LSD-X4 Light Saber Driver V1.0

Novasound Neutrino Beta 1.0

2011-11-02T08:26:00.001-07:00

Here is a pic of the new Novasound Neutrino (beta) PCB. The terminals can be seen to be much larger, for easier soldering. In this beta version, the measured dimensions are about 0.85 inches by 1.9 inches, however the final production release will be smaller still. This image has actually been cropped from a larger circuit board (which is present for prototyping purposes)...

Nova Sound Neutrino Size Comparison

2011-10-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Nova Sound 3.0 - Dark Sound Mode

2011-10-06T08:32:00.001-07:00

The LSD-X4 is still months away from a debut. For now, we are spending most of our resources into a top-secret entry level model, code name: Neutrino, hopefully to get more people involved with our research. There's lots and lots of ideas being talked about...

The Nova Sound 3.0 is now available.

FIND IT ON EBAY (direct link)

Introduction:

The Nova Sound 3.0 is a premium high-end lightsaber motion sensing, sound and light controller module. It has a built in user interface featuring a high quality female voice menu, allowing the operator to control LED brightness, LED flicker rate, volume control, and sensitivity to motion and impact. The settings are stored permanently, without the need for battery backup and can be reset at any time by reentering the menu.

The device rapidly responds to changes in motion (velocity and acceleration) as the duelist moves the saber, to detect saber impacts (as when two sabers collide) or motion pitch changes (as the saber moves through the air). The inertial information is provided by a high performance MEMS accelerometer sensor, which measures changes in three spatial axes.

Power to the LED is controlled by the main system, based on user settings. LED current regulation is provided by a proportional integral derivative feed-back loop, which eliminates the need for a separate LED constant current regulator. The Nova Sound 3.0 LED output can be controlled for popular LED types: Luxeon 3, Luxeon 3 Red, Luxeon V, Luxeon K, and a Luxeon Overdrive for maximum current supply. The LED flicker rate can be enabled (5 modes) or solid.

Technical:

1" by 2" PCB
64MHz processor
Triple Axis accelerometer
~700mA to 2amp output LED
7.2 volt input nominal (3.6 to 9.6)
low power sleep mode (when device is off)

How to enter Main Menu:

While the device is off and batteries are connected, press and hold the button for 3 seconds. The device will talk to you to walk you through the process.

>Select LED type (adjusts current to the LED)
>Select Blade frequency (pulse rate)
>Select Sound Volume
>Select Motion sensitivity
>Select Impact sensitivity
>Save settings

Once the menu is completed, the Nova Sound 3.0 powers up and is ready to go.

To shut down device: Press and hold button for 3 seconds, the blade will fade down and the saber retraction sound effect will play. The device will then enter a low power sleep mode, with no need to remove batteries in between use. *For prolonged storage (months) batteries can be removed, with no loss of saved settings.

To power on device: Tap button and saber immediately starts with fast power ramp-up of saber light with sound effect.

To fire blaster: While device is on and running, tap button (do not hold) to fire a blaster shot.

Here is an awesome video of an amazing new saber featuring the Nova Sound 3.0

The Nova Sound 3.0 is a refined version of the former Nova Sound 2.5 with new sounds, a completely reprogrammed motion controller, and multiple upgrades and fixes.

Getting Closer to Prototype

2010-12-05T08:31:00.001-08:00

Here's a test of a super bright LED. It gets so hot, that it has to be submerged in a cup of water, until I mount it on an appropriately sized copper heat sink. The water keeps it entirely within specifications at 4.75 watts. This is one of the brightest I've seen, I can't believe it! The picture just doesn't do it justice, since the camera auto dimmed the background.

The LSDX-4, at full power, is putting out over 20 watts per channel at about 86 percent efficiency. The problem is that I've yet to find a single LED with this type of power rating, so originally I had been using cups of salt water to act as dummy loads. Amazingly the water eventually boils, but the circuit board doesn't even get warm! All with one channel! Using strings of 5 LEDs, like these pictured here, 20 watts can be absorbed, but the voltage minimum of the power supply is raised. For simplicity of the circuit, anything from 3.6 to 25 volts can be used as a power supply, but the power supply must be rated higher than the LED minimum voltage, which is usually a max of 3.9 or less. This bright one I was using is 3.4 volts.

