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LeMoel
05-22-2008, 04:26 PM
Hi Im sure we all know about makototsai's very awesome led style sabers

example http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8566/dsci0038ur8.jpg
and so on

I have completed my first "test pictures" using Light Blue (cyan) 5mm leds. Now Cyan when it comes to these leds isnt actually the Blue/Green that you get from luxeon leds,its actually light blue."you would have to buy Aqua 5mm leds to get that blue/green luxeon type cyan

Now note these 5mm light blue leds are 6000 mcd which is average brightness for these 5mm leds. So they do go quite a bit higher so its quite amazing.I used these ones for the test because i had them on hand.

Now lets "note" these first set of pictures are on my very strong flash on imac computer so its not the same as in person but this is in BROAD DAYLIGHT(i will be aquiring a camera without a flash soon enough and will post more tests on this thread

so here's a couple test pics in BROAD DAYLIGHT

eastern57
05-22-2008, 04:54 PM
Stats, man, stats...

- did you link them the same way?
- how do you have it wired? resisted? powered?
- what other test do you have planned?
- how does it compare to your other blades?

et cetera

Draconis Magnus
05-22-2008, 08:12 PM
Good work.. yeah we need more pics of the process! Be that first pic.. looks like a great start. We'll crack Makoto's code soon enough hahaaha.. but yeah, let's see a video of it in action too! :) Yeah... and stats like Eastern said! muahahaha

xwingband
05-22-2008, 09:04 PM
How is indoors "broad daylight"?

LeMoel
05-23-2008, 11:53 AM
Hey im sorry for not putting the specs right away i know they are important but i was rushed for time so here they are

SPECS

-I used on of tims 40 inch blade diffuser to put the leds in. i thought it was nylon but it isnt tim told me and i reccommend using nylon which i will be aquiring

-Yes i linked then the exact same way as makototsai

- the only difference is it used 20 degree 5mm leds and makototsai uses 45 degree which i will be most likley testing next.

-i used 6v to power all of them

-i would say right now it is around the same brightness as a force fx roughly(but there only 6000 mcd leds which are average brightness remember)

-im not going to post anymore of these pictures because im going to do a full out tutorial(video and pictures most likley of the whole process once i 'profect" the who process. meaning brightness,materials and ect.

-and sorry about the broad daylight thing its duing the daytime in my room.

-poly p inside the TUBE "xwing style"

Up and COMING TESTS

-Im going to try using brighter leds, im thinking around 45 000 mcd this time instead of 6000 mcd like i used(possible 8mm leds)

-this time there going to be 45 degree's like makototsai

-real nylon tube(not tims)" xwing any links for me for decently price nylon tubes?


-of course better pictures this time around

-and ill put it in one of my practice saber hilts for the effect, this ill be updated ASAP

eastern57
05-23-2008, 01:04 PM
I would believe the angle probably has a lot to do with the overall appearance. Know what I mean? It could be 10000 mcd, but if all the light is pointing straight up...

Is is directly driven? battery to LED string? I'll have to calculate current/voltage for when I get my rgbs, but it'd be nice to know, right off, what's been working and what hasn't...

Thanks for getting this started LeMoel, we'll have to chat once I get started...;)

LeMoel
05-23-2008, 01:15 PM
yes i think you have a good point about degree's but who knows it could be my tube also thats why im going to order a nylon tube to try this time.

but for some reason i feel that 20 degree leds should work too because look at xwing nylon sabers there like 5 or 10 degrees and look awesome so will have to see

i just order 50 green 40 degree, 60 000 mcd leds so will see how the second tests go

and yes i drove them directly,its alot easier doing it than thinking about it in ur head.

once x wing gets back to me i will order a nylon tube, good luck with ur RGB's

what angle are they?

eastern57
05-23-2008, 02:02 PM
20 degrees... "plus or minus 5 degrees"

Strydur
05-23-2008, 11:49 PM
Our diffusers are Natural ABS but I dont think it will look much different than nylon.

ti-el_terall
05-24-2008, 12:41 PM
Do you have any pics of the inside of the blade? Or simplified electronics? I never saw any posted by Makototsai.

