Need a simple straight forward solution

[raylen]

Hey everyone. I need some help please! I'm an experienced prop builder but somewhat new to the electronics of saber building. I built a completely custom saber hilt for a friend and they gave me some electronic components to use from a "build your own" FX saber where you could switch which color LED was turned on. The previously owner they got it from had already monkeyed around on it and cut a few wires too short but I got it to light up the one LED and work. (This circuit is shown at the top of the pic) The two red wires that appear connected are actually to the switch.

My friend now would like to do an upgrade to a cyan Luxeon 3 LED. He also gave me the circuit from a MR saber that they'd like used. (the sound is kinda odd on the other circuit possibly due to previous owner toying with it).

The question here is...what the heck do I do now? None of the threads I found on the forums here really addressed my situation head on.

1) do I need a heatsink for the Luxeon 3 as I've seen many people doing?
2) Can the existing LED be swapped out for the Luxeon without any sort of resistor? (is the voltage compatible?)
3) I do not have the "other" side of the MR circuit's plug and I was going to wire directly to those prongs. From what I've seen it appears most of them all go to the same place anyhow.

Any help would be much appreciated. Sometimes the simplest answers are the hardest to find.

[Darth Xusia]

Welcome to the forums.
It sounds like you have what we refer to as the "Joe Jedi" soundboard from the Master Replicas lightsaber construction set.
To try to answer your questions,
1. Yes, you need a heatsink for a Lux 3
2. The Joe Jedi board only puts out 350mA, Which is not enough to make the Lux 3 very bright. The other board in the pic should run it just fine. A cyan Lux 3 can take 1000mA.
3. Do a search for wiring diagrams and conversions to get the information on which wires to use for the Lux 3.
Do you have the clash sensor for the other soundboard?
Are you planning on using this to install it into the inner sleeve of the construction set?
I hope this helps.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

I would agree with Xusia here....skip the "Joe Jedi" or "SW616" (search keywords for you if want to learn more about it ;) ) and go with the other board. You do not need the other wires from the white connector, but you will need a clash sensor. You can de-solder the one from the kit board, and solder it to the other sound board like this, after you de-solder and remove the white header:

You can de-solder the clash sensor from the DIN connector and solder it directly to the board, like this:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/MR%20Sound%20Board%20Pictures/104_5629.jpg
I also de-soldered and removed the white plastic plug header from the board....makes it much easier to add the clash sensor this way. Then all you need to do is add a wire for the positive lead for your main led (you can fit the led wire and the wire from the clash senor in the hole at the same time) and add a "jumper" wire across the negatives. I do this by stripping a long section off the led negative lead and soldering it all the way across the negative pads.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/MR%20Sound%20Board%20Pictures/100_5894.jpg
The board ready to go:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/MR%20Sound%20Board%20Pictures/100_5893.jpg
Save a lot of hassle with that DIN plug, and makes it a lot easier to run wires for accent leds, because then you've got holes in the board to solder through for them. If you do this, though, all of your accent led's will come on at once, rather than in sequence.

Also, if you're limited for height for the board, you bend the clash sensor forward like this:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/MR%20Sound%20Board%20Pictures/100_7076.jpg

[raylen]

ok, the pics i believe will be very helpful. As for the "clash sensor", is that the little separate board that hangs off on two wires?

Also, is there a resistor needed to hook up the Luxeon? My biggest concern with doing any testing (without research) was that I might blow the LED.

What do people normally use for the heat sink? I have a small piece of aluminum C channel where the top and bottom of the C would be about an inch high. I was thinking that might be sufficient.

[Jedi-Loreen]

ok, the pics i believe will be very helpful. As for the "clash sensor", is that the little separate board that hangs off on two wires? Yes


Also, is there a resistor needed to hook up the Luxeon? My biggest concern with doing any testing (without research) was that I might blow the LED.No resistor needed for the LED when using an MR/Hasbro board


What do people normally use for the heat sink? I have a small piece of aluminum C channel where the top and bottom of the C would be about an inch high. I was thinking that might be sufficient.How are you going to seat the LED onto that C channel? A lot of people use those boards in their MHS builds, so they use this heat sink:

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Assets/ProductImages/164_6456.JPG

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Copper-MHS-LED-MountHeatsink-P234.aspx

[Jay-gon Jinn]

ok, the pics i believe will be very helpful. As for the "clash sensor", is that the little separate board that hangs off on two wires?

Also, is there a resistor needed to hook up the Luxeon? My biggest concern with doing any testing (without research) was that I might blow the LED.

What do people normally use for the heat sink? I have a small piece of aluminum C channel where the top and bottom of the C would be about an inch high. I was thinking that might be sufficient.
Yes, the little round gray cylinder on the separate little board is the clash sensor on the kit board.

no resistor needed to hook it up to the other FX board. Just be sure to bridge all of the negative wires onto the one wire like it shows in the pic above. This will ensure your Lux III is getting the full current the board will supply.

Usually, we just use the heat sinks available in the store these forums are attached to, but a piece of copper or aluminum will work. There's a heat sink that will work for custom applications here:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-star-heatsink--P220.aspx

[raylen]

from the pics, it looks like the thin wire coming off the clash sensor shares that spot with one of the led leads. Is that correct? If so, is that the negative or positive?

[Rhyen Skytracker]

That is the positive wire to the LED.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

from the pics, it looks like the thin wire coming off the clash sensor shares that spot with one of the led leads. Is that correct? If so, is that the negative or positive?

Yes, the thin wire is small enough to share the hole with the positive lead for the led. The sensor itself has no polarity, since it is basically a switch. It just fits better like that for me.