TOPIC: ASP-Neopix

I've actually had this finished for a month or so, but was having Battery issues, so I did not want to show it until I was happy it was working. Basically I had tried a 10 amp 18650 battery, but its not enough to fire the board and initiate the neo strip at the same time, so I had to pull the blade, start the board first, and then install blade, also could not change fonts. all really annoying. Now I'm running a 15amp 18650 battery with a Prizm 5.1 and I'm glad to say this is amazing.( I will be appplying this fix to my Neo graflex soon)
If i could figure out how to post video I would shoot video, because that would show how amazing this technology is and going to be as this hobby grows and evolves. but for now here are the pictures.

On this I did a custome red switch, I made my own kill key, and using a red retention screw to tie it all together, the aux switch is a little 8mm switch I like and may paint it black at a later time, the blade plug is a piston I removed from a brake master cylinder. the Neo connectors are all Tcss.

More picures


Gives you idea of a bolt shot and its awesome, you can do up to 3 in one blaster sound.

I haven't jumped in the Neo-Pixel pool yet. Still trying to feel it out to see if it's worth it.

Have you had any issues with shadows or uneven lighting along the blade?

You can see where the 2 parts of the led strip come together in certain lights, I'm going to build a prism 3 strip style soon.

Vechaljian wrote:
The Triangle config seems to be the only way I've seen so far to eliminate the dead spots, but that's a pretty hefty drain on the battery.

I really WANT to like the idea. Which strips did you use? Dmitry posted something about a model # you can cut down to 8mm that he said dramatically reduced the blade shadow. Anyway, maybe I'll build one.....

Someone twist my arm....

Even with the shadow lines on my two strip version the way it works is so awesome that I don't care about the shadow line, I wish I could figure out how to share a video, I read how a little and my eyes glazed over and said nope.

Jas-Ot wrote: Arm twisted...

Very nice. I got a weathered Adept out of a mystery box & didn't think it looked right with a green blade so I decided that if I was going to change the color I might as well add sound while I was at it & since the new soundboards support Neo-Pixel I might as well try it considering it really is the best lighting option for a thin neck saber. I was really skeptical going into it since it's still considered "new technology" but I'm glad I went through with it. I went with 2x 144 LED strips (soundboard manuals will list recommended model #s for strips). I also used a blade with a combination of white plastic diffusion tube & the foam diffusion tube. Yes lines & shadows can be noticed depending on distance & viewing angle but that doesn't detract from the awesomeness of holding a saber that can do the Darth Vader-ish slow creeping blade ignition. Pixel blades aren't going to be right for every person or every saber but for me I think it will be perfect for photos at comicon.

& As for twisting your arm, if you have a board that can support pixels then why not try it? The price for 2 strips isn't much different than an RGB Tri-Cree, lens & heatsink.

What exactly is happening here? LED strips inside the blade? I'm assuming these things can't take as much of a beating as conventional in-hit LEDs?

Yes, They are RGB LED strips. Most folks install them in a thin walled blade, so light to medium contact is generally fine. The LED strips are pretty sturdy.

As for me building my own, I might do it on my LS6. Had an idea for a sweet CR using neo-pixels which might work perfectly.

I use a foam wrap around mine, then a film, and then the tube, they are pretty study to begin with and mine are well insulated, would I duel it sure, but I'm able to make another. It is on par weight wise with a heavy grade blade. i'll do a photo shoot next time I build one.
@Jas I suggest ordering a 15amp 18650 from Solo's hold, it will give plenty of power for everything to run.

I ordered stuff to make one - I wire my won batteries, so I ordered some 15amp 18650s.

I of course have to do things the harder way first, 7/8" neopixel blade. Thinking it will either go in my OWK or my MPP. Not sure which yet.

I've got a few NBv4's and a couple P5.1s - was planning on an NBv4 in the OWK. SO, we will see.

I actually had no problem with the 7/8 blade I did, just take a little more finesse, the NEC blade I did was actually better in a 7/8 with tcss 7/8 neo pixel foam. and then I just use quad wrap around that for diffusion. i'll demo that for you once I get the 15amp put in my Graflex

LED strips are flexible, right? So how do you get them to fit perfectly straight and stiff inside the blade?

yes and no, You have a couple versions, the NEC version which is a prism/triangle type and rigid, they slide right in easy through a 7/8 or 1 inch foam tube tcss sells or you can wrap them in the foam NEC provides. The 2 sided kind WS2812B take some work. I used a guide wire through foam tube and pulled it through to make it straight before I glued on the tip. It will cut the foam so you have to be really easy, or you can take a foam wrap generally used in packing looks about the same as the foam tubing once wrapped, and you wrap it around the led stripe and then stuff it down a defuse white tube (again tcss). I am about to try a prism/triangle WS2812B version, I had some leftover cut segments to play with and I experimented with as well as some leftover 1 inch foam tube, I know will take some work to get down a 1 inch foam tube. I will have pictures of that when I do it. I've made about 5 blade so far, and have 2 that are operational, I'm sure i'll get better the more I make, but for now NEC is too expensive to experiment with any further. 115 plus tube and parts, vs 50 plus tube and parts.

Okay so I did make a Prism WS2812B style, I'm going to post side by side from the triangle vs 2 sided, even with a prism you get shadowing, but I notice that the shadowing is less wavy, which I assume is due to the triangle structure.

these are both 111 pixels strips.

So here are the led strips after cutting to length and pre shaping. the longer 1 is so I can fold over the tip for the point of the blade tube.

2 sided green top vs 3 sided bottom


2 sided red top vs 3 sided bottom

2 sided blue top vs 3 sided bottom



my next will be a prism NEC intelliblade vs a 2 sided Nec intelliblade(im gonna mod out 1 side in the name of experimenting)
here are the start of the 3 sided, cut to 112 pixels.

Really hard to tell any difference from pictures since they are so bright they wash out the details.

Like I said, I jumped in the neopixel pool and should have blade of my own to compare in the next week or two.