Here's a picture of the prototype LSD-X4 LED driver circuit powering a 25 watt halogen bulb. The size of the circuit will be greatly reduced in the finished product, these pieces were chosen for ease of assembly on a bread board.

This picture reveals the microcontroller's built in knowledge of the current draw from the LED output channel 1. While the LSD-X4 will not contain a 4 digit 7-seg display, it will record measurements which will be available to the user through the computer interface via USB. The LSD-X4 will automatically maximize efficiencies and allow the user to select the best bulb, configuration of bulbs, or power supply input voltage, based on it's internally calculated efficiencies. When given an arbitrarily selected battery and LED, the LSD-X4 will automatically attempt to power it most efficiently. In the event that the drive is impossible, it will shut down to prevent damage to itself or to the light. All of these features will go mostly unnoticed to the typical user, but behind the scenes, just know the LSD-X4 is doings some amazing things!

We're pushing for 95% efficiency, only a couple more days until these design needs to be submitted for fabrication.

Just in Time for Christmas

2010-11-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

Prototype Fabrication Date : 12-07-2010

Features:
Triple Axis Accelerometer
Triple Axis Gyroscope
24 bit - Stereo Sound (16 Simultaneous 48khz streams)
Stereo Amplifier (2 watt / speaker)
High Power LED (4 channels, each 2 AMP 24 V max)
USB connectivity
2GB FLASH Built in
Dual CPU

I was told that the FIRST one of these things is going to cost a total of $2400.00 in fabrication and material. What an awesome board!

LSDX-4 PCB Design

2010-10-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

Fitting all of the necessary components of the LSDX-4 on to the required 1" by 2" board (or smaller) PCB board has been an interesting endeavor. Each subsystem has its own challenges. The power regulators, for example, for the light output have to be well isolated from the rest of the circuit, which can cause audible noise in the audio lines and faulty reception from the sensitive accelerometer. This is kind of hard to do considering the small overall size. Trying to confine increasingly more features into the design has led us to adopt some of the most advanced (or at least miniaturized) parts in existence.

Many of today's consumer electronics use SMD (surface mount devices) versus through hole components to both eliminate the difficulties associated with routing the internal circuit traces and to allow for easier machine assembly. The SMDs intended for use with the LSD-X4 are especially small. The Ultrasound board used plenty of barely visible 0402 resistors and capacitors, which many users never even knew were there. Now, we're dropping the size of these down to a quarter of their original area (0201). Additionally, to further reduce size requirements, we've built the circuit around all low profile chips, many of which are lead-less components which must be carefully soldered and x-ray examined to ensure correct solderability.

Unfortunately, this is still not enough! The circuit board itself must be upgraded. We're going with a 6-layer design, which I was warned by an Advanced Circuits representative, "...will make the cost go up exponentially." In that case, I hope we don't have to use a 10 layer design.

Since the board is populated on both front and back with components, many chips from one side will need to communicated and react with components on the other leading to a large number of connections (PCB traces) which must pass through to the other side. Doing so, without an external jumper cable, requires small holes drilled through and plated, called vias. Dealing with "micro-vias" leads to alignment difficulties as each layer of the circuit board is pressed and sealed together. Then, electrical tests are required to guaranty that the circuit is consistent.... more money for that too...

Not to worry though. It's coming together! I'm very enthusiastic about this project!

