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Topic:
LED Blade Q and A's
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GreytaleNovastar1138
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/12 3:30am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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In terms of building some very basic sabers--for a very low-cost...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wiqR417_D0I
Enjoy.
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TheMuffin
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/16 7:08am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Corbin-Das posted:
Hi guys
A saber CAN be made that cheap, though it's tough. Hey Muffin, if you're looking to get several drivers, give me an email. I can get you a deal. I have the original style and the newer models, both in latching and momentary.
Corbin
Corbin@CorbinDas.com
Sent you an email a few days back. Hope it didn't get blocked for some reason.
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GreytaleNovastar1138
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/18 1:30pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Some fun staged combat with LED sabers:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2B1C8n4gkFo
I whipped up this short example of choreography with Dani the evening before we did the demonstration. I hadn't really met up with her and the family since BOP II either, so... I wasn't expecting her to remember things super well. But... as usual, she was all aces, replete with WAAAAY more talent than most any 12 or 13 year-old *I'VE* ever seen. We had a lot of fun getting goofy and creative with the short battle the night prior, and I think the Boy Scout Troupe enjoyed things too.  Hope you do as well.
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TheMuffin
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/18 2:21pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Raph1613 posted:
Hi again.
I think this Post is mostly for Corbin-Das:
A few Posts back, there was a link to wiring diagrams for attatching sound to CorbinDrivers. I had a look, but couldn't really tell if they're still valid for the his new boards. I am waiting for the delivery of one of those boards, and also just acquired a Hasbro "Force Unleashed" sabre with sound. Do I need to go by a different diagram? Also, will a 9-volt battery be able to power the whole setup?
Also, anyone have any idea of how I can take the Hasbro sabre apart without having to damage it? I pulled every screw, but the part right above the retractable spikes just won't budge. Normally I wouldn't care about damaging something that I'm going to be gutting anyway, but I'm starting to suspect that someone else may have done just that, and then returned it to the store with sub-standard innards. If that's the case, I may have to return it. I hope that I'm wrong.
I have the same question about the first. The Force Unleashed saber is not identical to the Force FX sabers. The shock sensor is wired to the bottom of the LED housing instead of onto the sound board like the FFX version. So this is a problem.
For your second problem, you'll have to break the saber. The top part that holds the blade is super glued on. The bottom halves are screwed together and then the top is glued on over them. Just break the plastic and get your pieces.
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aoifrost
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/19 12:13am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Hey buddies! It's been a LONG time since I've posted here, but I've definitely been reading up on all the exciting developments that have been going on.
I was browsing Radioshack's website and saw that the new FX Construct your own Lightsaber set is on sale (for $35) and I was thinking of buying it to gut out the sound board and speakers from it.
Has anybody had any experience with this board? Is it just like the other FX Boards? Also, would anybody happen to know the best way to wire it up to a Luxeon K2 (preferably with four rechargeable AAAs).
Thanks in advance to anybody that can help me out here! Hope things are going well in the Saber Community!
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TheMuffin
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/19 2:03pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Wow, you are my savior. I had no idea they still had those things in stock. Much better sounding lightsaber here I come!
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aoifrost
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/19 11:25pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Yep! The price actually just dropped down to $30!
I tracked one down today. They are getting rid of them all, so you have to call up local stores and have them check in the back because they aren't out on display anymore.
They seem pretty neat! I am glad I bought mine! There are some good metal bits in there even though a lot of the stuff is plastic.
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Raph1613
Title: Co-Founder Spokane Fan Force
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
6/19 11:28pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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TheMuffin posted:
For your second problem, you'll have to break the saber. The top part that holds the blade is super glued on. The bottom halves are screwed together and then the top is glued on over them. Just break the plastic and get your pieces.
Awesome! Sort of. At least this means that no one else has tamperred with it and then returned it. Unfortunately, I guess that means that it's a piece of $#!+ straight out of the box.
* sigh *
Money well spent...
Now, I still haven't been able to find any wiring schematics for that piece of junk. Since I'm stuck with it for now, is there any specific place that I should look for them? I've been through the tutorial forums at TCSS and haven't found anything yet.
