom LED wouldn’t turn on right?).

My main suspicion is my configuration is wrong but I’m not versed enough in C++ to trace the code. I’ve included my generated config below along with my selected options. I followed the wiring schematic provided by Warsabers with the inclusion of an OLED screen.

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warsaber’s wiring schematic ^

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my inputs to generate the config file (I didnt follow this schematic. I wired data1 to the left pad surrounded by the 2 resistors and data2 to the extender board)

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BladeConfig blades[] = {
{ 0, WS281XBladePtr<144, bladePin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin2, bladePowerPin3> >(),
SubBladeWithStride(0, 15, 2, WS281XBladePtr<16, blade2Pin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin2, bladePowerPin3> >()),
SubBladeWithStride(1, 15, 2, NULL),
WS281XBladePtr<144, blade3Pin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin4, bladePowerPin5> >()
, CONFIGARRAY(presets) },
};

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heres the generated bladeconfig code ^

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is the config generator assuming the data2 line will be used with the main blade instead of a strip LED in the crystal chamber? if so how can i edit the config to tell it to treat data2 as the strip LEDs in the crystal chamber

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 12:48 AM

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lime crater is the config generator assuming the data2 line will be used with the main blade...

by altering the entry in the array, look closely you will see bladePin, blade2Pin, etc, that controls which pad the data output will be. As for that generated wiring diagram, it assumes you want independent control of the pixel adapter PCBs which is why there's 2 data lines going to it (v4 config in the NPXL manual). In that example in the image data1 would still be primary blade and data2 would be the pixels on the adapter PCB. I should note that NPXL ships in v2 config meaning only one data line is needed and the inboard pixels will mirror the data line going to the main blade/center pin on the adapter.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 5:58 PM

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ok so i’ve done a lot of tinkering since and think ive narrowed down the problem. the bladeconfig seems fine since it drives the button LEDs on data3 without issue and that uses the same LEDs, only difference is that there are 2 instead of 6 LEDs.

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heres what the 6 strip crystal chamber LEDs (on data2) look like when powered normally by a battery.

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 5:59 PM

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can you post your config?

lime crater May 29, 2024, 5:59 PM

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here’s what it looks like with only data2 turned on

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I’ve tried switching the data2 pad to data4 pad on proffie and it was giving me the same issues.

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:00 PM

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How are they hooked into negative power?

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:01 PM

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the weird thing is when i take out the battery and plug in a USB cable the 6 strip crystal chamber LEDs come on and show the correct blade styles EXCEPT the color is stuck on red. (also sound becomes a bit distorted)

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what could my issue be that the 6 strip crystal chamber LEDs dont light up when on battery, but do come on when plugged into USB but are stuck on one color??

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:02 PM

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hmm.. that looks to be a power issue somewhere. The distorted audio is normal on USB only since it's not providing enough power to fully power the audio amp.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:04 PM

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📎 my_config_test.h

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here’s the schematic i followed, the creator of the saber says power is from the same source for the main blade, crystal chamber, and button LEDs

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i think negative is connected to “GND FROM KSW/BATT-“

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:06 PM

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ok, hmm. So I take it you have primary blade on data1, the crystal on data2, and the LEDs behind the crystal on 3?

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:08 PM

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so actually primary blade on data1, main crystal LED is also on data1
6 strip Crystal chamber LEDs on data2
button box LEDs on data3

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:09 PM

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ok, so you have the crystal mirroring the blade.

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do you have data2 and data3 resistored?

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Also to confirm, you have LED2 and LED3 going to the LED1-6 pad on the helper board?

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:12 PM

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i was told the PCB the creator provided is already resistorsed, data3’s button LEDs work fine without a resistor. do you think a resistor would help in data2?

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:15 PM

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Well, the resistor is just a filter on the data lines, you get odd behavior on them when they aren't there (and when it doubt it doesn't hurt to add one, multiple won't hurt anything) but from what I can see it looks like the pixels on data 2 aren't getting proper power so the rest in the line aren't lighting.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:15 PM

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pale garnet Also to confirm, you have LED2 and LED3 going to the LED1-6 pad on the helper bo...

sorry not sure what LED1 and LED2 mean 😬

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:15 PM

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LED2 and LED3

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do you have those hooked up to the LED1-6 pad on the helper board?

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:16 PM

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pale garnet Also to confirm, you have LED2 and LED3 going to the LED1-6 pad on the helper bo...

ok yea that is correct

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:17 PM

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about all I can suggest is to test it all outside the hilt, and check for any shorts. Also, the config shows full 144 pixels on all 3 data lines, you should reduce that to the number needed for each one.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:25 PM

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I've tried reducing it and it didnt help. I was told since the primary blade, crystal chamber, and button box LEDs are all powered by the same source power shouldn't be my issue but evidently the 6 strip LEDs are dim so idk

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:27 PM

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lime crater

any idea to why this might be happening? Where the 6 strip LEDs light up only when plugged into USB with no battery but are stuck on red?

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:34 PM

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like I said, check your wiring. Something isn't routed correctly. I would desolder everyting then test external to the hilt to verify everything is actually functional as well.

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Like wiring in the data2 LEDs to data1 to see if they light up then.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:35 PM

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gotcha, thanks for the advice!

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when you say test, is it safe it jus take 3.7V directly to the + and - pads on the helper board?

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:38 PM

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should, or direct to battery power, but do not mix up your polarities.

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or if you have it, a bench power supply.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:40 PM

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if everything's wired correctly, should direct battery power just light up the primary blade, crystal chamber, and button LEDs all at once without the use of a data line?

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:40 PM

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no, needs a data input.

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:41 PM

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ah ok

lime crater May 29, 2024, 6:41 PM

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pale garnet Like wiring in the data2 LEDs to data1 to see if they light up then.

also ive tried this by configuring data4 and wiring data2 LEDs to data4, same issue

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do you think the problem is likely in the helper board itself?

pale garnet May 29, 2024, 6:43 PM

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could be, need to rule out issues with the wiring causing a short somewhere in the hilt which is why I suggested testing away from any of the hilt metal and verifying the wires are good, no bridging. Process of elimination.

dense remnant May 31, 2024, 1:51 PM

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pale garnet May 31, 2024, 1:54 PM

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tumblr_f6213a412c32093becd6307cf0aec951_f4a8450f_250.gif

dense remnant May 31, 2024, 1:58 PM

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Wonder how this will go for us who ordered through saberbay

pale garnet May 31, 2024, 1:59 PM

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That would be up to Shane, which he will likely make a statement on in time.

lime crater Jun 2, 2024, 7:12 AM

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oh i didn’t see he made a statement 😮

#Warsaber Starkiller V4 crystal chamber strip LEDs