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JakeSoft
09-24-2015, 06:54 PM
Hasbro is out with a new line of cheapie lightsabers for 2015: The "Blade Builder" series is here! I find this branding unintentionally appropriate since many of these will be stripped apart by saber smiths looking to add sound to their custom builds.

What I present here is one possible way to take it apart to get those wanted parts without breaking them in the process. I'm sure there are other ways and probably even better ways, but this is how I did it. Hopefully knowing what it looks like inside will help others come up with their own ways or improve on the process.

First, a few words on safety: I wore safety glasses and gloves while doing the most aggressive parts of this procedure. I suggest you do the same. The edges of the plastic can be sharp and you never know when a piece of it may break off and go flying at your face or slice up your fingers.

Ok, now that's out of the way so let's get started.

I started with a Luke ROTJ version.
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I took some channel-locks and twisted the plastic collar piece at the bottom of the hilt. Mine snapped off pretty easy, but make sure not to be wimpy about applying more force (use the Force!) if it's needed.
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Next, I stuck a flat head screwdriver in the bottom and wedged it between the inner and outer tubes that make up the bottom of the hilt. I was able to crack it open pretty far with one screwdriver, but ultimately I used two to pry it open. Combined with gloved hands, I was able to get it to crack all the way open. Part of the rib section eventually snapped enough.
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The sound board is near the top of the hilt as I expected it to be (that's why I started working from the bottom and moved up while cracking it open). The switch will fall out of the slot as you open it and the speaker is mounted on the opposite side (on the right in this picture).
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Here, I removed the single screw holding the board in. It's pretty tinny, so you'll need a smallish Philips head screwdriver.
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Now the board should just hang free on the black and red wires.
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Next, I snip the wires for the speaker (green) and the red and black power wires with cutters. That freed the board.
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If you want the speaker, pull it out of the other side.
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The wires:
Black = Battery Negative
Red = Battery Positive
Yellow (x2) = Activation Switch
Green (x2) = Speaker (16 Ohm speaker is expected! Be careful!)

The LED is soldered to the top of the board. Positive is on the right, negative is on the left. You can solder wires right to the little solder blobs on the board or you can snip off the LED and solder wires to the nubs there if you'd prefer. The positive side is always high while the negative side only goes low when the saber is activated, so when using the FET trick, you'll want a P-channel FET.

I have no idea how much current the board will supply; I used the FET/Transistor trick to power my LED.

After this, it's pretty much just copy-paste from the other cheapie board guides on this forum. Wire it up the same as any of those and enjoy.

Here is a video showing how they operate in one of my custom sabers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62M7nJ5YeHY

BZWingZero
09-25-2015, 06:11 AM
Great teardown. Looks like a very similar board to the Hasbro 2010 boards.

Mind sharing a link to your FET/Transistor trick?

Silver Serpent
09-25-2015, 07:03 AM
By FET/Transistor trick, I'm assuming he means the one in this thread: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?10288-2010-Electronic-Lightsaber-w-DVD-Tutorial

JakeSoft
09-25-2015, 07:06 AM
By FET/Transistor trick, I'm assuming he means the one in this thread: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?10288-2010-Electronic-Lightsaber-w-DVD-Tutorial

Yup, that's the idea.

BZWingZero
09-25-2015, 11:53 AM
Ah, so just using a mosfet as switch.

SithArts
10-04-2015, 01:40 PM
What do I need to change the speaker to the premium in the store? A resistor I'm guessing?

JakeSoft
10-05-2015, 05:20 PM
I think all of the speakers that the shop sells are 8 Ohm, so if you add an 8 ohm resistor to one of the speaker wires then it'll probably work OK with the speakers that the shop sells. 8 Ohms + 8 Ohms = 16 Ohms in series.

mccparker11
10-12-2015, 12:55 AM
Hey everybody. I'm working on my first saber with sound and I have looked over the old hasbro board diagrams but my electronics terminology is fairly week. Can anybody tell my what p-channel FET means in regards to using the transistor on this new board. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

JakeSoft
10-12-2015, 07:26 PM
When using a FET as a switch, a P-channel MOSFET will turn "on" when it's gate pin is pulled low (negative). An N-channel MOSFET will turn "on" when it's gate pin is driven high (positive).