Also, I've installed one of the new Corbin Driver boards into my saber. I definitely had to upgrade from a 9-volt to four AAA's since it wound up dimmer than ever. Only now, with the AAA setup, I'm only at the same brightness that I had with the 9-volt through a buckpuck.
About the new Corbin Driver board: I love the ramp-up effect. I can't get enough of it! I just don't see any kind of "shimmer" effect.
Comments? Suggestions?
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Caught at a crossroads....
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GreytaleNovastar1138
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/20 2:01am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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I don't know if I can help too much here--lots of questions, but... let's see:
* A 9v battery will rarely be able to handle the needs of an LED saber. Why. Well, a 9v cell is ACTUALLY just a bunch of AAAA (that's right, that's 4 'A's). Six of 'em to be exact. They are all wrapped up in that nice little rectangle for you... BUT... the "mah" (milli-ampere-hours) you'll get from them sucks monkey arse. So I recommend against using them... even if you wire two together to double the runtime. Still sucks monkey funk.
* Luxeon K2 current concerns... well, this depends on the color--to some people's surprise. It's kind of funny to me though, since you can classify them as "dark side" LEDs or "light side" LEDs... and they each require different currents. Makes it easy to remember... but, you can always look up manufacturer data.
The Luxeon K2 "light side" series (green, blue, royal blue, white, cyan)... has a max. cont. curr. = 1500ma.
The Luxeon K2 "dark side" series (red, red-O, amber)... has a max. cont. curr. = 700ma.
This does NOT equate to more current = "better". Au contraire. You must look at ALL aspects of an LED to determine if it is right for your saber project: its forward voltage... its 'ideal' current... the heat generated... the lumens produced. Not to mention the bin type.
* Saber brightness / driving... If you do not properly drive an LED--it's pretty certain that you won't be happy with the results... ... ... (!) That's pretty obvious. But... people rarely think about that when diving into sabers. To help, let's just consider the words from the old Bard himself:
"Suit the action to the word, word to the action."
...Oh, but in this case...
"Suit the current to the LED, the LED to the current."
If you're able to feed an LED the correct amount of current (at the right forward voltage of course)... you'll be pretty good to go, and be seeing near to the "best" results you could get from your LED. Every high-power LED is different and many have a wide ranges of currents that they like--anything from 350ma to 1500ma... and even MORE in some cases!
Corbin's original driver basically spits out about 1A (1000ma) and is not programmable. So, it suits LEDs that want something around 1000ma of current... so, you could over-drive a 700ma LED... or slightly under-drive one that wanted (let's say) 1200ma. Whatever.
Ultra's driver board is/was configurable in a "digital" fashion for many of the Luxeon types, but basically accepts 700ma, 1000ma and 1500ma. Pretty cool. Also supports even the "voltage heavy" Lux V (700ma for current).
Erv's Crystal Focus driver is the most configurable of all at present, as it accepts an "analog" type RANGE of currents--that range being anything from 0ma to 1500ma. This is configurable using a parameter that tells the board exactly how to drive the LED, and can also be configured for many currents even with the same saber.
Force FX... spits out about 900ma when all is said and done. This also means for the "Joe Jedi" RGB one, but it is split in 3 for each LED. And NOT evenly... the red LED takes a little less than the green and blue ones (goes back to that "light side" / "dark side" thing)...
Hasbro... which is barely worth mentioning... well--I don't know for certain, but you can hook up a Luxeon III "lightside" and it will probably be relatively acceptable. I guess. I don't really know. Who cares, the toy + board is like $10 or whatever, so even if you jacked it up, what's the big deal.
Oh... finally... since Luxeon III LEDs are about $6 to $10... there really is no GIGANTOR harm if you "destroy" one by accidently giving it too much current / voltage. So... by all means--experiment a bit! The worst that could happen is... well... suddenly you need to go buy a new LED. Oh darn. Wow, $8. I mean, sure... it's still eight bucks, but... if you're worried about killing an LED you're in the WRONG BLOODY HOBBY!
--peace...
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aoifrost
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/20 3:28am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
- Date Edited:
6/20 3:34am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
aoifrost
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Wow that was very informative Greytale! Thanks a ton!
