Luxeon Driver/Dimmer question(s)

[xl97]

Since the store doesnt have any LED Drivers in stock... the CF's are out (and a lot of loot) ;) ....

What exactly are the differrence of the Plecter Labs Driver/Dimmer compared to the "Corbin Driver" sold in the store previously?

Still be used with a Hasbro sound card with the same effects?

producing sound
sensor effects (auto clashing..both sound & LED effects)
manual shimmer (with momentary switch added)

is this correct?

I dont want to use a Hasbro card to drive the LED (dont want any crazy Flash on Clash non-sense) ;) and am looking at alternatives to get the same outcome as the above scenario.

any thoughts/replies are appreciated.

thanks

[Novastar]

I'm just going to say... some CF will be released on Saturday... :)

[Dark Helmet]

plecters are out of stock too, but Erv's driver has the movie flicker effect, corbin's doesn't... both use pulse wave modulation the help further battery life, the extension/retraction, clash and lockup effect, but the plecter is just a better unit all around. it can handle voltage better and the blade will look more like in the movies, not to detract from corbin's, I have one and i love it, but for the money I would much rather have Erv's driver to make it look real when the blade is idle.

and yes, the cf4...such a wonderful machine......"sigh"....it had to come out on a weekend when I'm not getting paid......

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

and yes, the cf4...such a wonderful machine......"sigh"....it had to come out on a weekend when I'm not getting paid......


Dude, that's what Visa is for!

[xl97]

Thanks.. but Im sure the CF's are going to be a TON of loot.. and yes while many of you think it is worth it.. (and I do too if you want the best of the best driver & sound together)

and if they were cheaper I would think they are a viable solution for me.. but unless I find some older versions for sale or something.. I doubt I will be buying any CF's..

can grab two drivers and two hasbro sound boards for cheaper..

and yes I see plecter store is out..but I have found a few possible..which is why I asked..

thanks

[xwingband]

Erv's "dimmer" is different from Corbin's in these ways:

-More dough$$$
-smaller
-has programmable flicker
-programmable extension/retraction
-1A or 1.5A selection

It shares:

-manual or sensor trigger of clash/lockup
-extension/retraction

To me the dimmer is superior to Corbin's if only because of size. AND... IMO, with an MR board it's nicer than an Ultraboard. Sure it's not as easily configured but once you have it in there you don't fuz with it and the end product is what counts!

[xl97]

Thanks for the clearing up of this guys.. I appreciate it..

this comment:
but Erv's driver has the movie flicker effect

(and the pulse comment)

so when the blade is IDLE.. does it have that light/pulsing effect I have seen in some youtube movies? or if the balde consistantly light evenly when the blade is 'idle'??

more doe is a concern.. but I dont see ANYTHING LED Drivers anywhere.. anyone have any suggestions then? IS there any other alternatives?? LOL

I see tons of LED 3W Drivers on ebay..but they dont look to be the same kind/type we would need for this hoddy

can anyone expand on the programmable flicker?? like the re-action? the amount?

Id really just like to get a few Corbin boards..as that is what I have been reading up on and planned on using with my hasbro sound.. :(

thanks again guys

[xwingband]

Thanks for the clearing up of this guys.. I appreciate it..

this comment:
but Erv's driver has the movie flicker effect

(and the pulse comment)

so when the blade is IDLE.. does it have that light/pulsing effect I have seen in some youtube movies? or if the balde consistantly light evenly when the blade is 'idle'??

more doe is a concern.. but I dont see ANYTHING LED Drivers anywhere.. anyone have any suggestions then? IS there any other alternatives?? LOL

I see tons of LED 3W Drivers on ebay..but they dont look to be the same kind/type we would need for this hoddy

can anyone expand on the programmable flicker?? like the re-action? the amount?

Id really just like to get a few Corbin boards..as that is what I have been reading up on and planned on using with my hasbro sound.. :(

thanks again guys


There isn't an alternative if you want a lightsaber specific one. The other ones you are seeing are generic ones for flashlights or something.

Have you watched the video of how to program the driver? It will show you the amounts of flickers and such. It ranges from subtle to almost to the point of hurting my eyes (apparently some like that...).

[xl97]

nope.. I just googled..and found this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY9GpJOXmhA

thisis the one you were referring to? If so.. it was a great help thank you

it does have a FIXED idle.. (awesome)

I guess my last question is: (confusion really)

is the FoC & the Foc w/'shimmer'

I thought I read (or understood it this way at least) with a hasbro & Corbin board..

you can have 1 button to power on both sound & led
have the hasbro sensor wired to the corbin board so it have auto FoC driven by the corbin board (and not the flakey hasbro FoC on/off junk)

then you could add a second button to have a manual FoC but with 'shimmer'...

(maybe Im even wrong abotu all that set-up) LOL

watching the Plecter driver vid, I see it have the programmable IDLE states.. as well as programmale power up/down speed..

I see the 1-1.5 watt option 1.5 makes it brighter..bt Im not really sure how that applies to me? (electronics retard...lol.. give me some web design/programming Im fine..electronics..not so much) dont we all run 1.5? (sorry)

I didnt see anything with the shimmer or for a second button to add that manually.. I just caught somethign about adding a second button to be able to program the stuff above easily...

he said there was the contacts for the FoC parameters.. so would that be where you add/connect the wires from the hasbro? (which woudl give the auto FoC 'feedback' to the driver...right?..do you add a button on the same contacts?)



Thanks again.


update:

I do have another question:

do either of the Corbin or Plecter driver boards allow you to hook up any kind of other LEDS to can be used for a power indicator or led strip/graph..etc..

how do you get the power level indicator in some in these custom applications? only from a CF set-up?

[xwingband]

Yes, that's what I was referring to. Both Erv's and Corbin's can use a sensor and the manual switch.

For the 1A and 1.5A... that's current not wattage. Some LEDs go on 1A and others go on 1.5A (Red III's and K2's). Corbin's board is only 1A. So if you used a K2 on corbin's you wouldn't be getting the full power.

For extra LEDs... what exactly? They can be made to have an accent LED come on with it, but that's about it. For the fancy patterns you'd need a crystal focus or make a chip to drive the bar graph itself.

Although if you just mean a PLI... you'd just need the PLI and wire it in with the board.

[xl97]

Thank you much.. awesome post. very to the point and helpful.

Im off to search for the PLI.. since I dont know much about them..

last thing I read about them.. is they were NOT in the store.. so im not sure I can find/see one to unerstand better.

thanks