Power Overwhelming

2010-08-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a minute to discuss some of the proposed features of the power control system of the LSD-X4. Since this is the current circuit under development, it may be the best time to let our members know what's going on at the present, and hopefully some good conversation can be initiated.
The power system governing the LSD-X4 is particularly complicated. This is primarily because of the universal support the board must provide. When developing the circuit, I try to assume as little as possible and generalize the methods the LSD-X4 will use when the user decides to wire it up in a custom complete saber. I do not know whether the user will use a 7.2 volt battery, or a 6 volt, or a 9, 12, 24, etc. What I do know, is that there are MANY choices of voltages and many possible hilt sizes. This leads to special requirements for the main circuit to automatically adjust to whatever it is given. To be realistic, we are developing an operating supply voltage range of anywhere between 5 and 25 volts. Then, the LSD-X4 will automatically detect the supply voltage and calibrate the output power to the main LED / Luxeon, electroluminescent, plasma tube, or light bulb. The user needs only set the maximum (in terms of watts, amps, or volts) or select from one of the many predefined types.
The LSD-X4 will possibly include a charge pump to generate (from the 5-25 volt supply) a high voltage output to power plasma, EL, or neon blades.
Recharging through the USB port and basic low power mode through USB (for demonstration during configuration and scripting) are also high on the list of "must haves".
The system, as planned, RIGHT NOW (subject to change), has 4 outputs, each capable of over 10 watts. These four channels allow for either extremely bright output or full color effects such as RGBA / RGGB. By shopping around for high efficiency MOSFETs (low RDS(on), fastest switching times, and smallest form factor) we believe we have room on the 1" by 2" circuit boards for all light output channels, as well as all of the other features so far mentioned.
As for a release date. I still do not know and don't want to mislead. We had previously set a goal for the end of October. Unfortunately I believe this is too soon, and besides, I want to be the only one with an LSD-X4 to use as part of my Halloween costume. =) Ok... maybe a few more prototypes will be around for some of the early joiners... we'll see. If we don't make Halloween, then before the end of the year is what we'll aim for.

Top Secret Proto Circuit - REVEALED

2010-08-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm still here. After Skott's post I realize just how much I was over promising, in matters of time. However, although I haven't posted in a while, these postings are not meant to be misleading. We are still developing. And this device is real. We haven't offered any pre-orders, so as of yet, no one has been hurt too bad I hope. Eventually pre-orders will be made available, when the projection is very near completion (if not completely). By this time, plenty of videos and data sheets will be circulating on YouTube and the internet, etc.

Over the past month, my bosses have expressed concern over the apparent lack of interest in the LSD-X4, based mostly on the number of followers. They have diverted some of the resources I would have had to "more important" things, while I've been left to do the majority of the design work on my own. I've explained to them that there are at least hundreds of regular visitors and only a fraction have actually signed up as followers...

Pictured above, is a Top Secret layout of the primary logical components of the LSD-X4. Due to it's classified nature, fine level detail has been removed from the AutoCad drawing, leaving only main circuit pathways. The green outline shows the overall board shape. Click on it to enlarge.

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Thanks for everyone's interest in this project! For those of you interested in the Ultrasound 2.5, we have added a PayPal BUY IT NOW button, on the menu bar at the upper right corner of this page. We receive so many e-mails in regards to the US2.5. This offer will attempt to make the wait for the LSD-X4 more tolerable.

Sneek Peek

2010-06-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

I disassembled my closeup camera into about 30 screws, two super small springs, six lens rings, two controller boards, and over a dozen rods and mechanisms just to expose the front and back sides of the primary and secondary lenses and the CCD.

After cleaning them thoroughly to eliminate the contamination of accidental water damage and actually reassembling the mess, the stepper motor driven zooming mechanism jams! And, what's worse, it would have worked, the LCD screen now shows a crystal clear view, but the camera won't focus for closeups.

