Eyes Up Guardian!!
Behold, a meticulously crafted Ghost replica designed from scratch to emulate the Crucible/Competitive Ghost shell featured in Destiny and Destiny 2.
I embarked on a quest to explore the possibility of powering LEDs using magnets, envisioning an object that could easily attach to a stand or mount while running the LEDs with minimal internal space constraints.
Thus, I ingeniously housed the microcontroller and power via a USB cable in the base stand, utilizing magnets to align the wires when clipped onto it. Though not the most refined solution, it served as a fantastic proof of concept. While magnetic connectors were considered, they proved pricey and not quite fitting. Instead, I opted for 6 x 10mm x 1.6mm round magnets, positioning the wire underneath with the striped bare wire end on top. This setup ensures that when the Ghost and the base unite, the magnets securely hold the wires together. I contemplated soldering the wire to the magnets but decided against it to maintain magnetic strength.
Moreover, leveraging WLED on an ESP8266 microcontroller grants the flexibility to have the logo on the stand display a different color or pattern from the Ghost's Eye.
The Ghost shell comprises two halves joined with 3mm diameter, 2.6mm long cylinder magnets, totaling 16 magnets. For the connection between the Ghost and mount, I employed 10 of the 10mm diameter, 1.6mm tall cylinder magnets: one for each wired connection and two at the front.
Assembly Instructions:
1. Print your desired front and rear shell, front and rear eye, Eye diffuser, 4 x Wing Covers, 4 x Wing tips, Base Mount, Base, and Base Lid. If utilizing the Diffused Logo Base, print the Logo Diffuser as well.
2. Affix the Eye into the shell with a small dab of CA glue on the eye tabs, followed by attaching the Eye Diffuser into the front.
3. Insert the magnets into the front and rear shells, ensuring correct orientation.
4. If using LEDs in the rear shell, install them and thread the 3 wires from the LED strip out of the holes in the bottom. Arrange the wires from left to right as Ground, Signal, then 5V. Strip the wire ends, glue the 10mm magnets into the slot, and secure the wires with a touch of glue.
5. Add the Wing covers and Wing tips to the shell using a few dabs of CA glue if needed.
6. Attach the wires to the base mount using the same technique as the Ghost shell, maintaining correct orientation and wire order. For the diffuser, wire from the D1 Mini to the 3 LEDs in the base, then from the LEDs to the wire and magnets.
7. Install WLED onto your microcontroller and solder the USB cable to the 5V and Ground of the D1. Wire from the D1 Mini to the 3 LEDs, then to the magnet wires.
8. In WLED, set up a segment from LED 0 to 2 for the Base LEDs and from 3 to however many LEDs you are using in the eye (e.g., 32 LEDs).
9. Voila! You now have a Guardian's best friend as a luminous companion.
Embark on your journey with this illuminated Ghost replica, and let it guide you through the darkness of the Destiny universe."