anyone build a plug-in saber?

[kevinp]

Hi all, newbie here. I've searched this and other forums and found no reference. What I want is a saber that I can plug into the wall and leave on for display. Don't need sound, this is just to hang on the wall. Has anyone attempted this or know anyone who sells these?

thanks

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Plug in; not that I know of but you'd need a transformer to drop the voltage from 120V AC to 3 to 9V DC (whether you have sound or not. It's just be easier to wire it the way we do here and recharge when needed. Just so you know, discussing sales and commissions here is a no-no as this forum is provided free of charge by some one who sells parts to build sabers. For that you can check over on www.fx-sabers.com (http://www.fx-sabers.com)

[kevinp]

sorry for the infringement. How long does a charge last on average? That might work for me.

[xl97]

a charge will last as long as it can. ;)


and that depends on the set-up..

the battery pack..

the internals..

the main led power needs

any accent leds..etc..

everything will have a rating on the current it will draw (as well as the voltage needed)..

[Weaver]

I saw a post once which complained of the recharge port suffering from a "malfunction". When he inserted the port, the saber would power on and function correctly (which clearly should not happen, given the setup and its intended purpose), but when unplugged, the battery pack would give no current to the board. As it turns out, he'd flipped the polarity on some of the wires on the port, so that the charger was supplying current to the board, and not the pack.

I suppose you could do that on purpose, but I would definitely make certain to get a transformer, as was suggested. If it's only ever going to be used for display, I would dispense with the battery pack altogether and directly wire the recharge port to the board, and select a transformer which would most closely match with the regular pack setup (7.2v, XmA; not really sure how much current the Li-Ions supply...couldn't find that information).

The way I'd do it (if it's even possible) would be to install two recharge ports, using one as intended and one to bypass the battery pack and power the board. That way, you could remove the battery pack when not in use, and use the wall adapter to keep it powered. When you want to take it down and swing it around, you could plug in the battery pack and have to. But that's just what I would do. I overcomplicate everything.