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View Full Version : 1st Saber; '05 MR Mace Windu Soundboard; Wiring Check/Help



nanjiroh
03-12-2012, 03:23 AM
Hi, I'm about to build my first MHS lightsaber. This is my first venture into soldering/leds/etc, so please forgive any noob questions I may ask.

Here are the parts I plan to use (everything will be ordered from the TCSS store; except soundboard):
- MHS Saber parts
- Luxeon Rebel LED (Rebel Star LED & MHS Heatsink Module)
- 16mm AV Latching Green Ring Switch - DPDT
- Battery Holder: 4AAA
- NiMh Batteries x4
- Premium Speaker

After having spent countless hours reading/studying/obsessing here in the forum, I've put together this wiring schematic to the best of my abilities.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m38/98egpPrelude/LightsaberWiring_800x600.jpg

I just have a few questions:

1) Is my wiring schematic correct? XD
2) Where does the resistor for the Illuminated AV switch go?... am I using the correct resistor?
3) Is the resistor for the Luxeon LED correct?
4) According to this schematic, am I getting "maximum brightness" out of the LED?... if not, how can I do so?

Jay-gon Jinn
03-12-2012, 09:00 AM
That looks mostly correct to me, but you may not want the resistor on the main blade led. The reason I say this is because the Rebels are underrated at 700ma, and easily be driven to 1000-1200ma with no problems, especially from a 4.8v battery source. I say this from experience, btw. ;)

The other problem I see is the switch wiring. The led as shown is being wired to the C2 position, which should have one of the switch wires there instead. The other switch wire should be to the NO2 position if you want to press the switch down to activate the board. If you want the switch to be released and activate the saber, you would put the second switch wire to the NC2 terminal instead. The third switch wire needs to go somewhere else, but I haven;'t used that voard in a long time, and cannot recall where it goes. There is a topic around here somewhere by Rhyn Skytrakker that explains how to wire up that switch....let me see if I can dig it up.

EDIT:
Found the wiring diagram for the switch on that board:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/Wiring%20Diagrams/MRmaceswitchwiring.jpg


The led in the switch has two separate leads for that and those should be labelled on the diagram for the switch as "led +" and "led -". To make the switch led come on when the saber is activated, it needs to be wired in parallel to the main blade led, using the appropriate resistor.

nanjiroh
03-13-2012, 03:42 AM
Thanks for helping and replying!

But I'm really confused about the LED switch. I thought I was using Rhyn Skytrakker's wiring diagram (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?11171-Switch-Wiring-Diagram-for-MR-board-with-4-wire-switch) *I basically just copied it*... or at least I thought I did.

According to your diagram(?):
Blue - NC1
Green - NO1
Purple - C1
Gray - C2

Oh, where would the resistor go?... soldered to the Blue NC1 wire?

Jay-gon Jinn
03-13-2012, 10:02 AM
Thanks for helping and replying!

But I'm really confused about the LED switch. I thought I was using Rhyn Skytrakker's wiring diagram (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?11171-Switch-Wiring-Diagram-for-MR-board-with-4-wire-switch) *I basically just copied it*... or at least I thought I did.

According to your diagram(?):
Blue - NC1
Green - NO1
Purple - C1
Gray - C2

Oh, where would the resistor go?... soldered to the Blue NC1 wire?
No, the resistor does not have anything to do with the switch terminals. There are two other terminals on the switch that are separate for the led. The resistor can go on either of them, they are labelled on the diagram Rhyen posted as led+ and led-

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/wadeh13/Wiring%20Diagrams%20and%20reviews/MR4wireswitchdiagram.png

The led does not have anything to do with the switch connections, it will need to be wired to the main blade outputs if you want it to come on when the saber is activated.

TenFootNine
08-20-2015, 03:10 AM
I know this thread is 3 years old, but it came up when I searched for an answer to my question.

Currently I'm putting one of these Windu soundboards into a custom hilt of mine. It is a board with a 4 wire switch. Is there a way I can solder this to a "normal" latching switch with just 2 soldering pads, or do I have to use a switch with 3 connections like in the diagram?

If it's possible to use just 2 wires for activation of both LED and sound, which ones to I use and where do i put the 3rd wire?
Any help appreciated! ;)

TenFootNine
08-20-2015, 10:09 AM
Anyone? Rather urgent, sorry... :?::confused:

Jay-gon Jinn
08-20-2015, 04:16 PM
Pretty sure you're going to need to source a DPDT latching switch for that board. Unless here's a way to use the pololu board with it somehow....