I may attempt this mod, but I'm thinking of hollowing out the projector ball a lot more, and mounting the LED to the back of the cup the ball rides in. This will let the projector still pivot and twist without risking twisting the wires.
These mods, and this channel, got me to buy a custom R2 unit from Droid Depot. Thank you! Now, to truly customize it... On that note, questions: 1. What would be the best spot to tap into for an always on/power on led for R2 domes? 2. This is opening up a can of worms, but I have to ask since you know both body types pretty well: Is it possible to power a BB head using an R2 body? It definitely wouldn't fit as-is, so 3D printing will need to be involved to make a "neck" of some kind, but I'm wondering what it would take to address the power side of things?
1. there's really no always-on power for the head. the head has 5 connections to it, 5V, detect, and the 3 LEDs. 5V goes into all the LEDs in the head, then the 3 LED connections are pulled to ground (completing the circuit and turning the LEDs on) by the microcontroller in the body of the R-unit. maybe you could recreate the head detect circuit (a resistor) inside the body and then rewire the connector to repurpose the head detect pin as a ground. that would require heavy modification and a bit of research to trace everything out ahead of time. not sure what the consequences would be of have the detect circuit in the body, but I don't think it'd break anything. 2. BB heads are basically a coil of wire connected to 3 LEDs in the head. pulses of electricity through a coil in the body of the BB unit are picked up by the coil in the head and power the LEDs. kind of like how wireless phone charging works. To repurpose a BB head for an R-unit I think you'd have to rewire everything inside the BB head so each LED is on its own line like the R-unit heads. The easiest route would be to take the electronics from inside an R-unit head and fit them inside a BB-head. If you don't want to do that, a lot of wiring, 3D-priting, and probably some PCB fabrication would be in your future.
What would be necessary to turn that into a short range projector? Would it be as easy as not filling it with hot glue and putting a tiny transparency film in front of it? I've seen some Halloween props do some very simple projection like that.
I can't think of a reason why that wouldn't work. I've seen something similar with night-lights. Maybe the resistor value needs to be dropped a little to drive the LED a little brighter, but I think that would work.
I'm only 20 minutes in, but every time you mention Detect wire, I'm thinking: "where there's a detect line, there's the possibility for different modes." I'm wondering if this is how it can tell if it's got an R Unit head or a BB head, or how many LEDs to expect (and possibly how many pins are active on the microcontroller for LEDs?). I'm seriously wondering if there's something to unlock when making personalities, like with the accessory ports on the legs of the R units. I'm wondering if changing the 1k resistors values would change behaviors.
My guess is that changing the value won't do anything. The DET line goes right into the audio microcontroller via the 1k resistor. There's no voltage divider, which i'd expect there to be if different values were used to tell the microcontroller about different domes being installed. If I remove the dome, the R-unit still behaves as it would with the dome (except nothing is lighting up in the head). I would of expect some sort of behavior changes if the DET did anything. It's possible the DET line does nothing and it's a remnant of an earlier design. On the R-unit PCB there's a separate, unpopulated connector also labeled head detection that uses 3.3 volts and connects to the bluetooth microcontroller. Another remnant and maybe an indication of greater plans with the head that seem to have been removed during later stages of the droid's development.
I like your mod! Could use a bit of refining, but it does look good! How difficult would it be to mode the back processor state indocator (PSI) and diagnostic display to light up as well? Would it be too much for the stock electronics? I want to mod the PSI and display ports to light up when the sounds go off, but if it's too much then I may either do a separet power source for the back LEDs and leave the front ones alone unless I want to swap out an LED color for a droid I make. Like my main R2-Unit R2-SP, his PSI is supposed to flicker red and orange in the front and his logic function displays are supposed to be orange as well, so with that being said, is it difficult to swap out LED colors as well?
The mods are possible, but may not be easy. When adding extra LEDs to an R-unit dome, the limiting factor is current. Each stock head LED is powered by a wire than cannot carry more than 20mA of current. Using resistors to limit the current is critical, otherwise you risk damaging the microcontroller inside the droid. The current issue is covered in this video, but I wanted to emphasize it here. The dome (thus the PSI and diagnostic display panels) is made of opaque plastic. To make those light up you'd need to cut those areas out of the dome and replace the panels with some type of translucent material in order to allow the light form the LEDs through as well as diffuse the light. There's some room underneath the dome, but not a lot, so you need to be aware of the depth of whatever electronics you're adding to the dome and whether or not they interfere with the elements under the dome; in other words, keep things under the dome as close to the dome and as flat as possible. Maybe a side-lit panel (usually used as a backlight for displays in electronics) would be the way to go. Something like this panel from adafruit: www.adafruit.com/product/1626. Or build a replacement panel so it's on the outside of the dome. Instead of cutting out the panel, place the new panel over the existing panel's area of the dome and drill a hole through the dome to allow wires to reach the new panel. Attach (tape) all wires to the inside of the dome so they don't dangle and potentially interfere with the elements under the dome. Replacing the PSI LEDs is possible, but will require a delicate touch. They are very tiny surface mount LEDs (I believe 0603 size LEDs). You can find replacement LEDs on eBay or Amazon or elsewhere pretty easily, just search for "0603 led". Before removing the LEDs you need to make a note about the stock LED's polarity (the direction it's installed). If you install a new LED backwards it will not light up. Use a multimeter in diode mode to determine the positive and negative sides of the stock LED. Create a note, make a drawing, take a picture, whatever you need in order to remember which side of the LED goes where. Removing the stock LED should be straightforward, but needs to be done with care. Add extra solder to each end of the LED then try to head both sides at the same time with your soldering iron and you should be able to then push the LED off with your iron. The pads for the LEDs should then be cleaned as best you can, remove as much solder from them as you can, then solder the new LED in place. The mods are possible, but will require some delicate work and several hours of time. Take it slow and don't rush things.
