Luke Hero String Blade Build

[EXAR KUN]

Really nice work! I'm keeping posted for the progress =). One question though (not sure if it's a stupid question) but does the LED light up in sequence like Force Fx saber?

Yes, the CF LS will produce the scrolling features like the movies.


This is really coming out great! Keep going can't wait to see it finished.

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Thanks guys! I work on it when I can. I know I keep saying this, but I'm really hoping to have it done by next week. 

Here are a few progress pics. It's actually a little farther along than this. The only thing left to do is connect the RICE port, the accents, and the momentary buttons, but all the necessary wires have been soldered to the board.








Prettiest of installs? Heh, no. But I'm proud of it for my first build. :D

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Aaaaahh! I am an idiot. Long story short, I shorted everything through the speaker and now there's no sound. Sound was working before I put all the electronics in the hilt, then it shorted. (Aluminum is conductive? Duuuur...)

Symptoms:

• Tried replacing the speaker. Still no boot.
• Battery still charges.
• Blade works when plugged in.
• If I listen very closely to the speaker, there is a very very faint fuzzy noise emanating from it.
• Sound card still functions on computer.

Anyone have any tips to help a poor dumb padawan?

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Oh, and before there was no sound, when I would remove the kill key three short beeps would play and then the boot sound. Not sure if that had anything to do with no sound now, but maybe?

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Also, just an update. The blade and the FoC strip remain on whether I want them to be or not. Momentary buttons seem to have no effect on them.

[Sethski]

It does sound like the board got damaged along the way and so will need repair 

Re: the beeps - IIRC the number of beeps indicates different diagnostic issues which are about setup or file issues, rather than anything 'broken'. I can't find the info for this, though.

Sorry that's not much help, I hope it get's resolved OK -  and the build looks great! Stay with it, I'm sure you'll get it sorted out 

[EXAR KUN]

How about refreshing the SD card or try booting from an entirely different SD card

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Thanks for the tips, guys. My plan is to disconnect everything from the board to check for any shorts and re-solder it more carefully this time. I'll try refreshing the SD too, though I suspect the problem lies with the board. :(

[EXAR KUN]

If you are in the US, CHEWBACCA (MH) on here can probably fix it for you. If you are in the EU, you can send to 'Erv he will fix it for you. But yeah desolder everything and inspect and maybe try again one thing at a time see what is working and where it goes haywire

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Whelp, I certainly found one of the problems.


I would guess it burned out when the board shorted. Next step is figuring out how to repair it. D: I'll do a bit of research, but if anyone has tips, please share!

[Modern-Day Warrior]

It lives! Sort of... Now when I remove the kill key, the boot plays but then immediately powers on. When I try turning it off it comes right back on again.

[Modern-Day Warrior]

And the first segment doesn't light up. D:

[Obi_1]

Like suggested before I would certainly format and refill the SD-card before trying anything else. Maybe the config got warped, if your saber is off and you use momentary switches, but for some reason the board thinks it is configured for a latching switch normally closed, it would explain the immediate power up.

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Activation issue fixed! Thanks for the help, guys.

Now the only issue is figuring out why that first segment doesn't light up. Before I repaired the ground circuit on the board, everything was fine. Everything is connected, from what I can see, so I'll have to do some connection tests to find where the problem is. I pulled off the foam diffuser but can't see any problems with the soldered joints.

[Modern-Day Warrior]

Just did a check, and it looks like all the connections are good from the LEDs, through the DIN, and onto the board. Not sure what the problem is. D: