Problem with FX LED strings - Don't toss those strings....

[Delmustator]

I was just thinking about the LED string failures in the FX blades. I have about 6 of these LED strings laying around and I was playing around with them and an external power source.

I noticed that when an LED was out, all I need to do to bring it back to life was to flex the LED string a little. So with what looks like a bad connection in mind, I wired around the solder run embedded in the wafer and what do you know, works like new.

I'm not sure if this was just a poor design or cheap design. As long as you don't strike the blade or bend it for that matter, usually the LEDs do not fail. But my most used Vader ESB finally started to have LED flicker at the tip, and it was right after my son let the ceiling fan pop the tip. Go figure....

But with this in mind, these LEDs can be used for other purposes. SO don't toss them.

P.S. If you do decide not to keep them, send them to me.. I'll pay shipping... LOL

[Novastar]

Hi Del...

Exactly--this is totally correct in that... most LEDs... do not burn out at all. Solder joints are broken, cracked, or otherwise compromised in the MR "wafer" strip. Repair is usually always an option. Most LEDs have at LEAST 25,000 hours of solid & bright life, some 50 thou, some more... (Luxeons, anyone?)

However, as you can see--it is a SYSTEMIC design problem with the MRs. You can repair them as many times as you'd like. Bash them around again--and you will get the exact same issue again (over time). The cycle of break, repair, break, repair would never end, and the transitions would occur rapidly (aka nearly every time you dueled, not once every few years).

MR made this design choice for several reasons:

1. The LED PCB "wafer strip" had to remain lightweight.
2. The strip also had to consider wiring in both series and parallel (for the "ignite" retraction up/down thing).
3. Best for even lighting--remember, at the time of the design... "high-powered" LEDs were NOT capable of what current Luxeons are now.
4. Wafer strip had to also remain THIN as in... it couldn't be super wide... how would it fit into the blade?
5. Diffuser foam + diffuser film had to be placed inside as well, further limiting its size.
6. Probably most important: store toy for kids... not supposed to be space shuttle quality materials, heheh

Anyhow... it's still pretty darn good for when it was designed. I mean, I didn't know about them until 2006, but... wow... if I had seen them in 1999 or whenever they switched from EL to LED... wow!

But... it's 2007 now. It's over. LED arrays in the blade... have SYSTEMIC design flaws that will cause the delicate solder joints to fail.

The LEDs? Aw heck... they are pretty much indestructible on their own under the resin or silicone! The only things that kill an LED... are too much current or too much voltage. And I *DARE* someone to tell me that they have now used their LED saber for 50,000+ hours. Ridiculous. Do the math. By then, you'd have upgraded FAR before... and "reset the counter" so-to-speak... :)

[pipster79]

I was browsing hyperdynes site the other night and notcied there blades use led strips, they have sectioned the led strip in the blade and have made them durable enough for dueling, as well as made the blade removeable. i have been considering getting one now, since i love the scroll effect of led strip lights :) and also so far from what i have, my mr blades seem brighter then my lux 3 cyan

[Hasid Lafre]

Then something is wrong with your lux setup.

[Novastar]

I'd have to agree with Hasid, Pipster... if you:

1. Are using a Luxeon III...
2. Are properly driving it for its "correct" current...
3. Have proper optics (5 or 10 deg collimator or reflector)...
4. Use proper diffusion (in this case, sounds like you want a more even blade)...
5. Use a tip with a bit of mirrored reflection tape...
6. Possibly add a little reflection tape in the bottom of the blade, where the mounted part is hidden by the hilt...

...your saber should be "equal to" or brighter than any MR of the same color. This also means you should be comparing fully charged batteries to fully charged batteries.

Pip, check to see if you are fulfilling the above six criteria. If not--fix them one at a time, and believe me--your saber should improve quite a bit.

[Eandori]

Definitely your Luxeon setup should be brighter then your MR. If not, something is wrong with the Luxeon setup. Even blue luxeon lightsabers are brighter then MR blue sabers and blue is the red-headed-stepchild of luxeon.

I spent quite a few months constantly pulling apart my MR's and resoldering my LED strips. I certainly worked, but it was labor intensive and never a permenant solution. Now that I'm using luxeon in all my sabers I only worry about breaking or replacing a polycarbonate blade which is VERY tough.

