Battery question

[Waisulee]

Hey gang.
I'm going to build a tribute ESB (best episode ever) saber from a vintage graflex, using a mr Anakin sound board, blue rebel LED, with a charge port. I plan on using the 4AAA battery housing/speaker 2 in 1 unit sold here, to house rechargeable li ion batteries and for convenience.
Just looking for opinions on my battery setup choice. Any thoughts?
Thanks.

W

[Rafalema]

I don't think the speaker mount has the proper OD for a Graflex, it'll rattle arond with no mods..

Best battery for MR boards is a sinle, AA sized 3.7v Li-Ion cell IMO. Compact and easy.

[Waisulee]

I'd just assume I would have to mod it. But will your idea provide a nice run time on a single charge? Also refer to my question here:
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12506-Hi-ya-ll.-New-guy-here./page2
I think I'm putting a lot of thought into batteries lately lol.
Thanks :)

[Rafalema]

It'd have an OK runtime. But if you have room for an 18650 Li-Ion 3.7v cell (check The Store for dimensions) then that's definitely the way to go. Those things provide insane runtimes.
Luxeon IIIs and Seoul P4s are best for MR boards and work fine on this setup. (There was a batch of little "weaker" red P4s recently that got fried by some MR boards, but I think we're over that now)

Good luck! (If you have any good tips after this project, please share them.) (Waiting on a replica Graflex myself for the ANH version :mrgreen:)

[Waisulee]

Ya, I was looking at the 18650's. So one of them would be better than multiple AAA's or AA's? I thought that I had read that the blue rebels were better than the blue luxeon III's and just as bright as the blue Seoul P4's :S In what way are they better on MR boards? Are there some good comparison pics out there? The ones I find are usually comparing MR's to conversions.
I'll definitely share my ideas. My imagination is totally going wild ;)

[Azmaria Dei]

i have a saber with an 18650 and an MR board and a P4 LED and i get at least half an hour out of it.

the dimensions on an 18650 cell are 18mmx65mm round (0). ^_^

the blue LEDs between the makers are all fairly close in brightness as near as i can tell. especially hooked to the outputs of an MR board. they're all fed 1A.

[Waisulee]

Only a 1/2 hr?? Sorry, but that's not very long. I'm sure I can fit a good number of batteries in a graflex to get a better duration. Would 2 18650's double the run time or increase it exponentially? trying to figure out the best configuration :S
Re the led: I just found a couple of good comparison charts on the forums :)

[Darth Xusia]

i have a saber with an 18650 and an MR board and a P4 LED and i get at least half an hour out of it.

the dimensions on an 18650 cell are 18mmx65mm round (0). ^_^

the blue LEDs between the makers are all fairly close in brightness as near as i can tell. especially hooked to the outputs of an MR board. they're all fed 1A.


That is pretty low. You should be getting closer to 2 hours on a 18650, depending on which battery you're using. Sounds like bad batteries to me.


Only a 1/2 hr?? Sorry, but that's not very long. I'm sure I can fit a good number of batteries in a graflex to get a better duration. Would 2 18650's double the run time or increase it exponentially? trying to figure out the best configuration :S
Re the led: I just found a couple of good comparison charts on the forums :)

2 18650's in parallel would double the runtime. Series would fry the led and the MR board unless you use a 5V regulator.

[Waisulee]

That's a good point about running them parallel, Xusia ;) But I think I'm gunna go with two 3.7v AA's running parallel. Will prob put a charge port if I don't wish to take the batteries out of the holder. Options are good ;)

[Farmer42]

If you don't build a pack, don't run a recharge port on multiple batteries. Especially in parallel. And one 18650 will get you about the same run time as two AA sized Li-ions in less space.

[Skottsaber]

Just an LED FYI.
1) The Red P4 fiasco isn't over, and from what I know unless there is some announcement from Seoul Semis then I doubt it will be.
2) Personally I prefer the P4, cheaper too.

[Azmaria Dei]

i honestly can't say how long it will last in that setup since i haven't drained it completely. most i've used it between charges is half an hour. i should get 134 minutes out of it if my calculations are right though.

[Waisulee]

Hey Farmer, why would I not do this. Will it over heat?

Thanks Skottsaber. Already have the rebel in the mail. Maybe I'll do a comarison in the future.

[Jedi-Loreen]

Waisulee, please don't make 2 posts minutes apart like that. Use the Edit button and just add to your last post. Double Posting is frowned on here, I'm merging your last two posts.

[Waisulee]

It's all good. Thanks for the heads up :)

[Invisas1979]

It's all good. Thanks for the heads up :)


Waisulee, please don't make 2 posts minutes apart like that. Use the Edit button and just add to your last post. Double Posting is frowned on here, I'm merging your last two posts.

As J-Lo mentioned, next to the reply with quote button, there is a button for muti quote. example seen above. Oh wait she told you off instead.. Ha ha ha

Mul-ti-quote, use that so people know who you're replying to. ;-)

If you use a two battery holder that will have the batteries running in series, this doubles the voltage and will kill the board and led. You could buy two single battery holders so you can, run them in paralelle and still have the batteries removable.