Darth Formidus
11-05-2015, 09:27 AM
Will wiring in a speaker from the store improve the sound quality from this board? Or is there a way to make it louder?

JakeSoft
11-05-2015, 08:29 PM
Will wiring in a speaker from the store improve the sound quality from this board? Or is there a way to make it louder?

You might see a marginal improvement in sound quality. However, since the board is expecting a 16 ohm speaker, better add an 8 ohm resistor to be safe. As far as making it louder, I'd expect a good resonance chamber is what the doctor ordered. Other than that, I don't have any ideas that aren't risky.

Darth Formidus
11-09-2015, 10:01 AM
Ok I'm getting ready to do my first wiring today sometime. I've put together a wiring schematic based on everything I've read online here in the forum. 12347 Also, do I need a latching or momentary switch as the one that was wired in seems to be a momentary. Thanks for the help.

Silver Serpent
11-09-2015, 10:32 AM
If the previous switch was momentary, the new switch will need to be momentary as well.

I don't see any issues with your diagram, other than the fact that you don't need a 5v regulator with a 3.7v power source. The regulator is designed to cut a higher voltage down to 5v, it does not raise a lower voltage up to 5v.

I don't believe the regulator will give you any issues or hurt anything, it's just unnecessary.

Darth Formidus
11-09-2015, 01:17 PM
Thank you. Wasn't sure why it was needed but it was in the other diagrams so I put it in schematic anyway. I didn't want to fry the board. Will post pic or video when I'm done.

CET
11-12-2015, 05:41 PM
Just got mine today. Got a good deal on the Target website, $15 each. 12358

mcjewpants
12-02-2015, 11:26 PM
Ok I'm getting ready to do my first wiring today sometime. I've put together a wiring schematic based on everything I've read online here in the forum. 12347 Also, do I need a latching or momentary switch as the one that was wired in seems to be a momentary. Thanks for the help.

What resistor did you use with your 12w LED setup?

JakeSoft
12-03-2015, 06:48 PM
Just got mine today. Got a good deal on the Target website, $15 each. 12358

Do they all sound identical? I think I read somewhere that only the Kylo Ren saber has a different sound font.

CET
12-04-2015, 08:49 AM
Yes, except for the led color, the sound boards and fonts are all identical.

utlonghorns416
12-31-2015, 08:56 PM
I have been looking for these all sold out :(

Ferbru Wiltem
01-03-2016, 07:34 PM
I have been looking for these all sold out :(
I got mine at Walmart.com. Comes in on Tuesday.

Inf4mous
01-09-2016, 12:03 PM
Just ordered mine aswell, Is there anything i have to do different for the wiring if im using an LED string blade?

Inf4mous
01-14-2016, 06:56 PM
this has been the most frustrating wiring job ive dealt with...I need help lol...So i wired my board using this diagram and my momentary switch will not power on the board!? i tried a bunch of different combinations also my leds are soooo dim wtf! help pleeeaasssseee

13000

CET
01-14-2016, 11:00 PM
I used this schematic on my last build. I used a Blade Builder sound board and it came out pretty nice.

I would check to make sure you've got the correct type of PNP transistor, and recheck your wiring to make sure everything is routed correctly. I know that I had to recheck the diagram several times because it is a bit of an unusual set up.

iamearlgrey
01-15-2016, 12:00 AM
I have not built mine yet, but if you are using a string of leds instead of a luxeon or cree, that could be your problem. if the string is from another toy saber, it should mostly work, but if you strung together your own (parallel or series) or bought one of those pre-strung sets, you probably need more voltage. most pre-strung sets require 12v.

vsutherland01
01-19-2016, 02:01 PM
Question: What are the dimensions of this board? Has there finally been a consensus on how many ohms the speaker is, on another thread I saw a guy say it was 8 and no resistor was needed.

