Stuff THIS in THERE!!!???

[CanyonVR]

First time builder...LONG time admirer...

So... wiring works. YAY!

LED - Battery - Recharge Port - Switch - Switch LED - Momentary to Latching Adapter circuit - BuckPuck

But.... Now I have to find a way to stuff the guts in the hilt...

Wanted to do a nice, clean chassis... But not sure if its possible.

How do you incorporate a chassis and incorporate more than just the battery to the LED?

12262

Tips, hints, suggestions

[Drawcut]

I just got my first saber wired with a NB sound card this last weekend. After that, I vowed to cut down on the amount of wires and use fewer plugs next time. I suggest you look at that as a first step. Some of Madcow's videos show good tips on wiring direct with minimal lengths.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

"Shorter" wires and less plugs are good advise. that's a small problem wiuth using pre-wired stuff, an trying to avoid soldering. After a while your Cram-Fu will improve.

[CanyonVR]

All the wiring, soldering, crimping, and plugs are my doing. Since it was my first time and I suck at soldering I wanted to give myself room for error and simply make sure the circuit worked.

Now I guess I will be shrinking it down.

Still not quite sure how to incorporate the switch into a chassis though...or the recharge port for that matter...

[JediCarpet]

I'd suggest not soldering the connections to the switch and recharge port, but instead use Push-on Terminals (Google that) of the appropriate size to connect the wires and enable any disconnecting in the future. Also need to make some way of noting which wires connect where as to avoid future confusion. What I've done is I've put the push on terminals soldered to the wire (after cutting the plastic part off) and then covered it with heat shrink tube to insulate.

For the switch I recommend taking all the wires off, put the nut over the wires, then feed the wires through the switch hole from the inside, connect them to the switch, then put the switch back into the hole and tighten the nut up. I also suggest counter-turning it a few times before you start tightening the nut, then when it is as tight as you can get it, use a piece of hockey or electrical tape over the top of the switch to help you get some grip to tighten it against the nut using your thumb. You should get another 1/4 to full turn out of it that way.

Oh, one other thing to note, NEVER cut the wires on the battery unless you're 2 billion percent sure what you're doing. Always connect that using the JST connector for safety.

[CET]

Push-on terminals ... brilliant! I've not used them before (definitely thinking about it now), but would they be as secure as soldering?

[Silver Serpent]

Theoretically they could come loose. So, they're not *quite* as secure as soldering. If they're really snug, they shouldn't come off.

In practice, assuming they connect firmly, you shouldn't have any issues.

[JediCarpet]

I've had more problems with my soldering than those connections :P

[CanyonVR]

So what would the difference be using push-on terminals as opposed to the JST connectors I have on there? (Wow... Flashback... I remember using them on my cassette deck in my car in the 80's!)

And, like you, I've had more problems with my soldering than with my other connectors ;)

[JediCarpet]

The push on terminals connect directly to the tabs on the switch and recharge port, and are easily disconnectable if you need to pull it apart for whatever reason. They're going to be a bit less bulky than the JSTs because about 80% of the terminal covers an existing structure within the inside of the saber. What it comes down to is that you save space in comparison.