Draconis Magnus
05-24-2008, 06:29 PM
Do you have any pics of the inside of the blade? Or simplified electronics? I never saw any posted by Makototsai.

This is Makototsai's website tutorial:

http://album.blog.yam.com/Lightsaber&folder=3759206

it's all in taiwanese/chinese.. but got the hang of it from the pictures... his video speak louder though.

ti-el_terall
05-28-2008, 10:22 PM
I basically constructed on of his blades with some normal LED's I had lying around. I took the saber and basically went crazy. I even bent the blade over my knee. When done right the led string will no break.

I think, that even tho the results are great, its not worth the time to build the blade. All the bending and soldering of the LED's seemed too time consuming.

eastern57
05-31-2008, 04:02 PM
I think I'm going to go with a single color string, that rgb frustrated the hot steaming crap outta me...

I found some 8mm, 40 degree, 45000mcd, and 5mm "Flux", 140 degree, 17000mcd

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120152544517

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120146523664

LeMoel
05-31-2008, 05:10 PM
i ordered those exact same ones, should be in next week. and just to let everyone know i used polycarbnate over my tube in my first two tests and u are not supose too.

im going to use a nylon tube in my next experiment

easterns RGB string tests

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/n.../LED%20String/

LeMoel
05-31-2008, 05:29 PM
Easterns RGB string tests

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/

eastern57
05-31-2008, 09:30 PM
moving on from that last atempt... I think I'll start again: simpler, just to see if I can make something work.

Thanks for your support, LeMoel and Draconis in particular, once I get the BASIC technique down, maybe I'll try expanding...

Malaki Skywalker
06-01-2008, 11:08 AM
Someones gotta try these! :cool:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/30p-10mm-SUPER-BRIGHT-HIGH-POWER-0-5W-WHITE-LED-280Kmcd_W0QQitemZ370056675736QQihZ024QQcategoryZ66 954QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

eastern57
06-01-2008, 12:05 PM
LOL! Yeah, those are huge! But at 100mA per unit, it's gonna be short - bright as the holy gates, but short...

Malaki Skywalker
06-01-2008, 12:08 PM
LOL! Yeah, those are huge! But at 100mA per unit, it's gonna be short - bright as the holy gates, but short...

How short are we looking at? Any way around it?

LeMoel
06-01-2008, 12:38 PM
yeah once you try making an led string then you will realize that it cant be too short, or it will take a long time, and alot of money

im trying to buy one of xwings nylon blades for my next test,with the 8mm 60 000 mcd green

so im excited. i think even with easterns 8000 mcd it was crazy bright so theres lots of promise we just have to keep testing

eastern57
06-01-2008, 12:47 PM
well generally speaking, LED are usually at 0.4 - 0.5 ratio of WxL... so 10mm x 18mm (approx), with 3mm of wiggle room between... x lessay max current [a generous] 3Amps for 30 LEDs...

so 21 x 30 = 630... 63cm blade.

eastern57
06-01-2008, 12:49 PM
yeah once you try making an led string then you will realize that it cant be too short, or it will take a long time, and alot of money



dude, is this what you meant to say? ;)

Malaki Skywalker
06-01-2008, 01:03 PM
Ah that sucks, well I've found some nice blues with the forward current of 20mA, and they pump out 70,000 MCD! :grin:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370056375368&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RCRX_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=370056675736&itemcount=12&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%252BSD %26itu%3DSD%252BISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D12

And, 140,000 MCD whites with a forward current of 20mA!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350065481564&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RCRX_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=370056675736&itemcount=12&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%252BSD %26itu%3DSD%252BISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D12

eastern57
06-01-2008, 01:40 PM
Yeah, do it, man! They're dirt cheap - you may as well try your own. That dude is awesome, shipped same day and got to me from HK in 8 days... Planet Croissant in the UK sector shouldn't be too much more...

Malaki Skywalker
06-01-2008, 02:02 PM
Yeah, do it, man! They're dirt cheap - you may as well try your own. That dude is awesome, shipped same day and got to me from HK in 8 days... Planet Croissant in the UK sector shouldn't be too much more...

I got the cash so WTH! LOL

Darth_swarze
06-03-2008, 03:47 PM
still waiting for my 100 8mm leds green 60 000 mcd,my internet connection has been crappy so if i dont reply right away you'll know why " this is LeMoel by the way'

Draconis Magnus
06-03-2008, 08:40 PM
still waiting for my 100 8mm leds green 60 000 mcd,my internet connection has been crappy so if i dont reply right away you'll know why " this is LeMoel by the way'

What angle are they? I think angle of the light emitted plays a key part of how it glows that bright... but still 60K mcd from an 8mm.

LeMoel
06-03-2008, 11:55 PM
there 40 degree, and i agree with you about the angle being key, how ever i think we will be able to make the 20 degree work decently also,specially since they are the ones that come in the more variety of different colors,plus cheaper, so we will see

eastern57
06-04-2008, 09:07 AM
yeah, mine were 20 degree. I also have 40 degree 8mm coming - just not 60K mcd :)

I also saw 140 degree (flux), they're squarish - looks interesting.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120146523664

NeptuneTQ
06-05-2008, 08:01 PM
Makotosai himself says his are 45 degree and his red/green colors are 12000mcd, and his blue is 6000 mcd, so I'm curious to see how these 60000mcd ones come out :)

eastern57
06-06-2008, 07:03 PM
Got my 8mm greenies today. 45,000mcd. I'll try to have something done this weekend. [Theoretically, it should take less time... no guarantee]

NeptuneTQ
06-06-2008, 10:30 PM
I just ordered 2 sets of my own to test out :) a series of 45000mcd 8mm 40 degree angle Blue LED's and a series of 15000mcd 5mm 70 degree green LED's, we'll see how it works out once I try them :)

ti-el_terall
06-06-2008, 11:54 PM
I just ordered a set of 100 degree blue LEDs. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160040299587&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=006

So, what could be used as a foam difuser besides the ones in MR sabers? I mean, its not like there is a infinite supply of them.

eastern57
06-07-2008, 11:38 AM
... don't know, I'll check around. I would guess they're available at craft stores - stuff like that always pops up in places like that...

eastern57
06-07-2008, 05:35 PM
see post in other thread...

eastern57:)

Novastar
06-07-2008, 07:37 PM
I just ordered a set of 100 degree blue LEDs. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160040299587&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=006

So, what could be used as a foam difuser besides the ones in MR sabers? I mean, its not like there is a infinite supply of them.Ola Ti-El... I wonder if you used something similar to a wrap of "ultra/gelu" film? Ya know?

I don't know EXACTLY how well it would do... but... I wonder. Ever consider it?

You'd likely need a *LOT* more "wraps" of it around though...

xwingband
06-07-2008, 09:04 PM
I haven't seriously looked at the documents for the string but after seeing eastern's thread... I'm just wondering. The variation of the LED brightness is the paralleling of the LEDs... One that's lower in voltage will tend to suck more amps.

What's the set of parallel vs. series sets? Paralleling keeps the voltage low but you can't be sure of the amperage going to each one.

eastern57
06-07-2008, 10:07 PM
Ola Ti-El... I wonder if you used something similar to a wrap of "ultra/gelu" film? Ya know?

I don't know EXACTLY how well it would do... but... I wonder. Ever consider it?

You'd likely need a *LOT* more "wraps" of it around though...

I've tried it in an ultrablade - one that I bought from them. The film doesn't "diffuse" or blend the light, if anything, the ultra-film accentuates the individual LEDs... looks kinda funny.

ti-el_terall
06-07-2008, 11:30 PM
Also, the LED's would rattle in th blade

NeptuneTQ
06-10-2008, 12:00 PM
I recieved my 8mm 45000mcd 45 degree blue LED's today and tried makototsai's method. Results were ok at best. despite being rated far brighter then the one makotosai uses, it was about as bright as a standard MR fx, no brighter. My LED"s all came out very even, and I have it running direct off of 3 AAA's.

