TNT, a color changing saber with NB v1

[Don Se Wion]

It's a long time I don't post sabers on this forum, but it doesn't mean I've been sitting idle.
Today I want to introduce one of my latest creations: TNT

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/TNT-01.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-01.jpg.html)

This is the personal saber of my fianc?e (and her birthday present) and she chose the name because the plain hilt without the shroud looked like a TNT stick. She is using the saber during her lessons at the Academy and I finally had the time to take some good pictures before becoming too much beaten for showing her off. We designed the saber together, from choosing the MHS parts to the layout of the brass shroud, the black leather strap on the emitter choke is her finalizing touch.

Considering that we support the Academy during special events, I wanted to give her the ability to switch color of the blade when needed since more color variety is always preferred to the academic blue in these cases. Using two separate slider switches it's possible to select blue, red or purple blades. Contrary to what I expected, my fianc?e preferred the shade of purple given by the B/R pair rather than the rB/R. The switches are accessible unscrewing the pommel since we didn't want unexpected color changes using the saber. The soundboard is the lovely Nano Biscotte v1, which is currently the preferred board for the sabers at the Academy for its quality and affordable price.

But, enough of chatting, here are the specs and some glam photos.
Many thanks for checking her out.

SPECS

MHS hilt
Nano Biscotte v1 with Bespin 2 font from Madcow
Three-Cree XP-E with B/rB/r wired for blue, red or purple
Panasonic 18650 battery
Superbass 2W speaker
Custom brass shroud

GLAMS

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-02.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-02.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-03.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-03.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-04.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-04.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-05.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-05.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-06.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-06.jpg.html)
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-07.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-07.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-08.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-08.jpg.html) http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_TNT-09.jpg (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/TNT-09.jpg.html)

[AckAck]

Very nice saber! And I love the idea of color switching like that. I would love to see a wiring diagram for that setup.

[Starwinder]

Nice! Very cool with the setup of having the internal sliding switches to change blade colors ... and with a NB no less!

[Silver Serpent]

Good clean lines, and an excellent polish job. Very nice saber. Keep it up!

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Keep up the good work!

[Evilpancreas]

I'd agree with AckAck, I would be very interested in seeing the wiring diagram for that set-up. Very nice looking saber nonetheless.

[dgdve]

Its always special when you make a saber for a loved one. Terrific build! (way to go thinking outside the box with the switches)

[Don Se Wion]

Sorry, it took me quite a lot to find some spare time to draw the diagram.
The diagram is very simple, I'm showing only the connections to the LEDs since all the other wiring (speaker, switch, recharge port) is pretty standard for the NB v1.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/DonSeWion/TNT/th_NB-tricreee-diagram.png (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/DonSeWion/media/TNT/NB-tricreee-diagram.png.html)

I hope this can help and many thanks for checking it out.
For any other question just ask ;)

In theory one could add a third slider switch and wire the third LED as well.
However, in this case one must remember that only two dies can be lit at the same time to avoid blowing the board.

[AckAck]

Thanks for the diagram! That is what I was thinking it would look like, but it is nice to get it confirmed from someone who has made it work.

[Darth Ryo]

Great build, thanks for sharing the diagram as well :)

[South-Paw Jinn]

Very cool stand, too!

[DeadPuppy]

I love the switches on this and I wanted to try using it for an RGBW, using switches on the RGB.

Might I ask what switches you used?

I'm having difficulties finding a slide switch rated for 1A DC that isn't gigantic...

[Don Se Wion]

Well, I found them in a local supplier of electronics components.
I can tell you that they are just slightly larger that the slider switches commonly used in the MR/Hasbro replica sabers.

Best bet is to check online suppliers and verify the measures before purchase.

[dgregory]

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mountain-Switch/103-5004-EV/?qs=AYcD3oPVBmUFz0/LMqK9Wg==

Try these. They'll take 1 Amp. I've used them on my color shifter: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?16256-D-s-Color-Shifter-with-NB-and-Crystal-Chamber

I put 1 amp through them with no problem. They work great and are easy to mount to a blank PCB.

[Obi1]

This saber is awesome!!! I would like to hear more about how you made the shroud? Was it made from a brass tube from TCSS? Or did you find a local supplier? I might be mistaken, but on one of the pics the shroud has a texture which is more like wood...?

