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cardcollector
02-20-2010, 07:40 AM
Hey guys, This thread will explain almost everything you need to know about the New hasbro Sabers w/DvD

2010 DarthVader breakdown and wiring guide (http://www.photoshop.com/users/cardcollector/albums/517e046c2c7c40cb92668a8c55256607/assets/ea5a031b52b04f48bbc4bbec2e401918)
This video shows how to tear apart, wire up the LED traces, and compares sound to other sabers. Just so you know, The board will fit in a sinktube veeeery snugly...

Disassembly:
These sabers are extemely hard to take apart. Hasbro didn't skimp on the glue this time. I had to use a Dremel to cut it open. You can see where everything is in the video.

Wiring:
This is sad. The LEDs give off the following ma and 6V
LED 1: 7ma
LED 2: 7ma
LED 3: 7ma
All LEDs- together: 21ma (yes, I triple checked!)

BUT, all you have to do is wire in a transistor to get the proper ma to the LED.

I am very impressed with this saber's sound, especially the swings, they are much better responsively and mixed into the idle hum, you can hear that in the video...

So here are some wiring Diagrams...
Just a basic circuit with a PNP type transistor.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/__n0r4i7D1Yc/TCE6_G85kqI/AAAAAAAAAC8/0NdNK8S2Vi8/Diagram1.jpg

Here is one with a 5V regulator if you are using a 7.2V Li-ion setup.
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/misc/2010Modifiedcorrect.jpg
Credit goes to Rhyen for finding the solution to the PNP transistor problem and the following diagrams...
7.2 V - 7.4 V with voltage regulator, recharge port and accent LED:
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/Economy%20Boards/2010Modifiedeverythingrev01-10-2011.png

7.2 V - 7.4 V with voltage vegulator and accent LED (No recharge port):
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/Economy%20Boards/2010ModifiedwithvregaccledandNOrechargeport01-10-2011.png

3.7 V - 6 V with recharge port and accent LED:
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/Economy%20Boards/2010ModifiedNoVoltRegrev01-10-2011.png

3.7 V - 6 V with recharge port (No accent LED):
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/Economy%20Boards/2010ModifiedNoVoltRegNoaccLEDrev01-10-2011.png

3.7 V - 6 V Basic Set up (No recharge port or accent LED)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/Economy%20Boards/2010ModifiedBasicrev01-10-2011.png[/QUOTE]

Credit goes to Boj-Vaati Mau. This setup includes a buckpuck with accent LED.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TY6WJK7ENfI/AAAAAAAAAm8/oGhW-1tYqtY/2010ModifiedwithBuckPuckMkII%5B1%5D.png

Credit goes to skottsaber. This eliminates the Flash on clash and provides a nice flicker effect.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/speakersetup.jpg


Please note that several diagrams poated throughout this thread are incorrect, they have the battery going to the collector, and the LED going to the emmitter. DO NOT wire them that way. you will only get 300-400 ma as opposed to 1000-1100ma wired as the diagrams above.

Dakarn
02-20-2010, 08:48 AM
One note on cutting it apart - if you stick to the seams along each side and at each end you'll be fine. Just don't cut deeply else you'll clip the wiring or something more important. And its really important to stick to the seem and cut shallow at the pommel since the swing sensor and the speaker are located there.

xl97
02-20-2010, 09:47 AM
you could use the 21mA to drive an accent 'power' led or something.. no problems there..

Jedi-Loreen
02-20-2010, 10:04 AM
There's seems to be a discrepancy about the current output.


I am going to see if the toys r us has it in my area, if they do I will put a meter on it tonight and let you know.

EDIT:

I have tested an Anakin with a 4.5 V set up (3 akaline batteries and a dummy battery in a 4 AAA pack) I was very disappointed with the results. I tested it with a blue Cree LED. Each of the stock LEDs had an individual circuit ran to it and hooked up to the Cree here are the results:

Circuit 1: 35 mA
Circuit 2: 34 mA
Circuit 3: 35 mA

Total with all 3 circuits tied together : 104 mA

So, even though the board has decent sound you will need to use a supplimental driver. I still think it is worth using though.

Who's right?

cardcollector
02-20-2010, 10:55 AM
There's seems to be a discrepancy about the current output.
Who's right?[

That is an anakin saber. Not an obiwan, and the rumor is that some sound differently. So I wouldn't expect them to all have equal currents.

Sunrider
02-20-2010, 11:44 AM
Who's right?

The one who's leads measure 0 ohms.;)

Most likely the higher number.;)

Rhyen Skytracker
02-20-2010, 12:14 PM
I have heard that each saber has different cards in it. It all depends on which LED you test them with too. I tested mine with a cree LED and it did light up the cree a little bit so I know mine was more than 21 mA. With 21 mA the cree wouldn't hardly light up at all. I used a fluke 87 to test mine with too. I will double check next time I get a chance to verify it though.

cardcollector
02-20-2010, 05:32 PM
The ma rating was 21ma on my multimeter... (I checked again and don't think my multimeter is faulty)
I was using a seoul P4 blue.

How are you measuring your ma output rhyen?
So how can we establish a ma rating for this board? Anybody else care to meter an obiwan board and share the results...

Azryel
02-22-2010, 05:37 PM
If I were to wire an led on a AV switch into this board before a relay would I want to splice all 3 of the negative leads together and connect them as one to the negative post on the switch in order to get enough juice to light the led properly? I'm using an Obi Wan board btw.

cardcollector
02-22-2010, 05:58 PM
Since the AV switch is basically just another accent LED, you could use the negative before the relay and not use a resistor..

Or add it in after the relay and use a resistor.

Jedi-Loreen
02-22-2010, 06:01 PM
I thought the brown wires leading off to the sensor you have labeled as the swing sensor is the clash sensor. And the swing sensors are soldered directly to the board. :confused:

Azryel
02-23-2010, 08:54 PM
I'm pretty sure it's the swing sensor that's attached to the brown wires. When you move the little plastic assembly that is attached to the end of the brown wires around, you can hear and fell a little ball bearing rolling around in there.

revan1138
02-23-2010, 11:41 PM
Yes the swing sensor is connected to the two brown wires, at least for the Obi-Wan this is true.

Does anyone know if the different boards have different fonts?

Et Kin Evenstar
02-24-2010, 07:31 AM
The clash is on the board, the swing sensor is on the wires off the board as in the diagram.

To my untrained ear, the sounds on the Vader/Anakin board are the same, but differ slightly from the Obi Wan board. I also scientifically tested this by having my wife close her eyes and listen. ;-)

cardcollector
02-24-2010, 08:15 AM
I thought the brown wires leading off to the sensor you have labeled as the swing sensor is the clash sensor. And the swing sensors are soldered directly to the board. :confused:

Yes, THe clash sensor is wired directly to the board.

The swing sensor has the 2 brow wires.

Anybody else metered their boards yet??

Azryel
03-01-2010, 05:57 AM
I metered my Obi Wan board last night and I got 30ma with the negative's all spliced together. This was off a 4 aaa pack with fresh batteries.

Jagahati
03-02-2010, 08:22 PM
Here is the way I used this board on one of my projects. (Cut an pasted from another discussion)


http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/Jagahati/th_FrankenBoard.jpg (http://s597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/Jagahati/?action=view&current=FrankenBoard.jpg)

*Note Click the picture to see a bigger version*
Here is a picture of a 2010 Obi-Wan board after I have finished some heavy modifications.

I first moved one of the capacitors from the top of the board to the bottom in order to give me more space on the top of the board. Then I soldered all new leads where they had the crappy cheap wire.

I also removed the monkey head swing sensor and used a swing sensor like the one Tim sells. I mounted it horizontal to the way the saber will sit when held upright, this seems to be the way to get the best response from these sensors. I was able to solder the TCSS sensor directly to the board, I simply placed the leads from the sensor into the holes that the wires that ran to the old sensor (Monkey head) and soldered them in.

Then I installed and wired in a 5v regulator so that I can use this with a 7.2V or 7.4V battery pack without fear of letting the blue smoke out of the sound board.

Then I installed a PNP type power transistor to the board to act kind of like the relays people add. The transistor acts as a switch that turns on when a -V is applied to it from the negative led leads on the default board. This means that when the board would normally have flashed the lights then a larger current (Either 5v or 7.2 depending on how you wire it) will go to the new much more powerful LED.

Works like a charm and is only 5/8" X 2" X 3/8".

Here is a wiring diagram of the way I rigged my version up. First here is what it looks like by default when you first remove it from the plastic saber.


http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/Jagahati/2010Default.jpg

Now here is how I wired in the 5V regulator and the Power Transistor


http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/Jagahati/2010Modified.jpg


I used: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062599 for a voltage regulator, although almost any 5v regulator will work fine.

For the transistor I used: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062613 but there are a lot of others that would work fine.

Ingchao
03-02-2010, 09:52 PM
I appreciate all the hard work that everyone is putting into this (which I will then copy :) ) but, can this thread be merged with the other thread on this topic or can someone start a new one that's truly a tutorial only or collection of diagrams for this new board? It seems like there's some simultaneous posting going on between the 2 threads and it could (is) get(ing) confusing.

Novastar
03-03-2010, 04:34 AM
I metered my Obi Wan board last night and I got 30ma with the negative's all spliced together. This was off a 4 aaa pack with fresh batteries.In accordance with Sunrider's earlier post... don't forget that multimeters have resistance too.

I'm guessing yours is like mine... uh... something like 7mA of resistance or whatever. So yeah, probably around 36mA sounds right.

Variance is to be expected too. Either way, I think we can all agree--it's best left for an INDICATOR LED... not the MAIN one, for our purposes!!!!

LOL @ Lux III Red... [in TV announcer voice] "capable of ~1400mA!!!!" .. ... . .. . . . . . .. .

..... . . . . . . . powered by 36mA. :rolleyes:

That would be a gigantic ***FAIL***. :P

cardcollector
03-03-2010, 06:42 AM
That is super impresive! Jagahati, I moved your stuff to the first post as well...


I appreciate all the hard work that everyone is putting into this (which I will then copy :) ) but, can this thread be merged with the other thread on this topic or can someone start a new one that's truly a tutorial only or collection of diagrams for this new board? It seems like there's some simultaneous posting going on between the 2 threads and it could (is) get(ing) confusing.

I coulnd't if I wanted to.. only a mod can do that.

This thread is for hings that definetely work, (hence the diagrams) the other thread is more of a brainstorming session...;)

Lord Dottore Matto
03-03-2010, 06:14 PM
Nice job man! I LIKE this guy!!!!!

cardcollector
04-02-2010, 06:11 AM
Just so everyone knows....

I went and bought a darth Vader lightsaber and tore it down.

I made a Video (in first post) with pretty much everything you need to know, so if you have any questions regarding the saber, I may be able to help.

Et Kin Evenstar
04-02-2010, 06:30 AM
Just so everyone knows....

I went and bought a darth Vader lightsaber and tore it down.

I made a Video (in first post) with pretty much everything you need to know, so if you have any questions regarding the saber, I may be able to help.

Dude...that updated video is EXACTLY what I needed! Since the sounds are the same (I've not seen or heard a Yoda yet) then the OW version is the easier route to go with, but I've got 2-3 of the DV and Anakins I bought when just checking these out and it's nice to know I can now use those. Well done!

Crystal Chambers
04-02-2010, 06:38 AM
This thread is great. I've been looking for a cheap board that I could find locally and this one was easy to find. I have one waiting to be installed and if it's as good as it seems I may do some more with them. I'm new to the whole wiring thing so these threads are soooo appreciated.

Anyone have any feedback on how/where to place the swing and clash sensors?
Before taking it apart I found the swing sensor not so great in the Obiwon but the clash was pretty good.

cardcollector
04-02-2010, 06:01 PM
Itry to mount the swing sensor horizontally, near the top or bottom of the saber.

The clash sensor is usually attached to the board...

But if it isn't, I try to glue it to the board.;)

Jan-So-Brailyn
04-06-2010, 12:23 PM
I have a lux 3 kit green powered by a 4 aaa pack. The new OW board is waiting to be installed. Will the 5w resistor and relay set up work in this case.

Et Kin Evenstar
04-06-2010, 12:38 PM
Yup. I am working on that exact set up right now. I'm still a bit confused as to if you actually NEED the resistor though?

cardcollector
04-06-2010, 04:16 PM
YES YES YES!!!!:D
IF you use a PNP transistor or Relay you need a resitor or buckpuck.

as to what kind of resistor you need depends on your power supply... Then use the TCSS resistor chart.

Jan-So-Brailyn
04-06-2010, 05:01 PM
Thanks guys. This is my first build and I hoped I did'nt bite off more than i can chew.

Et Kin Evenstar
04-07-2010, 08:21 AM
If I can do it anyone can. I'm pretty much a moron when it comes to tools, electrical stuff and anything technical. ;-)

Rhyen Skytracker
05-01-2010, 10:46 AM
I just used the set up with the transistor for the first time and it works great. I can't believe no one thought of using a transistor as a switch/relay before. Great thinking.

cardcollector
05-01-2010, 11:07 AM
This may be me, but using Jagahti's diagram( with a darth Vader board instead of obi's) and 4.5V I am only getting 350-400ma to the LUX III...

Any ideas as to why?

Rhyen Skytracker
05-01-2010, 11:11 AM
I haven't measured the current to mine yet. I just hooked it up to a blue CREE. I will measure the current and post the results.

EDIT: I just measured the current and I am having the same result. I am only getting 685 mA through the card and transistor and 2244 mA going straight through the 2 AAA battery pack. I am not sure what is going on yet.

EDIT AGAIN: I swapped to a 4.8V AA 2300 mAh NiMH battery pack and I was able to get 1540 mA through the card and transistor. The only major downside to using ANY econo board is the time out feature where it automatically shuts off if no motion or clash after a short time period.

Causa
05-02-2010, 01:59 PM
Between Jagahati's diagram and Zook's design (Mat's diagram), is there a noticeable difference in the illumination for the primary LED? I don't have any plans for accent LEDs...maybe an illumination switch, but that's already been address in one of these Hasbro '10 threads. I'm looking to power a rebel Green.

I'd prefer to use Zook's, since it looks simpler, but if Jagahati's provides more power to the Rebel, then so be it.

Also I think it was already mentioned, but that white square on the positive wire, between the transistor and the LED is a resistor, right?

Zook
05-02-2010, 09:39 PM
Between Jagahati's diagram and Zook's design (Mat's diagram), is there a noticeable difference in the illumination for the primary LED? I don't have any plans for accent LEDs...maybe an illumination switch, but that's already been address in one of these Hasbro '10 threads. I'm looking to power a rebel Green.

I'd prefer to use Zook's, since it looks simpler, but if Jagahati's provides more power to the Rebel, then so be it.

Also I think it was already mentioned, but that white square on the positive wire, between the transistor and the LED is a resistor, right?

its actually the exact same thing except I am using a low voltage power supply so I dont need the V regulator. The other difference is I solder the trans onto the board and jumper a wire from the pos. input wire to the trans. This bypasses the resistor they have on the board for that leg.

Since I am using just a single Li-Ion battery you do not need the regulator and the voltage is close to the requirements of most normal LEDs (P4, rebel, lux III, cree xre) so you do not need a resistor.

