DIYino - an Arduino compatible board for prop electronics

[Protonerd]

Sorry it's taken a while to get back with you, Proto. I did some more reading of your manual and have had some success. The board that I could program is fully working now and I have it in a saber! Woo! The second one did eventually get recognized by the computer, but it's hit and miss. Usually it behaves as I described, but every once in a while it will fire up. I think there's still hope for it, but I'll mess with it more after the holidays. Thanks again for the response and the awesome work you've done. I do have one question tho: Once the board goes into the sleep mode, is there any way of waking it using the activation button? I've been just pulling the battery to reset the board to get it to wake up. I suppose I could wire in a button on the reset pin. Let me know. Thanks!

Please let me know how you configured the code. I had a while ago some issues with waking up, but they disappeared, but I did not find any explanation why they suddenly stopped working. All the configs I use (mostly single button, neopixel or star LED) are working fine, I can wake the boards, but I cannot fully exclude that some more exotic configs will cause the problem again.
I definitely will think about a redundant way to wake up. I'm considering a periodic wake up to maybe light an LED shortly to signalize the board is still alove, and if during this short period the main switch is pressed, the board will also wake up. Something for the near future. It definitely has to work reliably, since the Stardust boards do not have a kill-key per se. Of course one can install a small switch between 5V and BAT+, but if it can be avoided it's better.

[Protonerd]

A quick question, if I use the usb breakout do I need to short the wires for file upload? If the short is required to use usb flash what is the cleanest way recommended to do this? I'd rather not have to keep bridging and unbridging, I guess I could get a small switch that could be used.

If you want to access both FTDI and the SPI-Flash over the same USB port, you can do it by shorting the D+ to DU+ and D- to DU-. In this case both MP3 and FTDI chips will be connected to the USB port, so they will fight for the arbitration. To work around it, you can disable either one of them by cutting power to it with the PSF or PSM signals (see Manual) or in the code you can program the signals connected to PSF and PSF (I recall they are A2 and A3) to high to disable that module or low to enable it (pmos power switches).

If you need more explanation, let me know.

[Soulbp]

What if I'd prefer to break out to be for flash/charging and the on board for the rest.

Never mind I found this in the manual, thanks!

[MaskedNozza]

Hey there! I'm totally new to this whole world of DIY electronics and I'm super excited to build my first lightsaber! I've had a lot of positive feedback from my stream and YT viewers on this, and I had no idea there was such a big community for this stuff!
Admittedly I have only been researching building a lightsaber for the last 5 days, but I feel like I have some idea of how to go about it. The DIYino seems to be the way to go, since similar boards are quite expensive, and using many arduino components seems like a recipe for disaster introducing multiple points of failure for an amateur like me.

I have some experience with HEMA and was surprised to find that some sabers can be used for actual sparring. The ultraedge heavy duelling blade from UltraSabers looks like the right kind of blade for me, but I was wondering if the electronic components are designed to take that much punishment? I know you're not normally trying to strike the hilt, but with the sparring I do it's quite likely. I was planning on using some salvaged galvanised steel pipe with a leather wrap grip, and definitely a lot of padding on the inside.

Since it will likely take a beating, having less points of failure seems like a necessity. As far as I can tell, most of the images that Protonerd has uploaded on this thread are blocked from being shared outside of photobucket, and on photobucket's website itself the image is still unviewable to me for some reason, so I haven't been able to get a good closeup look at the prime or stardust boards. In either case, I may have put the cart before the horse by already having purchased the LED (single LED projected up the blade since the hilt will likely sit behind me as a prop when I stream). The LED I purchased was the SK6812, which seems to use a higher voltage than what a single Li-ion battery can output, and I can't tell if the stardust (looking far more appealing to me) can take the voltage of 2 batteries. Granted, I have almost no clue what I'm doing when it comes to all this, but would I even need 2 batteries? Would I need a buckpuck? (I have no idea what those do either)

Since I'm a PC tech guy rather than hobbyist, I'm well aware that type-c USB tends to be a lot more durable than microUSB, but it was good to see the earlier post about it as well. If I went with the stardust, I would be wanting to connect a short cable from the board to a type-c connector as the external plug. Is this even possible? (It's probably quite obvious to those who can see the board, but as I mentioned, I cannot view the images for whatever reason)

P.S Sorry everyone for the extremely long rant, I just wanted to get all of it out there at once. And to Protonerd - if I can get all this to work out, you may have quite a few extra orders coming in from my viewers

[Protonerd]

Hey there! I'm totally new to this whole world of DIY electronics and I'm super excited to build my first lightsaber! I've had a lot of positive feedback from my stream and YT viewers on this, and I had no idea there was such a big community for this stuff!
Admittedly I have only been researching building a lightsaber for the last 5 days, but I feel like I have some idea of how to go about it. The DIYino seems to be the way to go, since similar boards are quite expensive, and using many arduino components seems like a recipe for disaster introducing multiple points of failure for an amateur like me.