Now, with a cheaper digital camera, I've managed to take some pictures of a few of the components used in the LSD-X4. For size comparison, pictured here is a blank 1" by 2" Ultrasound board with new LSD-X4 components placed on top. The two larger chips at top are the FLASH memory chip and one of the microcontrollers used for the main logic control. The lack of leads on these chips (QFN and BGA), minimize outline dimensions, among other things. Coincidentally, these two integrated circuits have the same Y dimension, which at the very least will lend to the aesthetics of the finished design.
The next chip (bottom left) is a 2 channel 24 bit, 96khz digital to analog converter. While this is probably overkill, especially with the limited size of the speaker, it will allow the saber card to be attached to external speakers and exceed CD quality sound. The DAC also possesses cool features like digitally controlled hardware volume control, frequency attenuation, and pop suppression filters which will greatly extend the range of abilities this board will do.
To the right of that is an 8-SOIC switching power regulator. Pretty basic and probably not the final solution, but still much smaller than the regulator used by the Ultrasounds, with higher efficiency and high voltage input allowance.
The USB connector at the far bottom, shows just how much space something so seemingly small really consumes.

Missing from this picture are the other two microcontrollers, two accelerometers, a gyroscopic sensor, the 50-100 or so SMD capacitors, resistors, etc. All of which, will perfectly fill this side of the circuit board, leaving the reverse side for the heavy duty power requirements of the drivers.

I'll be posting some more pictures soon. And, the first video demo.

Flexible Dimensions

2010-06-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Mati and Darth Hideous, Thanks for the suggestions! Since the electronic components are extremely small, the length and width of the finished board are flexible (parts can be rotated and rearranged). As for reducing the layout to 0.75" by 0.8" (a reduction in both dimensions), this would reduce the total area of the board by 70% (.75*.8 = .6 inches^2 and the original 1"*2" = 2 inches^2), which will most likely be impossible... imagine an Ultrasound board cut in half and then that half cut in half again! However, 0.75" by 2.666", for example, would easily work. All things considered, here's an idea... I'll add a poll to this blog regarding the desired dimensions. The top three most popular sizes will eventually be manufactured and made available... So when you order, remember there are three might be three styles! Let's get enough votes to get some real statistics out of that poll. Tell your friends.

The price:
The components are expensive. The 2GB, which is currently the most requested size, memory chip alone is something like 8 dollars in quantities of 1000, 4GB even higher. Accelerometers and the gyroscope are more expensive than that, the sound synthesizing circuits are comparable to that of a PC sound card, there will be three fast processors, and heavy duty power controllers, light controllers (4 outputs) etc... The board is packed with silicon, front and back. It will be the most powerful light saber controller ever, at least in terms of processing capacity, configurability, power output, sensitivity and accuracy of motion / physics, etc!

Even still, demand for the device will ultimately determine the price. From a practical perspective, if the demand is such that only one or two units are purchased per day, then it would be pointless to produce in quantities of 1,000, since it would take up to three years to sell them all. And, by then, either the device will be obsolete, or the price of technology will have dropped.

Still Prototyping

2010-06-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

The prototype is currently 1" by 2" and is highly populated with components, both front and back. All components are low profile surface mount devices which makes it is possible to do so much more in the same standard area. We're flexible in either dimension, but in the end 2 square inches seems most appropriate.

To cut costs, we've been fabricating the PCBs in house. However due to the fine pitch (spacing between traces) on some of the runs it wasn't possible using the standard cheap methods, such as the resist method using an inkjet or laser printer. Instead we came up with what I consider a novel method of creating circuit boards directly with a DVD burner. By simply machining a round PCB disc and inserting it into a highly modified DVD drive, it is possible to etch the circuit tracks precisely even in micro dimensions. It's an experimental approach, but hopefully interesting to read about.

On to some more news... project funding is looking good. Two guys, in two totally unrelated fields, have expressed interest in the LSD-X4 project and are considering backing this project with a lot of money and executive support. This could be the push that propels our project into production! Additionally, with the members we have already, I have considered offering presale to boost our budget. Still, with the anticipation of another 3 months until release, I feel it is best to hold back on this. Unless some of you out there are completely determined to reserve your quantity, then please be my guest and pre-order! Just send payment of $160.00 USD and prepare for delivery ;-)

An Update... Finally!

2010-04-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I hope I have been keeping everyone's suspense up. The development of this board is an everyday thing for me. I work on it 24/7 (Yes, even in my sleep) so it would seem that an update would be appropriate.