JEsse_Chalmers
05-04-2010, 07:03 PM
i just took apart a anakin lightsaber, the one with the dvd from 2010, but the problem is that the 3 LEDs are mounted directly to the soundboard, my problem is, after i end up removing them, how will i know which of the 4 connections are which (led1led2led3ledpos), they arent labeled in any way because the i repeat, the LEDs that came with the crappo stock version are mounted to a very tiny chip, which is mounted sideways to the main soundboard. any ideas?:P, sorry dudes, first sound mod, i have done a lux mod before but not sound

Zook
05-04-2010, 07:14 PM
i just took apart a anakin lightsaber, the one with the dvd from 2010, but the problem is that the 3 LEDs are mounted directly to the soundboard, my problem is, after i end up removing them, how will i know which of the 4 connections are which (led1led2led3ledpos), they arent labeled in any way because the i repeat, the LEDs that came with the crappo stock version are mounted to a very tiny chip, which is mounted sideways to the main soundboard. any ideas?:P, sorry dudes, first sound mod, i have done a lux mod before but not sound

a real easy way is to take a meter and measure. Since I used an anakin I can tell you though.

if you look at the bottom of the board (where the LEDs were soldered and other solder joints are visible) with the part where the LEDs were facing up, the far left lead is + and the three next to it are all -.

cardcollector
05-04-2010, 07:37 PM
i just took apart a anakin lightsaber, the one with the dvd from 2010, but the problem is that the 3 LEDs are mounted directly to the soundboard, my problem is, after i end up removing them, how will i know which of the 4 connections are which (led1led2led3ledpos), they arent labeled in any way because the i repeat, the LEDs that came with the crappo stock version are mounted to a very tiny chip, which is mounted sideways to the main soundboard. any ideas?:P, sorry dudes, first sound mod, i have done a lux mod before but not sound

Watch the darth Vader tutorial video in the first post...;)
The Darth Vader and Anakin boards are the same.

Causa
05-05-2010, 11:22 AM
I went to the local walmart today, and they had 2 of the obiwans and 2 darth vaders 2010 w/ DVD for 16 dollars each. Picked up one (and may go back for the other obi-wan)

The only question I have left is: If I am powering a Luxeon Rebel green with this setup, and I'm using 2x3.6(7.2) Li-Ion's set up with a PCB, will I be able to fully power the rebel green to 180 lumens @ 1000mA?

Above it was showing that only 500mA might be getting through, though it looked like the 4.7 v pack fixed that.

cardcollector
05-05-2010, 01:59 PM
You may want to try a relay instead of the PNP transistor. although the principle is basically the same.

What the transistor/relay does (in theory) is redirect the + battery power Directly to the LED so you would be getting the raw current from thebattery without going thrugh the board....

More testing is going to haveto be done to figure out why the transistor setup doesn't give off much ma...

Causa
05-06-2010, 07:45 AM
Would this be the type of relay to use?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062478

cardcollector
05-06-2010, 03:37 PM
Yep.;)

Causa
05-06-2010, 07:50 PM
On the Obi Wan, I was looking at it, and where you combine all 3 negatives into the PNP...since you're using the transistor as a relay anyways, is there an advantage to keeping all 3 negatives? or is it just as easy to bridge all 3 negatives and add 1 negative lead, like you did for your vader board?

Is the only point in leaving all 3 just to reduce the amount of soldering?

cardcollector
05-06-2010, 09:04 PM
Yes, it would be a pian to solder all those traces together....

And, if you were going to just power an accent led off those traces you would want to use all three so as to get ~20ma insted of the ~7ma per wire.

Causa
05-07-2010, 10:52 AM
but if you weren't? If you are just running it up to the transistor relay?

Would 1 negative work just as good as 3, since you're bypassing the power from the board anyways? Or is there a reason that I'm missing for having all 3 negatives.

Also, looking at the diagram again, do you want the battery positive running through the 5 volt regulator before going to the transistor/resistor/led?

I would think that you would only want the battery positive running through the 5volt regulator on the way to the board, not on the way to the LED.

cardcollector
05-07-2010, 01:54 PM
but if you weren't? If you are just running it up to the transistor relay?

Would 1 negative work just as good as 3, since you're bypassing the power from the board anyways? Or is there a reason that I'm missing for having all 3 negatives.

Also, looking at the diagram again, do you want the battery positive running through the 5 volt regulator before going to the transistor/resistor/led?

I would think that you would only want the battery positive running through the 5volt regulator on the way to the board, not on the way to the LED.

I don't know, I do know some relays/transistors require a certain ma amount to "switch" or activate. Turning the question back to you, why would you only use one wire?;)

the 5V regulator does regulate voltage (not ma) to the entire circut. But all 3W LED's only need around ~3.5ish volts to operate. your reds/Ambers need even less...

Rhyen Skytracker
05-07-2010, 04:16 PM
Just one - from the board IS enough to switch the transistor.

DarthFelix
05-07-2010, 06:06 PM
ok im like completely new at this and was wondering if i can get some info like does it matter what led i use with the obi board and which is the best red and blue led

Rhyen Skytracker
05-07-2010, 06:34 PM
The P4 LEDs are great for most sound cards and LED drivers.

dj2rbo
05-13-2010, 01:38 PM
I would like to copy jagahati's setup, except I was going to use a recharge port, a trial rebel, and 3 li-ions. Do you guys think the voltage regulator would be okay with an extra 3.7 volts?? Thanks.

Rhyen Skytracker
05-13-2010, 01:45 PM
You will have a hard time finding decent optics to work with the Tri-Rebel and get a decent even blade.

cardcollector
05-13-2010, 01:48 PM
I would like to copy jagahati's setup, except I was going to use a recharge port, a trial rebel, and 3 li-ions. Do you guys think the voltage regulator would be okay with an extra 3.7 volts?? Thanks.

I would not use a tri rebel. using a single rebel with the correct lense will give you a brighter blade.

You only need one Li-ion cell to power a rebel...

dj2rbo
05-13-2010, 02:20 PM
Thanks for the fast reply, I have been using them and they are my brightest sabers I have, but no sound. My real question is would the voltage regulator hold up with extra voltage without heatsinking the voltage regulator.

cardcollector
05-13-2010, 02:28 PM
I don't know, usually the packaging says the max Voltage the regulator can handle...

dj2rbo
05-13-2010, 11:15 PM
I haven't measured the current to mine yet. I just hooked it up to a blue CREE. I will measure the current and post the results.

EDIT: I just measured the current and I am having the same result. I am only getting 685 mA through the card and transistor and 2244 mA going straight through the 2 AAA battery pack. I am not sure what is going on yet.

EDIT AGAIN: I swapped to a 4.8V AA 2300 mAh NiMH battery pack and I was able to get 1540 mA through the card and transistor. The only major downside to using ANY econo board is the time out feature where it automatically shuts off if no motion or clash after a short time period.

waaaahhh.....Im only getting 485ma for a p4 blue with Jagahati's setup (Very confusing when actually trying to materialize the schematic....) The only difference is mine is with a recharge port. I will try now with a relay. Does anyone else have this problem. Ryhen said that he had succes with 4.8 volts?? Did you check the ma for the led after changing the battery pack to 4.8?? Thanks

Edit. I tried the Obi Board with the reed relay but was only gettinh 1.5 vollts to the relay so it wont open. Im getting tired of this board...

dj2rbo
05-14-2010, 11:03 AM
Anyone had succes with jagahatis way and get at leeast 1.0 amp to the led? Or with a relay? Tried both but wasnot getting enough amps or the relay wasn't opening.

Jagahati
05-29-2010, 08:46 AM
I need to know a bit more about the setup. You are using a 4.8v battery pack correct? Did you use the 5v regulator like in my diagram?

The regulator is redundant and not necessary if you are using a 4.8v battery pack. There is a chance that that is causing problems.

Also if the transistor is wired properly it's resistance should be negligible once the sound card is turned on.

My suggestions for troubleshooting this would be to check all your connections and insure that the transistor is getting enough voltage at the base to activate (Put all three of the negative leads from the LED's together and attach them to the base, this seems redundant but could easily be a problem).

Beyond that I would need more information to be of much help.

Noyl Wendor
05-30-2010, 12:14 AM
So the wiriing diagram (for Cheapy Obi-wan) in this link works for the P4. Has there been any more discussion as to the use of the relay and transistor with the P4 set up (6v)?
This set up would work then for the Lux lll on a 6v set up. You would get the same brightness from the blade with out killing your board.

b166er
05-30-2010, 06:53 AM
Hi Guys,

I modified Jagahati's design to use a BuckPuck(700ma), as per the picture. I get voltage measurements I don't understand. I'm no electronics expert ;p.

The battery pack gives @8.4v (2x18650 TrustFires)

The following table show the various readings depending on what is connected to Pin2 of the PNP transistor (BD912). The LED is a Luxeon 5.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2541/sabretable.jpg

As you can see, with Pin2 connected directly to the battery pack(8v), I get a high voltage on Pin1 and the LED is lit whether the state of the hasbroboard is On or Off. With Pin2 connected to Pin3 of the Voltage Regulator(5V), the LED turns On and Off with the hasbroboard but is obviously very dim. With Pin2 disconnected(0v), I see the hasbroboard pull the voltage down from the expected 5v to 0v on Pin1.

BD912 is supposed equivalent to the TIP42G Jagahati mentions in his original, plus he states that he can swap the connection to accomodate different voltages for different LEDs
Can anyone suggest why this isn't working properly? (The spec sheet for BD912 says the maximum voltage of the emitter is 5v. Should this be higher for this setup?)

Thanks for shedding any light (haha) on this for me.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/858/2010modifiedagain.jpg

dj2rbo
06-01-2010, 04:09 PM
Would the transistor for zook and jagahati's diagram be interchangeable? I'm under the impression that the Pnp type transistor from radio shack somehow limits the current to around 400-500 ma.

Jagahati, I copied yours exctly except I added a retard port. Are you saying your led had more than 500 ma or that it just works but not as bright?

Noyl Wendor
06-01-2010, 07:05 PM
Is the PNP power type transistor needed?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-01-2010, 07:39 PM
You need to use either a PNP transistor or a relay with a 5V coil.

dj2rbo
06-01-2010, 07:47 PM
You need to use either a PNP transistor or a relay with a 5V coil.

Ryhen, I tried this with a 5 volt relay from Radio Shack and while it had the correct voltage, it didnt have enough amps.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-01-2010, 08:19 PM
That is why I like the transistor set up better. Some of those relays are very picky.

Noyl Wendor
06-02-2010, 06:07 PM
So you could use the relay or the transistor. Or both. I could see how the relay would not allow enough amps. But I am going to give that a try.
Either way if I'm running 6v I'm going to need a relay or transistor.

Noyl Wendor
06-02-2010, 07:50 PM
from what I can see of the schematic, it looks like you can wire in the relay in the same spot even if you are not using the transistor.
Am I wrong on that?

dj2rbo
06-03-2010, 08:26 AM
Hey try it with a relay from radio shack. I failed with this method but maybe you'll get it right.

dj2rbo
06-06-2010, 07:24 PM
You know what. I bought another 2010 obi and im going to try to use a relay from RS again. Noyl, Im glad you got it to work, but I am curious if it will stay running for longer than a couple of seconds then cut off. They have two types of relay I tried with this board from RS. Anyways the smaller one worked for a couple of seconds then cutoff and then come backon just to cut off again. The one we all use for the older boards wouldnt even close the circuit.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-06-2010, 08:13 PM
Looks like the transistor set up is about the only option with the 2010 Economy Hasbro boards. I know they put out VERY little current to the LED output and it looks like it is not quite enough to energize the coil or the relay. I don't see a minimum coil current but the maximum is .5 A.

Borax
06-06-2010, 08:43 PM
I am curious why some are having problems with the relay question. This is the relay that I use from radio shack here (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062478) and i have made 3 sabers this way and they work great. Just follow the wiring diagram here (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=9642) from the forums and it will work :)

Rhyen Skytracker
06-06-2010, 09:12 PM
Are you using the Force Action lightsaber board or using the new 2010 Hasbro boards. The 2010 Hasbro lightsaber hilts are a lot thinner that the older models. It is with the 2010 models people are having problems with, the relay works great with the older models. I personally have not tried a relay with the 2010 models, I use the transistor set up with them.

Noyl Wendor
06-06-2010, 09:28 PM
I'm using the 2010 Hasbro board (new) Obi-wan's to be exact. The LED set up on this one is not connected to the board. Much easier.
So far I have no trouble using the Reed Relay that borax set a link to in his post. My saber is still going and my P4 is still very bright.

dj2rbo
06-07-2010, 12:00 AM
I'm using the 2010 Hasbro board (new) Obi-wan's to be exact. The LED set up on this one is not connected to the board. Much easier.
So far I have no trouble using the Reed Relay that borax set a link to in his post. My saber is still going and my P4 is still very bright.

Is your setup in the saber already?? If its not can you measure how many ma is to the LED please. I did what you did before but the spst relay from the shack kept opening causing the connection to break. One thing thoughis I didnt use a resistor for a blue p4......Maybe because I was giving more than 1 amp to the LED it makes the relay act weird??? Any help is greatly appreciated.

The Grey Elf
06-08-2010, 08:02 AM
Question: at $20 for the saber, plus the cost of the transistors and buckpuck (if needed), isn't that pushing the cost of this very close to an FX board (which can be gotten for $50 these days)?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-08-2010, 10:33 AM
If you can get a FX board for $50 that is the way I would go. I have been having to buy the whole FX saber from $90 - $120. I don't use a buckpuck with the 2010 econo set up and the toy saber on ly cost me $16. So I am only paying just over $20 for the whole set up.

Causa
06-08-2010, 10:47 AM
man I spent over 20 just on the battery pack for this thing :p

the plastic saber and resistor were less than $18 with tax. The 5v regulator and transistor were 3 dollars together.


Also when you get the 5v regulator from Radioshack, please note that this version:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062599 which is linked to in this thread is the A model.

My local shop had the C model, which I didn't notice until I was ready to assemble. Not only does it reduce voltage to 5v regulated output, but it also only allows 1 amp max output, which makes it useless for this setup, since the board wants about an amp, and the LED I am trying to overdrive at 1200mA.

Noyl Wendor
06-08-2010, 08:30 PM
Is your setup in the saber already?? If its not can you measure how many ma is to the LED please. I did what you did before but the spst relay from the shack kept opening causing the connection to break. One thing thoughis I didnt use a resistor for a blue p4......Maybe because I was giving more than 1 amp to the LED it makes the relay act weird??? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Yes. Set up.
I did use the resistor for the P4, I wired it into my Neg wire running from the battery splice (Y) that goes to my LED.
Haven't measured the ma to the LED yet.
I'm sure you won't have the issue again if you use the resistor. Remember to use the proper resistor for the power source you're running.
I'm running a 6v set up (for now) thats what I used when I had it wired as a direct drive. I kept that theme going.
If you need help finding the right resistor, The front of the store has a LED resistor chart that shows you what resistor to use for what power set up.

Mal Rune
06-08-2010, 09:20 PM
What would be the best way to wire one of these up with a 10watt Ledengin?


Edit:
http://i46.tinypic.com/6s7w3t.jpg
Would this setup work?

Skottsaber
06-11-2010, 02:58 AM
Jagahati, I copied yours exctly except I added a retard port. Are you saying your led had more than 500 ma or that it just works but not as bright?