I want to fit it in a 7/8" ID chamber is this even possible?

CET
01-19-2016, 02:11 PM
No, the board is 1"x1"

vsutherland01
01-19-2016, 02:14 PM
Dang, so close. Not worth messing with the hilt just to fit a hasbro cheap-o board.

CET
01-19-2016, 02:25 PM
Afraid not, every but of the board of utilized.
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vsutherland01
01-19-2016, 03:24 PM
Thanks, it was worth a shot.

grumblehound
02-13-2016, 09:52 PM
just got 4 bladebuilders to strip for the sound boards the light sabers turn on ok but you get the clash sound when you swing it and led flashes (foc) and the motion swing sound when you hit it no led flash
stripped one apart any way sound board unlike any I have seen before myself or on this forum ...............any advice...1334713348 do I have a fake the saber came apart as mormal but very easy little if any glue plastic hilt not as solid feeling as older models but this is my first experience of the bladebuilder ones. here are two pictures of the sound board hope someone can help

sqrdncr7
03-06-2016, 05:22 AM
this has been the most frustrating wiring job ive dealt with...I need help lol...So i wired my board using this diagram and my momentary switch will not power on the board!? i tried a bunch of different combinations also my leds are soooo dim wtf! help pleeeaasssseee

13000 This is my first build using the new Blade builders board, and I'm wondering if I were to add a 3 Watt Green LED could I use a Buckpuck with it? And if so how would I add it in?

Joshie-wahh
03-18-2016, 08:06 AM
hi everyone, i was just curious, what is the exact transistor used? ive been looking online for one, and not exactly sure what type to get, i know it has to be a PNP type transistor, but what was the exact one used?

thanks, and may the force be with you!!

Wrecker
07-11-2016, 01:26 PM
Does anyone know if this will work with a 12w RRBB SaberForge LED and a 18650 from the store? These two came from a botched custom saber job that I bought.

BZWingZero
07-11-2016, 01:39 PM
Probably, but since its a different LED your resistors will be different.

FenixFire
07-11-2016, 07:59 PM
You'll need to know exactly what led was used. That's where the real problem lies. Most newer ones are Cree XB-D, newest claim to be XP-E, older ones are a crap shoot of what ever was available for cheep at the time.

Jay-mo
08-23-2016, 05:43 PM
So I've done a bit of research and feel like I can now ask a few questions about this specific board (From Rey's/Graflex Blade Builder).

1. The Swing Sensor has a ground. If I wanted to go for the double-axis swing sensor trick, is removing the current one going to disable that sound due to the ones from the store not having a ground? If so, can I add a second one to the bottom of the board and ignore the ground pin? I'm at a loss and don't want to risk putting the wrong leads together.

2. The Clash Sensor sticks out a little too much for my liking. Anyone safely bend it back or reverse its position to keep the board @ 1"x1"? Can it be replaced with an older clash sensor from another hasbro board with wire leads/breadboard mount?

3. Finally, that bloody 16ohm speaker. I know an 8ohm or 10 ohm resistor will allow me to use my bass speaker, is a 1/4 watt resistor going to affect the sound drastically?

Much appreciated to all who gave their input on this thread/ helped others!

CET
08-23-2016, 06:52 PM
Personally, I just can't get the damn thing to stop making constant swinging sounds. :?

Jay-mo
08-24-2016, 10:58 AM
Personally, I just can't get the damn thing to stop making constant swinging sounds. :?

In a bad way, I take it? Either way- a good reason to find a solution to the new 3 pronged sensor.

When I unboxed my Rey/Graflex & twirled it around (for.. ahem.. testing purposes) for a little while, it seemed that Y axis movement only caused swings... and rarely.

Maybe we can look into finding a new swing sensor with a ground to replace this one?

