LED strip blade

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LED strip blade

DIY Teensy based lightsaber

What I used, you may make yours differently:

2x Sk6812 mini LED strips, 144 leds per / meter (any WS2811-compatible strip should work)
7/8" clear blade tube and end cap
3/4" diffuser
packing foam sheets - for diffusion
A 8.2k resistor - for blade identification
A 50-100 Ohm resistor - to prevent the blade from leaching power over the data connection
female aviation connector
packing tape, clear double-stick tape and foam double-stick tape.

Putting it together Some LED strips already come with a sticky back and you can just stick them together. If not, cut a strip of foam double-stick tape of the same width as your LED strips, and then use that to stick the two strips together. Make sure the inputs go the same way, or you're going to have to re-do the sticking....

Most LED strips comes with leads and connectors. Cut off the connectors and and solder the strips to the aviation connector. I forgot to take pictures, but here is a circuit diagram:

If you're using the same kind of connector I am, I recommend adding some hot-glue on the back of the connector to hold all the pins into place. They have tendency to come loose after a while and can cause shorts, leading to amusing but foul-smelling smoke to come out of your saber.

Then it's just a matter of wrapping it up and it's finished. Compared to a PL9823 blade, the SK6812 blade is lighter and has more LEDs, leading to smoother effects. On the downside, it's slightly more difficult to make sure that the light is properly diffused, and it draws more power. Surprisingly, the lighter part really makes a big difference as it makes this blade quite fun to swing around and play with, making this my new favorite blade.

Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Check out The Crucible.

This page has been accessed 353 times since October 21st, 2016.
Last modified: March 29th, 2021 - Design by Monica & Fredrik Hübinette