It's nice that SOMEBODY has found a good use for retards... :D

dj2rbo
06-11-2010, 06:14 PM
It's nice that SOMEBODY has found a good use for retards... :D

yeah so someone saw that:oops:

b166er
06-14-2010, 02:24 PM
Mal Rune,

That looks to me like you would only be supplying 5v to the LED, is that enough?
Let me know if you get a working solution, I'm trying to do the same with a 5W Luxeon, as per #59.

I going to ask for help on an electronics forum. If I get help there, I'll let you know here.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-14-2010, 03:18 PM
5 Volts is more than enough for most LEDs. Most of them only require 3 - 3.3V and around 1000 mA. There are LEDs out there that require more voltage but for the most part the ones we use are around 3 Volts. But when using the 10W LED with the transistor set up you are feeding the battery power directly to the buck puck (which will regulate the current at 700 mA) the voltage will vary. The 5 V regulator is to feed 5Volts to the sound board to keep from frying it.

Mal Rune
06-14-2010, 07:04 PM
Mal Rune,

That looks to me like you would only be supplying 5v to the LED, is that enough?
Let me know if you get a working solution, I'm trying to do the same with a 5W Luxeon, as per #59.

I going to ask for help on an electronics forum. If I get help there, I'll let you know here.

Yeah pretty much what skytracker said. Just get a buckpuck, and the right powersupply with that setup, and I think it should work out fine. Ive decided to just go with a rebel though, because sunrider suggested that the 8aaa pack might not be the best power supply for 10watts. He suggested the 7.2v Li-Ions if memory serves..so to simplfy things a bit I redesigned my saber

Heres the new diagram I came up with:
http://i46.tinypic.com/20gftds.jpg

I havent really revised it though, so if any of you guys see any problems feel free to say so.

EDIT: sorry the diagram is kinda difficult to see... Im going to do a better one soon.

Matt Thorn
06-14-2010, 11:12 PM
Yeah pretty much what skytracker said. Just get a buckpuck, and the right powersupply with that setup, and I think it should work out fine. Ive decided to just go with a rebel though, because sunrider suggested that the 8aaa pack might not be the best power supply for 10watts. He suggested the 7.2v Li-Ions if memory serves..so to simplfy things a bit I redesigned my saber

Heres the new diagram I came up with:
http://i46.tinypic.com/20gftds.jpg

I havent really revised it though, so if any of you guys see any problems feel free to say so.

EDIT: sorry the diagram is kinda difficult to see... Im going to do a better one soon.
The diagram is very clear. But I'm not sure that I see the need for a BuckPuck, or the 5V regulator, for that matter, since you are using a 6V power source. I'm planning to do a similar setup, using a four AAA battery pack. I don't remember anyone saying that these boards can't handle 6V. And depending on the output from the transistor, it seems to me that even a resistor may not be necessary. Did you settle on this particular setup after doing some measurements and deciding the regulator and BuckPuck were necessary?

Mal Rune
06-15-2010, 01:03 AM
The diagram is very clear. But I'm not sure that I see the need for a BuckPuck, or the 5V regulator, for that matter, since you are using a 6V power source. I'm planning to do a similar setup, using a four AAA battery pack. I don't remember anyone saying that these boards can't handle 6V. And depending on the output from the transistor, it seems to me that even a resistor may not be necessary. Did you settle on this particular setup after doing some measurements and deciding the regulator and BuckPuck were necessary?

No my friend. I havent even built my first saber yet...Everytime I get the money to build it somthing happens, but Ive been doing research on this and other forums for nearly a year now, and the diagram you see before you is purely based on knowledge from the forums. The reason I chose a buckpuck is simply because I was going to try, and wire up a 10watt, but the design got to complex for my taste, so I alterd some things. I decided to go with a Rebel or maybe even a Cree XR-E, and the buckpuck just kinda got left in the design. As for the regulator I was unsure if it was needed, so Im just playing it safe I guess you could say. As for a resistor I guess it just depends on the LED. Anyway I could see a diagram of the way you were planning to wire this up?

Matt Thorn
06-15-2010, 10:40 PM
Anyway I could see a diagram of the way you were planning to wire this up?
Sure. As soon as I figure out my plan. ;) Since people have been talking about low amperage problems, I'm going to try everything out on a breadboard first. I'm going to be using one of Tim's brilliant MHS speaker and battery holder (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/MHS-speaker-and-battery-holder-P315.aspx)s, and whatever green LED I can find lying around the apartment. (Either a P4 or a LedEngin 5-watt.) I'm planning on using this in a saber I'm making for friend's daughter's 13th birthday, so I'm trying to keep costs down by using what I have on hand. I was hoping to use an illuminated anti-vandal switch, but those things aren't cheap, and I probably won't be able to fit one into the petit hilt I'm making, as you can from the photo:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TBhhJUBo9GI/AAAAAAAAFEE/ivB0gkkc0rw/s800/melander_hilt.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/lh/photo/ky00OoLrIiL-OQ5CnXL4Fw?feat=embedwebsite)
The only pieces here that weren't just lying around were the Style 3 Trim pieces, which I think will make a potentially boring, generic MHS hilt into something with a bit of pizazz. :cool:

As it is, the Obi-Wan soundboard will have nowhere to sit but in the choke. And there's just a bit more than 0.5" between the choke and the top of the battery pack. Hopefully I can fit some kind of illuminated switch in there, otherwise I'll have to go with a tactile switch, probably on the choke itself.

Sorry, got way off topic there. The mother of the girl (who doesn't know she's getting a saber, but has expressed serious interest) is "stoked," to use her own words, and I guess I am, too. (It's nice to have geeky friends with geeky children. My own son lost his geekiness as soon as puberty hit.:cry:) I just have to get the saber across the Pacific in time for her birthday. Which means I'd better work out how I'm going to use the Obi-Wan soundboard tonight. :|

I'll try to remember to take photos and maybe a video, and post them along with a wiring diagram.

Mal Rune
06-16-2010, 02:55 PM
Sure. As soon as I figure out my plan. ;) Since people have been talking about low amperage problems, I'm going to try everything out on a breadboard first. I'm going to be using one of Tim's brilliant MHS speaker and battery holder (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/MHS-speaker-and-battery-holder-P315.aspx)s, and whatever green LED I can find lying around the apartment. (Either a P4 or a LedEngin 5-watt.) I'm planning on using this in a saber I'm making for friend's daughter's 13th birthday, so I'm trying to keep costs down by using what I have on hand. I was hoping to use an illuminated anti-vandal switch, but those things aren't cheap, and I probably won't be able to fit one into the petit hilt I'm making, as you can from the photo:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TBhhJUBo9GI/AAAAAAAAFEE/ivB0gkkc0rw/s800/melander_hilt.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/lh/photo/ky00OoLrIiL-OQ5CnXL4Fw?feat=embedwebsite)
The only pieces here that weren't just lying around were the Style 3 Trim pieces, which I think will make a potentially boring, generic MHS hilt into something with a bit of pizazz. :cool:

As it is, the Obi-Wan soundboard will have nowhere to sit but in the choke. And there's just a bit more than 0.5" between the choke and the top of the battery pack. Hopefully I can fit some kind of illuminated switch in there, otherwise I'll have to go with a tactile switch, probably on the choke itself.

Sorry, got way off topic there. The mother of the girl (who doesn't know she's getting a saber, but has expressed serious interest) is "stoked," to use her own words, and I guess I am, too. (It's nice to have geeky friends with geeky children. My own son lost his geekiness as soon as puberty hit.:cry:) I just have to get the saber across the Pacific in time for her birthday. Which means I'd better work out how I'm going to use the Obi-Wan soundboard tonight. :|

I'll try to remember to take photos and maybe a video, and post them along with a wiring diagram.


Wom man I like that hilt. I'm not a fan of that BH, but you really pulled it off with the trim rings, and choke. Nice work! So your saying an obi board will fit inside a choke? I dont know the diminsions of either the board or inside of a choke..

Edit: I was just thinking man you should try placing the trim ring between the BH, and choke, between the choke and main body. That way the brown suede will be sandwiched between the gold trim rings, and should give a nice uniform look to it, though it does look awsome the way it is. Just a friendly suggestion.

Just for fun here are my plans!
http://i50.tinypic.com/2e5odb5.jpg

Keep me posted on your diagram.

Matt Thorn
06-16-2010, 03:52 PM
Wom man I like that hilt. I'm not a fan of that BH, but you really pulled it off with the trim rings, and choke. Nice work! So your saying an obi board will fit inside a choke? I dont know the diminsions of either the board or inside of a choke..

Edit: I was just thinking man you should try placing the trim ring between the BH, and choke, between the choke and main body. That way the brown suede will be sandwiched between the gold trim rings, and should give a nice uniform look to it, though it does look awsome the way it is. Just a friendly suggestion.

Thanks. Here it is after the powder coating.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TBlTbfZZ8nI/AAAAAAAAFEM/00C15vWi7Co/s800/IMG_1970.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zbbid9TRDIeOOIB4CH-G-A?feat=embedwebsite)

I had considered exactly what you suggest. But I knew I wanted one trim piece to hide the seam where the blade holder and choke meet (and didn't want to do a shroud for this saber), and three pieces of trim were just too much. The leather grip will extend just beyond the seam between the choke and the 4" extension. Hopefully it will all fall together.

As you can see, I ended up doing powder coating last night rather than electronics, so I don't have any new info for you. The Obi-Wan board fits easily into a choke. That thing will fit into just about anywhere.


Just for fun here are my plans!
Looks great! The gentleman is a careful planner! Has it occurred to you that the reason you haven't made a saber yet may have less to do with finances than with perfectionism? ;)

Mal Rune
06-16-2010, 05:47 PM
Good point man I've never thought of it that way! haha im the biggest pefectionist you'll ever meet, but Im selling a motorcycle for some "fun money" to fund my saber, so hopefully I can the begin build next week! That silver vein turned out better that I expected. I used toown my own powder coat system, and the silvervein I had wasnt as fine textured as yours. Cant wait to see it finished! Anyway I could get the diminsions of that board?

Matt Thorn
06-17-2010, 07:48 PM
Anyway I could get the diminsions of that board?
Roughly, the dimensions are:

Width: 16.5mm
Height: 12mm
Length: 52mm

It should fit in anything with an inner diameter of at least 18mm, but because of the exposed solder points, you should be sure to insulate it with heatshrink or a plastic chassis of some kind.

Matt Thorn
06-19-2010, 03:18 AM
I swapped to a 4.8V AA 2300 mAh NiMH battery pack and I was able to get 1540 mA through the card and transistor. The only major downside to using ANY econo board is the time out feature where it automatically shuts off if no motion or clash after a short time period.
Okay, Rhyen, how did you pull this off? Here's a diagram of my set-up:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TCCAyYAFOxI/AAAAAAAAFJs/DCn5M2yCyQ0/s800/2010%20electronic%20ightsaber%20transistor_a.png (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C9XVz5f7bTB-Wag6jkcoXg?feat=embedwebsite)

I got the best results with the BD242CG PNP transistor, but even with this, I get just slightly over 380 mA. (I get about 5.46V.)

The LED lights up, but it is hardly blinding. :???:

Mind you, I'm still working on the breadboard, but the way I have it wired is exactly what you see in this diagram. (Note that I haven't even gotten around to adding a resistor, since I'm stuck on the Amperage problem, though, with 5.46V, I would probably use a 1.8 Ohm resistor.)

Oh, and out of curiosity, I tried a BuckPuck. As I thought, the BuckPuck can't put out more current than it is getting, so, far from kicking the current up, it drops it to a pitiful 30 mA. ;)

P.S.: I'm using a Fluke 87 III, not some cheap multimeter. Just in case someone was thinking of responding, "Maybe it's your multimeter." ;)

EDIT: Wiring diagram is wrong! See diagram in later post.

Skottsaber
06-19-2010, 03:30 AM
The only major downside to using ANY econo board is the time out feature where it automatically shuts off if no motion or clash after a short time period.

I thought FX boards do that as well? I don't see it as much of a problem, unless its like 10 seconds or something. How hard is it to just set off a motion sound every once in a while to keep it going?

Matt Thorn
06-19-2010, 08:32 AM
I thought FX boards do that as well? I don't see it as much of a problem, unless its like 10 seconds or something. How hard is it to just set off a motion sound every once in a while to keep it going?
It's about one minute with the toy sabers, and about five minutes with the Force FX sabers.

The only case in which this is really a problem is if you are using a DPDT switch, and essentially have two circuits. For example, you could bypass all this trouble with transistors or relays if you had the main LED driven straight from the battery pack, and used a Pololu board or Lighthound board to make the circuit work with a momentary switch. Then you would use a DPDT momentary switch to turn on the soundboard and the LED simultaneously. The problem comes in when you accidentally allow the soundboard to time out. Then you have a situation where the LED is on, the soundboard is off, and the next time you push the DPDT, the situation is reversed. The only way to fix it is to remove a battery, or, if you have a charge port, put the kill-key in for a second.

Of course, another problem with the DPDT approach is that the LED turns off the instant you push the switch, before the "power down" sound kicks in. This can probably be fudged a bit with a capacitor.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-19-2010, 10:43 AM
I plan on doing another set up like this tonight and I will document it step by step and take a pic of measuring the current too with my fluke 87. I do know that I am losing a good bit of current across the transistor. When I used 2 AAA normal batts I only got 685 mA through the transistor and bypassing the transistor I was getting 2244 mA.

To get the 1540 mA I used 4 AA NiMH (4.8V @ 2300 mAh) but when bypassing it I got way more mA.

I am using a TIP42 PNP Transistor thathas a collector current of 10A. I am going to try a TIP120 PNP transistor tonight to see if I get the same result, it has a collector current of 5A.

The big change happened when I changes to the 2300 mAh NiMH batteries.

cannibal869
06-19-2010, 07:05 PM
Okay, Rhyen, how did you pull this off? Here's a diagram of my set-up:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TByXagcbSpI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/8l8BT4kbOWg/s800/2010-electronic-ightsaber-t.png (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cnOHSQlXpfY1cWbLqFFeNg?feat=embedwebsite)


Hey Matt,

Just a side note - I'm not sure you really need to tie *all* the negative leads out to the transistor. I think you might just need one to get it to work. That would at least free two of them to be used as accent LEDs... just a thought.

-C

Matt Thorn
06-19-2010, 07:25 PM
To get the 1540 mA I used 4 AA NiMH (4.8V @ 2300 mAh) but when bypassing it I got way more mA.

I am using a TIP42 PNP Transistor thathas a collector current of 10A. I am going to try a TIP120 PNP transistor tonight to see if I get the same result, it has a collector current of 5A.

The big change happened when I changes to the 2300 mAh NiMH batteries.

TIP42!! That's a new one to me. I just ordered some, but I don't know if I'll get them in time. I have some TIP120s...but you do know they are NPN, not PNP, right? I tried one of these yesterday without luck, but I may not have had it wired properly. (NPN should require a very different wiring set-up.)

Unfortunately, AA batteries are not an option for me in this particular project. I'm using AAA alkalines.


Hey Matt,

Just a side note - I'm not sure you really need to tie *all* the negative leads out to the transistor. I think you might just need one to get it to work. That would at least free two of them to be used as accent LEDs... just a thought.

-C

Thanks, C. I know that, and tried different arrangements, precisely because I would like to use one of those leads for an illuminated switch. But 380 mA does not leave a lot of wiggle room. If I can get dramatically better results with a different transistor or wiring set-up, I will definitely use one of those leads for the switch.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-19-2010, 07:26 PM
I only used one wire from the LED output to switch the transistor. I didn't use the other 2 at all.