I tried it in 3 blades, one standard MR blade with foam diffuser, one ultrablade, and one 3/4th inch nylon blade with a double wrap of corbin film and polyC film inside. Doesn't work in an Ultrablade at all as eastern has stated, though the nylon blade looked alright. My Lux V saber completely trounces it in brightness however.

Now, considering i can't read chinese, i'm just soldering my LED's together like the pictures show, but maybe there's more to it? his pictures of his blades next to MR's show them being intensely bright, they seem to light the whole room. Is there a way makotosai could order his special HB LED's and ship them to the US?

On the plus side, this method is very sturdy, I can see doing some heavy dueling with these blades. I still have some 5mm 100 degree 15000mcd green LED's coming, i'll see if I have anymore luck with that. Until we can crack his technique though Lux/Rebels still seem to be the way to go =\

eastern57
06-10-2008, 06:50 PM
Cool :) Thanks for the input. Try a little more power, like 4 batteries, I'm not going to ask you to try to burn them out, of course, but if you can keep the evenness with the little more *umph*, we might be on to something... and I know people that know chinese, I should just ask them to help me out...

oh and pictures, man, lets see it

NeptuneTQ
06-11-2008, 05:01 PM
New test! I found out that my batteries were almost dead, so i got some fresh 1.5v batteries and added a 4th battery at eastern's request :) Results were MUCH different this time around, in fact, it actually hurt my eyes when I first turned it on because I wasn't expecting it. Here's some pics:

Top to bottom: Makotosai test setup in standard MR blade, Royal Blue Lux V with an Ultrablade, and Standard Mace windu FX saber (i don't have a blue fx saber unfortunately)
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4339/dsc02353sb5.jpg

Second picture, same as first only this time with camera flash
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/5682/dsc02354yh2.jpg

Third picture, this is the makotosai led setup next to my patio door on a BRIGHT sunny day. Still visible in daylight.
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6331/dsc02358vz7.jpg

As you can see, it's actually BRIGHTER then a Lux V with this setup. However, it is no longer even along the blade. The LED's are evenly lit, but because of the imperfections of my soldering, they don't perfectly point straight up. Im hoping the 100 degree LED's i'm getting will compensate for this, or I need to find a better diffuser. Despite being brighter then a Lux V, i've never seen a hyperblade in person before, so I don't know how this setup compares to hyperblades and honestly this could be something hyperblades have always been capable of doing (although a DIY like this is FAR cheaper). In my opinion, the extra time and work it takes to make one of these still makes a Luxeon still a better choice and easier to handle though. This shows incredible promise with RGB led's though, being able to change colors on the fly is pretty cool :)

Draconis Magnus
06-11-2008, 06:48 PM
WOW! NeptuneTQ, that's awesome... any way you can show us some videos to see the brightness? *claps* What are the specs of those LEDs again?

ti-el_terall
06-11-2008, 07:11 PM
Looks great! We will see how the 100 degree LED's work out, hopefully nthey will be here in a few weeks.

eastern57
06-11-2008, 09:10 PM
...it is no longer even along the blade. The LED's are evenly lit, but because of the imperfections of my soldering, they don't perfectly point straight up. Im hoping the 100 degree LED's i'm getting will compensate for this, or I need to find a better diffuser...

I don't think "pointing straight up" has anything to do with evenness

see here:
http://album.blog.yam.com/show.php?a=Lightsaber&f=3759206&i=173230&p=29

He uses 45 degree, 5mm LEDs - and if he does that with his strings, then we have nothing to worry about.

The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that we either 1) are totally missing something in the translation or 2) we actually did do it right and Mr. Makoto is just using a camera that's more sensitive to over-exposure.

I have one more batch coming: 4.8mm 120 degree suckers. Logic is telling me it won't make any difference... but you never know... it miight be something...


on a different note... I just got 4 MR sound boards, so I might try some scrolling effects..

