have a question for a project Tri colour LED

[Nayanak]

Ok so heres the "layout" of my current project once i get the parts, the idea is a cheap Tri color LED controlled by a DIP switch to light up a crystal chamber to match whatever color blade i decide to go with on that day.
it will be powered independent from the main leds power source by a 9v battery with the whole system mounted in the pommel for easy access to switch

oh and this is for a stunt saber im using as a project piece to learn so no need to worry about room for soundboard / speaker just yet

any of the led / saber gurus on here able to provide some expertise, have i layed it out correctly? any suggestions on what i could change IE: battery, switch etc?
12425

[Silver Serpent]

Two things:

1. 9v batteries do not provide enough current to drive a single high-powered LED, let alone 3. Swap that out for a li-ion (preferred) or AA alkalines (3 or 4 will run your LEDs).

2. I haven't found any DIP switches that are rated for 1A of current through them. It might work, or you might melt the switch. Check the various online electronics stores for small slide switches. You can get fairly small ones, and mount them on some perfboard.

See this thread for a saber I built to do exactly what you're describing: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?15711-Silver-Serpent-s-quot-Asp-quot

[Nayanak]

this (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Active-Components/Optoelectronics/Bi-Tri-LEDs/LED-TriColour-5mm-Red-Green-Blue-Diffused-600-1000-200mcd/p/ZD0270) is the LED not sure if im right in assuming this (and please tell me if im wrong) but assuming each led is on its a total draw of 75mA (25mA x 3) which a 9v battery should be able to provide easy enough?

This (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Electromechanical-Components/Switches/DIL/4-Way-DIL---8-Pin-DIL-PACKAGE/p/SM1020) is the DIP switch, if im looking at the right section its rated for 24v on the switching and 25 mA and 50v with 100mA non switching

mostly just doing this as a test of theory, so want to avoid li-ion at the moment

[Cire Yeldarb]

Ahhh, so this is just a completely separate circuit for the Crystal Chamber LED...

I mean it would probably work fine, but why do you need the separate battery from your main LED's battery?

It would be loads easier and less space-consuming to just wire your switch and accent LED setup parallel to the main LED off the same battery

[Nayanak]

the main power supply is 4xAA so it could work easy enough but im designing this as a drop in drop out kind of system, proof of concept at the moment for my own learning then looking for space saving alternatives later down the line, basically everyone loves crystal chambers, but not everyone has the technical know how to solder one up and put one together so i am attempting to design this drop in style self powered system for those that have the space in their sabers, the only wiring needed would be to hook the main switch so it comes on with the blade, if you wanted it to.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Ahhhh, interesting idea. If you are going for "drop in" I would use a 4 way switch so that one position can be "off", negating the need for any connection to the existing Main LED circuit at all.

That would also mean you could "drop it" in a saber with sound (space provided of course, as you are already aware) as most of those use a momentary switch with which your original idea would be incompatible.

[Nayanak]

with a dip switch it is 3 switches each with their own on off positions, essentially i can turn each led on or off at will for colour mixing so to turn the led off totally i just need to switch all 3 switches to the off position, the only reason i might personally connect it to the main latching switch is so it powers on with the saber itself (for me personally the purely drop in version would be completely separate from the main saber electronics)

once i get the electronics worked out ill be inserting it all into my test saber to test it all out, then from there ill look into compressing it some more to potentially fit it all within one MHS compatible piece to just screw in before the pommel or wherever the person wants, main goals are to keep it low cost, simple to install and mhs compatible. more then likely its above my skill level but im hopeful

[Cire Yeldarb]

gotcha, I hadn't looked at the link you posted, just going off what it looked like on your diagram.

Compressing it is going to be interesting, I wish you good luck on your project!

[Nayanak]

thanks, just waiting for a few 3d printed parts then ill pick up the electronics i need and get started

[Silver Serpent]

I misunderstood that you were only using that for a crystal chamber. It's not common that anyone wants to have two separate power supplies in a saber, since space disappears FAST inside a hilt.

If you just wanted a modular drop-in type of crystal chamber, I'd put the power on a quick disconnect and have a y-splitter so you can run both your saber electronics and the (optional) crystal chamber.