It looks like it will be tomorrow before I get to wiring another set up like this. I have to cut an overlay first and I don't have a clue as to what design I want on it yet.

Sunrider
06-19-2010, 08:45 PM
Hey you guys if the transistor is giving you problems with V drop you might try using the transistor to drive a relay = no V drop.

Matt Thorn
06-19-2010, 08:56 PM
Hey you guys if the transistor is giving you problems with V drop you might try using the transistor to drive a relay = no V drop.
When you say "V drop," do you mean "voltage drop"? For me, at least, voltage is fine. It's the current that's the problem. :(

Rhyen Skytracker
06-19-2010, 09:53 PM
I have some TIP120s...but you do know they are NPN, not PNP, right?

I just looked at the packave for the TIP 120 I have and it doesn't say wheather it is a PNP or NPN. Thanks for the heads up, that will save me some time. I guess I will just stick with the TIP42 that I know is a PNP.

Matt Thorn
06-20-2010, 02:34 AM
I just looked at the packave for the TIP 120 I have and it doesn't say wheather it is a PNP or NPN. Thanks for the heads up, that will save me some time. I guess I will just stick with the TIP42 that I know is a PNP.
I just did some digging, and found that the PNP equivalent of the TIP120 is the TIP125. I'll pick one of those up, too, and see how it works. But I'm not going to get any of these transistors in time! Argh! :mad:

Rhyen Skytracker
06-20-2010, 11:13 AM
I grabbed all the PNP transistors Radio Shack had at the time and I guess the TIP120 was in with the other ones. I can't believe it is not even marked that it is NPN on the packaging. Thanks again for the tip on the tip. LOL

Matt Thorn
06-20-2010, 05:28 PM
I grabbed all the PNP transistors Radio Shack had at the time and I guess the TIP120 was in with the other ones. I can't believe it is not even marked that it is NPN on the packaging. Thanks again for the tip on the tip. LOL
That's Radio Shack for you. Reason #264,768 why Radio Shack will probably disappear by next year (http://247wallst.com/2010/06/15/247-wall-st-ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2011/4/).

Of course, the big mystery is why it didn't disappear years ago (http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/). :cool:

redeyejedi
06-21-2010, 10:55 AM
I am still looking for the best way to wire these new boards. This wiring looks like the best way, but you said the LED was "not blinding". I need to hook this bourd up to a P4 with the same 6V battery pack/speaker combo as in the diagram. I would like to use this set up and get the maximum brightness from the LED. Please let me know if you discover a sure fire, simple way to wire these new boards to a P4 with the best results.

cardcollector
06-21-2010, 08:15 PM
When you use the 2010 soundboard, or any hasbro board for that matter, you are going to lose some brightness.

Now, I think that by themselves and for the price they are plenty bright. Just look at all the sabers in my sig. Every one of them uses a hasbro board.

Bottom line.
A Hasbro soundboard saber is bright
Any other Saber, whether it be direct drive or a MR soundboard, is brighter.

I think that Matt, and Rhyen are close to finding a better transistor. But they can speak for themselves...

Matt Thorn
06-21-2010, 08:18 PM
I am still looking for the best way to wire these new boards. This wiring looks like the best way, but you said the LED was "not blinding". I need to hook this bourd up to a P4 with the same 6V battery pack/speaker combo as in the diagram. I would like to use this set up and get the maximum brightness from the LED. Please let me know if you discover a sure fire, simple way to wire these new boards to a P4 with the best results.
At this point, the TIP42 transistor Rhyen used seems to be the best confirmed option. I am still waiting for mine to arrive, as well as the TIP125 transistor. But since I have an absolute deadline (a birthday), and only one of these boards on hand, I don't know if I'll be able to confirm their usefulness this week. :???:

Rhyen Skytracker
06-21-2010, 09:03 PM
I just tried the set up on another saber and still had the same results. I got 1.3A with 4 AAA akaline batteries and with 4 AA NiMH I got 1.6A. I did figure out how we were getting such low currents too. It would make sense to have the battery + go to the collector and the emitter go to the LED right? WRONG I swapped the collector and emitter wired and that is what solved the problem. Everything worked as it was supposed too to. The LED turned off when the sound board turned off and LED came on when the sound board turned on. I guess my first try I had accedently swapped the wire and got the higher currents. I wired it like I thought it was supposed to be wired this time and had low currents like everyone else does. That is when I had the idea to swap the collector and emitter wires and it worked great. Be very careful, it does also drop the voltage too but not by much. You will have to add a resistor since the voltage is not enough to use a buck puck. I will post pics of my temp set up and my meter readings with different types of batteries later tomorrow. Sorry it is taking me so long to post all my results. Just remember, in this set up if it sounds logical be sure to swap it. LOL

Matt Thorn
06-21-2010, 10:01 PM
I just tried the set up on another saber and still had the same results. I got 1.3A with 4 AAA akaline batteries and with 4 AA NiMH I got 1.6A. I did figure out how we were getting such low currents too. It would make sense to have the battery + go to the collector and the emitter go to the LED right? WRONG I swapped the collector and emitter wired and that is what solved the problem. Everything worked as it was supposed too to. The LED turned off when the sound board turned off and LED came on when the sound board turned on. I guess my first try I had accedently swapped the wire and got the higher currents. I wired it like I thought it was supposed to be wired this time and had low currents like everyone else does. That is when I had the idea to swap the collector and emitter wires and it worked great. Be very careful, it does also drop the voltage too but not by much. You will have to add a resistor since the voltage is not enough to use a buck puck. I will post pics of my temp set up and my meter readings with different types of batteries later tomorrow. Sorry it is taking me so long to post all my results. Just remember, in this set up if it sounds logical be sure to swap it. LOL
Wait.

So you're saying the proper wiring diagram is not the one I posted earlier, but rather this one:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TCCCtKj5KEI/AAAAAAAAFKE/lPxN20Psbvw/s800/2010-electronic-ightsaber-t.png (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oaUZJzXT-twDgfweRXdVRA?feat=embedwebsite)

Dude...

Why didn't you say so earlier!?:shock:

Now I can't wait to get home and try this. (Yeah, I'm doing this at my office. Shhh.) If this works, the birthday girl will get a nice, bright saber...and on time. :D

EDIT: Confirmed! With my set-up, this sends about 1180 mA and 5.5V to the LED.

Noyl Wendor
06-21-2010, 10:55 PM
Okay so if I am seeing this diagram right, there is not a resistor in the set up? All is see is the transistor, a TIP42? These are carried regularly at RS?
If thats the case (no resistor) then that can be a good way to save some space for a set up with a sound board.
Let me know if this is correct. I would like to build my new set up with this diagram.

edit. If you could post the part number (Looks like you did) that would be cool.

edit. Answered my own question on the part number.

Matt Thorn
06-22-2010, 12:01 AM
Okay so if I am seeing this diagram right, there is not a resistor in the set up?
It depends on how much voltage is actually going to the LED, what the forward voltage for your LED is, and how much, if at all, you want to over-drive it. First, measure your voltage. The multimeter is your friend. Then check out the handy Resistor/LED Charts (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/wiringbuilder/wiring.aspx) that newcomers all seem to overlook. Rule of thumb: you are more likely to need a resistor if you are using a red/orange/amber LED than if you are using a green/blue/cyan/white LED.

All is see is the transistor, a TIP42? These are carried regularly at RS?
Living in Japan, I don't know beans about RS, other than that it has one foot in the grave. (See earlier post.) "The Google" is your friend. (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=TIP42) "TIP42" and other transistor numbers we give here are generic names for transistors of certain types, and are manufactured by many different companies (mostly in China, using children who are chained to the assembly line and force-fed lead and mercury twice a day). So using these numbers to find the transistor you need is easy. Unless you live in North Korea. In which case you wouldn't be participating in this forum. Unless you were a government agent.

If thats the case (no resistor) then that can be a good way to save some space for a set up with a sound board.
If you can do without one, yes. See above.

Let me know if this is correct. I would like to build my new set up with this diagram.
Like I said, it depends on all those different factors.

After typing all this, I noticed that you have been a member since 2006. No offense intended, but, based on your questions, I thought you were a newcomer. :shock:

Matt Thorn
06-22-2010, 02:35 AM
Rhyen! That did the trick! I don't know whether to hug you or kick you for not telling us earlier. Even with the BD242 transistor and 4 AAA alkalines, I'm getting about 1180 mA, which is plenty. Thanks!

So, again, here is the proven wiring diagram again:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TCCCtKj5KEI/AAAAAAAAFKE/lPxN20Psbvw/s800/2010-electronic-ightsaber-t.png (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oaUZJzXT-twDgfweRXdVRA?feat=embedwebsite)

I am pleased as punch about this. Hopefully I can finish this saber today and send it off tomorrow. :D

I'm also looking forward to seeing what kind of results we get from the even higher-output transistors. :cool:

Edit: I measured it with two and one negative leads. With two negative leads connected to the base of the transistor, the collector put out 1010 mA. With just one, it put out about 745 mA. Still plenty of wiggle room one and maybe even two accent LEDs.

P.S.: I've decided to use this set-up with a green Seoul P4 and a 1.5 Ohm, 1-watt resistor, using two negative leads for the main LED and leaving one for an illuminated switch.

Skottsaber
06-22-2010, 02:53 AM
Matt, I see you're not using a recharge port. Now obviously you can't recharge alkalines, but what about killing power? Does this board not suck much juice when idling?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 03:45 AM
Hey, what can I say? It seemed to me that the collector would collect the power and the emitter would be the output to release the power. How would I know that it would work oposite? Oh, that's right. I am "special" and have to do everything backwards. LOL I guess when I did my first one I used my "psychotic powers" and not thinking I wired it backwards and got great results. LOL

Matt Thorn
06-22-2010, 03:46 AM
Matt, I see you're not using a recharge port. Now obviously you can't recharge alkalines, but what about killing power? Does this board not suck much juice when idling?
Since this is for a 13-year-old who's never owned a lightsaber before, I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. I think these toy sabers drain very little when idling. I have an old toy saber that has been lying around for well over a year with the batteries inside, and it still fires up.

Thanks to some generous help from a new friend here on TCSS, I will soon be getting five more 2010 toy saber boards, and they will no doubt be put to more elaborate use. Now that the problem of current has been ironed out, this has instantly become my favorite "can-actually-be-acquired" board. ;) I even prefer it to a Force FX board, because of the cost, size, and ease of use. Until the TCSS board comes out, I will be quite happy with this board. :p

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 03:49 AM
I am glad my backwards thinking ways could help. Feel free to contact me when ever you need more illogical thinking. LOL

Matt Thorn
06-22-2010, 03:49 AM
Hey, what can I say? It seemed to me that the collector would collect the power and the emitter would be the output to release the power. How would I know that it would work oposite? Oh, that's right. I am "special" and have to do everything backwards. LOL I guess when I did my first one I used my "psychotic powers" and not thinking I wired it backwards and got great results. LOL
Well, thanks again to you and your psychotic powers.:p I should have known better myself, but my previous experience was with NPNs, and I was basically at sea here.

P.P.S.: It occured to me that, instead of using one or two of the existing negative leads for accents LEDs, it would be more efficient current-wise to have all three go the transistor, then wire the accent LED in parallel between the transistor and the main LED. Because the transistor multiplies the amount of current going into the base of the transistor, the amount of current lost when one wire is removed is also multiplied. But on the other side of the transistor, the accent LED draws just 20 mA from the total, so your main LED should get about 1160 mA, instead of the 1010 mA it would get if you use one of the negative leads from the board. Does that make sense? Anyway, I tried it, and it looks good so far. (Knock on wood.)

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 04:28 AM
That is one thing I have ALWAYS done since I was a kid. I will always try every option and very rarely give up. I knew that since the transistor and economy sound board were not that expensive, that I didn't have much to lose if it did fry the transistor or sound board Your post have helped me out on several occasions so I am glad I could repay the favor. I guess we need to have all of the diagrams in this thread updated so people won't have to go through what we went through.

Noyl Wendor
06-22-2010, 08:24 AM
It depends on how much voltage is actually going to the LED, what the forward voltage for your LED is, and how much, if at all, you want to over-drive it. First, measure your voltage. The multimeter is your friend. Then check out the handy Resistor/LED Charts (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/wiringbuilder/wiring.aspx) that newcomers all seem to overlook. Rule of thumb: you are more likely to need a resistor if you are using a red/orange/amber LED than if you are using a green/blue/cyan/white LED.


Living in Japan, I don't know beans about RS, other than that it has one foot in the grave. (See earlier post.) "The Google" is your friend. (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=TIP42) "TIP42" and other transistor numbers we give here are generic names for transistors of certain types, and are manufactured by many different companies (mostly in China, using children who are chained to the assembly line and force-fed lead and mercury twice a day). So using these numbers to find the transistor you need is easy. Unless you live in North Korea. In which case you wouldn't be participating in this forum. Unless you were a government agent.

If you can do without one, yes. See above.

Like I said, it depends on all those different factors.

After typing all this, I noticed that you have been a member since 2006. No offense intended, but, based on your questions, I thought you were a newcomer. :shock:

No offence taken, its not like I have a degree in electrical engineering. Or am one of those smart pretentious types. Oh yeah and having been here since 2006 I'm just getting into doing sound. As you pointed out the multimeter is my buddy, oh and the handy resistor chart thingy that says what I can and can't do with my forward voltage.
Thanks for the subtle flameage.
I'll just keep reading, and keep my Q's on the qt. :)

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 10:11 AM
P.P.S.: It occured to me that, instead of using one or two of the existing negative leads for accents LEDs, it would be more efficient current-wise to have all three go the transistor, then wire the accent LED in parallel between the transistor and the main LED. Because the transistor multiplies the amount of current going into the base of the transistor, the amount of current lost when one wire is removed is also multiplied. But on the other side of the transistor, the accent LED draws just 20 mA from the total, so your main LED should get about 1160 mA, instead of the 1010 mA it would get if you use one of the negative leads from the board. Does that make sense? Anyway, I tried it, and it looks good so far. (Knock on wood.)

That is the way I do it. If I use illuminated switches or accent LEDs I wire them after the transistor. The output directly from the board is not really enough to make an accent LED bright at all.

cardcollector
06-22-2010, 10:17 AM
I guess we need to have all of the diagrams in this thread updated so people won't have to go through what we went through.

I am working on that, then I am going to clean up the first post so you don't have to read all 10 pages of this thread...

Great job Rhyen! I am impressed at your determination.:cool:

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 11:01 AM
Thanks cardcollector. I am just trying to help. I don't like to give up on anything. Thank you for creating and updating this thread.

Zook
06-22-2010, 01:09 PM
I haven't been following this thread and my head hurts right now so I am not gonna catch up but why was people hooking the emitter up to the LED?

In my design (matt's diagram) I have the collector going to the LED.

I am not sure what I am missing here but I have been getting high current readings from the get go with my set up.

so please catch me up here. Did someone have a problem with my transistor I posted and if so what was it. The two I did are still going strong and are very bright with only one 3.7 Li Ion battery.

dj2rbo
06-22-2010, 02:26 PM
Thank you Rhyen!!!!! And zook is right. Its just that the transistor zook used looked like it only had two legs. So probably everyone assumed the output to the led is the emmitter. I mean what do you think of when you think emmit? Out right?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 02:44 PM
I haven't been following this thread and my head hurts right now so I am not gonna catch up but why was people hooking the emitter up to the LED?

