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vortextwist
11-20-2006, 07:12 PM
My brother and I have a disagreement on this subject. I like the cleanliness of led but he likes EL. Could someone give me a unbiased pros and cons of each?

Firebird21
11-20-2006, 07:19 PM
This is a start... Linky (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/Scripts/elvrsled.asp)


I'm partial to LED.

vortextwist
11-20-2006, 07:26 PM
Ive already read that page, but basicly I was wandering about durability in dueling, and cost, sorry I didn't specify.

Firebird21
11-20-2006, 07:37 PM
This will be 2 pages before you have enough info to be "Unbiased".


EL is, IMHO, Old Tech. It does provide an even amount of light throughout the blade and you can change the color just by changing the blade, but you can get a white LED and change the color of an LED with filters much cheaper than with one blade per color for EL.

LEDs are generally considered much brighter than EL with most colors.

LEDs have nothing in the blade. Therefore, nothing to break. (not that EL is easy to damage)

LED makes for an excellent flashlight in an emergency.

Also; from what I gather, EL's rattle.


All this info is biased towards LED. Like I said, I prefer LED.

vortextwist
11-20-2006, 07:41 PM
Right Right

Well lets get someone whos biased twards EL and see there side.

Thanks for your time

987654321a
11-20-2006, 07:50 PM
What firebird said, I agree, LED is way better than EL in my opinion, and also EL can be damaged you can damage the wires in the EL wire and therefore ruining it and having black spots.

james3
11-20-2006, 08:28 PM
My brother and I have a disagreement on this subject. I like the cleanliness of led but he likes EL. Could someone give me a unbiased pros and cons of each?

Well bud I can give ya the fairest comparison as I can. I will not say unbiased but being as that I equally enjoy and love both EL and LED tech I will share withya what I can.

EL- pros: consitant even blade. VERY easy hilt internals allow for LOTS of design options Requires LOTS of voltage but not amps. Little 12 volt alkalines work well with these. You can change colors in 2 seconds

cons: Wire in the blade can make for a heavy blade. Wire MAY pop off solder connection. other then Lime and Aqua, will be considered not as bright as LED Typically requires a more advanced knowledge of electronics.

LED- Pro's: Easy to work with, very bright. can be used as a flashlight in an emergency, can get the blade darn near weightless.

cons: Battery hogs! These need a TON of current. several different driver options avaliable to compensate but at a price. Need to at least have a little sinking. How much is highly up for debate.

vortextwist
11-20-2006, 08:32 PM
Thank you. I Got a MR vader hilt coming and plan on converting it to LED. Or scavenging the parts I need to Finish my heiland I have coming too. Not sure yet what I need for the MR, Or the Heiland.

Lord Maul
11-20-2006, 09:34 PM
to convert the MR all you need is
tims awesome conversion kit
soldering iron
led w/ optics
a tiny bit of wire
basic soldering skills

james3
11-21-2006, 06:52 AM
Thank you. I Got a MR vader hilt coming and plan on converting it to LED. Or scavenging the parts I need to Finish my heiland I have coming too. Not sure yet what I need for the MR, Or the Heiland.

The Heiland will take a little more but you will like it better in the long run. The FX Vader will require a little finesse but it can be done. Will this be your first conversion?

vortextwist
11-21-2006, 02:19 PM
yes, It will actually be my first attempt at even makeing an Saber.

Wordsquirrel
12-03-2006, 12:35 PM
Hey I too have a saber comming, and I just want to get it all strait before I order parts: I have the Mace Windu MR saber en route, so I need from this store:

-The Conversion Kit (Mace specific)
-The LED itself
-The Lense
-THe Lense holder

-NO complete blade?
-NO electronics kit??

Perhaps you see my confusion - I don't want to have to order things seperately, I want to get it all at once. Please help, thanks.

vortextwist
12-03-2006, 12:47 PM
yes you will need the conversion kit +
led 3 watt
lenz holder
lenz

You can use the stock blade by sanding down the end a bit.
You are using the original electronics and sound from your Mace saber.

I beleive that is all you need, I will be getting my Vader conversion kit Mon.

xwingband
12-03-2006, 12:48 PM
Hey I too have a saber comming, and I just want to get it all strait before I order parts: I have the Mace Windu MR saber en route, so I need from this store:

-The Conversion Kit (Mace specific)
-The LED itself
-The Lense
-THe Lense holder

-NO complete blade?
-NO electronics kit??

Perhaps you see my confusion - I don't want to have to order things seperately, I want to get it all at once. Please help, thanks.

Yup all correct... You can reuse the MR blade. Just about any blade is better, but you don't need another one.

No electronics kit either... the board of the MR will run it fine. Check out the tutorial here.

Wordsquirrel
12-03-2006, 12:49 PM
Ah, but here's the crux of the problem:
My saber comes w/ a "slightly used" blade, and I want a superior one that can handle bashing around. Which one do I got with from this site to minimize cost?

vortextwist
12-03-2006, 12:54 PM
right here http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=32

james3
12-03-2006, 01:54 PM
You can save a few bucks by getting the blade components and building it yourself but for the money, a complete blade is the way to go.

Also, it is typical for TCSS blades to need to be sanded a bit to fit in to MR blade holders, MR blades normally are loose in TCSS holders and some times even need a small bir of tape.