Yeah, Hyperdyne sabers have LED's in the blade... but their PCB which mounts the LED's is more durable then MR's. They also have them running more current and pack more LED's in a single saber blade. So it's brighter and more durable then a MR... but still can break if you dual hard as luxeon.

If you break a Luxeon blade you are out $15 to $30. If you break a Hyperdyne you are out like $300.

[pipster79]

novastar, my saber definitly meets 1, 2, 3, and 5
blade film im not sure about as i got the saber already with the blade an film in it. definitly at correct current, i have it set for 1a. has a 5 degree lens. and there is a mirror in the tip.
did i mention its a 3/4 inch blade?
jan ed tul suggested i roll up some cellophane and get some corbin film. so im gonna try that.
but still ive herd many places that hyperdynes blades are way brighter then any other, not to mention they have the good scroll effect like the mr sabers. well they claim there scroll is better actualy.
Would be interesting to try anyways

oh also about the hyperdynes, they have new blade model they say is for heavy dueling

[Novastar]

A 3/4" blade is definitely going to be a bit more tough to get as well-diffused as a 1" blade.

You certainly should try different diffuser styles and experiment.

As to Hyperdyne blades, most all of us who are "into" Luxeons would like to hear more about these. Personally, I think the costs outweigh the benefits for a saber that needs to be duel-worthy (for MY purposes)... but all are naturally welcomed to try what they wish!

I have heard from different reliable sources that actually own the Hyperblades that they ARE indeed bright--which is to be expected--but only on the higher settings (say 7, 8, 9 or 10)... and this greatly reduces run-time. The current draw is probably fairly large as well.

Let us know if you purchase one and post photos/your thoughts!

[Lord Maul]

Hyperdyne sabers are the brightest sabers out there, anyone arguing against that fact will lose. However, on max brightness with the 12 or so volt pack he sells, you get all of 15 minutes of run time. That is sure useful at a convention :roll:

[xwingband]

A 3/4" blade will be dimmer than an MR without good diffusion. Do the "erv style" combo of corbin film and you'll throw that opinion out the window. I use a quad wrap and about 1 foot of PolyP for the 3/4" blades. They're simply stunning and blow any other 3/4" blade out of the water.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

To X-wingband, you listen! Even a double wrap of Corbin and about 3-4 feet of polyp will make that 3/4" blade really pop!

[pipster79]

im going to try some cellophane this weekend and see what kind of a difference it makes. prob order some corbin film as well :)

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I can vouch for the cellophane/Corbin film combo. It made a huge difference in the brightness, and evenness of my blade. I'll see if I have any old and new photos I can post for comparison.

[Novastar]

Looks like Mako here didn't "toss" any LED strings, heheh...
...well, he MADE 'em!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hbCzY_pjcDg

Jim would like this guy!! :)

[Eandori]

He does some great work! Look how bright this one is!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ixQWKj5_Mso&feature=user

[Jay-gon Jinn]

The video was cool...wish I understood chinese, though! Something sounded funny towards the end there!

I dom't mean to de-rail this, but he's got a few interesting threads over at the rebellegion.com:

http://www.rebellegion.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9356

http://www.rebellegion.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10214

http://www.rebellegion.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10276

[xwingband]

Jay, those threads are from Mako too so they apply a lot. They may not be as bright as you think either... I've taken sabers out in daylight. If I go out when the sun just hits the tree tops I can see the blade really well, but it's still daytime even on vids.

I imagine they're fragile though. They aren't even PCB'ed like the MR's.

[Eandori]

In the middle of this video he has a saber change from blue to red! Did you catch that? Cool!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uk9BqsX4pJc&feature=user

Is this guy really off on his own making sabers with his own creativity and work? Very cool!

[xwingband]

Yeah, he did make an RGB one. It's the same method, but he used a large rotary switch to change which legs the power is flowing to.

[Novastar]

Yup, I've talked to him a bit... and yes, they are brighter than the MRs. I don't remember what he was doing power-wise, but compared to MRs, they are brighter. Maybe like Hypers, I have no idea.

He has a comparison video on his ID somewhere...