Custom RGBW driver--couple questions

[rexxar]

Hi all, I'm an electronics engineering student. My brother who lead the local saber group asked if I could come up with an RGBW driver board, like the one UltraSabers sells. I did, and it needs some more testing, but it's just about ready to go. However, I'm not really into sabers, so I have a few questions as to their construction.

So far, I've only worked with UltraSabers, and they seem to be pretty much the same construction; 7/16" hole for the button, and a removable housing/lens/heatsing combo. Is that standard fare for sabers, or are there other standard designs that I need to consider? If the LED housing is standard, then I need to find a source for one that has at least five holes for wires, since they sometimes only have two.

The whole thing is designed to be a DIY upgrade kit--no soldering, just plug it in. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Welcome to the Forums.

The vendor you mentioned isn't really discussed in these parts. As far as parts go, you can see what is sold in our store, and see if any of that would fit your purposes. Wether or not it would fit in US's stuff, I couldn't say for sure.

[rexxar]

The vendor you mentioned isn't really discussed in these parts.

Understandable. Probably for the same reasons I'm posting here instead of there.


As far as parts go, you can see what is sold in our store, and see if any of that would fit your purposes. Wether or not it would fit in US's stuff, I couldn't say for sure.

I suppose I worded that wrongly. I was asking more if sabers generally had a similar construction. I really only asked about US because that's the only thing I've actually had in my hands so far. I did look in your store before I posted, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I went back and found a list of all the heatsink modules you sell. Looking at the variety just from you, I don't think there's any way to get around having the user solder the LED themselves. I suppose I should have realized there's too much variety to come up with an easy generic solution. I feel pretty dumb now, actually.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Yeah, everybody is going to do things a little differently as far as setup goes: different LED solutions with different requirements, different battery solutions with different output voltages, a lot more switch choices than US gives you, and then the saber body can be configured however you want, so the innards can be placed in a variety of positions depending on what the body pieces call for.

I can tell you however that all of the TCSS heatsinks I have used come standard with 6 wiring holes in them!

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

There will almost always be some soldering required for lightsaber building, unless you are going for the most basic of setups.

[rexxar]

Yeah, everybody is going to do things a little differently as far as setup goes: different LED solutions with different requirements, different battery solutions with different output voltages, a lot more switch choices than US gives you, and then the saber body can be configured however you want, so the innards can be placed in a variety of positions depending on what the body pieces call for.

I noticed that after spending some time in the store o_o

I hadn't realized that people use lit switches, which I think is pretty awesome. I need to tweak my design to support that, but it's not like I have anything better to do with my evenings.


There will almost always be some soldering required for lightsaber building, unless you are going for the most basic of setups.

I think soldering is a good skill to have, but a lot of people seem to be intimidated by it.

[Kouri]

Basic saber construction is essentially a tube with varying IDs:


Opening for a blade (Typically ~1" ID to accept a 1" blade)
Area behind blade for LED unit

If one solid 1" ID tube, LED unit is held in place via set screw or sandwiched between blade and switch

If using TCSS blade holders, LED unit rests inside blade holder, held in place by design of the MHS system. ID behind LED can vary between 1.15"-1.25" (not counting chokes)
Body of Hilt housing electronics. Depending on the build, ID typically varies between 1"-1.25"
Some way to seal up the rear end, typically a screw-on pommel. Vented if sound needs to escape.
Holes of varying sizes drilled into the hilt for switch(es)


There are niche builds with 3/4"-7/8" blades made to fit custom designs or exacting replicas, but basically make sure your driver fits into a 1" for maximum compatability (heck, you could build a saber body out of 1" PVC pipe)


I don't think you're going to have any solder-free options if you want to drop the driver into a pre-built saber. That said, wiring the thing with JST connectors compatible with TCSS' Modular Wiring System (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Modular-Wiring-System-C82.aspx) would make it so an end-user could gut his/her saber and replace the internals with plug-and-play parts.

[JD8a27]

It might be overwhelming at first, but I found Madcow's tutorial's to be very helpful (along with the community threads). Soldering seems intimidating but practice makes perfect ;)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3wZvFoDBm8K8zVjaG7CaGQ Check out these vids!
MTFBWY!

[rexxar]

@Kouri Using the JST connectors is a good idea, I was actually planning to change connectors anyway because I hate the ones I'm using now. I just need to find out exactly which type TCSS uses. Let me ask you though, my plan was to replace the main latching switch with a momentary, but it looks like some people use a latching for main power, and a momentary to control AV stuff? Is it worth adding another (optional) connector for that?

@JD8a27 Soldering is part of my profession (and is helping put me through college right now), but thanks anyway ;) Like you said, it can be intimidating for some, but I think it's a good skill to have. Especially if you're into stuff involving DIY electronics like this.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Let me ask you though, my plan was to replace the main latching switch with a momentary, but it looks like some people use a latching for main power, and a momentary to control AV stuff? Is it worth adding another (optional) connector for that?

I usually just use a kill key in the recharge port to cut off the main power, but you could use an extra latching switch if you wanted?

[Kouri]

I just ran a search for JST connectors on one of the chinese wholesale sites and found a bundle that was compatible with the MWS components I bought.

As for switches, I think the more common scenario for two-switch sabers is when using one of the higher-end soundcards. There's a momentary/latching switch to signal the power-up/down of the blade, and an auxiliary momentary switch for color-selection, blaster block, clash, etc. Cutting off power for long periods of time is simple disconnecting the batteries, or - as Cire pointed out - installing a kill-key-compatible recharge port.

So no, unless your driver has some function aside from on/off (cycling colors, flashing/pulsing), I don't think you'd need to worry about throwing in another switch connector.

[rexxar]

As for switches, I think the more common scenario for two-switch sabers is when using one of the higher-end soundcards. There's a momentary/latching switch to signal the power-up/down of the blade, and an auxiliary momentary switch for color-selection, blaster block, clash, etc. Cutting off power for long periods of time is simple disconnecting the batteries, or - as Cire pointed out - installing a kill-key-compatible recharge port.

So no, unless your driver has some function aside from on/off (cycling colors, flashing/pulsing), I don't think you'd need to worry about throwing in another switch connector.

That's what I thought. My board does color changing and stuff. It has an ugly but workable PC app to set up profiles and whatnot. If I ever have time to write the code for it, it'll have sound as well.

The way the power supply is set up, I wouldn't have to change anything other than add a connector to support a second switch. The board has built in charging over USB, but an external port with a kill key would probably work. I'm trying to make it as versatile as I can.