Great job Neptune, everyone's input helps ou!

jamesjeffh
06-11-2008, 09:43 PM
If I may make a suggestion ... instead of trying the 5mm try to some 8mm or even the 10mm leds go on ebay and try the store named HKJE they have 50 pcs. blue 130,000 mcd 150,000 in red 180,000 in green and a I need water because my eyes are on fire 255,000 in white all for around 25 bucks as soon as I get paid this weekend ill order some in green and see how it comes out. The selection on ebay is ok I've looked on there before and theres new stuff popping up all the time.I'm thinking if his 5mm can pump out light like that imagine what something bigger and better can produce

LeMoel
06-12-2008, 09:50 PM
the only thing iam worried about is the leds either burning out or being hit out of place and such, and the time and effort it takes to do one of these sabers but hopefully it will be worth it plus price is a bit more expensive

and

NeptuneTQ - great test thank you, i know what you mean about it being a tad hard to keep the leds straight. and one more thing these blades are meant to not be in a polycarbonate blade so if u get a nylon blade then u will get even more brightness, thats what hyperdyne uses, i would purchase one off xwing im going to soon here

so im working on my 8mm green 60,000 mcd test tonight then i wiull post some pics

LeMoel
06-13-2008, 01:26 AM
OK TEST #2

40 degree 8mm 60,000 MCD Green led test (20 led string) next to 20 degree 5mm 6,000 mcd blue(from my first test)(50 led).

Lights on wi flash

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=98

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=102

Lights on with out flash
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=101

Lights Off with flash

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=103

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=104

Kind of a little Treat test for all you True Orange saber fans- these are weak 2000 mcd 5mm leds 20 degrees(you can get way briht orange ones these are just wat i had on hand) its 20 of them

lights on wi flash

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=105

lights off with flash

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=106

lights on with flash upright

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=107

hope this helps

i am very pleased with my results, they hurt my eyes, my pictures dont do full brightness justice either cuz of my imac computer STRONG flash

but as you can see i figured out a way to make 20 degree leds work also, by putting a reflective paper at the end of the 6000 mcd blue one, it hits off of it and comes out the side of the blades more like xwings nylon blades... looks promising to me now!

LeMoel
06-13-2008, 11:23 PM
wanted to make sure my batteries were fresh so i added some new ones look what i got

all these pictures are with

flashhttp://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=115

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=114

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=113

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=116

watch it hammer my MAster Replica's Yoda,vader,obiwan all with new batteries

lights on

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=120

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=126



http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=125

Lights off

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=118

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=122


http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=124

Verses my weak orange test

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=131

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=132

ti-el_terall
06-14-2008, 12:06 AM
Here's my tut. for making the blade. I only did it using 20 degree LED's.
http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=12650.0

LeMoel
06-14-2008, 06:42 PM
Everyone remember makototsai's Dancing Cane of light-up? his newest show off?? look here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igC6N9lHoww

I thought i would show him how bright our greens can be,and how good our talents Are up here!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilr7A1x0YKE

eastern57
06-14-2008, 07:50 PM
LOL! When I saw your expression, I thought of Val Kilmer in Tombstone, twirlling the shot glass!

That's really bright, are you going to make a full length string? Are they really that even or are they just over-exposed?

I think the hardest part of this, is the establishing some kind of objectivity... everyone's cameras are different and no one (including me) has any idea of what makoto's blades look like in person... outside of pictures and ufo vids, we don't even have any good representation. Know what I mean?

Anyway. LeMoel, how much power are you running through that? volts and current...