In my design (matt's diagram) I have the collector going to the LED.

I am not sure what I am missing here but I have been getting high current readings from the get go with my set up.

so please catch me up here. Did someone have a problem with my transistor I posted and if so what was it. The two I did are still going strong and are very bright with only one 3.7 Li Ion battery.


I think most people have been looking at the diagram right above yours. It has the collector going to the batteries and the emitter going to the LED. I know that is the one I was using. The problem is when people look at this thread they scroll down to they see the first diagram with the transistor and use it. Plus for yours it says here is another way instead of here is the correct way. LOL Plus, it kinda seems logical for the collector to collect the power and the emitter to send out the power, but as we all see now, that is wrong for this application. We need to have all diagrams that use the transistor set up have the emitter going to the battery and the collector going to the LED. Thanks for all your help Zook.

Zook
06-22-2010, 02:57 PM
yeah my trans can be confusing because it does have two long legs and one stubby one.

The stubby one and the back side of this particular transistor is the collector. I don't use the stubby leg but solder it to the back of the transistor.

I didn't mean anything negative by my post so I hope no one took it that way. I just thought maybe someone had a problem with my set up since I remember Matt saying he was ordering some transistors like mine but saw him using a different transistor.

Rhyen Skytracker
06-22-2010, 03:16 PM
I didn't think you meant anything negative at all. Most of us didn't even get to your diagram because of the one above yours. I just noticed in your diagram that you have the emitter of the transistor hooked up to the board LED +. Does the Battery + feed straight through the card?

cardcollector
06-22-2010, 03:38 PM
I cleaned up the first post. I'll post the correct diagram here too.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/__n0r4i7D1Yc/TCE6_G85kqI/AAAAAAAAAC8/0NdNK8S2Vi8/Diagram1.jpg

Zook
06-22-2010, 04:58 PM
I didn't think you meant anything negative at all. Most of us didn't even get to your diagram because of the one above yours. I just noticed in your diagram that you have the emitter of the transistor hooked up to the board LED +. Does the Battery + feed straight through the card?

its close but when I posted that in the other tread I think I mentioned I jumped the + wire going into the board straight to the leg on the transistor. I didn't see much difference I don't think without the jumper though.

basically why I like mine so much is its less mess. When you take out the 3 LEDs (the entire little board with the 3 LEDs on it) the transistor hooks under that area the LEDs were in and solders straight to the board (because the trans is a surface mount trans and its hooked...well look at a US board and you will understand). Its really convenient and you don't have to worry about wires running to it and such.

I haven't taken the OBI apart to see how I can hook it up but its probably not as convenient.

Noyl Wendor
06-22-2010, 08:01 PM
Okay so I used the set up in the diagram, it works. That LED may be brighter than it was with the Reed Relay. In fact it is. I checked it on the multi and the results are the same as previously mentioned in this thread.
One thing, the LED is on until you take the battery out, the board powers up with the switch. (I recall this in a similar thread, not sure wich...yet)
Here's what I have.
4.8 volts
Obi-board
P4 (green)
PnP transistor
The P4 may be a little over driven, not by much acording to the resistor chart. So, I don't think its trouble, but I do find it strange.

edit. I'm pretty sure I have a bad motivator.....uh....I mean transistor. :)

Jordandau
06-22-2010, 11:21 PM
So with this new setup are you guys using any resistors on the main LED?

Matt Thorn
06-23-2010, 12:58 AM
Zook, I did order a couple of the transistors you used, but before I even tried one, I ended up looking for a higher output transistor. I don't know where the confusion about the wiring came in. :p

Noyl, either there's something wrong with your wiring or, as you suggest, there's something wrong with your motivator. ;)

Jordandau, as I snarkily told Noyl earlier (Sorry!), it depends on your set-up. With 4 AAA alkalines, I am getting 5.5V from the transistor to the LED, and am using a green P4, so I put a 1.5 Ohm, 1 Watt resistor on it. If what you are asking is, "Does the use of a transistor eliminate the need for a resistor?" the answer is "No." The transistor set-up affects the voltage very little, and it's basically the voltage that determines the need for a resistor.

My new, possibly better transistors arrives today, but I already have everything soldered up and in the hilt! Bad timing. If they had arrived yesterday, I could have tested them out. Now I have to wait for my next batch of these soundboards, which could be weeks. :rolleyes:

Zook
06-23-2010, 06:59 AM
Zook, I did order a couple of the transistors you used, but before I even tried one, I ended up looking for a higher output transistor. I don't know where the confusion about the wiring came in.



OK gotcha that's where my confusion came in. With a cree blue I pulled 1400mA with a 4AA pack on my Transistor. That's plenty of current to resistor and bring down. I cant remember what a P4 pulled though.

redeyejedi
06-23-2010, 11:00 AM
Matt, you are using a 1.5 ohm, 1-watt resistor with your green P4. The resistor chart says to use a 3.3 ohm, 5-watt. I am going to use a green P4 with 4 AAA also, and the only 1-watt resistor I found are: 1k-ohm, 100 ohm, and 10 ohm. Which resistor would work the best in this set up? Out of the three 1-watts available or the 5-watt?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-23-2010, 11:08 AM
I uses a 1.5 ohm resistor in my set up with a 4 AAA 6 volt batt pack too. I like to overdrive them a little. Here is my latest saber that has the 2010 economy hasbro card in it. http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?p=172817#post172817
As you can see, the blade is very bright and even. I didn't use any diffusion in the blade, it is one of the new thin walled trans white blades.

redeyejedi
06-23-2010, 12:46 PM
Where can I find the 1.5 ohm, 1-watt resistor? The only one 1-watt resistor I can find are 1K-ohm, 100 ohm, 10ohm. Which one should I use?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-23-2010, 12:55 PM
You can use this one http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/15ohm-5w-resistor--P13.aspx or if you want to overdrive it a bit more this one http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/12ohm-3w-resistor-P22.aspx . You can use resistors that are a higher wattage than what you need.

redeyejedi
06-23-2010, 03:13 PM
Thanks for all your help. Does anyone know where else I can find a 2 wire quick connector since TCSS is out of stock and they don't know when they'll get more in. Radio Shack doesn't have them listed on their website. I need one of these to complete my lightsaber. Any ideas?

Mal Rune
06-23-2010, 03:16 PM
Hey guys havent been on in a while. Glad to see that yall found a good way to wire one of these up! Could I get a link to were I can order one of those transistors? Thanks.

cardcollector
06-23-2010, 06:21 PM
Where can I find the 1.5 ohm, 1-watt resistor? The only one 1-watt resistor I can find are 1K-ohm, 100 ohm, 10ohm. Which one should I use?

Digi-key is your friend...


Thanks for all your help. Does anyone know where else I can find a 2 wire quick connector since TCSS is out of stock and they don't know when they'll get more in. Radio Shack doesn't have them listed on their website. I need one of these to complete my lightsaber. Any ideas?

Try the site mentioned above, TCSS has two types. did you check both?


Hey guys havent been on in a while. Glad to see that yall found a good way to wire one of these up! Could I get a link to were I can order one of those transistors? Thanks.

Radio shack has some that will work fine. The site above, above, has them too.:cool:

Noyl Wendor
06-23-2010, 11:10 PM
Okay so my motovader (sith on a harley), is good.
What I did find though is the TIP120 from RS was too much for a green P4 on a 4.8 forward voltage set up.
Basicly the TIP120 is a little more high powered than its TIP42 counterpart.
The thing that was happening with my set up (TIP120) was the transistor bypassed the board and immeadiatley turned on the LED when the batteries went in. Then you could hit the momentary to power up the board.
I looked through packages to see if I had used the wrong transistor, and there we have it.
I think (correct me if I am wrong) that the TIP120 has a higher collector emitter voltage than the TIP42, making the lower forward voltage from the batteries bypass the board.
Someone let me know if I am off track. Still working that one out.

Matt Thorn
06-23-2010, 11:35 PM
Okay so my motovader (sith on a harley), is good.
What I did find though is the TIP120 from RS was too much for a green P4 on a 4.8 forward voltage set up.
Basicly the TIP120 is a little more high powered than its TIP42 counterpart.
The thing that was happening with my set up (TIP120) was the transistor bypassed the board and immeadiatley turned on the LED when the batteries went in. Then you could hit the momentary to power up the board.
I looked through packages to see if I had used the wrong transistor, and there we have it.
I think (correct me if I am wrong) that the TIP120 has a higher collector emitter voltage than the TIP42, making the lower forward voltage from the batteries bypass the board.
Someone let me know if I am off track. Still working that one out.
Ah, now, if you had read the thread carefully, Noyl, you would have seen that I already pointed out that the TIP120 is an NPN transistor, not a PNP transistor. ;) And that explains the bizarre behavior you described. The PNP equivalent is the TIP125.

Now I don't feel so bad about mildly flaming you earlier. :p

Rhyen Skytracker
06-24-2010, 04:24 AM
The TIP120 (NPN) acts completely different than a PNP. From what I can tell they act like switches and the NPN is like a normally closed switch and the PNP is like a normally open switch. Someone let me know if that is wrong.

Matt Thorn
06-24-2010, 05:00 AM
It's all right there in the symbols.

NPN:
http://mboffin.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/npn-transistor.png

PNP:
http://mboffin.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/pnp-transistor.png
See the arrow? That indicates the direction of the current.

And here's a concise and easy-to-understand explanation of the difference.
http://mboffin.net/2009/03/02/the-difference-between-pnp-and-npn-transistors/

There may be a way to use an NPN with these boards, but it will be completely different from what we've discussed so far. If you want to follow the diagram we've hammered out here, and get it right the first time, use one of the PNP transistors that have already been confirmed as good to go. These would include the BD242 and the TIP42.

You don't need a degree in Electrical Engineering. (Heck, I need a calculator just to figure out how much to tip when I'm in the States!) All you need is the ability and patience to read, use the Search function, and master that whole "Google" thing. 'Tain't rocket science, folks. ;)

cannibal869
06-24-2010, 12:04 PM
'Tain't rocket science, folks. ;)

Eh.. speak for yourself Matt... ;):rolleyes:
To be honest, I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around all the explanations in that *other* thread...

Noyl Wendor
06-24-2010, 07:02 PM
[QUOTE=

You don't need a degree in Electrical Engineering. (Heck, I need a calculator just to figure out how much to tip when I'm in the States!) All you need is the ability and patience to read, use the Search function, and master that whole "Google" thing. 'Tain't rocket science, folks. ;)[/QUOTE]

Good thing too. The one thing about reading completely through the threads is that some have a tendency to ramble, about things like I don't know Radio Shack. :)
You are correct the diagram on the back does show the current flow.
The lesson here is to keep your transsistors organized. :)
Oh yeah I had read the thread, I mentioned that NPN, PNP comment you made in the thread to someone I wrote a prior PM to. So you're right, mildly flaming me earlier requires not a single bad feeling, the end result to the work is what counts.

redeyejedi
06-24-2010, 07:13 PM
Does it matter what type of switch is used with this set up?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-24-2010, 07:14 PM
Yes, the 2010 econonomy and almost all Economy hasbro boards have to use a momentary switch.

Noyl Wendor
06-24-2010, 07:15 PM
Switch. Momentary. The one Tim sells is very good. Tricky getting it in the hilt but worth the effort.

malakititiko
06-24-2010, 09:49 PM
The npn acts a different way than the pnp....totally backwards. Its position is normally close. Lets the power thru...but when negative voltage is applied to the base it opens theconnection= no connection.

Matt Thorn
06-24-2010, 10:10 PM
The npn acts a different way than the pnp....totally backwards. Its position is normally close. Lets the power thru...but when negative voltage is applied to the base it opens theconnection= no connection.
Umm....

I don't think that helped to clarify things much.

For those of you who really want to understand how transistors work, and not simply how to use a transistor the way we've been using relays in sabers all these years, here's another link:

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/trancirc.htm

The content is pretty challenging, but it has the advantage of being written in coherent, grammatically correct English.

Skottsaber
06-25-2010, 12:30 AM
Tricky getting it in the hilt but worth the effort.

:confused: Are you being sarcastic?

malakititiko
06-25-2010, 12:49 AM
:confused: Are you being sarcastic?

What if he was. Why would you waste space asking this??

Skottsaber
06-25-2010, 12:53 AM
Because I was prompting a response that would either entail and answer of "Yes I was, momentary switches are easy to install." Which is how I find them, or entailing the reason why he finds them tricky to get in the hilt.

Why would you waste space asking that?

Matt Thorn
06-25-2010, 01:07 AM
At least everyone showed restraint and refrained from responding, "That's what she said."
...
.......
...

Oops. :oops:

Noyl Wendor
06-25-2010, 09:38 PM
Because I was prompting a response that would either entail and answer of "Yes I was, momentary switches are easy to install." Which is how I find them, or entailing the reason why he finds them tricky to get in the hilt.

Why would you waste space asking that?


UHH....thats what she said. hehe :)
As far as the answer to your Q, yes, and no.
I was thinking of the gaurded switches that go in MHS. I have developed a love/hate accord with them.
Yes. I get a little grupmpy when installing them.
No. Because when I am done with being grumpy and installing them they look pretty good.
:)
See so now that space was not wasted asking the Q. Happy to help.

alreadyRogue
06-27-2010, 10:57 PM
Hi, sorry if this has already been asked, i tried to search this thread and others pretty thoroughly but i didnt find any answer to my question

So i got off to a bad start with my first lightsaber build, i have all necessary parts and resistors and circuitry diagrams, but heres the problem
My circuit runs as follows
Sufficient power supply wich branches off to the hasbro sound board and led ladder in parralel and all the necessary resistors to limit the voltage to an acceptable level
But i already wired in a switch which controls the current to both the leds and the hasbro board, so heres my question:
-is there a way to automatically trip the momentary switch of the hasbro board when the other switch is pressed?
-would just removing the switch and soldering the wires work?

also additional questions:
-should i use a buck puck for the led ladder instead of a resistor?

(keep in mind that i had not read any of the info on using transistors in conjunction with the hasbro board, would have greatly eased my situation)

thanks so much ~ rogue

EDIT: i know its complicated to understand a circuit in writing, sorry, ill add a circuit diagram in the morning

Matt Thorn
06-27-2010, 11:31 PM
Hi, sorry if this has already been asked, i tried to search this thread and others pretty thoroughly but i didnt find any answer to my question

So i got off to a bad start with my first lightsaber build, i have all necessary parts and resistors and circuitry diagrams, but heres the problem
My circuit runs as follows
Sufficient power supply wich branches off to the hasbro sound board and led ladder in parralel and all the necessary resistors to limit the voltage to an acceptable level
But i already wired in a switch which controls the current to both the leds and the hasbro board, so heres my question:
-is there a way to automatically trip the momentary switch of the hasbro board when the other switch is pressed?
-would just removing the switch and soldering the wires work?

also additional questions:
-should i use a buck puck for the led ladder instead of a resistor?