[Waisulee]

From reading her other posts I'm sure she could really tell me off if she wanted to ;) She was just being helpful this time :) My experience in forums are next to non-existant.
Is it possible to re-wire the holder? I bought one, just don't wanna waist my money lol I'm sure I've seen other sabers with a battery holder...

[Farmer42]

Hey Farmer, why would I not do this. Will it over heat
Heat isn't your friend here, no, but wiring two protected cells together in parallel with a recharge port at best will only charge one cell, and at worst can explode on you. There are several threads on why this happens and why you shouldn't try it.


Is it possible to re-wire the holder? I bought one, just don't wanna waist my money lol I'm sure I've seen other sabers with a battery holder...
There are plenty of sabers out there with battery holders. Some use dummy plugs, others use NiMH batteries. Honestly, it sounds like you're just cutting your teeth of electronics and wiring, so your best bet is to keep is very, very simple. You can rewire a battery holder, but IMHO it isn't worth it, especially if you're learning as you go. When I was first starting with electronics, I managed to kill three battery holders while soldering them to a breadboard harness. When it comes to li-ion batteries, the general rule of thumb is that if you need to ask, you probably shouldn't do it. Either it's a bad idea, or you aren't experienced enough to start experimenting.

I'm not trying to be a downer or anything, but I've witnessed first-hand batteries going runaway.

[Azmaria Dei]

you can wire as many Li-Ions together as you want and use a recharge port, as long as you only have ONE protection circuit. AKA - if you get protected cells, remove the PCBs on them and use the appropriate PCB for whatever the setup. using 2 protected cells and a recharge port can easily cause charge imbalance, charging cut outs, and explosions. yes a lot of people have done it, but it's dangerous at best and a pipe bomb at worst. have you ever seen lithium exposed to air? that's what happens.

as for rewiring a battery holder, it CAN be done, but it's normally not feasible as the contacts are normally one piece on one end.

[Waisulee]

Wow! Thanks for the awesome advice :D You're right, Farmer. I am new to electronics. Just figured that making lightsabers would be a fun way to learn. And you guys, as well as others, have been very helpful :D Thanks. I will keep it simple. I'll try not to make a pipe bomb ;) I'll prob just make a simple pack or just use one 18650.
Ya, I'll prob just use a single 18650 ;) I'll keep researching.
Thanks again

[Darth Xusia]

Hey gang.
I'm going to build a tribute ESB (best episode ever) saber from a vintage graflex, using a mr Anakin sound board, blue rebel LED, with a charge port. I plan on using the 4AAA battery housing/speaker 2 in 1 unit sold here, to house rechargeable li ion batteries and for convenience.
Just looking for opinions on my battery setup choice. Any thoughts?
Thanks.

W

That battery pack is wired in series so that would be 14.8V.
Scenario: pull kill key... sizzling sound... try to ignite saber... led pops... puffs of smoke from saber...
soundboard melts... drop saber from heat on your hand... reinsert kill key.
I would suggest either a single or parallel li-ion or a 4.8V nimh battery pack.

[Waisulee]

Ya, I totally don't want any exposions. You're right, Xusia. Will prob do a single or parallel li-ion. I'm just having a hard time finding clear info on making packs. If I used a single 18650 how do I safely wire it? Can I make a pack out of two 18650s (2 side by side prob won't fit in a graflex).
I'll also have to find more info on PCBs; I'm getting the understanding that I'll need the right one if I was to make a pack. I'll aslo have to research how to safely install recharge ports (prob won't use one, just want to know my options and how to safely do it).
I'm sure all this info is here somewhere, just gunna have to find it :S
So, my revision thus far is that I'll be making a graflex saber whith blue rebel, Anakin MR board, may or may not use recharge port (would like to), prob use a single 18650, but am interested in learning about battery packs.
Thanks again :D

[Farmer42]

A single healthy 18650 from the store will push a single P4, with no sound board, for about two hours and 20 minutes. With a board, efficiency goes up, but you power consumption goes up, which is why theoretically, you should get somewhere in th neighborhood of an hour to an hour and a half out of the saber then.

As for a recharge port, it's fairly simple. You need to drill another hole, then wire it into your circuit with the positive lead from the battery and the positive lead from the switch/LED wired to the POS post and the negative leads wired to the NEG post next to it. There are several diagrams on how to do this.

[Waisulee]

Thanks, Farmer. Great charge comparison.
That's pretty much what I have been gathering from this site about hooking up the port. Seems straight forward :)
I do find myself spending too much tought on the battery issue. But that's cool.
I'm getting ahead of myself; my supplies are not even in yet lol. I'm just trying to bild it totally in my head before the parts arive ;)

[Azmaria Dei]

calm down, relax, and be patient. once you get the parts, they'll feel more right. ^_^

[Waisulee]

so true ;)