I have some experience with HEMA and was surprised to find that some sabers can be used for actual sparring. The ultraedge heavy duelling blade from UltraSabers looks like the right kind of blade for me, but I was wondering if the electronic components are designed to take that much punishment? I know you're not normally trying to strike the hilt, but with the sparring I do it's quite likely. I was planning on using some salvaged galvanised steel pipe with a leather wrap grip, and definitely a lot of padding on the inside.

Since it will likely take a beating, having less points of failure seems like a necessity. As far as I can tell, most of the images that Protonerd has uploaded on this thread are blocked from being shared outside of photobucket, and on photobucket's website itself the image is still unviewable to me for some reason, so I haven't been able to get a good closeup look at the prime or stardust boards. In either case, I may have put the cart before the horse by already having purchased the LED (single LED projected up the blade since the hilt will likely sit behind me as a prop when I stream). The LED I purchased was the SK6812, which seems to use a higher voltage than what a single Li-ion battery can output, and I can't tell if the stardust (looking far more appealing to me) can take the voltage of 2 batteries. Granted, I have almost no clue what I'm doing when it comes to all this, but would I even need 2 batteries? Would I need a buckpuck? (I have no idea what those do either)

Since I'm a PC tech guy rather than hobbyist, I'm well aware that type-c USB tends to be a lot more durable than microUSB, but it was good to see the earlier post about it as well. If I went with the stardust, I would be wanting to connect a short cable from the board to a type-c connector as the external plug. Is this even possible? (It's probably quite obvious to those who can see the board, but as I mentioned, I cannot view the images for whatever reason)

P.S Sorry everyone for the extremely long rant, I just wanted to get all of it out there at once. And to Protonerd - if I can get all this to work out, you may have quite a few extra orders coming in from my viewers

Valid point all the way, I updated my first initial post and re-included the most recent and best pictures of my 2 boards (Prime and Stardust).

I currently have only a few last Stardust boards, but restock is on the way and I have grand plans for 2018!!!

As to some of the questions:
- I know that neopixel datasheets spec 5V as supply for the pixels, but they will run fine off a 3.7V Li-Ion. No worries.
- I also would prefer a mini-USB for charging, for next bacthes I will probably offer a mini-USB breakout for a few bucks. A micro-USB breakout is always included with a Stardust and you can wire either of them to the board to access it from a distance (i.e. in-hilt recharge).

[MaskedNozza]

Thanks for the pictures! Any reason why there are three different colours? I assume the functionality is the same.

Grand plans? I await with great anticipation!

If they run fine off a single 3.7V, that's great news! But I would love to have a lightsaber which can go long intervals before needing to charge. How long would you expect a single battery to last? Most likely I could be using the sabre for practice for a period of up to 2 hours. I'm happy to try cramming more cells in the chassis if it means longer runtime.

I did not mention mini-USB at all. As far as I know, mini-USB is a dead interface type. Having looked further into what 'breakout' means, USB-C is not feasible (seems to have upwards of 10 'pins') and I will probably use a breakout board for a micro-USB connector.

[Protonerd]

Thanks for the pictures! Any reason why there are three different colours? I assume the functionality is the same.

Grand plans? I await with great anticipation!

If they run fine off a single 3.7V, that's great news! But I would love to have a lightsaber which can go long intervals before needing to charge. How long would you expect a single battery to last? Most likely I could be using the sabre for practice for a period of up to 2 hours. I'm happy to try cramming more cells in the chassis if it means longer runtime.

I did not mention mini-USB at all. As far as I know, mini-USB is a dead interface type. Having looked further into what 'breakout' means, USB-C is not feasible (seems to have upwards of 10 'pins') and I will probably use a breakout board for a micro-USB connector.

Run time strongly depends on your blade illumination, and not much on the board. The Stardust is only consuming ~300uA in deep sleep, so with that you are looking at a shelf life of several months at least. With a good 18650 type Li-Ion you do not have to charge often. But of course you can always cram in multiple batteries if you can spare the space. But charging them in parallel might be an issue, you have to find a charger which can support that.

That is where an USB charger has its advantage: you have it everywhere, no need to bring a dedicated charger for your saber with you.