Hey i recently pulled my bb8 droid out fo storage and it refuses to power on i replaced the batteries but nothing works ive tried the controller and app and nothing. The light near the switch did flash twice one time but hasnt again. Just thought to ask to see if you encountered this well working on your droids.
Try resetting your droid and then go through the process to pair it with the remote. This video has instructions on how to do that: ua-cam.com/video/gKocbzvLSUg/v-deo.html If the LED doesn't start fading in and out to indicate it's in pairing mode, then double-check the batteries. They may be in backwards or aren't making a good connection. Also be sure the batteries are new, alkaline batteries. do not use rechargeable NiMH batteries or "heavy duty" or "super duty" batteries. Turn the remote on and press a button. Does the red LED in the remote light up while the button is pressed? If not, replace the batteries in the remote.
Great job man! I would like to ask you something. I have been looking for a small Bluetooth mic circuit I could put in the small compartment at the left of the speakers in the R2. The idea is to connect it to my computer so I can use it to send voice commands to an app that controls the droid via Bluetooth. Any idea?
I'm sorry, I don't. I haven't done any work with bluetooth mic modules. I would probably start by looking on amazon or ebay and see if there are any inexpensive modules available and buy one to try.
I may attempt this mod, but I'm thinking of hollowing out the projector ball a lot more, and mounting the LED to the back of the cup the ball rides in. This will let the projector still pivot and twist without risking twisting the wires.
I've seen people use UV resin to make fake lenses.Or you could just source a lens that same size. Can't believe that thing was solid!
I added the LED in that spot, but I didn't use that sensor eye. I replaced it with a piece from a snowspeeder model it. It looks like an eye.
These mods, and this channel, got me to buy a custom R2 unit from Droid Depot. Thank you! Now, to truly customize it...
On that note, questions:
1. What would be the best spot to tap into for an always on/power on led for R2 domes?
2. This is opening up a can of worms, but I have to ask since you know both body types pretty well: Is it possible to power a BB head using an R2 body? It definitely wouldn't fit as-is, so 3D printing will need to be involved to make a "neck" of some kind, but I'm wondering what it would take to address the power side of things?
1. there's really no always-on power for the head. the head has 5 connections to it, 5V, detect, and the 3 LEDs. 5V goes into all the LEDs in the head, then the 3 LED connections are pulled to ground (completing the circuit and turning the LEDs on) by the microcontroller in the body of the R-unit. maybe you could recreate the head detect circuit (a resistor) inside the body and then rewire the connector to repurpose the head detect pin as a ground. that would require heavy modification and a bit of research to trace everything out ahead of time. not sure what the consequences would be of have the detect circuit in the body, but I don't think it'd break anything.
2. BB heads are basically a coil of wire connected to 3 LEDs in the head. pulses of electricity through a coil in the body of the BB unit are picked up by the coil in the head and power the LEDs. kind of like how wireless phone charging works. To repurpose a BB head for an R-unit I think you'd have to rewire everything inside the BB head so each LED is on its own line like the R-unit heads. The easiest route would be to take the electronics from inside an R-unit head and fit them inside a BB-head. If you don't want to do that, a lot of wiring, 3D-priting, and probably some PCB fabrication would be in your future.
Yes! Thank you! Now just to locate some resistors!
Any chance you still have that Data sheet? I can't find it haha Wanted to look into replacing the batteries with 18650s if possible
Awesome video!! I own just the head and was thinking of a way to power the led lights without buying the body. What would you recommend?
Maybe look into an aftermarket LEGO light kit? They use tiny LEDs on very thin wires connected to a battery pack. Some LEDs even blink.
What would be necessary to turn that into a short range projector?
Would it be as easy as not filling it with hot glue and putting a tiny transparency film in front of it?
I've seen some Halloween props do some very simple projection like that.
I can't think of a reason why that wouldn't work. I've seen something similar with night-lights. Maybe the resistor value needs to be dropped a little to drive the LED a little brighter, but I think that would work.
