Pack Light Kits V1

A little introduction... I have programmed PIC microcontrollers before for PS1 and Wii mod chips, but that was it. My programmer was just sitting there, so I thought I would learn to code these and a pack light kit was the perfect project. I bought a book on PIC assembly and was quite disgusted. Assembly really makes you appreciate higher level programming languages like C and Java. After many frustrating hours I got things working.
Next was moving things from the breadboard over to a printed circuit board, or PCB. I learned how to etch at home from the many articles on Instructables.com. This was also my first time using PCB layout software. It is pretty awesome what can be done with this stuff. It was frightening ordering the professional ones since I was not super confident I did everything right, but they turned out great. Then there was sourcing all my components. What a hassle, there are so many tiny things to buy (and forget to buy). Overall it was a great learning experience I already have idea on what to do differently IF I decided to do a followup run. The first three pictures are of my homemade pack light kit made from a PIC 16f628a, 12f509 and custom etched PCB. Only 12 LEDs for the power cell but they fit quite nicely in the window so big deal for me. Prototype video here: [url]http://www.gbfans.com/fans/videos/0uDjf5zMAuI/[/url] Since the scratch-built one worked and I had some positive inquiries from members here, I went ahead with real stuff :) So here is the stuff you might not like about my kits: - 12 LEDs, not 15 - speed not easily adjustable* - They were not made by Exoray Things you should like: - you will get many hours out of a standard 9V battery - very easy (no soldering) to replace the battery and switch - actually the speed IS adjustable, but you will have to modify the code yourself. See below. There are two blue thingies with a couple screws on the boards. One is for power, one is for the switch. I am including a 9V battery connector so you are ready to rock once you steal the battery out of your smoke detector. I also include a basic push-on/push-off switch. BUT, let us say you want to use the rechargeable battery from your R/C and wire up that switch that is not doing anything in your gun. Super easy! Just grab a small flathead screwdriver and loosen it enough to pull the wire out and replace with another one of your choice. One of the pics below shows how it goes. It is also written on the board. You can use a wide range of batteries, but keep it within 7-18V. The power cell board measures 1 x 4.3 inches. Each end can be cut down a bit if needed without interfering with the circuitry. The ribbon cable from the main board to the power cell board is about 1 foot and the cyclotron cable is about 2 feet. Better to have to more material than not enough. * The light pattern can be adjusted by anyone with a PIC programmer and some coding knowledge. Please see my PIC based lights tutorial here: [url]http://www.gbfans.com/fans/r2devo/blog/12134/pic-based-pack-light-tutorial/[/url] Video of completed units: [url]http://www.gbfans.com/fans/videos/p_8bSlDtRpU/[/url] [b]ORDERING INFO[/b] $65 + shipping ($6 USPS Priority Mail, $10 for FedEx, will combine shipping when applicable) PayPal only. PM me with your shipping choice and PayPal address and I will bill you. [b]v1 SOLD OUT[/b] [b][url=http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=15321]v2 AVAILABLE NOW[/url][/b]