Eaglebiker
10-15-2016, 05:43 AM
Hey, Someone asked about making the saber LOUDER. I'm looking at a similar project using Darth Vader saber currently for sale at the Disney store. This board has an 8ohm 1/4watt speaker. I was considering wiring on a 1.5 watt amp like this one (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TDA2822-2-1-5W-Dual-Channel-Audio-Amplifier-Board-Module-/182129939722?hash=item2a67ca550a:g:LcUAAOSwv2JXwlf T) and using one of the 2 watt speakers available. This board puts out 4ohm so I know I can use any 8ohm speaker. Is there a problem hooking a 4ohm amp to an 8 ohm sound board?

pacman
05-17-2017, 08:26 AM
I know this is an old thread....but has ANYONE figured out how to wire TCSS Swing sensor to replace the erratic Hasbro sensor?

The 3 pins on the Hasbro is a headache...

Whosle
05-17-2017, 11:20 AM
There are only two electrical connections to the swing sensor, one is simply a mount.

If you look at the traces, you can see which ones are connected in the circuit. There is one that connects to a blank space on the board.

Skibuf2
07-01-2017, 10:30 AM
I just pulled apart my blade builders and the board and it is a little different than the pictures I have seen on here before. Has anyone else gotten a blade builder with the switch a part of the board itself? Where is the switch wired in at?

PCModulus
02-04-2018, 12:04 PM
I just pulled apart my blade builders and the board and it is a little different than the pictures I have seen on here before. Has anyone else gotten a blade builder with the switch a part of the board itself? Where is the switch wired in at?

The Kylo and Spin Saber version have the switch on board along with a 3 position switch that appears to allow the ON button to become a blaster block sound, but i cant seem to replicate it well enough to determine IF thats what it in fact does.

Sixo
02-20-2018, 11:27 AM
How would i go about replacing the 3 pin clash sensor with the custom saber shops 2 pin clash sensor. From what ive seen on my board its the big black cylinder on the underside of the board.

tf2teen
12-06-2019, 04:54 PM
Do you connect the resistor to the positive or negative wire?

JakeSoft
05-12-2020, 01:06 PM
Updated OP with attached images to compensate for the death of free embedded image hosting on the Web.

You need to log in to the TCSS Forum to see the images.

Chefbobbert
05-08-2021, 07:44 AM
You are half correct. The onboard momentary switch works as normal (push on/ push off). The slide switch has 3 positions, first position is off. When off the momentary switch will not turn on at all nothing works it’s like a kill switch. The third position is on, now the momentary switch will work to turn the blade on it off. The second position or middle Is the demo position this is how it comes default in stores it allows kids to press the momentary switch and turn the blade on for about 10 to 15 seconds and then it automatically turns the board off what I did with mine Will slide it to the complete on position and put a dab of hot glue to ensure that it didn’t accidentally moved to demo or off these type of boards are all used in blade builder Hilts that are not character specific. Like the one in this photo I will try and add.

https://i.insider.com/54dd84c46bb3f74515f2e9ce?width=1300&format=jpeg&auto=webp

Chefbobbert
05-08-2021, 07:47 AM
I just pulled apart my blade builders and the board and it is a little different than the pictures I have seen on here before. Has anyone else gotten a blade builder with the switch a part of the board itself? Where is the switch wired in at?

You are half correct. The onboard momentary switch works as normal (push on/ push off). The slide switch has 3 positions, first position is off. When off the momentary switch will not turn on at all nothing works it’s like a kill switch. The third position is on, now the momentary switch will work to turn the blade on it off. The second position or middle Is the demo position this is how it comes default in stores it allows kids to press the momentary switch and turn the blade on for about 10 to 15 seconds and then it automatically turns the board off what I did with mine Will slide it to the complete on position and put a dab of hot glue to ensure that it didn’t accidentally moved to demo or off these type of boards are all used in blade builder Hilts that are not character specific. Like the one in this photo I will try and add.

https://i.insider.com/54dd84c46bb3f74515f2e9ce?width=1300&format=jpeg&auto=webp