[Don Se Wion]

The shroud is made out of the sink tube from TCSS.
With a disk of sand paper mounted on my press drill I removed the chroming to reveal the brass.
The shroud has been designed with Inkscape and printed on paper, then glued to the brass tube and cut along the lines.
After cutting I refined the lines with files and polished the brass.

[Obi1]

Thanks, you gave me a very good idea. I've also seen, that sanding the tube will reveal the underlying brass (well, I did not know it was brass), and you demonstrated what a skilled Sabersmith can do with that. How did you polish the brass? I'm not an expert when it comes to mechanical works... did you use a Dremel tool?

[Don Se Wion]

First I sanded the brass with very fine sand paper to remove the majority of the scratches.
Then, when the surface was nice to the eye, I used a felt polishing wheel mounted on my press drill with some polish paste.
You should find both easily at any hardware store.

[Elmarco38]

Awesome build! I think I'm gonna try this setup with blue yellow green

[Miraluka]

Love the way you covered the choke in that blade holder. Looks awesome.

[Retrothrust]

Hi, I've been inspired by your idea of a third switch to design my idea. It uses a rgb led (tri rebel star) and runs power through each switch to individual blade colors for manual toggle color changing. The blade runs directly off the battery, (it seems your led's tap directly into the battery as well which makes me question why you're worried about overloading the card) anyway, i'm just not sure about the resistors; Why do you only have one? If I arrange it like the pic I'm attaching, will different light combinations require different resistors? also, here's a link to where I bought the led http://www.luxeonstar.com/any-3-rebel-leds-mounted-on-a-20mm-tri-star-coolbase , I'm not sure how to tell what resistor to get for them.11961

I'm sorry the image is too small to read, It should have been over 1500 pixels wide. Don't know how to fix that.

[Retrothrust]

hopefully this looks better11962

[Svenz0r]

I was looking to do almost the same thing using a DPDT switch so I could swap between a red or blue blade and still have a white led for FoC but now I'm wondering if I should change it up a little so I can mix the red and blue... Decisions, decisions.
Great job on the saber too, looks amazing.

[Don Se Wion]

Retrothrust,

Well, let's say that when you direct drive the LED either from the battery of from the Nano Biscotte you need to properly resistor each LED.
In this build initially I had only one resistor on the red, but later I added a resistor on the blue to avoid false swings on the Nano Biscotte.

Nowadays on NB builds I use resistors for red and blue, only the green is not resistored.
Obviously the resistor depends on the color/version/brand of LED you are using and should be calculated each time.

Looking at your proposed setup, if you wire the LEDs directly from the battery you are going to lose the visual effects provided by the Nano Biscotte.
Spending money for the NB and not using it completely it's a real pity for me.

[Whi-ja]

I kept looking at tht hilt to find the switches, as most people I've seen use this method of LED selection have surface-mounted on the hilt.
I like your placement of the selector slider switches inside the chassis.

[Retrothrust]

Retrothrust,

Well, let's say that when you direct drive the LED either from the battery of from the Nano Biscotte you need to properly resistor each LED.
In this build initially I had only one resistor on the red, but later I added a resistor on the blue to avoid false swings on the Nano Biscotte.

Nowadays on NB builds I use resistors for red and blue, only the green is not resistored.
Obviously the resistor depends on the color/version/brand of LED you are using and should be calculated each time.

Looking at your proposed setup, if you wire the LEDs directly from the battery you are going to lose the visual effects provided by the Nano Biscotte.
Spending money for the NB and not using it completely it's a real pity for me.

----------------------------------------------------------

I was more concerned with sound and color changing than flashing, but since the nb's are still sold out I'm just going to build a silent color changer first.

I think I found a way to find the right resistors, but I'm still not sure if cutting power to one led will increase power to the other(s) enough to burn them. Have you noticed any fluctuation through testing or otherwise when changing colors?

[Don Se Wion]

Since the 3 LEDs will be connected in parallel to the battery, disconnecting one of them will not increase the current flowing through the other two.
The only effect will be that the battery will provide less current, lasting a bit longer.

Because the LEDs are in parallel, each LED will draw the current it needs from the battery like if it was connected alone.
The resistors are there exactly to regulate this current and avoid to burn them.

Regarding the resistors you better calculate them each time, but just for reference with Cree XP-E2 and NB I normally use 0.5 Ohm 2W for the blue, 2 Ohm 2W for the red and nothing for the green. These resistors values may or may not change if you use different LEDs, depending on their specifications, you always need to check the datasheets.

[D'Tan]

love the purple