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THX
11-23-2006, 10:46 PM
Hello,

This forum has been quite useful in disassembling my Vader Force FX blade. Unfortunately my saber was in an accident and folded a few inches from the hilt. This effectively turned off the lights from the break up. I read the disassembly guide and sure enough, the LED ladded snapped at the fold. I attempted to repair by soldering 2 wires from each side of the LED at the break point but all this did was power up the additional LED.

I also tried soldering a lead to the little resistor to the right of the LED with no effect. The blade turns on still but only to the break.

Any ideas? I saw the kits on this site but for that price I can simply buy a new Force FX - plus I REALLY dig the LED blade.

Is this something I could fix fairly easily?

Thanks for your time and suggestions.

THX

xwingband
11-24-2006, 01:41 AM
Where are you getting $45 new sabers? :P For never breaking again I think the conversion is worth it.

The "ladder" is multi-layered. That allows it to light up in banks. It lights up 8 banks of LEDs in sequence.

If it was bent in half then it's pretty much borked and unless you are a solder god it just won't work the same again, sorry.

Firebird21
11-24-2006, 06:23 AM
If it was bent in half then it's pretty much borked and unless you are a solder god it just won't work the same again, sorry.


Another highly technical term.


:wink:

THX
11-24-2006, 01:56 PM
Well it was used but in great shape when I bought it for under $30. So I figured I'd just look around for another. Bummer too - the blade bent and I was able to Dremmel off the broken portion, re-drill the holes and shorten the blade (about 4 inches). Turned out really well. If only it lit up. :)

Spencer_P
11-26-2006, 05:50 PM
You might be able to install a new LED strip. Try contacting UltraSWG (you can find him in the Memberlist); he'll probably have some spares.

Jedi-Loreen
11-26-2006, 06:50 PM
But how would he intall a new LED strip if he's shortened the blade tube? :?

Did you forget about that part?

Spencer_P
11-26-2006, 07:06 PM
Actually, no; I just figured THX could cut four inches off the top off the strip. Of course, if cutting off the top LEDs breaks the connection for the whole strip, then my idea is no good.

Firebird21
11-26-2006, 07:22 PM
Actually, no; I just figured THX could cut four inches off the top off the strip. Of course, if cutting off the top LEDs breaks the connection for the whole strip, then my idea is no good.


I had the same thought... And the same reservations.

Jedi-Loreen
11-26-2006, 07:44 PM
You can't usually just cut off part of a circuit board with out making a return path for the current and/or voltage.

If the strip just ends, then I don't think that would work.

Firebird21
11-26-2006, 07:45 PM
I thought the LEDs did that...

vortextwist
11-26-2006, 07:45 PM
I would just convert it over with tims kit. It won't cost that much more than it would to buy or fix what ya got. plus like x wing said, it won't break again with tims kit.

Jedi-Loreen
11-26-2006, 07:49 PM
I thought the LEDs did that...

Hmm, maybe you are right.


I would just convert it over with tims kit. It won't cost that much more than it would to buy or fix what ya got. plus like x wing said, it won't break again with tims kit.

That was suggested. He already said he didn't want to do that.

Pirate King
11-27-2006, 06:11 AM
He could get a new strip and one of tim's stock fx blades.

Eandori
05-24-2007, 09:25 AM
I just had 3 of my MR blades break, and fixed all of them with no money required. I'm already pretty good at soldering and circuit debug, so the hardest part for me was getting the durn thing disassembled.

Like the others said, the circuit board inside is multi-layered. Meaning there are electrical layers embedded into the soft-white board the LED's are soldered to. There is not 8 sections though, there appears to be 6 sections from what I see.

In my blades, the board did not break entirely, but traces in it did break. I fixed mine by bridging the gaps with small gauge wire with white cover. For a specific LED that would not turn on, I soldered the wire to the 2-4 LED power and ground surrounding it, but making sure not to short 2 of the 6 sections together. In short, all of my MR blades work again, and in a sense some of them might even be more damage resistant now because there are redundant current paths to the same places.

In your case, if you broke the PCB entirely then you have to solder back probably 6-7 traces (meaning make 12 to 14 solder joints). There are up to 7 traces because there is the common positive rail, and 6 ground rails for the 6 different sections that light up. If you solder those, I would recommend staggering the solder joints so you don't have one big lump of wires that will no longer fit into the tube.

Another thing I did on mine...

In my MR mace Windu, I removed the red diffuser tube (which made the blue LED's purple overall). I wanted a brighter blue more then a dimmer purple. Since there was some space gap to make up, I took ziplock sandwich bags, cut off the zip seal, then taped/wrapped 5 of those bags around the LED ladder. Not only did that new layer diffuse the light EVEN MORE then normal (a good thing) but it also gave some impact protection for when I smash the blade against something.

Since your tube is bent and you need to cut off a bit of length, you will have to be very tricky about how you access those 7 power rails. I would imagine that you'll probably end up running a few wires all the way up the blade until it hits the nodes for those higher LED sections. Since it may be too hard to access a buried layer of electrical trace in the soft white circuit board on the LED ladder.

Good luck, eer... I guess I should say... May the Force be with you!

Barmic Rin
05-24-2007, 09:32 AM
I'd just lux it up. It'd save time, expense & alot of swearing!

I love my stock MR Vader, but if I can pick up a second one for cheap then it's getting Tims kit forced down it's throat!
My ROTJ Luke is getting the treatment too!

Talk about digging up an old topic! :wink:

Eandori
05-24-2007, 09:55 AM
I'd just lux it up. It'd save time, expense & alot of swearing!
That's always an option yes, but it requires shipping time, money, research to learn what he needs and how to do it, and the time to do all of this.

The option I listed above requires nearly no money, still requires some research and time investment, yet might be doable with only the supplies he might have at home. That's what it was for me, I fixed my 3 broken MR's with no money or shipping wait times required.

Don't get me wrong, I'm STILL looking into building a Lux based saber, but I'm going to take my time on that one and build up something I'm really happy with.

I just wanted to let him know he has other options without shipping or spending $

Barmic Rin
05-24-2007, 10:22 AM
I'm not saying which is or isn't the right way to go about it, it's what works for the individual.
My MHS with Buttered Toast has cost me over $400 SO FAR.
Some people on here would choke at that much being spent, others have spent much more. It's what you want done with your saber is all that counts.
IMHO I'd prefer to lux it for the fact of knowing I had some contribution to the end result of the saber instead of just 'picking one of the shelf'.