Slothfurnace's Entropy: A NeoPixel Testing Lightsaber
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Entropy Specs: Steel Russrep Obi ANH Emitter pieces, Modified TCSS Blade holder, Canon model Y Flash handle, Slothfurnace ROTJH&S Clamp card, modified TCSS pommel. Plecter Labs Prizm V5, Single 18650 battery, dual 120 LED NeoPixel Mini RGB LED Strips.

This saber won't have much of a build log for it, as it came together very fast. I had purchased a Nano Biscotte V4 and Prizm V5 boards from Plecter Labs in hopes that the NeoPixel strip support would solve a problem I had been wrestling with for another build.

While I waited for the boards to come, I pulled out the parts bins, and began seeing what I had to work with for just a test saber. It didn't have to be fancy. But it had to work and hold the NeoPixel LED blade setup and the sound board, and a speaker.

I was fiddling with some parts, seeing what looked nice together, and accidentally got a Russrep Obi ANH emitter shell stuck on the end of a TCSS blade holder. From there, I found that blade holder would fit into one end of my Canon Model Y flash, with some effort. After that I stuck the un-used piece of the Russrep Obi ANH Emitter on to the clamp end of the flash, and noticed the diameter and finish were very close to the same. I then machined various pieces to fit.

After I got all the pieces to fit, with some custom machined metal parts, I liked it so much I decided to weather it. The darkening I applied to the aluminum neck and other areas of this saber turned out nice, and it was a new method. I spun the pieces in the lathe against a fingernail buffer till it got hot enough to friction oxidize the surface.

The two brass pieces shown coming through the extension socket holes on the flash are actually one piece of hexagonal brass bar I machined a slot in, so that the two nubs left over fit through the existing holes in the flash gun. It is sitting on top of a custom pcb section with my activation and aux tactile switches. I plan to weather that brass color down to a more aged brown, or replace it with copper.

I cut down one of my ROTJH&S Clamp cards for the clamp, and machined and threaded a spot for a vintage brass thumbscrew to keep the pommel in place on the balance pipe.

Here is the plug section of the blade that interfaces with the blade socket. Center is data, three Anodes, and three cathodes. I applied the same friction oxide surface treatment that I did to the saber to this piece.

The pommel section is made up of the Canon flash clamp end, a Russrep obi ANH emitter center section in steel, and a modified TCSS pommel.

The pommel disassembled for access to the microSD card. The speaker is embedded in the aluminum cylinder that twist-locks into the Canon flash handle. It is connected through wires I've wrapped with thin style paracord. I've removed the TCSS pommel here as well to show the Russrep Balance pipe emitter piece I am using for a pommel neck.

The recharge port is still sort of a work in progress, I want to remove that nut and replace it with something more custom.

For a test saber, this turned out nice, and in only a few hours of work. Now I can get some testing of the Prizm plus NeoPixel LED blade done, and so far I think it fits the bill for the Damascus Inlay saber Exegesis I have been working on.

 

This is the NeoPixel blade plug setup. I've taken some excess pixel LEDs leftover from my blade, and will coil them up inside the blade plug. At the end, an Adafruit NeoPixel Flora sits at the top of the plug under the cap.

The 7 pin plug, and the end neopixel board are mounted in white delrin slugs that fit into the diffuser of the blade plug. The emitter nub is a knurled brass cap off of a bow and arrow sight, and the translucent base is a nylon washer. I cut the metal dish so the washer would fit flush down inside it.

Here's the 7 pin plug end.


The LEDs work well enough I think, and mirror all the RGB color changes and flash on clash events.

 

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