Hasbro FX Board with Removable Blade Diagram

[Rhyen Skytracker]

Since there are so many differences with the Hasbro FX Board with Removable Blade, I thought a new wiring diagram is in order. It seems everything we were used to with the fixed blade FX board has been changed. Also, the pololu and lighthound boards will not work with this board. I spent 2 hours figuring that out. I used the same pololu board on a Yoda FX and it worked fine. The problem is with the removable bladed FX board switching the - instead of the + like the fixed blade ones do. The first thing I did was get rid of all the hot glue and resolder all the wires I needed myself. Hasbro has been known for sloppy soldering. Anyway, here is the diagram with a recharge port, illuminated AV switch, remote clash sensor and a single 18650 Li-Ion battery.


http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/FX%20with%20removable%20blade/2010FXremovablebladeDiagram-1.png


Here is a pic of the back side of the board. I jumpered the pre to the gnd and also I took a 2" piece of stripped wire, pre-tinned it and soldered it on L1 - L6. That way you don't have a bunch of wires in the way.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/FX%20with%20removable%20blade/Backsideboard.jpg

[cannibal869]

Thanks Rhyen! This is great!

Thanks Rhyen!

[dgdve]

Excellent tut Rhyen, very informative and straight to the point... So what your basically saying is, ONLY latching/slide type switches will work with this board? (for now)

[Rhyen Skytracker]

All of the FX boards have always used the latching switches. But with the older ones you could use the lighthond or pololu boards to convert a momentary switch to latching. With this new FX board you can't use those.

[dgdve]

Yep thx for the clarification ;)

[RattleHornet]

Is this circuit correct?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gNVD0TZkfYg/TS6jqV8YdeI/AAAAAAAAAEg/gVGGarV_v8k/removalFX_circuit.jpg

[Rhyen Skytracker]

As long as the Gnd goes to the LED - and the L3 goes to the LED + then yes, it looks like it will work. Be sure to add the correct resistor if you need one. Especially with the red P4.

[RedArc]

Thanks a lot for that wiring diagramm !

Answers all my questions ;-)

[PhoenixReborn]

Can these boards handle 4x AA NIMH (4.8v)?

[Rhyen Skytracker]

Yes, all of these boards can handle 4.8V easily. They are designed for 4.5V so a little more is no problem for it.

[Darth Anatos]

Many thanks for the diagram, it has helped me greatly. The last part for me to finish is the clash sensor. Can I use the the clash within the obi removeable saber? Not sure where it is or how to hook it up. Are there any pics or diagrams to show me where and how to hook it up? Would it be easier & better to just to buy the clash sensor on TCSS and do a mounting board like yours? Thanks in advance from a Noob.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

The clash sensor on this one is actually in the bottom of the blade. You can pull the blade out and cut the bottom of it off that has the sensor and use it or just use one from TCSS. It would be much easier to just use one from TCSS.

[Marco]

I saw a video on youtube the obi wan does have episode 6 rotj luke sounds which is totally awesome, but the anakin does not... Since the rotj sounds are a lot nicer the obi wan removable blade might be a better buy than any other force fx ... Does someone know if there is an other force fx removable blade saber that does have the rotj sounds beside the obi wan? (As said the anakin does not...)

Obi sound --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70e2XPlehes

[Skottsaber]

All the boards have different fonts. Personally the Obi and the Maul are my favourites.

[Marco]

in the videos that i saw anakin and vader are the same as the fixed force fx namly the ep 3 sounds, obi is as mentioned above the superb rotj sound, I guess the maul also has the ep 3 sound or a new sith sound? So in the end only the obi has the so much wanted rotj sound (which by the way was always at least partially an argument to buy a cf) ???

[Marco]

Would be the wiring for an obi the same? I love that obi sound and since no one can answer me I guess I ll buy an obi ... or a cf? :D

[redeyejedi]

Since there are so many differences with the Hasbro FX Board with Removable Blade, I thought a new wiring diagram is in order. It seems everything we were used to with the fixed blade FX board has been changed. Also, the pololu and lighthound boards will not work with this board. I spent 2 hours figuring that out. I used the same pololu board on a Yoda FX and it worked fine. The problem is with the removable bladed FX board switching the - instead of the + like the fixed blade ones do. The first thing I did was get rid of all the hot glue and resolder all the wires I needed myself. Hasbro has been known for sloppy soldering. Anyway, here is the diagram with a recharge port, illuminated AV switch, remote clash sensor and a single 18650 Li-Ion battery.


http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/FX%20with%20removable%20blade/2010FXremovablebladeDiagram-1.png


Here is a pic of the back side of the board. I jumpered the pre to the gnd and also I took a 2" piece of stripped wire, pre-tinned it and soldered it on L1 - L6. That way you don't have a bunch of wires in the way.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/FX%20with%20removable%20blade/Backsideboard.jpg

It looks like the resistor in this diagram is for the illuminated AV switch. Where would you put a resistor with a 6V 4AAA battery pack and a standard switch?

[redeyejedi]

Will the board fry with 6V 4AAA battery pack set-up? Where do I put a resistor to prevent the board from frying?

