{"id":8364,"date":"2016-09-05T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nebulaluben.com\/?p=8364"},"modified":"2024-04-19T13:40:35","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T13:40:35","slug":"star-wars-the-old-republic-shae-vizla-electronics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nebulaluben.com\/en\/star-wars-the-old-republic-shae-vizla-electronics\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars The Old Republic – Shae Vizla: Electronics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Electronics! It\u2019s one
of my personal pending subjects and, well, I\u2019m making progress little by little.
At least with this costume my aim was to make it better than with the
Commander Shepard<\/a> one, so I started soldering and adding some basic components.
This costume has, on one hand, several LED lights and, on the other, a servo
controlled with Arduino.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I want to warn you: This post is going to be
difficult for me and maybe I don\u2019t explain myself correctly because I\u2019m a newie
in all this stuff. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s begin with the lighting because it\u2019s the
easy part.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I used COB (chip on board) LEDs, that is a technology
consisting in Multi LED chips packaged together as one lighting module. This
kind of lights increases the light area so they shine brighter than the regular
ones, they dissipate heat more efficiently and they use to work with 12V
batteries. Besides that, these LEDs come in different formats<\/a>, so I chose
different shapes for different parts of my armor. I chose the ice blue color.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
 Shiny AF<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to my experience, you can find cheap COB
LEDs on Deal Extreme <\/a>and they work ok. As you may already know, shipping times
are unpredictable, so you have to place your order, at least, one month in advance.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make the
circuits I bought:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         <\/span><\/span><\/span>A23 battery holder.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         <\/span><\/span><\/span>12V batteries (A23 model)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         <\/span><\/span><\/span>Small toggle switches.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         <\/span><\/span><\/span>Red and black wires to distinguish between the positive and negative(you can choose other colors if you like).<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         <\/span><\/span><\/span>COB LED lights.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used a soldering iron<\/a> and tin to join
everything together.<\/span><\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the circuit we did. Each light goes in
different parts of the armor, so I made one circuit per LED. As all of them
work with 12V and the batteries have that power, I didn\u2019t have to use any
resistor.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Things to have in mind:<\/span><\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>         
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>As every LED capsule has a different
format, you have to pay attention and look for the correct place for the anode
(+) and cathode (-). It\u2019s very easy to distinguish, but the symbols sometimes
are super tiny.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>        <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/span>   
<\/span><\/span><\/span>When soldering the components you
must know that:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

o  
<\/span><\/span><\/span>The positive wire of the battery
goes together with the middle pin of the switch.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

o  
<\/span><\/span><\/span>The positive wire from the led goes
to one of the lateral pins in the switch (any of them). This is what allows you
to cut or let pass the current to the LED.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

o  
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The negative of the LED goes
soldered to the negative of the battery.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way you\u2019ll have your circuit ready. I take this chance to thank Mac Cougar <\/a>his help with the displays. I designed them in Photoshop and he laser carved them. Super nice detail!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To have a moving rangefinder ,I used a little servo
controlled by an Arduino board. Someday, when I feel more confident in this
subject, I\u2019ll talk deeper about Arduino, its laguange, simple programs, etc. By
now, I barely know how to write a simple code from scratch. I just can
recognize different parts of a code and I\u2019m able to alter them to my needs. And
that\u2019s what I did: I found a code to activate the servo with a button, make it
move to X degrees, push the button again and move it back to the initial
position. So I changed the values  <\/span>for it
to turn 80 degrees in 20 milliseconds. I did nothing more!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked for the code in so many webpages that
right now I\u2019ve been unable to find the one which I took it from. (If you\u2019re the
creator, please tell me and I\u2019ll give you credit).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first tried the circuit in my starter pack Arduino Uno and then I made it in an Arduino Micro for it to fit into the helmet. This is the circuit scheme:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Arduino UNO<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Arduino Micro<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And this is the code with some explanations of
my own and of the original creator in the lines I understand in case you want to copy and alter it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#include
<Servo.h> \/\/Include servo library.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/ constant
variables used to set servo angles, in degrees<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

const int straight = 0;  <\/span>\/\/El motor parte de 0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00b0<\/span>\/ <\/span>servo starts in 0\u00b0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

const int divergent =80; \/\/El motor termina en 80\u00b0\/ Servo moves 8<\/span><\/span>\u00b0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/  constant
variables holding the ids of the pins we are using<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

const int
buttonpin = 8; \/\/This pin receives the button info when pressed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

const int
servopin = 9; \/\/Servo receives information from this pin.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/ servo movement
step delay, in milliseconds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

const int step_delay = 20; \/\/20 miliseconds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/create a
servo object<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Servo
myservo;  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/ global
variables to store servo position<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

int pos =
straight; \/\/ current<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

int old_pos
= pos; \/\/ previous<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

void
setup() <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

{ <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>\/\/ set the mode for the digital pins in use<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>pinMode(buttonpin, INPUT);<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>\/\/ setup the servo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>myservo.attach(servopin); <\/span>\/\/ attach to the servo on pin 9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>myservo.write(pos); \/\/ set the initial servo
position<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

void loop()
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

{ <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>\/\/ start each iteration of the loop by reading
the button<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>\/\/ if the button is pressed (reads HIGH), move
the servo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>int button_state = digitalRead(buttonpin);<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>if(button_state == HIGH){<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>old_pos = pos;   <\/span>\/\/ save the current position<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span><\/span>\/\/ Toggle the position to the opposite
value<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>pos = pos == straight ? divergent:
straight;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

       <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>\/\/ Move the servo to its new position<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>if(old_pos < pos){   <\/span>\/\/ if the new angle is higher<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span><\/span>\/\/ increment the servo position from
oldpos to pos<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>    <\/span>for(int i = old_pos + 1; i <= pos;
i++){  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/span>myservo.write(i); \/\/ write the next
position to the servo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/span>delay(step_delay); \/\/ wait<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span>}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>} else { 
<\/span>\/\/ otherwise the new angle is equal or lower<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span>\/\/ decrement the servo position from
oldpos to pos<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span>for(int i = old_pos – 1; i >= pos;
i–){ <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/span>myservo.write(i); \/\/ write the next
position to the servo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/span>delay(step_delay); \/\/ wait<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span>}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/span>} <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

}\/\/ end of
loop<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it! To upload the code to the board,
you just have to connect it via USB to your PC, select the port and your
specific Arduino board name, copy it to the software<\/a> , compile, upload it and
it should work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n