How to get a very bright crystal ??!

[Arashi LV426]

Hello to all. I am planning my second lightsaber that would like to accomplish with its crystal chamber quite elaborate and fascinating to watch . I ask if anyone of you who used two or three LEDs ( in parallel or in series , I do not know ... ) , to make it very bright crystal. An example for all : the crystal chambers of SlothFurnace!!
I would be very happy if there were, to understand how to carry out the cabling .
I forgot: I would use a PC V3.5 or CF.
Thanks a lot!

[Zahc Zi Phan]

Well if you are going to be using an RGB for your main blade LED (like a Tri-Cree), then a neat way would be to use a 5mm RGB led and wire it up to the PWM signals on the CF/PC, that way the crystal would be lit using three LEDs and would mirror whatever color your blade currently is. It would change and pulse with the blade and be pretty bright.

[ColdVizjerei]

Are 5mm led's very bright? I dug up some amber 5mm led's I had lying around and they were pretty dim :(

[Zahc Zi Phan]

The 5mm RGBs are usually pretty bright. The ambers and reds are always going to seem dimmer, and blues/greens brighter. Think of it this way, there are three LEDs inside that casing instead of one, and they are often combined to achieve a certain color... The clear ones are even brighter than the diffused ones, but some say they don't mix colors as well. You can also find 5mm RGB "superbright" LEDs that are supposed to be very bright. We shall see. I ordered a few clear RGB superbrights, and they are being delivered tomorrow. When I can get them soldered up properly, I will let you know what I think.

[Miraluka]

This has come up a few times recently. Some 5mm LEDs are dim. The first ones I ever bought didn't impress me, they actually discouraged me. But you might be surprised by how bright some of them can be.
I don't have any 5mm RGBs so I can't comment on those, but it sounds like Zahc has that covered, anyways.

The high/ultra bright 5mms I've bought are more than suitable for a crystal chamber. The quartz is noticeably illuminated under bright fluorescent lighting and camera flash.
I don't have good photos right now cause I'm at work but the saber in my signature is using a 5mm orange LED in the chamber, if that helps.

[Arashi LV426]

Thanks for your information !
Allow me to use a photo of Slothfurnace to make you see what I mean to ask you regarding multiple LEDs on the crystal .
Can you tell me how to be wired ? Has anyone done something similar ?

11730

[Greenie]

I cut a single white die from a 12v led strip, normally used for accent lighting in the home

11734

White die with green filter, 3.7v li-ion and no resistor, here's the result

11731

[ColdVizjerei]

Got it, seems like not all LED's are created equal.

Also, isn't it a good practice to resistor the 5mm LED? Or does it depend on battery/specs of the LED/etc?

[Greenie]

Yeah. Good practice would suggest always using a resistor but the difference between battery voltage and the forward voltage of a White led is nominal so I'll take that chance. Plus I have more of the same LEDs so if it pops I'll replace it and add a resistor and learn my lesson :p

[Miraluka]

Here's that orange LED under a close-up camera flash
11732

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Got it, seems like not all LED's are created equal.

Also, isn't it a good practice to resistor the 5mm LED? Or does it depend on battery/specs of the LED/etc?

It depends ™ on the specs of the specific LED.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Hello to all. I am planning my second lightsaber that would like to accomplish with its crystal chamber quite elaborate and fascinating to watch . I ask if anyone of you who used two or three LEDs ( in parallel or in series , I do not know ... ) , to make it very bright crystal. An example for all : the crystal chambers of SlothFurnace!!
I would be very happy if there were, to understand how to carry out the cabling .
I forgot: I would use a PC V3.5 or CF.
Thanks a lot!

You can create a bright crystal chamber with one 5mm LED, and a good crystal with the appropriate properties (assuming you pick a high quality LED).

[Arashi LV426]

Ok , I'll do some tests using LEDs with different properties .
BUT what I can not understand is how it is wired a sound board Plecter with 3 LEDs that focus on a single crystal as in the example I posted! All this because I want to make one as well!:(;)

[Miraluka]

What is it about it that you don't understand?
You posted a photo of the way it was physically done with the 3 LEDs at the base of the crystal chamber. PCs and CFs both have enough accent pads to accommodate the design and it could even be done on an NB if you really needed it.
In a PC or CF each LED would just be run from an accent pad to LED + and the LED - back to the board negative/ground. If I was doing multiple accents on an NB I would just run the extras parallel with the blade with appropriate resistors.
That help at all?

But again, I think using three LEDs for a crystal would probably be more hassle than it's worth. The furthest I would ever be likely to go would be one LED at the bottom of the chamber and one at the top. But that being said, I still find 1 LED to be satisfactory.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Ok , I'll do some tests using LEDs with different properties .
BUT what I can not understand is how it is wired a sound board Plecter with 3 LEDs that focus on a single crystal as in the example I posted! All this because I want to make one as well!:(;)

Arashi, I think you are missing the point. Without giving away any of Slothfurnace's secrets, as I remember he tested what you sawn (and that picture is just a bench test) because his design didn't allow for what we are recommending that you do, which is use a good 5mm directly underneath the crystal.

[Arashi LV426]

Sorry for my bad English! Moreover, translating your post, even one word mistranslated, I do not understand the whole meaning of the sentence. Thank you again for your suggestions. It really is not my intention to discover some secrets, I imagined that someone had created more than a saber with a crystal illuminated by three LEDs. What I wondered was whether the three LEDs are all connected to a single accent board LEDs, or each in a different pad, or in some other place on the card. Unfortunately I have little experience and I have to understand the basics (which you are now banality!).;)