(keep in mind that i had not read any of the info on using transistors in conjunction with the hasbro board, would have greatly eased my situation)

thanks so much ~ rogue

EDIT: i know its complicated to understand a circuit in writing, sorry, ill add a circuit diagram in the morning
Unless I'm mis-reading your post, it sounds like you want a DPDT (double pole, double throw) momentary switch. That is, assuming the switch you already have for your LED ladder is a momentary switch. If it is latching, you could make it momentary by putting either a Lighthound PCB or a Pololu board between the momentary DPDT and your LED ladder.

I have no opinion about the BuckPuck. I bought one of each kind of Buckpuck Tim offers a couple years ago, but have never actually found myself wanting to use one. (They take up a lot of hilt space.)

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 02:32 AM
heya great post..one question thing tho...

i have built the top circuit with just the pnp transistor...

now the transisitor gets so hot it would burn you if you touched it (this was after 20secs running it...) so my question is...

is ther another way to do this same thing without all that heat? all that heating is going to be wasting a lot of power I would have thought?

please correct me if im wrong im a newb to circuitry..

Skottsaber
06-28-2010, 02:49 AM
Transistors you can heatsink. If your wiring is correct and it still gets hot you can buy a heatsink.

http://www.techzonics.com/to-220-heatsinks.jpg Like that.

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 03:07 AM
well ive wired it exactly the same as the picture in the top post...and it works perfectly...

one question on the heat sink...will the heat sink just get as hot as the transistor? if so im left with the same problem..melted wires.

so next question is..

will it harm the transistor if i submerge it in silicon, inside a small tube so that its heat is contained. think it will just melt itself out? its high temp silicon so that wont melt but will the transistor die?

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 03:22 AM
p.s im sitting here waiting for some advice so i can screw it together! its all finished pretty much just needs me to install the wiring in the tube.

Matt Thorn
06-28-2010, 04:03 AM
well ive wired it exactly the same as the picture in the top post...and it works perfectly...

one question on the heat sink...will the heat sink just get as hot as the transistor? if so im left with the same problem..melted wires.

so next question is..

will it harm the transistor if i submerge it in silicon, inside a small tube so that its heat is contained. think it will just melt itself out? its high temp silicon so that wont melt but will the transistor die?
Eek! Don't do that! :shock: The whole idea is to get rid of the heat. If you don't give it anywhere to go, you'll fry the transistor. You seem unclear on the concept of a heat sink. Heat from the transistor is transferred to the heat sink, which has much greater surface area, therefore allowing the heat to escape into the air more easily. Yes, it's hot to the touch, but far less so than it would be without the heat sink. But you may be overdriving the transistor. What kind of transistor (model number) are you using and what's your source voltage?

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 04:17 AM
hehe yer i know all about heat sinks...just wondered if it "would" blow if its heat didn't get out..guess it will thank you for the reply's. Im now going to bolt a small peace of copper behind it..just tested it for 10 minutes and that didn't get too hot so all good.

also skottsaber said i have been very rude and in-courteous in this post which i cant quite figure out how I did that..

sorry if i came across as rude was just trying to troubleshoot my problem :)

and NOW!!! i screw it all together!! hehehe

ooh almost forgot sorry 3.6v (3x aaa ni-mh rechargeables in a custom battery pack with a recharge port) and i cant find my pnp transistor receipt it was a 5amp one...sorry the guy at my tech store chose it out for me when i showed him my circuit diagram.

Matt Thorn
06-28-2010, 04:57 AM
hehe yer i know all about heat sinks...just wondered if it "would" blow if its heat didn't get out..guess it will thank you for the reply's. Im now going to bolt a small peace of copper behind it..just tested it for 10 minutes and that didn't get too hot so all good.

also skottsaber said i have been very rude and in-courteous in this post which i cant quite figure out how I did that..

sorry if i came across as rude was just trying to troubleshoot my problem :)

and NOW!!! i screw it all together!! hehehe

ooh almost forgot sorry 3.6v (3x aaa ni-mh rechargeables in a custom battery pack with a recharge port) and i cant find my pnp transistor receipt it was a 5amp one...sorry the guy at my tech store chose it out for me when i showed him my circuit diagram.
The transistor--if it's shaped like the one you see in my wiring diagram--should have its part number stamped in teeny, tiny little print on the front. It seems odd that you're getting so much heat from 3.6V and a transistor that can put out 5 amperes. Is it functioning properly? Is the LED bright? Is it turning on and off in synch with the board?

As for the tone of your posts, sloppy typing, a lack of punctuation, misspellings, etc., can give the impression that you don't have much regard for the person you are addressing. (By the way, it's "discourteous." There's no such word as "in-courteous.") And your "p.s im sitting here waiting for some advice so i can screw it together!" post can be read as a demand for a response. ;)

I see you are new here, and have just ten posts. As a rule, when you join an online forum or community, it's a good idea to "observe the natives" for a while, since each community, though made up of a wide range of people, has its own overall "personality." And in your earliest posts, it's always a good idea to err on the side of polite, until you get a feel for the appropriate tone. This is particularly true when you are asking for help.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, and good luck with that saber.

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 05:32 AM
I'm sorry but If lack of punctuation,miss-spelling and sloppy typing offends people they should probably get out of the house more...there is no offense intended with my typing.

that's so off topic..back to business.


its wired exactly the same as your diagram and its exactly the same looking pnp transistor part number tip32c..cco40..har. those were numbers on it.

oh and its working perfectly super super bright led turns on and off and sounds are working as intended. the led lights my entire room with amber light and that's with 3 lights on in here already!!

also thanks once again for the help. hopefully i can make some friends here...(as long as ther not gana spell check me lol)

Matt Thorn
06-28-2010, 06:51 AM
Sorry first off I type how I like. If lack of punctuation,misspelling and sloppy typing offends people they should probably get out of the house more.

Um... Gee. Thanks. :-?


its wired exactly the same as your diagram and its exactly the same looking pnp transistor part number tip32c..cco40..har. those were numbers on it..

I just looked at the datasheet for the TIP32...and it's really bizarre. All the numbers are negative! I don't even know what that means. :confused: But it must behave very differently from the TIP42, which has similar numbers, except that they're all positive. If I were you, I'd try a TIP42 or a BD242, since these have already been proven to work.



oh and its working perfectly super super bright led turns on and off and sounds are working as intended. the led lights my entire room with amber light and thats with 3 lights on in here allready!!

Ah. Amber. That might also have something to with it. Amber, red, and red-orange are a bit different from other "cool" colored LEDs, because they have low forward voltage, but fairly high forward current. Anyway, I'd try another transistor first and see if that works better.



also thanx once again for the help.

You are welcome. :cool:



hopefully i can make some friends here...

Hey, you're doing a bang-up job so far. :p


(as long as ther not gana spell check me lol)
"As long as they're not going to spell-check me." Sorry. Can't help it. :smile:

Oh, and about PM-ing. I think you have to have made a certain minimum of posts before your PM function is activated. (This is intended to reduce spamming.) I think you can leave visitor messages on people's profiles, though.

How about adding yourself to the User Map? (See the item in the red menu above.) We have at least four registered kiwis here, and I'm sure there are more. We have more than 300 currently "active" members, but only about half have put their pin on the User Map. I'm in Japan, just three time zones from you, but in the opposite hemisphere.

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 07:50 AM
ooh bummer!! i just put it together! im installing the lens right now! waiting for glue to dry to move on! and its working fine now..i put a little copper plate on the transisitor and its not getting hot at all now...maybe i had something screwy with it first time i tested it...idk ...but it works! i think you all will like it :) il get this lens in then another photo shoot.

heres the finished product :)
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?p=173255#post173255

even the cheap defused blade looks great (tryed it while it was apart lol)

hehehe sorry I actually didnt mean you it was meant at skottsaber he was the one who said i was rude lolz.

alreadyRogue
06-28-2010, 08:07 AM
hey, so does anyone know how to bypass a momentary switch, also, whats a momentary DPDT switch

Skottsaber
06-28-2010, 08:25 AM
Bypass it? You will have to explain more because that could have a few meanings.

A DPDT switch means double pole, double throw.

Poles are the amount of separate circuits in the switch.
Throws are the number of positions a switch can be in.

So a momentary DPDT would have 3 terminals on it.

Negative from circuit 1 common positive negative from circuit 2

And the switch would toggle back to the common positive after you let go.

redeyejedi
06-28-2010, 10:13 AM
Hey guys! Lots of good info on this thread. I'm almost ready to start wiring my saber with this setup, but I have another question. Where does the resistor go in this set up?

vctrsone
06-28-2010, 11:18 AM
you dont need a resistor unless your using more volts.. leds like 3.6v :) how many volt battery are you using?

Rhyen Skytracker
06-28-2010, 12:01 PM
[QUOTE=Skottsaber;173225
A DPDT switch means double pole, double throw.

Poles are the amount of separate circuits in the switch.
Throws are the number of positions a switch can be in.

So a momentary DPDT would have 3 terminals on it.

Negative from circuit 1 common positive negative from circuit 2

And the switch would toggle back to the common positive after you let go.[/QUOTE]



A Double Pole Double Throw will have 6 connections on it. You will have a common for each pole and a normally open and normally closed terminal for each pole. So, you can have to completely seperate circuits that are not connected to each other.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/misc/swdpdtlabeled.gif

C=Common
NC=Normally Closed
NO=Normally Open

Latching = When you press the button the contacts switch to the NO position until the button is pressed again, then it goes back to the NC position.

Momentary = When you press the button the contacts switch to the NO position until you release the button, then it goes back to the NC position. It will stay in the NO position for as long as you keep the button pressed.

redeyejedi
06-28-2010, 03:39 PM
I'm definetly going to need to use a resistor. I'm wiring this board to a green P4 using a 6V 4 triple A battery pack. My question is where do you hook up the resistor in this set up specifically? Please let me know. Thanks.

Matt Thorn
06-28-2010, 03:49 PM
I'm definetly going to need to use a resistor. I'm wiring this board to a green P4 using a 6V 4 triple A battery pack. My question is where do you hook up the resistor in this set up specifically? Please let me know. Thanks.
Right by the LED (leaving enough slack for the heat sink) is the most logical place. Either the negative or positive line.

vctrsone
06-29-2010, 10:57 PM
can some one tell me how to wire in a new momentary switch? my one failed and its weird because bridging the two wires doesn't make the saber turn on? is this normal with these switches?
I have one of the small slide dpdt switches exactly the same as the one in the shop..its the very small one with the rubber grip on top.
or have i got other problems.(it went until a wire came loose then stopped completely..) just doesnt make sense to me ..how do these switches work?

and/or could some one show me what terminals on my latching switch to wire it to?

Matt Thorn
06-29-2010, 11:18 PM
can some one tell me how to wire in a new momentary switch? my one failed and its weird because bridging the two wires doesn't make the saber turn on? is this normal with these switches?
I have one of the small slide dpdt switches exactly the same as the one in the shop..its the very small one with the rubber grip on top.
or have i got other problems.(it went until a wire came loose then stopped completely..) just doesnt make sense to me ..how do these switches work?

and/or could some one show me what terminals on my latching switch to wire it to?
A slide switch is a latching switch, and therefore no good for this board, which requires a momentary switch. (I thought that had been made clear several times throughout this thread.) The board should turn on when the switch wires make contact with each other--with or without a switch. If they don't, there's something wrong. Hopefully you haven't fried the board.

vctrsone
06-29-2010, 11:34 PM
ok well it seems somehow i got a loose conection in two places at once and yes I read the entire post, its a sliding not lacthing sorry i edited that. so i thought id ask incase ther is a way to wire it in.

anyway going to go back through my wiring looking for the break :) pity i dismantled my old momentary switch..guess il be looking for a fancy one tomorrow

thanx again mat.

P.s it has some sort of of loose connection somewhere went rite through it and cant find it..all the connections are sweet and works as normal now...just reasembled the micro momentary switch luckly its still working..hopefully it wont stop just as i screw the switch cover back on as it did last time lol.

also got rid of my battery shake problem thel never move again :)

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 12:00 AM
ok well it seems somehow i got a loose conection in two places at once and yes I read the entire post, its a sliding not lacthing sorry i edited that. so i thought id ask incase ther is a way to wire it in.

anyway going to go back through my wiring looking for the break :) pity i dismatled my old momentary switch..guess il be looking for a fancy one tomorrow

thanx again mat.
If it's sliding, it's latching, and it won't work with this board. "Latching" includes all switches which, once activated, keep a circuit closed until the switch is deactivated. In a momentary switch, the circuit is only closed as long as the switch is held down.

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 12:22 AM
aah ok thankyou for clarifying that for me lol...im sorry im a newb so im not up to play on the jargon as yet...

anyway it goes! just resoldered the micro switch....

and and have you seen the pics of it i posted in the gallery?
it will actually look different soon im about to go and heat treat its tip hehehe

6 days building light sabers so far :) so im not doing to bad if i do say so myself lol....(6days making electronic circuits of any kind)

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 05:43 AM
ok thought I had fixed it but I guess not..it runs for like 3 secs and turns itself off some times it lets out a beep then dies? any ideas guys I need help I dont want to fry it.

Skottsaber
06-30-2010, 05:44 AM
Can we see a picture of your wiring? It would help greatly.

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 06:03 AM
i cant really as its half in the saber..and its all been running fine until i took it out and put it back together.

the wiring is exactly the same as the diagram on the first page and i mean exactly./ the only difference is the pnp transistor used and the fact that thers a charge lead coming of each battery terminal...

but this workwed for like 3 hours with no problem and now doesnt...i think its wiring because even touching the wiring on the board causes it to stop...

Skottsaber
06-30-2010, 06:06 AM
Then the only advice I can give you is check your wiring VERY carefully. Use a magnifying glass if you have to.
Check for shorts and/or fried components on the board.

And check your battery pack. It could be an issue of cutting power to the board by accident.

Have you heatshrunk the wires on your recharge port? It could be a short there.

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 06:09 AM
ok ok one quick question...what do these sabers do when ther getting low on juice? will they turn on for a sec then turn off? god i hope its not just that. it has been getting down on power i havnt charged it again yet.
still checking wires..

ooh and its all heat shrinked.

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 06:14 AM
ok thought I had fixed it but I guess not..it runs for like 3 secs and turns itself off some times it lets out a beep then dies? any ideas guys I need help I dont want to fry it.
Did you replace the slide switch with a momentary switch? That is a must, for one thing.

Second, did you replace that TIP32 transistor with one of the others we recommended?

If I were you, I would remove everything from the hilt and start over with the wiring. :(

ok ok one quick question...what do these sabers do when ther getting low on juice? will they turn on for a sec then turn off? god i hope its not just that. it has been getting down on power i havnt charged it again yet.
still checking wires..

ooh and its all heat shrinked.
If by "these sabers" you mean sabers using the 2010 Hasbro board, I can't answer, since I sent mine off as soon as I finished it, and didn't try it on drained batteries. But drained batteries can have odd effects on all kinds of circuits. Did you try replacing the batteries with fresh ones? Or do you have a rechargeable set-up?

I know you were eager and excited about making your first saber (and it is quite an ambitious saber), but all along I've been getting the impression that your rushed everything. (Sort of the way you rush your typing. ;)) But we all learn from our mistakes.

Well, except of course for those of us who make none. :p

Et Kin Evenstar
06-30-2010, 06:31 AM
ok ok one quick question...what do these sabers do when ther getting low on juice? will they turn on for a sec then turn off? god i hope its not just that. it has been getting down on power i havnt charged it again yet.
still checking wires..

ooh and its all heat shrinked.