So it would seem that a "light side" K2 would be pretty under-driven if wired up to a Force FX Board? Do you have any suggestions to get around this or do you think 900ma would be acceptable for powering a "light side" K2?
I wonder if I should just get a Lux III and properly drive it (since the optimal current is 1000mA) with the FX board as opposed to severely under-driving a K2.
Also greytale, have you seen the Blue and Royal Blue K2's? I personally have not seen them in person and was wondering which color I should go with. Thanks again! 
EDIT: I also checked out that Joe Jedi tutorial and it was incredible! Props to him!
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TheMuffin
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/20 12:10pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Wow, never fails that Radio Shack is useless to me. Both of the stores that have them listed as in stock have none. Not in the back, not on the floor. Nowhere. Quality. Why do great idea always get foiled?
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GreytaleNovastar1138
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
6/20 6:00pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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aoifrost posted:
Wow that was very informative Greytale! Thanks a ton!
So it would seem that a "light side" K2 would be pretty under-driven if wired up to a Force FX Board? Do you have any suggestions to get around this or do you think 900ma would be acceptable for powering a "light side" K2?
I wonder if I should just get a Lux III and properly drive it (since the optimal current is 1000mA) with the FX board as opposed to severely under-driving a K2.
Also greytale, have you seen the Blue and Royal Blue K2's? I personally have not seen them in person and was wondering which color I should go with. Thanks again!
EDIT: I also checked out that Joe Jedi tutorial and it was incredible! Props to him!
You're welcome. And let's see... yes, essentially a light-side K2 Lux would be underdriven on any FX board... but it would still appear nice, I'm sure. It's just... yes, you're right: might as well use a Lux III lightside then. I mean... why not?
I will say... the difference between driving a Lux III Green (let's say) at 1000ma vs. 900ma... VISUALLY... is close to impossible to detect. Now, driving a Green K2 at 1000ma vs. 1500ma... well, OK... you might start to note the difference... and CERTAINLY you would notice driving a Green K2 @ 700ma... and then trying it at 1500ma!
The point is... 1000ma and 1050ma or 1100ma... no big deal. DRASTIC changes (such as doubling current or... 50% less/more current)--well... then you would actually notice brightness differences.
Blue and Royal Blue are very nice in my opinion. Royal Blue gets a "bad rap" because it is measured "differently" than the other LEDs in the visual waveform... but that is because it BEGINS to approach ultra-violet (not "seeable") light. So it makes sense that it doesn't even register "1 lumen", since lumens really aren't the most IDEAL way to measure how this gear-bage all works. Hard to explain, but one moral = LUMENS DON'T ALWAYS TELL THE STORY OF BRIGHTNESS. It depends. Best judge? Get one, see it in person, DRIVE it correctly... and THEN you can say for sure what you like.
Robodragon (Grayven's) Joe Jedi tutorial(s) DO rock.
And Muffin--great ideas do not always get snubbed. Look at CF...
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TheMuffin
Registered:
Nov '05
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Date Posted:
6/20 7:01pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Well, more along the lines of my ideas and plans always get smashed....
I came to the conclusion today that I fried my CF board. I must have had a bare wire in there somewhere hit the board in the wrong spot. I turned it on, it worked for a second, and then pop. Nothing worked. I checked all of my wiring and it's all good but nothing is happening. So bad stuff seems to happen in pairs as of late.
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Raph1613
Title: Co-Founder Spokane Fan Force
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
6/20 11:32pm
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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Wow!
Quite a bit to think about and look up!
Thank you GreytaleNovastar1138!!
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Caught at a crossroads....
Not noble enough to be a Jedi....
Too clumsy to be a Sith....
The Force, though with me, is quite erratic....
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ardavenport
Registered:
Dec '04
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Date Posted:
6/21 8:26am
Subject:
RE: LED Blade Q and A's
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One note about brightness. The human eye is more sensitive to different colors than others. Basically, the eye is more sensitive to green light than any other color. So, if you have two lights, one green, one red, putting out the same amount of energy, the green one is still going to 'look' brighter.
You and add in the complication that red light photons are lower energy than green photons, but that difference is not as big as eye sensitivity to different colors of light.
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