During the past couple of weeks we have been designing the device drivers for the USB user interface (PC side). Things have been going smoothly and we've come pretty far. There's a lot of classified stuff regarding this, but it is our intentions to provide full speed USB connectivity, with multiple devices. This means that you will be able to initiate transfers between multiple light saber controllers (LSD-X4) and the host simultaneously and achieve ~8Mb/s data rate. The "multiple" part and the "8Mb/s" might not matter to most, but this would be especially beneficial, for example, to those who will be distributors and must load huge amounts of data before shipping out their finished products. So, just how much data can each board hold? We're anticipating a capacity of 2GB internal FLASH (permanently installed (not a card)), although that might be cool too. This memory will be used to contain all user developed scripts, a capability mentioned in a previous article, as well as CMS light patterns, tolerance settings, and the sound / music / voice files. It is conceivable that a user could potentially write a script for the LSD-X4 that could specify thousands of sound files and long pieces of music, complicated conditional effects based on the movement, etc. which was the reasoning behind the 2GB installed capacity. For the majority, this may not be the case. Remember, the device will be ready out of the box, and many may never tap it's true potential.

We have also been developing the graphical user interface (used for quick "drag and drop" changes of sound files, scripts, and settings). Once you have all of your settings perfected you can save the entire workspace to your computer for use later or to copy to another saber. You can make as many customizations as you'd like! This graphical editor also will also include visual representation of the light sabers beam (color, brightness, and pattern) and sound effects (as they'd sound through your speaker. That's all I'm going to say right now. There's GOING to be more but this is the stage in development that we are currently at.

I'll post again soon.

We read the comments everyday and try to respond, but at the very least consider them. Talk to me.

Take care,

Jesse Randall

Answers to Some Technical Questions

2010-03-22T11:43:00.001-07:00

We're just about there, to the 50 follower mark. That went much faster than expected. To those of you who have made it, congratulations and expect to receive a free sound board upon execution of the first batch of boards.

Unlike previous light saber sound board manufacturers, our aim is to provide plenty for everyone. Rather than create an intentional deficit to drive the price high, we will create as many as possible, keeping the price very low, and profit by the sheer volume. So... my hope is that will be better for everyone.

In order for this to work, we need as much support as possible. I absolutely CANNOT do this without YOUR support. I very much appreciate what so many of you have done to propagate this new blog. Thanks for the twittering, following, e-mails, and message board posting! Now... we need MORE. The more support we have the faster these boards will be made available. The design is on paper and prototypical circuits right now. It's not set in stone, so we are still eagerly awaiting more feedback, and we are taking all these comments seriously to make this even better than I alone could have imagined. My partner and I have a fairly large portion of the circuitry laid out and we will soon be fabricating the first boards. As soon as this is available, I will post many pictures.

As for some technical features. Many believe that power drivers in existing boards are severely lacking in performance. This is one of the many aspects of the LSD-X4 which will be revolutionary. The main power input will be able to appropriately and fully handle a wide voltage range up to, beyond 20 volts. We are shooting higher, but we will have to see how well this works in the finished design. It will be a switching PSU hybrid and will generate minimal heat.

Similarly, the LED (or other lighting technology) main output circuit, CMS - Color Mixing System (Special Thanks to Justin Polachek), will be able to drive three separate 10 Watt channels, by user programmable pulse modulation (MCP). Furthermore, each channel is software controllable down to a resolution of at least 1:256. allowing for a total color count of 16,777,216, a familiar quantity to graphics programmers- 2^24 or (2^8 )*(2^8 )*(2^8). The 10 Watt output per channel will be a reasonable max, but not necessarily the physical max. The LSD-X4's feedback controllers will produce very little heat compared with a linear regulator (the usual). Plus, with very accurate control over the exact current limiter's each LED will be driven with the stated amount, whatever the user specify's. I will let your imagination wonder a bit here.

