MWS 700mA Buckpuck with Charge Port

[Darth Animus]

Hi guys

I have recently built a new saber with a Rebel Deep Red, 4 AAs, red ring AV switch, and the MWS 700mA buckpuck. My question is how would one hook up the standard charge port?

The puck description says there is a hookup for the port, but it only has two wires. How do you attach this to the 3 prong port?

Thanks in advance

[DarkarNights]

Go to this thread, http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?14572-JediMasterTim-s-Wiring-Diagram, and look at the hand drawn diagram made by SlothFurnace 5 posts down on the page.

[Strydur]

Not that it is hard to wire as shown on sloths diagram but you do not need to use the 3 pins with the MWS buckpuck as long as you only charge when the saber is turned off. This is because with the saber off the power to the buckpuck is cut off unlike how it would be with a PC for instance. I am not sure that charging with it on would even hurt the buckpuck but I figured better safe than sorry and why charge with it on anyways.

[Darth Animus]

So looking at that diagram... I would use the center negative lead to connect to the puck?

[DarkarNights]

I would wire it up just like Sloth's picture, regardless of the buckpuck's ability, for several reasons. 1) it will allow for the use of a kill key, which helps save battery life when not using the saber. 2) If one day you decide to upgrade to a PC soundboard you won't have to make changes to how the port is wired. 3) If you ever sell your saber and the new owner wants to upgrade it, they won't find something unusual under the hood.

[DarkarNights]

So looking at that diagram... I would use the center negative lead to connect to the puck?

Center negative goes to the battery, Left-hand negative goes to buckpuck, Right-hand positive goes to both battery and buckpuck.

[Strydur]

1) it will allow for the use of a kill key, which helps save battery life when not using the saber

This is not true as the MWS buckpuck setup completely kills the circuit when the switch is off unlike a PC or some other device that has to stay awake enough to sense if the power switch it turned on. But like I said, no reason not to wire it up the way sloth shows.

[Darth Animus]

Ok, I just want to be sure. Where I'm confused is the puck has an R+ and an R- connection, which came with a JST connector pre-attached. (Currently not connected to anything.)

The description says "Recharge Port (R+ and R-) This simply goes straight to the battery. Only charge with switch turned off."

Should I unhook that JST, and wire it up like this? Soldering to the port, but using the screw connectors on the puck?

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac314/darth-animus/puckcharge.jpg

[DarkarNights]

I forgot that the buckpuck had a separate input for recharge port. Eliminate the extra wires going from B+ and B- to the + and - on the recharge port and you have what you need. All you need is R+ and R- going to the port.

[Darth Animus]

Thank you, kind folk of the interweb, you are most kind and helpful!

[DarkarNights]

I could be wrong, but I think R- should be on the ports center - lead.

[Darth Animus]

Ok, so, I wired up the charge port with the center lead going to the R-, and the saber turns on when plugged in. I don't know if this would fry anything, but thankfully it only flickered as I used the wrong charge plug that wouldn't fit. I will go back to standard AA's for now.

[DarkarNights]

Do you mean saber turned itself on upon inserting the charger plug (I can't imagine this)? Or did you mean that it turns on if you press the button while charging? Which you should NEVER do, per the buckpuck's instructions "only charge with switch turned off". You may damage your components by doing that. This is because the way you now have it wired does'nt take advantage of the plug's kill feature (which would be per Sloth's diagram). There's nothing wrong with how you have it wired now, as it's the way Tim designed the MWS puck to be used, just follow the safety warning ;). Also never use a charge plug that doesn't properly fit, because a snug fit is crucial to how these plugs are designed to function. P.S. post up a pic of your wiring just to be sure you have it right.

[Darth Animus]

The saber turned on when I tried to plug it in, (switch was off) but it turns out the port I got at an electronics store is not the same size as the one sold here, so that may be the problem... lesson learned, don't try to mix vendors :P

I had this port laying around because I had lost the retaining nut on another saber port, and the nut on this one fit, so I figured the plug would, as well. Nope. So maybe the correct part would actually work. As far as wiring, it was center negative to R- and + to R+

[DarkarNights]

I think something is wired wrong, that behavior should not occur even with the wrong plug size, because with the switch turned off there should not be a closed circuit supplying any power to the LED. Please get a picture up of your wires, because this is weird and shouldn't be happening and could cause harm to your components if left unfixed.

[Darth Animus]

Sorry its been a couple days, but here are the pics of the wiring.

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac314/darth-animus/Untitled-1.jpg
The Negative is to the Center Pole, the Positive to the, well, Positive.

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac314/darth-animus/Untitled.jpg
The wires go right to the MWS buckpuck in the correct connections.

From what I can tell from the pcb on the puck, wiring in the charge port is basically the same thing as splicing in the wires from the port directly to the battery wires.

[Darth Animus]

Ok, upon acquiring the proper, M (2.1mm) sized port, not N (2.5), things appear to be working correctly with wires just twisted on. Charger light comes on, saber stays off. The wrong port may have been shorting out with the too-large plug.

[Darth Animus]

New development... saber flashes on briefly when inserting plug, then turns off again, and appears to charge normally. Guess thats what I get for using parts from Resistor Hut. Plug seems a little loose, as well, similar to another thread I saw. And if I jiggle it, the saber flickers.

[DarkarNights]

This flickering behavior is happening with the switch in the off position?

[Darth Animus]

yup, switch off. The saber seems to charge fine when the plug is sitting naturally, but any lean towards the edges will turn on the saber, so something is shorting to bypass the switch... i may have to make sure the switch leads aren't touching the inside of the hilt. Or maybe its just a cheap port and the shut off doesnt work properly :P

[DarkarNights]

I don't think it's the port, because I'm pretty sure Tim said that with the switch off no power goes through the buckpuck, just straight to the battery. Sounds like a short is causing the switch of the circuit to close. Do you have the back of the buckpuck insulated so those solder joints can't touch the hilt?

[Silver Serpent]

The recharge port is not wired with a kill-key setup here, so the presence or absence of a plug should have no bearing on the saber. It does sound like a short somewhere on the switch side of the circuit. Can you reproduce the behavior with all of the electronics outside your hilt? I'm guessing that you're wiggling something around when you insert the recharge plug and it causes a short circuit temporarily.

[Darth Animus]

I think I have it.

Guts out, no short. Assembled, short. I isolated the problem to only happening when the pommel is connected. Since I used the radio shack port, it doesnt thread all the way through the pommel insert, as in almost flush with the outside. The plug has to be hitting the insert and making a connection with the outside of the port and powering the saber.

[DarkarNights]

So a short in the recharge port onto the pommel insert is causing the circuit to close? I'm baffled as to how that is even happening. Are you sure that all bare metal at the switch and buckpuck are insulated?

[Darth Animus]

Everything is taped, even the inside of the hilt piece where the switch leads could possibly touch. It only ever happened when the port was in the insert. It might be a cheap/bad switch inside the port.

[DarkarNights]

Well, if it's the only variable left, it must be the culprit. Try taping around the port to shield it from contact?