Battery question for PC

[VibeKnight2012]

In the description for the Petit Crouton it says:

"Power supply : 5.5 to 11 V / 2.5A (with the High-power LED). 2 li-ion cells (18650 or 14500) batteries recommended."

My question is this. 18650 is used in the name of both 3.7V and 7.4V batteries. With the 5.5 to 11 V (at the beginning of the power supply requirements stated for PC), does that mean a 7.4V battery is needed? It was just a tad confusing, and I wanted to make sure before I made a purchase.

[VibeKnight2012]

For clarification, and to save from any scolding, the . after (with the High-power LED) threw me off and I wasn't sure if "2 li-ion" and so one were a part of the previous statement.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

In the description for the Petit Crouton it says:

"Power supply : 5.5 to 11 V / 2.5A (with the High-power LED). 2 li-ion cells (18650 or 14500) batteries recommended."

My question is this. 18650 is used in the name of both 3.7V and 7.4V batteries. With the 5.5 to 11 V (at the beginning of the power supply requirements stated for PC), does that mean a 7.4V battery is needed? It was just a tad confusing, and I wanted to make sure before I made a purchase.

For "normal" operations, you would need the 7.4V battery pack. 14500 and 18650 are sizes of a battery cell. One cell is 3.7V, 2 would be 7.4V. The 18650 7.4V pack is pretty big, you may want to go with a smaller 7.4V pack.

[Machinimax]

For "normal" operations, you would need the 7.4V battery pack. 14500 and 18650 are sizes of a battery cell. One cell is 3.7V, 2 would be 7.4V. The 18650 7.4V pack is pretty big, you may want to go with a smaller 7.4V pack.

That being the case, a 7.4V 18500 pack would be a great compromise.

[Obi1]

The PC3.0 runs off from a single 3.7V 18650 as well (alas I do not know if that was true for the earlier versions...), provided the voltage regulator is bypassed by simply removing it and bridging it. If it makes sense to use the 7.4V or the 3.7V depends strongly on your setup i.e. the type and connection of LEDs you wanna use.
I use currently the 3.7V supplying because I have an RGBW module from Cree and for all dice 3.7V is enough and I do not want to drive multiple of the same color. It has the positive side effect, that in most cases you do not need to take care about the resistors ;-)

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

The PC3.0 runs off from a single 3.7V 18650 as well (alas I do not know if that was true for the earlier versions...), provided the voltage regulator is bypassed by simply removing it and bridging it. If it makes sense to use the 7.4V or the 3.7V depends strongly on your setup i.e. the type and connection of LEDs you wanna use.
I use currently the 3.7V supplying because I have an RGBW module from Cree and for all dice 3.7V is enough and I do not want to drive multiple of the same color. It has the positive side effect, that in most cases you do not need to take care about the resistors ;-)

Not everyone knows how to or has the skill to "hack" the PC3.0 to use the 3.7V option. ;) Just a reminder most new people here are "new" to the hobby as well.

[Obi1]

True, but it opens up the way to some nice side effects. BTW, I also would not have been so bold to do it without the description in the user manual, and I was showering sweat by the time I cleanly removed the part...

[RavenXp]

True, but it opens up the way to some nice side effects. BTW, I also would not have been so bold to do it without the description in the user manual, and I was showering sweat by the time I cleanly removed the part...
Which is why for my saber I decided on a 7.4v solution, among other factors. Modding a board isn't an easy task, and prefer not to unless absolutely needed. Especially on a $130 board.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Plus, if you do decide to do the "hack", you do lose some sound capability.

[Obi1]

Plus, if you do decide to do the "hack", you do lose some sound capability.

Huh, this notion/fear has been nagging at me for quite some time and now you helped me give it a name. I always wondered why my first custom saber with an NB had the same loadness as a Hasbro, and my saber with PC3.0 did not get louder. It stays to reason, that a 3.7V PWM signal will not have the same power as a 5V signal, so even if I cram in a 2W Speaker, possible only something slightly above 1W will come out.
My only confort is, that all in all it's still quite loud how it is, it never fails to scare my wife if I ignite :twisted:

By the way, does someone know what kind of speaker a Hasbro FX has? I know that Ultimates have 0.25W, but the FX's are significantly louder.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Huh, this notion/fear has been nagging at me for quite some time and now you helped me give it a name. I always wondered why my first custom saber with an NB had the same loadness as a Hasbro, and my saber with PC3.0 did not get louder. It stays to reason, that a 3.7V PWM signal will not have the same power as a 5V signal, so even if I cram in a 2W Speaker, possible only something slightly above 1W will come out.
My only confort is, that all in all it's still quite loud how it is, it never fails to scare my wife if I ignite :twisted:

By the way, does someone know what kind of speaker a Hasbro FX has? I know that Ultimates have 0.25W, but the FX's are significantly louder.

One of the main pitfalls of the 3.7V "hack" is that the audio amp doesn't get all the juice it needs. I'm guessing some of you didn't know/ realize that. Every "savings" comes with a price, people - more runtime & some space saved, less sound.

Trust me, I had to think long and hard about this when using the "hacked" version for an upcoming build.

Besides, it's bad enough when Padawans try to blind themselves, even worse when they try to deafen themselves as well. :rolleyes:

I have no idea what the Hasbro FX sabers use for speakers.

[Silver Serpent]

Good resonance is essential for getting performance out of your speaker. How you install the speaker in your hilt can make a bigger difference than the speaker you use.

If you've got some time to read, then I recommend going through this thread: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?2539-Resonance-let-s-get-this-hammered-out!

[Obi1]

Wow, thanks Silver Serpent. I just started to read all that stuff but I already got some ideas for the next build.

Actually so far I did not so much study the interdependency of sound quality/loudness and the resonant chamber, I just took Erv's descrption from NB or PC and tried to have a pommel with grille and at least 1" from speaker front to the pommel grille. I did not consider the ro ombehind the speaker so far, although isolating it tightly might throw up some problems with all that other parts littering the inside of the hilt. Anyway, so far for the "home Entertainment" I'm quite satisfied with the sound. I was just wandering how come that a Hasbro has the same loudness (not the quality though) as an NB or PC. It became an even bigger mistery now after reading some of the entries in the link, because the removable blade Hasbros definitely do not have any room behind or in front of the speaker (behind is the battery holder and in front is open air), so I'm surprised they still sound remarkably well.