Next, for button control... Some people like more than one button, some people like none. Some even still want mechanical latching buttons. To satisfy everyone, the user will be presented with typical modes encompassing several styles widely used in light saber designs. However, as mentioned in a previous article, there is no limit to the amount of modification employable with the LSD-X4. As a simple example, consider this. If the user wants their hilt to have three buttons, two momentary and the other latching and each soldered to S1, S2, and S3 on the circuit board (here S stands for switch) then with the LSD-X4's flexibility, the user would be permitted to assign functions in any order to any of these buttons. The latching button could be assigned the command of power on / off. The other two buttons could be assigned "change color to red" / "change color to blue" respectively (assuming the utilized a multicolor emitter such as a RGB LED.) So, well... that, and all the possibilities, are pretty awesome to me!!!, what do you think?

I hope to read everyone's feedback on these issues.

-Jesse

The Dark Side

2010-03-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

There seems to be mixed opinions regarding the new LSD-X4. The fact is that, as of now, no reviews are available for it. We are finishing the prototyping stage and after we're confident we have achieved all of the functionality we are striving for, and ONLY then, we will release 50 units to the first 50 followers of this blog, so please, for your own sake, make sure that your contact information is valid so that when the times come we can find you!

Many are afraid of change. Believe it or not Nova Conceptions is not evil. We're simply offering state of the art technology (to those that can appreciate that!) at an unbeatable price. No, we're not going to get rich off of this. We're not going to over price this. We are going to forever change the standards of light sabers electronics. That's what our company promotes. Nova Conceptions - New Ideas.

It has come to my attention today that The Custom Saber Shop has banned discussion of this subject (The LSD-X4) on their message boards. I'm not asking people to join the Dark Side, this is going to be a really great thing for the community of saber builders and users. There will be plenty to go around and never any shortages.

I'll keep you posted! Thanks to all our followers so far. Your support is what will allow this to happen. I suspect there are some roadblocks ahead, but the ball is rolling fast. We will be initiating a message board soon in conjunction with this blog. So check back frequently for updates. Please feel free to e-mail any question, comments, complaints, and concerns.

LSD-X4 News Letter 1.0 3-14-10

2010-03-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Happy π Day!

Hello readers, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Pi Day. My computers certainly are. Today a dozen of my fastest computers have been dedicated to the seemingly endless pursuit of complexity.

This is our first official newsletter you have all been waiting for. Firstly, I want to thank all of our subscribers for their patience, I hope this answers many of your questions and opens your mind's to the possibilities to come.

I will begin by addressing issues that occasionally arise regarding Nova Conceptions and then move forward to a comprehensive description of the core feature of our new design. This will certainly settle much debate, but inevitably pave the way for even more questions.

Why did Nova Conceptions discontinue the Ultrasound series?

>Contrary to the overwhelmingly popular misconception, Ultrasabers commissioned Nova Conceptions to produce a batch of Ultrasound 2.5s and, upon receiving their completed order, failed to financially comply. The payment balance, due upon arrival, was never received. After 6 months of absolutely no communication, Nova Conceptions was forced to auction off surplus stock to the highest bidder in an attempt to break even. No new units will ever be produced.

Nova Conception's maximum capabilities cannot be judged or based upon previous designs. Nova Conceptions produced ONLY exactly what our client asked for. Any shortcomings in the functionality of the Ultrasound boards are, therefore, due entirely to the lack of vision of it's creator, Ultrasabers, and does not represent a limit of the true potential of what can be and will soon be achieved.

Can I download or obtain design files (schematics, firmware, BOM, gerbers, etc.) to produce my own Ultrasound board?

>No. New Ultrasound boards will no longer be produced. Since they were designed for our former client, it is against our (Nova Conception's) ethics to supply this information to anyone other than Ultrasabers. The liquidation of our excess stock was only an attempt to correct a deficiency, not to pass off this work as our own.