The easy way to answer your question is for you to charge the batteries and see what happens. ;-)

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 07:04 AM
well i have no idea besides from replacing the wires from the board itself ...i think one of the small wires coming off it has a break in the actually line. im right now going through testing them.

and yer i rush things lol...but in saying that i have soldered it all properly (redid the wiring twice allready)...cant see any of my joins any where that are broken or toucjing etc...il keep searching.

and its a battery pack i made wich il have to charge up over night.

Knighthammer
06-30-2010, 08:15 AM
Hey Matt - did you ever post up finished pics of the saber you were building? I'd love to see the finished version.

I've been following this thread and I'm about ready to jump into breadboarding one of these sound boards up. Does the transitor get hot enough to need the heatsink? I'm going to order the transistor today probably so I wanted to get it all at once if needed.

One more question - can a person put in AA NiMH batteries in the battery holder and then a recharge port using this setup without any issues?

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 08:31 AM
ok guys im pretty sure i just dismantled the ciscuit and nothings seems to be causing ....only thing i can think it is, is the lack of battery power...and the reason its turning off when you tap it is maybe becuase it trys to make the clash noise etc and runs outa power?

lol just guesses otherwise its ether in the actually sound board..which still lights the led and makes a sound for a secound before dieing..well now it just flashes and turns off..think its real flat low...

and of course my 12v adapter is dead (which i need for the ni-mh charger)..lol....oops tested it adapter isnt dead its just not putting out enough ma lol.

anyway it went form just a click before i pluged it in to turning on for 5 secs then turning off...starting to think its just battery juice...or should i say praying its just battery power lol..its times like this when an extra 3.6v battery would be handy...

ok and it seems to make a little click sound from the speaker when it turns off? is this a sign is shorting or something?

would love to talk to someone who is using this sound card with a high powered led to see how thers behaves when its got low power

FenderBender
06-30-2010, 09:31 AM
I have a question: Did you de-solder the original wires and replace them with new wires, or did you just "add on" to the existing wires? I ask this, because on these boards (and the FX's for that matter) use horrible quality wire and it's soldered in terribly. The original connections will break easy under the stresses of being crammed into a custom fit, or just from moving the wires around. If you didn't start from scratch on your wiring, I would bet good money that this is your problem.

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 10:53 AM
well im buying the exact pnp transistor tomorrow and a new 12v power supply for my charger..

I could not have named this light saber better.....it does seem to be rather cursed lol...

has no one else struck the beep error tone? maybe its low voltage tone?

oh and fender i actually glued all the wires into place to start with..ive checked them too tired to reroute the main power tonight il try in the morrow once ive got a charger hooked up so ive got power to play with again :)

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 03:32 PM
Hey Matt - did you ever post up finished pics of the saber you were building? I'd love to see the finished version.
I was in such a hurry to get the thing done and sent in time for the recipient's birthday, I took zero photos of the "guts." But clicking on this photo will take you to an album of the saber.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TCeJFYtfM8I/AAAAAAAAFMk/BRvG2Ygmlf4/s800/IMG_2026.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/littlenemo1905/ForGwenM?feat=directlink)


I've been following this thread and I'm about ready to jump into breadboarding one of these sound boards up. Does the transitor get hot enough to need the heatsink? I'm going to order the transistor today probably so I wanted to get it all at once if needed.
I did not notice much heat with my set-up, but it can't hurt to include a heat sink.

One more question - can a person put in AA NiMH batteries in the battery holder and then a recharge port using this setup without any issues?
I don't see why not. Good luck!

Knighthammer
06-30-2010, 06:36 PM
That's for the pics & reply - Looks really good. I like the switch that seems to have a build in LED as well.
Did you PC that yourself?

cardcollector
06-30-2010, 07:02 PM
ok and it seems to make a little click sound from the speaker when it turns off? is this a sign is shorting or something?



A click out of the speaker has been for me a short with the negative battery. It messes up the speaker...

You need to get a battery pack you can test your circuits with, I have a 2 AA pack used ONLY for testing... that way if something is messed up 3V won't hurt it that much, I just need to see if it works.

Fender's Advice is sound, you need to replace all those cheap wires with new ones. Then add some hot glue to the top of the board for extra strength.



has no one else struck the beep error tone? maybe its low voltage tone?



The beep is the Soundboard rebooting from a total lack of power. It isn't anything to be worried about. All three boards did that for me the first time I wired the Li-ion Battery in...

Hope that helps...

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 07:33 PM
That's for the pics & reply - Looks really good. I like the switch that seems to have a build in LED as well.
Did you PC that yourself?
Thanks. The switch is surprisingly cheap and small. It's from the LP1 series, manufactured by E-Switch (http://www.e-switch.com/product/tabid/96/productid/56/sename/lp1-series-illuminated-round-pushbutton-with-multiple-color-options/default.aspx). It looks a bit cheap close-up, but it looks fine from a bit of a distance, and is incredibly convenient, since it is a snap-in panel mount. You just drill an 8mm hole and pop one in. Here's a green one I used in my first Mara Jade mod.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_THBqz9vPciU/TCv9oHDjNjI/AAAAAAAAFPE/GaKBqeoYNiU/s800/IMG_1528.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/littlenemo1905/LP1IlluminatedSwitchByESwitch?feat=directlink)

Yes, I do all my own PC. It's fun. :D

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 07:54 PM
omg sweet! the saber was just out of power! i will check over all my negative connections today and i will find the leak..and I have replaced most wires just left the speaker and swing switch wires the others come straight off the back of the board :) and i glues them to the actual board so they don't pull up.

great to know its the "im out of power" beep :) im off right now to look for a fancy momentary switch and there right pnp transistor.

Knighthammer
06-30-2010, 09:42 PM
Yes, I do all my own PC. It's fun. :D

Hard to do?

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 10:08 PM
Hard to do?
Not with a Craftsman Powder Coating Kit. But they're no longer being manufactured, and hard to find these days. (I got mine on ebay.) There are other powder coating kits that can be bought and used by an individual, but they are significantly more expensive (I think).

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 10:50 PM
ok ok well guess what? after recharging my saber the sound is now super quiet..can only just hear it with my ear pressed to it. is ther an amplifier circuit? its still making the sounds you can only barely hear them tho...its ether a blown amp circuit or thers a break in the damn wires which im replacing right now :(

everysingle time I think ive got it sweet something else stops working its driving me nuts. :( :(

Matt Thorn
06-30-2010, 11:11 PM
ok ok well guess what? after recharging my saber the sound is now super quiet..can only just hear it with my ear pressed to it. is ther an amplifier circuit? its still making the sounds you can only barely hear them tho...its ether a blown amp circuit or thers a break in the damn wires which im replacing right now :(

everysingle time I think ive got it sweet something else stops working its driving me nuts. :( :(
Uh-oh. I've had that happen to me twice when working with Lightsaber Construction Set (a.k.a. "616") boards. I'm afraid you may have fried an op-amp/transistor on the board. On a 616 board, this is pretty much fatal. But this is a far simpler board, so it is not inconceivable that it might be fixable. Still, fixing it would be a project that is beyond your current electronic skills. (If you don't know the difference between a latching and momentary switch, fixing a fried amplifier is pretty much out of the question. ;))

Unless it miraculously fixes itself (Hey, these things happen), I would suggest you get hold of a new board and start over again.

And next time,

Take.

It.

Nice.

And.

Slow-w-w-w-w. :cool:

vctrsone
06-30-2010, 11:18 PM
ok I got a small amplifier now! my girlfriend had one of those extremely small portable mp3 speakers that fits in the palm of your hand it has a very slim board which looks kinda robust and runs on 3v so should be sweet with my 3.6v i hope. Im going to wire it in. Im also putting a latching switch on the main power lead so i can switch it off when I charge the battery preventing this happening again.

the plus side is it has a very loud 0.5w speaker and the saber is going to be very loud (might put a volume switch in), the down side is the battery's wont last as long.

...the soldering iron is heating up...il let you know how it goes lol :) going to move to saber sound section.

Rhyen Skytracker
07-01-2010, 08:45 AM
Not with a Craftsman Powder Coating Kit. But they're no longer being manufactured, and hard to find these days. (I got mine on ebay.) There are other powder coating kits that can be bought and used by an individual, but they are significantly more expensive (I think).

I have the same Craftsman PC kit and even though they don't make the whole kit, they do still have the canisters for sale. I bought 3 of them a couple of weeks ago. They ar $10 each. Search for them on the Craftsman site.

vctrsone
07-01-2010, 03:29 PM
went all peared shaped....was one problem after another and then the sound card just died completly lol.

Oh well at least il know what im doing this time...this will teach me for naming it Fierfek (curse in huttese).......

put my bloody transistor in backwards didnt i? didnt have the computer on and went off my obviously bad memory instead of looking right at the diagram on the first page of this thread......
lessons learnt matt lessons learnt...I will now go buy another damn light saber lmao and wire it extremely slowy..infact i wont connect any power at all until ive double checked it like 99 times this has been a lot of fustraitaion id rather avoid with the next one lol!

Et Kin Evenstar
07-01-2010, 04:18 PM
You'll get used to the frustration....at least that's what they keep telling me. ;-)

alreadyRogue
07-01-2010, 11:11 PM
hey so has anyone found a good transistor for big current
i need about 2A so any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks ~ rogue

Matt Thorn
07-01-2010, 11:26 PM
hey so has anyone found a good transistor for big current
i need about 2A so any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks ~ rogue
I haven't had a chance to try the TIP125 yet, but I'm betting on that one for high output. My new boards should arrive in a week or so.

Zook
07-01-2010, 11:38 PM
hey so has anyone found a good transistor for big current
i need about 2A so any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks ~ rogue

Not sure I understand this question. The transistors stated will handle 2A. If you think this set up is designed to put out a certain current you don't understand it. It is not a current driver.

This set up is only working as a switch.

Your device will determine the current draw (how much current an LED will draw at a certain voltage etc).

so if you have an LED that can pull 2A figure out what voltage it takes for that LED to pull that much current and put that voltage through the transistor to power the LED.

vctrsone
07-02-2010, 02:50 AM
ok im going to start wiring on my new obi wan card tommorow.

this is the wiring diagram I was going to go with. can you guys see any problems?

http://i46.tinypic.com/vhz3hf.jpg

the on/off button is so i dont fry my board because this is how my vader board was wired when it blew the amp circuit while being charged so the on/off switch is for safety.

I couldn't find anything close to the circuit i need in the forum and want to get it right the first time :)

Skottsaber
07-02-2010, 04:02 AM
Firstly, I thought that the smart chargers in the store kill power during charging :confused:

Secondly, I'm not sure if you know or not, but the symbol you have for a switch is a light bulb.

The symbol for a switch is http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/SPST_switch_symbol.svg/196px-SPST_switch_symbol.svg.png ;)

vctrsone
07-02-2010, 04:10 AM
rofl well il fix that..and this isnt a smart charger from the store, im in new zealand remember the freight costs me more than the parts...in the future I will order in battle blades and some sort of more grunty led...

anyway the saber can be turned on while its being charged so its not cutting power this just automatically dectect's amount of battery's and propper voltage and charges accordingly so no power off feature hence it burnt my amp circuit.

so other than my wrong symbol the circuit looks good to you bro?

Matt Thorn
07-02-2010, 04:20 AM
rofl well il fix that..and this isnt a smart charger from the store im in new zealand remember the freight costs me more than the parts...in the future I will order in battle blades and some sort of more grunty led...

anyway the saber can be turned on while its being charged so its not cutting power this just atumaticaly dectects amount of batterys and propper volatge and charges accordingly so no power off feature hence it burnt my amp circuit.

so other than my wrong symbol the circuit looks good to you bro?
By "R/C PLUG," do you mean the charge port? A 2.1mm jack can be wired so that the circuit is cut during charging. The diagram for that wiring can be found in the very first sticky in the "Cutaway views and wiring schematics" section, here (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showpost.php?p=51391&postcount=2). If you're doing in-hilt recharging, this wiring set-up and a smart charger are essential, IMO.

vctrsone
07-02-2010, 04:31 AM
yes r/c=recharge. I couldn't find 2.1mm plugs sets in my electronic store and i have a switch already so il just turn it off each time...il glue the switch to my recharge plug wires (the plug is hidden under the switch cover which you remove to charge anyway so its no biggy) hehe yer i was reading that thread early on today.

and ive all ready mounted a 2 pin white plug and pin set up on my charger/saber so no point doing it all over again I will use 2.1mm plugs on the next saber when i actually think out every wire and nook and cranny instead of building a base then trying to figure out how to fit the peaces in lol...

it is a smart charger its fully micro cpu controlled it will never fry my battery's i just guess the card couldn't handle the amps it was putting out..anyway with the circuit cut off itl never happen again..

and yer i built a battery pack for it so shes fully in-hilt charging :) ok ive been up playing with light sabers for 24hours + now lol time for bed tomorrow i will fit the new card and let you all know how it pans out..

ooh and by the way if any one thinks you wont get good light out of 3.6v they are wrong (just seems everyone wants heaps of volts) i can light the neighbors house up across the road about 100m away when the blades not in hehe its got a 10 degree lens and 3w amber superbright led.....there's no way in hell you can look into it..it hurts lol and the battery's last about 1.5 hours constant use.

so other than how to stop the circuit while charging shes all go!?

alreadyRogue
07-02-2010, 12:33 PM
haha someone needs to sell a DPDT switch where one throw is momentary and the other is latching, that would be sweet

Rhyen Skytracker
07-02-2010, 12:41 PM
That is why we use relays and transistors. It takes care of the problem with one pole being momentary and the other being latching and it works very well too. When wiring up recharge ports ALWAYS use the 3 prong port. When charging the batteries it doesn't allow any power to go to the card and it protects it from getting fried during the charging cycle. Many of us have been doing this for a VERY long time and have already went through the trial and errors and when we suggest doing something a certian way it is because we KNOW what WILL happen if you don't do it that way.

Matt Thorn
07-02-2010, 04:51 PM
Many of us have been doing this for a VERY long time and have already went through the trial and errors and when we suggest doing something a certian way it is because we KNOW what WILL happen if you don't do it that way.
Hear, hear. ;)

alreadyRogue
07-02-2010, 05:12 PM
oh believe me i truly do appreciate all the work you guys have put into this
and yeah im trying to add the recharge port with the three prongs

vctrsone
07-02-2010, 11:15 PM
edited because was a big long rant over reaction to being told off basically saying question wasnt answered and thers more than one way to do things..thats what I was trying to say any way sorry dudes.

Rhyen Skytracker
07-03-2010, 12:44 AM
I never said you can or couldn't do anything. There are people that ask the same question many times even after the question has been answered many times before. I guess they are waiting for an answer that they want to hear and not facts and proven methods. We are not elitist, (I have helped everyone that has asked for help and NEVER talked down to ANYONE) we were just trying to save you time and to help you from frying components. I can guarantee you one thing though. You will not be getting any more advice or help from me ever again.

Matt Thorn
07-03-2010, 01:10 AM
Wow. In all the time Ryhen has been a member here, I have never seen him say an unkind word about anyone, and never seen anyone say an unkind word about him. He is one of the most helpful and friendly people on this forum. vctrsone, your skill in making friends rivals your skill in expressing yourself in words. You can add me to the rapidly growing list of members who will no longer waste any time or energy trying to help you.

vctrsone
07-03-2010, 01:15 AM
I just asked a question about the diagram but instead you all decide to go on about me not doing the recharge port how like.