I know that the mini-USB is not widely used any more, except for Arduino boards ;o) , but I still prefer it mechanically to the slimmer micro-USB. To save room I mount a micro-USB on my Stardust boards and every Stardust will come with a micro-USB breakout included in the package. But now I'm experimenting with chassis designs and will probably use mini-USB. Easier to plug in/out.

All DIYino boards come in multiple colors, but in the functionality there is no difference. Except the newest run of Stardust, where I made red boards for sabers and white boards (wo/MPU) for blasters. But as the demand for saber boards is much higher than for blasters, I'm converting the whites to saber boards now to satisfy demand.

On the subject of my grand plans I'm not ready to disclose anything as of now, but stay tuned in the coming months

[MaskedNozza]

Haha yeah, mini USB isn't that big of a deal for me. I'll be using a short internal extension regardless and I can just switch the plug type, so not a problem.

I still don't understand about the batteries. I would love to use 2x 18650s if I can fir them, but would there be an issue charging them if they are connected to your board in parallel?

I suspected that board colour was arbitrary, but it's good to have it confirmed.

[Protonerd]

Haha yeah, mini USB isn't that big of a deal for me. I'll be using a short internal extension regardless and I can just switch the plug type, so not a problem.

I still don't understand about the batteries. I would love to use 2x 18650s if I can fir them, but would there be an issue charging them if they are connected to your board in parallel?

I suspected that board colour was arbitrary, but it's good to have it confirmed.

The on-board USB charger is designed to charge a single Li-Ion battery. If you want to use multiple ones in parallel, you can still use the board, but have to charge your system in a different way.

[MaskedNozza]

Yeah in that case I will definitely be using a single battery. Not to worry.

Thanks for the help and I will definitely be putting in my order in the coming days.

[Protonerd]

Good news for all the fans of Arduino sabers, now the DIYino boards have a new home:
Home of the Arduino Saber

[Protonerd]

Hi fellow Arduino forum members,

Spring is coming, and with that the good news!

I proudly and happily announce the newest member of my Arduino compatible family of boards, the

DIYino Stardust V3 (NEW!!!)

The V3 merges the best of two worlds: the Prime V1 and the Stardust V2, I consider the V3 as the ultimate Arduino Saber board based on the Nano design.

The changes in a nutshell:
- (NEW) SD-card to hold the sound files, no limit on how many sound fonts you can install
- (NEW) can be charged via USB and via Recharge Port, you have the choice
- (NEW) includes on-board wiring for interrupt triggered, low latency clashes
- (NEW) comes with a pre-loaded generic saber code for an easy start


What stayed:
- USB charging circuitry on board to charge a single Li-Ion 3.7V battery
- an Atmega328P-AU (based on the Arduino Nano)
- MPU-6050 6-axix accelero- and gyrometer for gesure/motion detection
- YX6300-24SS Wav/MP3 decoder (same chipset as on the DFPlayer Mini)
- 3W audio amplifier
- 3 Low Side drivers capable of handling ~2.4A each, to drive loads like RGB LEDs, small motors etc.
- compact size 51mm x21mm x 6mm (only slightly larger than a Nano but with a lot more functionality!!!)
- low deep sleep mode current consumption (<300uA)
- fully compatible with FX-SaberOS


**********************************
Buying a DIYino Stardust v3 (new!!!) board:

Simply follow the link to my website. All information regarding order, payment, shipping and specs you can find there:
Buying a DIYino board


**********************************************

[Messiahlad]

Absolutely excited about this board. I am now glad that I haven't had the funds to buy a stardust as this is the board that ticks all the boxes for me. Well done Protonerd.

As for ordering, I see the boards are available for pre-order. Is there an approximate instock or available timeframe for them. I am guessing you will want to test them all before shipment so I'm planning my building around availability.

Thanks again for everything you have done for aduino sabers.

[Protonerd]

Absolutely excited about this board. I am now glad that I haven't had the funds to buy a stardust as this is the board that ticks all the boxes for me. Well done Protonerd.

As for ordering, I see the boards are available for pre-order. Is there an approximate instock or available timeframe for them. I am guessing you will want to test them all before shipment so I'm planning my building around availability.

Thanks again for everything you have done for aduino sabers.

In fact I already have my first prototype batch and built already a saber with the 1st one works perfectly. So proof of concept is done.

The V3 is in pre-order, which means I will collect a certain amount of orders before starting the assembly (I always plan ahead, so the PCBs are in fact already ordered), so the faster people order, the earlier they will get their boards.

[ArduinoMadd]

Nice! ...

Is there a schematic handy for this already? ... or is it the same as v2, wiring wise? wanna plan ahead and get supplies as well as make a hilt ...