Does the LSD-X4 use Ultra's existing technology, and thus constitute copyright infringement? >No. The LSD-X4 is being produced from the ground up, it uses NOT a single algorithm, method, circuit pathway, nor process from any prior work. This design operates very differently than any previous saber board and will forever change the world of lightsaber enthusiasts.

Now, what everyone has been waiting for...

Nova Conceptions presents...

The LSD-X4 Light Saber Sound, Motion, and Light Controller

Version 1.0

What's it called?

>LSD-X4 It stands for Light Saber Driver. Why X4? Actually this is not a version number, this is in reference to it's use of quadruple axis motion detection aXis 4.

What's this!?

>A light saber driver with integrated sound / motion / light control. It was specifically engineered to provide better performance in these three areas than anything before it and anything currently possible.

Tech Specs and Features:

Switching Power Supply – allows high efficiency conversions and a wide range of input voltages.

Processor – MAIN: 120 MIPS. 32 bit. Hardware math functions.

*Acceleration co-processor – 16MIPS. 8-bit. Handles high speed motion to position and acceleration conversion.

*Sound processor – DSP based. Algorithmic FFT capable (digital bandpass and frequency adjusting, etc..) Performs sound mixing, asynchronous 16bit 24khz playback. Works together with acceleration co-cpu.

Switching Converter LED Driver – Very efficient, doesn't get hot, and is statically held by microcontroller monitored feedback processes.

Motion Sensitivity – Acceleration compensated tilt sensors as well as high refresh rate motion sensors allow for a virtually unlimited amount of movements to differentiated. Much more complicated than simple swoosh and impact thresholds. The high speed nature of this revolutionary sensor concept coupled with an incredibly fast, dedicated acceleration and trigonometric, co-processor allows for amazingly smooth and lifelike effects.

Sound System – Sounds are stored in raw PCM the LSD-X4's non-volatile RAM. The sound system constantly works in conjunction with the acceleration co-processor to precisely control the exact pitch, phase, and intensity based on the user's exact movements. A fully digital system such as this has never been commercially produced until now.

USB Connectivity – Simply connecting your LSD-X4 to your PC (MAC and IPhone versions have been proposed) into the LSD-X4 allows you to customize all features, timings, brightnesses and sound files for your system. Virtually all sound file formats are supported, the included software automatically converts all settings and files into the LSD-X4 optimized format. Recorded duels can be downloaded from the LSD-X4 and “replayed” graphically in 3-D on the computer screen with matching light and sound effects.

Calibration Modes – When in calibration mode, the LSD-X4 will analyze your typical duel style to automatically set optimal sensitivity settings. These settings are NOT thresholds, instead they are inertial compensation values which are specific to the exact weight of your light saber assembly and exact orientation. Auto calibration can be disabled and overrode in the event that you are unsatisfied with it's decision.

Downloading Updates – Via the Internet, by connecting your LSD-X4 to your computer with a USB cable, you can receive and install any updates that are made available as the product is refined and perfected over time. Backup your existing version in the event that you try the new version and wish to switch back. Updates are free!

The Official LSD-X4 Blog: Coming soon

>Check frequently for timing release, pictures, and status updates / revisions. Messaging and voting polls will allow user's to express feedback and ultimately solidify and fine tune the release design.

How much will this cost?

>Sure, this device packs a lot of power and functionality but end price has been a deciding factor from the start. It is our strong intentions to be cost effective with other sound boards on the market Our device will be vastly more powerful and capable in every physical way, but you wouldn't know it by the price.

Developers Welcome

>As previously stated, the LSD-X4 will be upgradeable over the Internet. However, we also want to allow the possibility of unofficial third party firmware to be installed and executed using our platform interface. The firmware shipped with the device will be open source and freely available to modifications. This will let developers quickly come up with new designs (including motion logic, sound control, light control, computer interface commands, and every other aspect of the LSD-X4's functionality) by starting from an existing fully formed program and changing it to their own. Developers are welcome to distribute the programs they create personally and commercially.

What's Next

>As progress proceeds additional newsletters will follow. Until next time,

Jesse Randall

Nova Conceptions