Dear friends, hello everyone. I have acquired an ELF Yoda lightsaber empty hilt, and I want to attempt to install this mini lightsaber. For the pixel light and button combination, I am using a NeoPixel Tactile Switch PCB. I am not entirely sure about connecting the two PCBs in series. Please help me, thank you. If I want the button light to stay lit in green and then turn off 5 minutes after shutdown, how should I set it up?
Another question is: the blade of this lightsaber is 3/4 inch, meaning it is much smaller than the standard 1 inch. So, is the NPXL connector designed for 1 inch also compatible with this mini blade？
The NPXL pcb in your image is a ShtokCustomWorks PCB, those are 17.7mm in diameter and work with both 1" and 7/8" blades. The chassis or PCB holder needs to be the right size to fit in the hilt–and you need the PCB to be centered–but otherwise all good.
On your question about the buttons, you need a blade style that stays lit for the buttons, then add a time out to your config.
I use a blinking style in my clan sabers,:
StylePtr<Pulsing<Green,Black,3000>>(),
The button blinks green until this define turns it off:
#define IDLE_OFF_TIME 60 * 0.75 * 1000 //eventually turn off the buttons
Thank you very much for your help! I will use this button blinking style—it’s exactly the feeling I wanted! As you mentioned, I was mistaken; it is indeed a ShtokCustomWorks PCB. As long as the PCB is centered, the data and power pins should connect properly to the 3/4-inch pixel blade, right? Do any other wiring issues need to be modified?
When I suddenly thought that this pcb might not be suitable for 3/4 blades, I almost fainted. The reason why I chose yoda lightsaber is that I think it is relatively easy to install and design chassis, but that may not be the case. I got stuck in the button accent light for a while. I didn’t know how to add a light to the button until I found the button switch pcb sold by kr. Can I add two 3535 LEDs next to the button? Then fix it on the chassis with glue. What I’m worried about is that the light brightness is uneven and not bright enough.
At least for me, the small hilts have not been “easy” to design/install. I’m taking a break from an ELF Darth Sideous hilt to work on easier (chunky) projects… like the Imperialist and the High Sun. The pixel-switch PCBs are nice, but they are big–the 3535’s that I have are on 8mm PCBs, so they are not that small–but there is a 5mm micro-pixel that I’m planning to use in my Sideous ( MicroPixel Accent LED’s – Saberbay); however, I believe the usual approach is to use an LED as the actuator ( 5mm RGB LED)–but that’s currently beyond my skills.
As for the NPXL pcb–no special wiring for a 7/8 blade. While this has nothing to do with 7/8 or 1" blades… there are different ways to wire the NPXL pcb, outlined in the ShtokCustomWorx NPXL v4 manual ( NPXL Connector User Manual V4.pdf - Google Drive). I prefer and always use option 4, but most seem to prefer parallel wiring described in option 2.
Thank you again for your reply and help. ELF Darth Sideous is a beautiful sword handle. I will love it after installation. I’m not familiar with the pcb switch with pixel you mentioned, and the switch with light of the saber Armory is also an option. The micro pixel led looks really small and has a data output port. I think it is more convenient to use than RGB LED. In addition, it is also okay to use some light strips of waste. Novices really like the second plan, probably because they can connect one less wire…