Excellent, as usual! How long have you had that calculator? 😏
I'm only 20 minutes in, but every time you mention Detect wire, I'm thinking: "where there's a detect line, there's the possibility for different modes." I'm wondering if this is how it can tell if it's got an R Unit head or a BB head, or how many LEDs to expect (and possibly how many pins are active on the microcontroller for LEDs?). I'm seriously wondering if there's something to unlock when making personalities, like with the accessory ports on the legs of the R units. I'm wondering if changing the 1k resistors values would change behaviors.
My guess is that changing the value won't do anything. The DET line goes right into the audio microcontroller via the 1k resistor. There's no voltage divider, which i'd expect there to be if different values were used to tell the microcontroller about different domes being installed.
If I remove the dome, the R-unit still behaves as it would with the dome (except nothing is lighting up in the head). I would of expect some sort of behavior changes if the DET did anything.
It's possible the DET line does nothing and it's a remnant of an earlier design. On the R-unit PCB there's a separate, unpopulated connector also labeled head detection that uses 3.3 volts and connects to the bluetooth microcontroller. Another remnant and maybe an indication of greater plans with the head that seem to have been removed during later stages of the droid's development.
Do you have a spiderbot? If so can you do a mod for it.
I like your mod! Could use a bit of refining, but it does look good! How difficult would it be to mode the back processor state indocator (PSI) and diagnostic display to light up as well? Would it be too much for the stock electronics? I want to mod the PSI and display ports to light up when the sounds go off, but if it's too much then I may either do a separet power source for the back LEDs and leave the front ones alone unless I want to swap out an LED color for a droid I make. Like my main R2-Unit R2-SP, his PSI is supposed to flicker red and orange in the front and his logic function displays are supposed to be orange as well, so with that being said, is it difficult to swap out LED colors as well?
The mods are possible, but may not be easy. When adding extra LEDs to an R-unit dome, the limiting factor is current. Each stock head LED is powered by a wire than cannot carry more than 20mA of current. Using resistors to limit the current is critical, otherwise you risk damaging the microcontroller inside the droid. The current issue is covered in this video, but I wanted to emphasize it here.
The dome (thus the PSI and diagnostic display panels) is made of opaque plastic. To make those light up you'd need to cut those areas out of the dome and replace the panels with some type of translucent material in order to allow the light form the LEDs through as well as diffuse the light. There's some room underneath the dome, but not a lot, so you need to be aware of the depth of whatever electronics you're adding to the dome and whether or not they interfere with the elements under the dome; in other words, keep things under the dome as close to the dome and as flat as possible.
Maybe a side-lit panel (usually used as a backlight for displays in electronics) would be the way to go. Something like this panel from adafruit: www.adafruit.com/product/1626. Or build a replacement panel so it's on the outside of the dome. Instead of cutting out the panel, place the new panel over the existing panel's area of the dome and drill a hole through the dome to allow wires to reach the new panel.
Attach (tape) all wires to the inside of the dome so they don't dangle and potentially interfere with the elements under the dome.
Replacing the PSI LEDs is possible, but will require a delicate touch. They are very tiny surface mount LEDs (I believe 0603 size LEDs). You can find replacement LEDs on eBay or Amazon or elsewhere pretty easily, just search for "0603 led". Before removing the LEDs you need to make a note about the stock LED's polarity (the direction it's installed). If you install a new LED backwards it will not light up. Use a multimeter in diode mode to determine the positive and negative sides of the stock LED. Create a note, make a drawing, take a picture, whatever you need in order to remember which side of the LED goes where.
Removing the stock LED should be straightforward, but needs to be done with care. Add extra solder to each end of the LED then try to head both sides at the same time with your soldering iron and you should be able to then push the LED off with your iron. The pads for the LEDs should then be cleaned as best you can, remove as much solder from them as you can, then solder the new LED in place.
The mods are possible, but will require some delicate work and several hours of time. Take it slow and don't rush things.
@@Ruthsarian thank you for the information, this is really helpful! I'll let you know if I have any other questions!
Hey i recently pulled my bb8 droid out fo storage and it refuses to power on i replaced the batteries but nothing works ive tried the controller and app and nothing. The light near the switch did flash twice one time but hasnt again. Just thought to ask to see if you encountered this well working on your droids.
Try resetting your droid and then go through the process to pair it with the remote. This video has instructions on how to do that:
ua-cam.com/video/gKocbzvLSUg/v-deo.html
If the LED doesn't start fading in and out to indicate it's in pairing mode, then double-check the batteries. They may be in backwards or aren't making a good connection.
Also be sure the batteries are new, alkaline batteries. do not use rechargeable NiMH batteries or "heavy duty" or "super duty" batteries.
Turn the remote on and press a button. Does the red LED in the remote light up while the button is pressed? If not, replace the batteries in the remote.
Great job man!
I would like to ask you something.
I have been looking for a small Bluetooth mic circuit I could put in the small compartment at the left of the speakers in the R2. The idea is to connect it to my computer so I can use it to send voice commands to an app that controls the droid via Bluetooth. Any idea?
I'm sorry, I don't. I haven't done any work with bluetooth mic modules. I would probably start by looking on amazon or ebay and see if there are any inexpensive modules available and buy one to try.