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madhorizons
01-14-2008, 04:47 PM
I can't find my old thread, and the plan's slightly changed since then anyway...so here are my question(s)..

Getting a hilt machined for me. Maker states that it's going to have a 1" core for electronics, etc.

I'm going to be using this for both dark & light costumes....that being said...

1. Would it be best to go w/ separate LEDs for the colors I want, or go with white + the lens filters (red and blue/green/purple/something).

2. I want the brightest/most even set up, but want to stay Lux. After seeing the Hyperdyne vs. Lux vids posted by Nova, i'm satisfied (please don't debate here, keep it in those threads...i've made my mind up already) with staying Lux and have seen with proper wrapping, and even & bright glow can be achieved. What "forumla" would be best for this to achieve an even blade glow?

3. What "forumla" is best for the color scheme(s) i want? Naturally, I want bright, but something that will last longer than 15mins.

4. With a 1" core/hole to stuff the electronics in...what are my options for switch, driver, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Eandori
01-14-2008, 06:05 PM
Getting a hilt machined for me. Maker states that it's going to have a 1" core for electronics, etc.
That should fit most electronics. Although depending on what type of batteries you want/require you may need more space.


I'm going to be using this for both dark & light costumes....that being said...

1. Would it be best to go w/ separate LEDs for the colors I want, or go with white + the lens filters (red and blue/green/purple/something).
There is a white luxeon that puts out 140 lumen, but send that through a filter and it will not be as bright as a native color putting out 140 lumen. Some ballparks for the other colors are...
Green K2 at 1.5 amps = 130 lumens
Red Lux III at 1.5 amps = 150 lumens
Blue Lux III at 1 amp = 30 lumens

The blue *might* be brighter with a 140 lumen white + filter. I could see that... but not the red/green. Perhaps somebody who has the 140 lumen K2 white could respond to that.


2. I want the brightest/most even set up, but want to stay Lux. After seeing the Hyperdyne vs. Lux vids posted by Nova, i'm satisfied (please don't debate here, keep it in those threads...i've made my mind up already) with staying Lux and have seen with proper wrapping, and even & bright glow can be achieved. What "forumla" would be best for this to achieve an even blade glow?
Go with a 30" viewable (some in hilt) blade that's thin-walled. Use 2 light guides in the blade, TCSS blade film, and 3 feet of cellophane rolled up. Put the TCSS film in first, then the cellophane and get them both as flat as possible. Use a VERY reflective mirror on the backside of your blade tip. Use a 5 or 6 degree emission optic on the LED.


3. What "forumla" is best for the color scheme(s) i want? Naturally, I want bright, but something that will last longer than 15mins.
All of those luxeons with a decent set of batteries should last 1-3 hours. Go native colors if you want brightness.


4. With a 1" core/hole to stuff the electronics in...what are my options for switch, driver, etc?
Do you want sound? If no, just use a few switches from TCSS and a buckpuck to drive the LED. If you want sound I personally reccomend Erv's Crystal Focus board (from Plecter Labs). The latching switches and momentary switches from TCSS work great. For batteries, if you have no experience with batteries then start with NiMH cells. You can pack 6AA's fairly easily into a 1" tube I think, that's 7.2v which is even enough to drive a Luxeon V LED if the battery is nearly full.


Thanks in advance.
No prob,

Mostly, I would SLOW DOWN and take your time to read information all over these boards and read Erv' Plecters user guides posted on his site. I can promise your results will improve drastically due to your research.

madhorizons
01-14-2008, 09:01 PM
I had read through it before the redesign....it's just been a while.

As for the x volts = y amps = z lumens...that's the part that kills me. I can program UNIX servers...but that stuff baffles me and my soldering experience is limited to volume pots (variable resistors) in guitars.

As for sound...probably not. Yeah it'd be great, but I need to keep it simple...heck, i may just do a simple cut on/off thing with no special driver board or anything.

I'd *love* to have a plecter setup, but like i said....need to keep it simple.

No experience with batteries or NiMH cells.

I've been plugging away through the threads since before your reply and am making headway, just for some reason, some of the stuff i can't grasp. It may help when I get the hilt in hand to see what I have to work with.

Also...i was looking in the online catalog...but didn't see anything or overlooked it. Is there a quick-change kit? I saw something mentioned on the main site about it, but never found the product....is it still offered?

Thanks for your reply and hope i answer my own questions as i read on...but still welcome input as it comes to me.

EDIT: Additionally...what's the light guide? I didn't see anything in the "start here" thread or in the catalog.

B5813
01-15-2008, 09:12 AM
Also, don't forget to work a bit on the blade itself. You can find many threads talking about how to brighten/even out the color on the blade which you'll find have a huge effect on how the lit blade ends up looking.

madhorizons
01-16-2008, 06:44 PM
Thanks for the input...i finally got finished digging through Erv's tutorials/guides today while the forum was down...i have a solid "idea" at what i'm going to do inside the blade...dunno how well it'll work...but gonna try anyway. "Regular" blade film + clear mylar sheeting. I did come across a site that sells plastic sheets for sign use that's design to diffuse...but it was pricey and not sure how it'd work.

I'd like to go w/ Rebel Star white + disks as the lumen output is ridiculous...but honestly, that much "juice" scares me a little bit. Instead of disks, i've contemplated using "gels" that we use in our stage lighting as they are designed to allow a lot of light through.

Inside the tip, i plan on cutting a thin mirror I have.

The "math" behind the LED + resistor still scares me a little...so i'm going to have to read & re-read that 100 more times to understand it.

Jay-gon Jinn
01-16-2008, 07:20 PM
You could save yourself the trouble with the resistor math, and just a driver instead. Much easier, and more efficient, anyway.
That high lumen Rebel star is probably the one with three Rebels mounted to the star, and would be difficult to use, as no one makes optics for them yet....some members here have use modified flashlight reflectors with them, though. They also require a lot of batteries to run, if I'm not mistaken. The person to ask about the Rebels is X-wingband.

goldsaberwarrior
01-31-2008, 02:15 PM
Drivers are alot simpler to use than a resistor. Plus if you use a driver you can usually get one with sound. Of course you would need a speaker but everything is on one piece so you wouldn't have to do anything except solder everything to the right spot, stick it in your hilt, put the blade on and batteries in and instant saber. Just thought that would help.

As far as the technical stuff goes drivers can adjust the current better than a resistor and have better protection from a surge than a resistor does. I would recommend a driver over a resistor any day. However use which ever YOU want in your saber.