Like I said I do respect that you guys do know what your doing but I cant get that part right now. thats why I was asking if that diagram would work no one actually answered that question, you jumped on me instead. thats why you kept using CAPITOLS in your post.

sorry bit of a rant over reaction there but that was me on the defence.

I do suck at commnunication matt thats why I end up editing these things so much. takes me a few attempts to get out what im really trying to say.

Im going to go ahead and wire it like in my diagram. I will stick around the forum for a bit but if this is the general feeling I guess Il leave..sad tho ive been loving this forums...Im totaly addicted to making sabers now..its an art form and I know your masters and im but a wee noob.

also I was listening, I would love to put that recharge port in but i dont have the money for shipping right now (ive said this like 4 x). thats why I got a little angry at getting told off for something I couldnt avoid and had allready talked about its almost like my post wasnt actually read but was skimmed over and when you saw that it was the wrong recharge port you had found something to jump on me about...that was my feeling on it..sorry if i got that wrong.

my girlfriend apon reading this all over my shoulder has pretty much sumed it up...you dont want to be argued with, ether do what we say, how we say or go away...
well I always think outside the box I like to do things a little different. It does take some getting used to by people inside the box I know lol. you guys would hate how I made my light saber lol

if thers someone out ther who doesnt mind helping with my ecentric electric wacky light saber builds and knows wiring maybe we can talk lol...if you dont care about grammar or spelling well get on fine.

Skottsaber
07-03-2010, 02:12 AM
I can sympathise with you, I live in South Africa, Matt lives in Japan. So we don't have all the money in the world? Matt had to spend a small fortune even GETTING one of the 2010 boards.

Now... I think this thread has derailed enough. I've tried to stay out of your way, because some new guys get better and adjust to the forums. To name one would be AEWizard. At first he posted 2 threads asking the exact same question, but now he got forum savvy and I don't mind him any more.
But if you want to stay here you are going to need to calm down a bit.

Thats all I'm going to say, even though I have a lot more to though.

vctrsone
07-03-2010, 02:28 AM
yer I over reacted to it. will endevour to think a lot more before posting. I always have more to say thats half my problem sorry again about that lol

would still love a definit answer on the diagram tho..im guessing it was right?

Thankyou skott for atleast still talking to me.

if someone can answer that question for me il be gone untill you see the finished-finished product in the gallery (the one ther now is how it used to look and had the vader board in it)

Skottsaber
07-03-2010, 02:32 AM
Yes I'm quite sure it is right. But I haven't wired one up.

But IMO if nobody pointed out anything, then I would guess it was right.

vctrsone
07-03-2010, 03:08 AM
cool I just tested it out of the saber and its working perfectly..I kept the speaker from the portable mp3 speaker box nad its way way louder than the original and thats with no surround yet :)

thanx skott.

$tarkiller
07-03-2010, 05:54 AM
Not trying to be rude here, but does it really matter if we have answered the same question many times? Some people that come here wanting a sick saber haven't really been to a forum before, and you have to admit, that as a n00b, it's kinda hard to navigate. And yeah you say "Well there is a vast ocean of knowledge here, and people need to help themselves! We don't like spoon feeding n00bz!" But it's the vast ocean of knowledge that makes it hard to navigate. There are TONS of pages on here for you to read over, sure. And you DO need to read and help yourself instead of relying on everyone for an answer, but some people simply just DO NOT find what they are looking for, and don't take the time to say "Hey guys, I searched but I couldnt find anything on this... How would I wire a recharge port?" but instead say, "How do I do this?" I Imagine it might get frustratiing, but remember. you all were n00bz once too. So, we shoudl try to be a little more understanding.

vctrsone
07-03-2010, 11:07 AM
that diagram is in the saber and just fully charged it with no problems consider that diagram proven :)

alreadyRogue
07-03-2010, 11:50 AM
haha i used ur diagram vctrsone too cuz i dont understand how to use the recharge port with the kill key and ur solution sounded simpler, but i also put a fuse in there to make sure i didnt kill the board if i forgot to open the switch before charging, rather than buying a new board and rewiring it id rather blow a $2 fuse :)+<

vctrsone
07-03-2010, 12:28 PM
haha great I was going to do that...I still could add the fuse as the switch is easy to get at..

check out my finished saber with the new board and that circuit running.
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=11076

alreadyRogue
07-03-2010, 09:38 PM
haha looks sweet
im a little worried tho cuz im using a led strip and i need around 3A to go to the blade and i dont know what type of transistor to put in which can handle the current,
so does anyone know if the TIP125 is good for handling that current
thanks~rogue

Matt Thorn
07-03-2010, 09:59 PM
haha looks sweet
im a little worried tho cuz im using a led strip and i need around 3A to go to the blade and i dont know what type of transistor to put in which can handle the current,
so does anyone know if the TIP125 is good for handling that current
thanks~rogue
It seems none of us have had a chance to test it yet, but my not-so-educated guess is that the TIP125 is your best bet. No guarantees. ;)

I just got hold of five 2010 boards (2 Obi-Wan, 2 Vader, 2 Anakin), but it will probably be weeks before I get around to playing with them. :-?

Skottsaber
07-04-2010, 02:26 AM
I just got hold of five 2010 boards (2 Obi-Wan, 2 Vader, 2 Anakin), but it will probably be weeks before I get around to playing with them. :-?

And Santa lives in the South Pole :p
:rolleyes:

Matt Thorn
07-04-2010, 02:37 AM
And Santa lives in the South Pole :p
:rolleyes:
Sorry, that one went right over my head. :confused: My Santa, in this case, lives in Ottawa, and is a TCSS member who very generously bought the sabers, gutted them, and sent me the boards. :D

Skottsaber
07-04-2010, 02:39 AM
Well last time I checked, 2+2+2=6

Hope that helps.
If not, think reeeeal hard :wink:

Matt Thorn
07-04-2010, 03:00 AM
Well last time I checked, 2+2+2=6

Hope that helps.
If not, think reeeeal hard :wink:

Um, make that 2 Obi-Wan, 2 Vader, and 1 Anakin.:oops:
Five of one, half-a-dozen of another, as they say. :p

alreadyRogue
07-04-2010, 10:52 AM
just food for thought
has anyone tried wiring the transistor up to the speaker instead of the leds
cuz if that would work u cud get the LEDs to flicker and go really bright on clash and swing without much extra work
also would get rid of the ridiculous activation of the LEDs through the board (ya know: on, off, on, off, on :( )
if that would work then that would be amazing
rogue

Jedi-Loreen
07-04-2010, 12:19 PM
Um, what? :confused:

Sunrider
07-04-2010, 12:49 PM
just food for thought
has anyone tried wiring the transistor up to the speaker instead of the leds
cuz if that would work u cud get the LEDs to flicker and go really bright on clash and swing without much extra work
also would get rid of the ridiculous activation of the LEDs through the board (ya know: on, off, on, off, on )
if that would work then that would be amazing
rogue


Don't try this at home....., unless you are trying to summon the magic smoke monster. ;)

alreadyRogue
07-04-2010, 01:51 PM
nvm forget it, ill try it and see if it works:D prolly wont tho

Skottsaber
07-04-2010, 02:27 PM
Do you mean that instead of using the outputs for the LEDs on the board, you want to use the speaker outputs to drive your LED?

I doubt that will be bright at all, as the speakers are 1W and the LED is 3W.

alreadyRogue
07-04-2010, 06:18 PM
yeah so use a transistor to boost it to whats needed for 3W, or am i missing something about transistors :/

Mal Rune
07-04-2010, 11:10 PM
Hey Matt - did you ever post up finished pics of the saber you were building? I'd love to see the finished version.

I've been following this thread and I'm about ready to jump into breadboarding one of these sound boards up. Does the transitor get hot enough to need the heatsink? I'm going to order the transistor today probably so I wanted to get it all at once if needed.

One more question - can a person put in AA NiMH batteries in the battery holder and then a recharge port using this setup without any issues?

Yea I second that. I'd like to see a video if possible!

Matt Thorn
07-04-2010, 11:55 PM
Yea I second that. I'd like to see a video if possible!
Do you mean my finished saber? I have just one really short and lousy video, but you can see it and the photos here (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=11109).

Skottsaber
07-05-2010, 01:41 AM
yeah so use a transistor to boost it to whats needed for 3W, or am i missing something about transistors :/

Oh, right. My mistake :oops:

Don Se Wion
07-06-2010, 04:45 AM
I would like to propose an alternate solution to drive a power LED with this Hasbro board.

The reason for this is that I was struggling while experimenting with a spare PNP transistor I had (obviously not the suggested TIP42/BD242).
I was using a transistor marked D234, according to the datasheet I found it is a PNP but I did not manage to make it working properly.

So, looking through the other spare components in my hands I came up with a different design.

The switch function is achieved using a MOSFET driven by a NAND port from the IC CD4011.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/FETDiagramdetailed.jpg

The components I used are the MOSFET 66NQ03LT and the IC CD4011BCN.
The board I'm using comes from an Obi Wan saber marked 2009 but it has exactly the same layout as the one posted here as 2010, so they should work in the same way.

To keep the post short I'm omitting a detailed explanation of the functioning but I can expand it if someone will be interested.
In the diagram I also omitted the resistor/buckpuck because it depends mainly on your setup, so make sure to add it according to the requirements coming from your battery pack/LED.
The accent LEDs are optional but they can be wired directly to the Hasbro board since I'm using only one of the original wires. This way you don't need a resistor for the accent LEDs because the board does the job for you.

Obviously this is a slightly more complicated solution respect to the PNP transistor and it would be a nice idea to put the components on a custom PCB like i did ... but hey, this is an hobby and we are supposed to have fun building things :D

cardcollector
07-06-2010, 05:55 AM
Very interesting, a little advanced in wiring, but interesting nonetheless.

Thanks for sharing, the main thing we are concerned about is ma ouput from these boards- can you give us a reading of ma output?

Matt Thorn
07-06-2010, 05:57 AM
I would like to propose an alternate solution to drive a power LED with this Hasbro board.

The reason for this is that I was struggling while experimenting with a spare PNP transistor I had (obviously not the suggested TIP42/BD242).
I was using a transistor marked D234, according to the datasheet I found it is a PNP but I did not manage to make it working properly.

So, looking through the other spare components in my hands I came up with a different design.

The switch function is achieved using a MOSFET driven by a NAND port from the IC CD4011.


The components I used are the MOSFET 66NQ03LT and the IC CD4011BCN.
The board I'm using comes from an Obi Wan saber marked 2009 but it has exactly the same layout as the one posted here as 2010, so they should work in the same way.

To keep the post short I'm omitting a detailed explanation of the functioning but I can expand it if someone will be interested.
In the diagram I also omitted the resistor/buckpuck because it depends mainly on your setup, so make sure to add it according to the requirements coming from your battery pack/LED.
The accent LEDs are optional but they can be wired directly to the Hasbro board since I'm using only one of the original wires. This way you don't need a resistor for the accent LEDs because the board does the job for you.

Obviously this is a slightly more complicated solution respect to the PNP transistor and it would be a nice idea to put the components on a custom PCB like i did ... but hey, this is an hobby and we are supposed to have fun building things :D
Very cool. I haven't got my head wrapped around it yet, but this looks like a great contribution. I for one would like to hear the longer explanation.

Thanks!

On a different note, it just occurred to me today that the most visually elegant solution would be to use this board strictly for sound, and use it with a TCSS LED driver (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-3w-driver-V2-P230.aspx) (momentary set-up) and a momentary DPDT switch. Of course, again, you run the risk of the soundboard timing out and the LED being left on, in which case you would need a kill-key (or normally closed kill-switch) to get the sound and light back in sync. I've got a couple of the old rectangular ("Corbin") drivers lying around unused, so maybe I'll try this in my next saber. (I just acquired a korbanth BK4 that I'm dying to play with. :cool:)

Skottsaber
07-06-2010, 10:49 AM
(I just acquired a korbanth BK4 that I'm dying to play with. :cool:)

Score!

But please don't put an economy board in :(

Its too nice!

dj2rbo
07-06-2010, 01:18 PM
Greetings all!! Just wanted to ask if your sound volume for the 2010 boards are a little weaker than an older Hasbro eco board. I am asking because compared to my cheapy board it seems a lot weaker than the newer board. I'm using the premium speakers from strydur on both. I also tried to give it 4.8 volts instead of the 4.2 volts fully charge li ion battery. Anyway I'm just wondering because toyz r us had a buy one get one 50% off and so I bought like 6 of them and plan on cramming them on my silent sabers. Just curious and I wait patiently for any input. Thank you sirs!

Don Se Wion
07-06-2010, 02:07 PM
Well, for now I'll reply to Matt's question ... it's the easier this time in the evening.

Talking about the LED output, the Hasbro board has the following behavior:

- Board inactive: both the LED+ and the 3 LED- are kept to battery level, 4.5V. This way both anode and cathode of the LEDs are at the same potential and the current cannot flow through the junction.

- Board active: when the board goes active the 3 LED- are pulled down to 0V (or ground) giving proper feeding to the LEDs that will turn on.

This working mode makes it easy to feed the wires to one of the ports on the IC 4011.
For those not used to work with these logical operators I'm linking this image that contains both the pinout of the IC and the table for the NAND port.

http://petersieg.webng.com/kc/ps2kc-cd4011.gif

Basically when the board is inactive the LED+ and LED- (A and B in the table) are kept to 4.5V that is equal to logical level 1 and the output port (F) is down to 0 (no signal).
When the board goes active the LED- wires are going down to 0V providing a 0/1 condtion on the port and consequently bringing the output port up to level 1, 4,5V.

The output port is directly wired to the Gate on the MOSFET and it turns on the LED accordingly.

In my diagram (and in my PCB) I wired one of the two input ports of the NAND directly to the Battery + saving the red wire on the board for the accent LEDs.

Any of the 4 NAND ports is usable and I actually used port NI4 in my PCB cause it was easier to design the path of the traces in my small board.

To keep the board even smaller it would be possible to use an ICs with a single NAND port; however after a quick search those single ports IC seems to come only on SMT packaging making a bit harder to solder them manually (but using them would save a lot of space).

Regarding the second question, tomorrow I will do some desoldering and measure the current running through the LED and let you know.

Matt Thorn
07-06-2010, 04:22 PM
Score!

But please don't put an economy board in :(

Its too nice!
Well, I do have one US 2.5 waiting for a home. But getting it into that narrow hilt would require a lot of grinding and cutting. And I think the 2010 boards sound more than good enough.

Greetings all!! Just wanted to ask if your sound volume for the 2010 boards are a little weaker than an older Hasbro eco board. I am asking because compared to my cheapy board it seems a lot weaker than the newer board. I'm using the premium speakers from strydur on both. I also tried to give it 4.8 volts instead of the 4.2 volts fully charge li ion battery. Anyway I'm just wondering because toyz r us had a buy one get one 50% off and so I bought like 6 of them and plan on cramming them on my silent sabers. Just curious and I wait patiently for any input. Thank you sirs!
Answer: Resonance.

Make sure you have at least a half an inch of solid cylinder between the speaker and the grille. The pommel I used in mine is perfect, and the saber is plenty loud.

Thanks for the follow-up, Don! I'll respond once I've digested it.