Major MHS error need help urgently!!

[Bob93r]

Hi guys,

I know that I am opening myself up for a major kicking here but I really need some sage like wisdom. I am not good with electronics (this my first attempt) and while I am reading as much as I can I am running out of time to organize the parts for this build.

Basically:
I ordered my first MHS parts the other week and they turned up a couple of days ago. Absolutely wonderful pieces, kudos to Tim.
Then problem number one arose. Because I ordered the MR soundboard and battery and speaker combo separately I did not realize that they would be too long for the 6" extension that I am using as a main body.
When I thought about putting the soundboard casing into the ribbed extension and the battery pack/speaker into the 6" extension I found out that neither of them actually fitted inside the MHS pieces.

Now I have one day to work something out before the electronics genius that I lined up (mate's old man) comes about to help me (someone has to make sure that I don't mess up too badly).

So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
1. Anyone know how to get a MR speaker battery pack apart without losing a finger (nearly happened!). I have parts to replace these, but I spent good money on it so I would like to get some use out of it.
2. Thinking of using shrinkwrapped rechargeable AAA's and a recharge port to power it. How many AAA's would I need to power the soundcard and a P4 and get adequate run time (3 hours would be ideal)? I can fit up to eight bundled AAA's in the 6" with space for the illuminated AV and speaker.
3. I am thinking of using PVC heatshrink to cover the soundboard in the ribbed section and gluing it in place. Good, bad or other suggestions?

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Shadar Al'Niende]

Hi guys,

I know that I am opening myself up for a major kicking here but I really need some sage like wisdom. I am not good with electronics (this my first attempt) and while I am reading as much as I can I am running out of time to organize the parts for this build.

Basically:
I ordered my first MHS parts the other week and they turned up a couple of days ago. Absolutely wonderful pieces, kudos to Tim.
Then problem number one arose. Because I ordered the MR soundboard and battery and speaker combo separately I did not realize that they would be too long for the 6" extension that I am using as a main body.
When I thought about putting the soundboard casing into the ribbed extension and the battery pack/speaker into the 6" extension I found out that neither of them actually fitted inside the MHS pieces.

Now I have one day to work something out before the electronics genius that I lined up (mate's old man) comes about to help me (someone has to make sure that I don't mess up too badly).

So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
1. Anyone know how to get a MR speaker battery pack apart without losing a finger (nearly happened!). I have parts to replace these, but I spent good money on it so I would like to get some use out of it. (I would suggest a dremel, some have done it here and i'm sure they will be along shortly to explain in more detail.)

2. Thinking of using shrinkwrapped rechargeable AAA's and a recharge port to power it. How many AAA's would I need to power the soundcard and a P4 and get adequate run time (3 hours would be ideal)? I can fit up to eight bundled AAA's in the 6" with space for the illuminated AV and speaker. (Use 4 AAA batteries and you will run the board, and LED with a perfect amount of Voltage/Current)

3. I am thinking of using PVC heatshrink to cover the soundboard in the ribbed section and gluing it in place. Good, bad or other suggestions? (If you remove the board from the casing/battery holder and create your own pack of AAA's you could sit the board on top of the batteries taking up about 2" of space in your hilt. Rhyen Skytracker has done this before, he might give you more advice. If you are bent on putting it in the ribbed section, a light heatshrink could be a good idea.)

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Answers are in Red above, hope this helps.

[Crystal Chambers]

Wow 3 hours is a long run time. If you have a recharge port then why the long runtime. Personally I find an hour will do. I can have few rounds of dueling and I'm good. Throw it on the charger right after. you may want to fill up all empty space with runtime..I mean batteries lol but remember to save some airflow space for sound resonance.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

The best way I have found to get the MR casing opein is to use a lighter or heat gun and warm it up along the seam and then you can just pry them open with a screwdriver. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT GET IT TOO HOT OR YOU CAN MELT THE COMPONENTS ON THE CARD.

You would need 4 AA NiMH rechargable batteries to properly run the P4 for that long. It will give you around 2.5 hours on a charge.


Make sure you wire the batteries in series to get 4.8V. Make the pack to look like this. http://saberconcepts.50.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=110

and just mount the card on top like I did here. On this saber I used 6 batteries but the principle is the same. http://saberconcepts.50.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=103 (http://saberconcepts.50.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=103)

You will need to use heat shrink made for battery packs. It is thinner and will give you more room in the hilt.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

I usually extract the MR board from the casing by using a pair of cutting pliers on the seam right at the opening where the blade wires come though. This cases the seam to pop along nearly the entire length of the housing. It works every time, and there's no chance of melting the board. I have pictures of this somewhere....just a matter of finding the correct saber build.....

I always use heat shrink tubing on the MR boards I use....especially if it's going into the ribbed extension. I've also found that gluing the board down is not necessary. The pressure from the wires on the main led may be enough to hold the board in place. Or, if you really wanted to, you could mount it on a piece of pcv sink drain tube. It's plastic 1 1/4" drain extension found at the hardware store, and can be cut to fit inside a ribbed extension.

[Bob93r]

Thanks, for all the help guys. I was hoping to have this all figured out by the assembly time, but someone was nice enough to use their car to take my motorcycle out from under me so I lost about a week to the hospital and it has made getting about very difficult.

I think that I will try the 4 AAA's in the main hilt section which will give me room for the speaker and resonating chamber and shrinkwrap the soundboard in the ribbed section.

The reason for the long run times is that our Kenjuitsu training sessions run about that long (particularly if we are having fun and how much fun could it be with lightsabers!). To combat this I will try to set up the main hilt section with a sled and the battery pack a quick connector so I can change them out when required. Though in my current state I probably wont be training anytime soon.

No I just have to work out how to get to the hardware and electronics store with no vehicle and some very damaged body parts.......

Thanks again guys, you have been very, very helpful. Can't wait to post the completed saber for you.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Thanks, for all the help guys. I was hoping to have this all figured out by the assembly time, but someone was nice enough to use their car to take my motorcycle out from under me so I lost about a week to the hospital and it has made getting about very difficult.

OUCH!!!! Hope you get better soon!

[Invisas1979]

There's not a best way to do this, only options on how, some being better than others.

To get the housing off from arount the MR Board, I got a stanley knife and with a glove on to protect my thumb, slowly cut it down the existing seam.

I didn't thrown this away though, I kept it and cut it down bit by bit until I could get the board and the part of the sled which the MR board screws into inside a ribbed section. This held it firmly enough so it doesn't move. I hot glued the motion sensor so it sits with the board and sled.

The speaker/batt combo sits nicely in the 5in extension and with 4 fresh AAA 1.5v batteries lasts a fair while and is nice and bright with a good blade.

Sorry to hear about the accident, get well soon.