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Will the board fry with 6V 4AAA battery pack set-up? Where do I put a resistor to prevent the board from frying?You wouldn't use a resistor for that, you'd use a voltage regulator. If these boards are anything like the older versions, though, you might not need one anyway. 6 volts is usually fine with these, but I have yet to use one myself. I'd recommend using a 5 volt regulator to be safe. You can usually get those at Radio Shack, if you have one near you. In the diagram, the regulator would go between the battery pack and the sound board, or if you use a recharge port, between the port and the sound board.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

6 Volts is the absolute limit and even with 6 Volts I have had one board fry. If your power source is over 6 Volts I recommend using a 5 Volt voltage regulator. I have since figured out a way that should allow us to use the pololu board with the removable blade boards, but it would need a SSR (solid state relay). I will post results as soon as I get a chance to test it. Basically what I am doing is using the SSR relay to swap the polority of the switch circuit so that it will work with the pololu board.

[redeyejedi]

Thanks guys! How is a voltage regulator wired exactly? Between the battery pack and the soundboard, but what wires go where?

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Thanks guys! How is a voltage regulator wired exactly? Between the battery pack and the soundboard, but what wires go where?Have you tried searching the forum at all? I seriously don't mean this to come off as rude, but there's a topic just below this one in this very section that has wiring diagrams that include a voltage regulator set up:
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?10288-2010-Electronic-Lightsaber-w-DVD-Tutorial

[redeyejedi]

Have you tried searching the forum at all? I seriously don't mean this to come off as rude, but there's a topic just below this one in this very section that has wiring diagrams that include a voltage regulator set up:
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?10288-2010-Electronic-Lightsaber-w-DVD-Tutorial

It's ok. I've been reading the forums and never would have looked at that thread, because I'm not working with that kind of soundboard. Thanks for the link. I appreciate it and appologize if I'm annoying you or anyone else with all my questions. Thanks again.

[redeyejedi]

Is there any way to wire a buck puck to this board? Can you use the voltage regulator and a buck puck?

[redeyejedi]

Never mind guys. I tried it out and was not satisfied with the results. There was really no need for the buck puck or the 5v regulator. I used a 5V regulator and the brightness of the LED was not great, so I removed the regulator an just wired the battery pack directly to the board and used 4AAA rechargeable batteries. The brightness is awesome now! Board works great! Thanks soooo much Ryan for the diagram! Happy Holidays!

[zed117]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread guys, but I searched this whole forum and couldent find the answer. where is the swing sensor supposed to be attached to? I see the clash in the diagram but not the swing.

[Mandalorian]

On forceFX boards, the swing sensors are already mounted to the PCB, so you don't need to attach a new one.

[Takanis]

On forceFX boards, the swing sensors are already mounted to the PCB, so you don't need to attach a new one.

Correct. You don't need to add any additional swing sensor(s).

[zed117]

Okay thanks guys, that was fast! I am going to be buying the 4aaa battery and speaker combo from the store, do I need a resistor, it says it can handle 4.8 but I don't want to risk frying it, anyone know? thanks again!!!

[Takanis]

Okay thanks guys, that was fast! I am going to be buying the 4aaa battery and speaker combo from the store, do I need a resistor, it says it can handle 4.8 but I don't want to risk frying it, anyone know? thanks again!!!

If you use 4 rechargeable NiMH batteries (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/AAA-1000mAh-NiMH-Rechargeable-battery-P475.aspx) you will be okay. It would probably be a good idea to use a resistor going to your main LED just to be safe (especially if you're using a red or amber LED). I wouldn't feel confident with using 4 "standard" AAA alkaline batteries in there. That would give you 6V which might be a problem for that board.

Happy Building!

[Karotta79]

This diagram will help me out a lot. I had a friend help me convert a 2010 Hasbro Obi-wan hilt, and I just received the conversion kit today. One of the wires that leads to the switch broke off the board and needs to be reconnected before it's completely finished. How did you remove the hot glue before resoldering?

[Blade Darksteel]

I've followed the diagram minus the recharge port. The LED lights, but I have no sound. Does that likely mean the sound portion of the board is no good?

[Silver Serpent]

Possibly. You could also have wired the speaker incorrectly, or the speaker itself is blown.

[Blade Darksteel]

I rewired the original 3 pin connector. I can hold either my Yoda or Maul Battery/speaker packs to the connector. LED powers up but still no sound from those packs either.

[RalenTarel]

Just a quick question, I will be working on a hasbro removable blade kit fisto verry soon. What I need to know is.
What the min and max voltage that the board can be run at?

To clarify, I will be running it with a luxeon green and an ilumated switch. I know that the btry pack normaly runs 4.5v ( 3aaa) and a lot of that goes to the string blade leds.
I have also seen some diagrams using a 7.4v power suply with a transistor and voltage regulator bringing it down to 5v.
Using a li-ion set up, what is the recomended power suply.
I'm hoping I can do this on a sigle 18650.
Thanks

[Alderscorn]

What kind of jerk necros a 6 year old post?! THIS GUY.

Any of you guys around know what might cause lights to work but not sound on this board? I've wired it with as few connections as possible for testing and its just like the diagrams. I've replaced the speaker with a crappy project one (just to test it) and there's not a peep.

I know the light has to be connected for the sounds but its not even doing the "fizzle".

I wasn't going to upgrade it, just try to repair it. But it might just end up being a paper weight.