Jolt-proofing batteries. I needz it!

[Doc B]

So I've been looking around the forum, and I have yet to run into this conundrum; when my saber gets hit or moves forcibly, the batteries get a sudden jolt and the whole saber turns off. I've tried wrapping the 4 AAs in tape, and that helps maintain a consistent connection better, but it's still not great. Is there any solution, short of wiring in a rechargeable battery to help with this problem? Is this even a problem that others have encountered with their AA battery packs?

P.S. - As a random, tangential comment. I debuted my saber tonight with some local folks that all had non-TCSS sabers. The universal comments on mine were, "[Insert expletive of choice] that's bright! Can I play with it?" Tee hee.

[Skottsaber]

Yeah the best battery solution for everything is a wired pack, and short of taping your pack there really isn't much you can do.

[Azmaria Dei]

soldering your batteries in is the only way i've seen to prevent disconnects like that.

as a pseudo-specific reply to your random, tangential comment, yeah that seems to be the general consensus among people that have only worked with EL blades or MR/FX and such. my chief and a few others from leadership game down to see us the other day and they caught sight of the one i had in my camera bag (which happened to be Ceragan's Reach - currently in my sig). needless to say they all had to see it. ^_^ though mixing work life with my personal life isn't something i really want to do...

[cardcollector]

I have found double wrapping the pack in electrical tape solves the problem. Make sure the tape is super tight. Sure it is a pain to change the batts. but you are assured there are no disconnects.

[Sidd]

If the battery pack is rattling around too much in the hilt you can always put up some grey pipe insulation and slice it up to make a little padded jacket for the battery pack

[Doc B]

Thanks, all. I guess this will just accelerate my plans to completely rewire the interior with a driver board and rechargeable batteries. I just wonder, though, all the people I know that use sabers pre-made by other companies don't seem to have this same problem. I wonder how they avoid it.

[Jedi-Loreen]

I just use a rubber band looped tightly around my battery holders and I have no issues with batteries popping out.

[Doc B]

It's not that they are popping out. Because of the springs in the pack, they have some parallel give. They're not popping out, laterally. I'll try engulfing them in electrical tape, and then I'll just have to move forward with my plans of rewiring it.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

Some sound boards are very sensitive to power and even the slightest interuption of power will cause them to turn off. The US 2.5 was very bad about that. The only way around it is to not use spring battery pack. For economy and even the FX sound boards you can use a single protected Li-Ion and just solder a wire to to each end and use heat shrink to cover the battery and wires. If you plan on using a buck puck you will need at least 5 Volts so you would need 2 Li-Ions. (If they are not the protected cells you must have the correct PCB) The battery voltage and mAh needed is also determined by which LED you are using. It is recommended to use a battery pack that is around 1 volt higher than the forward voltage of the LED you are using when using a sound board.

[Doc B]

Yeah. I think part of the problem is that I used a Pololu board to make up for the fact that I accidentally used a momentary switch. The Pololu board seems really sensitive to power interruptions.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

I very rarely use spring batt packs anymore due to the problems with them. A saber that is used to duel with or swing around is not a good application for a spring batt pack.

[Doc B]

Sigh... For about the millionth time in process of building my first saber, I'm going to mentally file that under "Things I Wish I Knew a Month Ago." :-)

[Bothrops]

Velcro cable ties wrapped around the pack makes the batteries stay in place, and also makes it fit inside the handle snugly. It is very easy to re-apply after a battery change. And you can rig up a string or ribbon for easy extraction from the hilt. For about $7.00/100 (amazon), it's hard to beat.

[Grackle]

I think this is the best reason of all for using rechargeables with in-hilt recharging. That way you can just solder all the batteries together, and shrink wrap the whole pack so they'll never get an interrupted connection no matter how hard they get rattled around.

I tried using a spring style battery pack once, on the first saber I built... and that attempt lasted all of about 5 minutes before all the problems with it made me yank out the batteries and just solder them together. ;)

[Azmaria Dei]

i have a couple spring battery packs i use for testing and such. nothing more than that.

[Doc B]

This is a catchy song you are all singing. Let me see if I've got the lyrics down yet.

Battery packs may be nice
For testing, demonstrations, and stuff
When it comes to dueling,
They're really not that tough.

Lithium ion and a recharge port
Are much better than the packs.
Power gets shut off,
If the saber gets too many whacks.


Is that the right song I'm singing?

[Azmaria Dei]

you need a NiMH verse. soldering them in with a recharge port is nice too since there's so much out there that loves the 4.8V that a 4xAAA pack can give you.

i still prefer Li-Ions myself though. ^_^ but for a couple sabers later on down the road i do need to put NiMH in them.

[Skottsaber]

Make it rhyme. And put it to the tune of the TCSS theme song.

[Novastar]

Spring-pack battery setups CAN be made to work without them constantly losing contact... but it's pretty tough, as you have to be really savvy--and it's best to use packs where the springs are really tight & strong.

Sadly, most spring-loaded battery housings are very "el cheapo"; since they aren't even MEANT to be bashed into other objects (lol). Over all the years that I've messed with sabers, the only packs that I ever saw which had really tight springs... were the custom ones on FX sabers, and of course Yoda's Graflexes.

So, it CAN be done... but a lot of logistics/consideration has to come into play.

Using rechargeable cells that are "soldered in" to the circuitry solves this problem all in one fell swoop. :)

[Doc B]

Seriously? I spent a whole 60-seconds to come up with a masterpiece of lyricism to rival those of Paul Simon, John Lennon, and Tom Waits, and you all want more?! I can't work under these conditions!

On a more serious note, Li-Ion it shall be for me, when I put in the new switch, driver board, and possibly a P4 to be able to handle over 1000mA when it does the clashy thing.

[AC Sabers]

I tried using a spring battery pack setup and in the end I had to pull it out and make my own pack. It was killing power to the board on swings and hits.

[Bothrops]

So, it CAN be done... but a lot of logistics/consideration has to come into play.

Not to be contentious, but a strip of velcro is about as easy as it gets, and can be adjusted to make for a nice snug fit into any hilt diameter. It solves not only the battery popping but also any rattle, knock or sliding.

[Azmaria Dei]

Not to be contentious, but a strip of velcro is about as easy as it gets, and can be adjusted to make for a nice snug fit into any hilt diameter. It solves not only the battery popping but also any rattle, knock or sliding.

unless your name happens to be the same as one of those that actually practices martial arts with your saber - i.e. Novastar or Caine. in that case, you're still going to get occasional slips as you do your thrusts, parries, and grippes.

[Doc B]

I'm pretty rough on mine, as I'm sparring with guys that practice kendo. Velcro just ain't gonna cut it for these purposes.

[Azmaria Dei]

adding your name to the list... ^_^

[Doc B]

adding your name to the list... ^_^

Ha ha ha! I don't. They do. I haven't practiced any martial arts in years. :-)

[Azmaria Dei]

Ha ha ha! I don't. They do. I haven't practiced any martial arts in years. :-)

too late. you're already on that list. and i should probably be on that list too with all the past life regression i've done. i haven't studied any martial arts in this life but a lot of it is still very familiar to me from past lives. i'm sure you can provide some psychology analysis on that better than i can. ^_^

[Doc B]

Nah. I leave that to metaphysicists. Science is based on observable fact, and I can't observe past lives one way or the other. What I can observe, however, is that my batteries are jostling a little bit less with a thorough wrapping of electrical tape. Just a little bit, though. They still jostle. :-)

[Azmaria Dei]

then pack some tiny washers into the springs to remove a bit more?

[Doc B]

Interesting thought. I'll try it.