LeMoel
06-15-2008, 12:07 AM
Hey i know what you mean about camera's but if you look at the hyperdyne website and see some of the video's they show how they actually look, basically just like a nylon blade like xwings but way brighter

this test is actually really even what i just made with the 60 ,000 mcd green

i will be showing comparisons between it and my blue high bin luxeon rebel soon

i will be making it in to a full blade once i get my nylon tubes from xwing, im just using ABS right now and its only 3/4

polp p wrapped around the leds makes it even, thats what the taiwanese guys use

more results soon "i will be having pictures of how i made my 6000 mcd blue alot brighter too with better batteries byyye

LeMoel
06-16-2008, 02:52 AM
More TESTS

first off here my old blue led string which looked weak, and i used new batteries and a couple repairs and got it way brighter, just to recap, these are 6000 mcd 20 degree blue 5mm leds ran off of 4.8 volts

its funny cuz at first i thought they were light blue but they are actually normal blue now that i see it at full brightness haha

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=138

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=137

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=136

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=135

NOTE: pictures were all taken in the day time, with lights on and lights off

NOW my high binn luxeon rebel Blue(ultra blade) vs the 60,000 mcd green
led string

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?
albumid=7&pictureid=140

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?
albumid=7&pictureid=141

Luxeon Rebel Blue high binn vs 6000 mcd Blue string

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=140

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/album.php?albumid=7&pictureid=141



-Now when it comes to the Green 60,000 mcd string vs the Blue Rebel - The green is the clear victor ,specially when you see it in person, the picture with the lights on is hard to tell because green is harder tosee in the light but in person as i said it is the clear victor

-Now with the Rebel Blue vs the String Blue 6000 mcd - now in person the 6000 mcd blue string looks a tad brighter but in the picture the rebel looks brighter,but there pretty dam equal. I am impressed with the rebel however, but if these led strings were full blades i think the rebel still wouldnt be able to compete buut there not too too different in brightness but the strings will always be brighter

Jonitus
06-16-2008, 08:44 AM
The tests appear to be coming along nicely.

I've come across some wide angle LED (viewing angle 85-100 degrees) and I am debating picking them up, in the hopes that they would reduce the splotchiness of the blade that we see from time to time.

eastern57
06-16-2008, 11:58 AM
I have some 120 degree on the way, I'll let you know how that one turns out. But it's actually fun to string them together, and try out something new. Once we get this figured out, I'm sure you'll want to make on for your self too...

Jonitus
06-16-2008, 12:25 PM
I'm sure you're right about wanting to try this myself. I have a project in mind that I was having some difficulties figuring out a blade holder and LED holder for, but with one of these super bright string blades, it would be a non-issue.

eastern57
06-16-2008, 11:27 PM
I know there's a few people (myself included) that are looking for alternatives - no disrespect to anyone with a saber store ;)

I think this takes the best of both MR Force FX and LED tech:
1) it's even the whole length of the blade (without suffering internal wraps)
2) tough, yet easy to maintain - get 100 for less than $20
3) cheap and always in stock
4) color change potential - if I ever figure it out...
5) and brighter than creation!!

I'm trying to get this figured out soon so that a [proven reliable] option is out there for people to turn to. But more for me - just to see if I can :)

Malaki Skywalker
06-17-2008, 01:42 AM
Looks like Makototsai has put an MR board in in HB II Saber!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_aGxbde60 Now that is sweet! :p

ti-el_terall
06-27-2008, 10:30 AM
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/Ti-el_Terall/P1020447.jpg

:D:D

eastern57
06-28-2008, 10:01 PM
whoa dude... 100 degrees, nice find. Let us know how is goes..

I just got my pack today too - 4.8mm 120 degree. I'll try to get something together, it goes pretty fast now that I got the process down...

ti-el_terall
06-28-2008, 10:24 PM
Hmm, well Im having a bit of trouble driving it, it says max volts is 3.8 with 20mA, so I was running it with 2 AA battery's. Dim, then I upped it to 4.5v and there running fine. I think the big issue is diffusion, I stil get a slightly splotchy blade, but it might be better If i had the resistor and LED setup.

eastern57
06-29-2008, 12:12 AM
Yeah dude, I've been there - and I can't help you... I'm still trying to figure it out myself

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=5042

basically, to sum up what was said:
- diffusion techniques don't determine evenness
- LEDs need to be individually resistored

So with this next one, I'll try to resistor them one at a time... probably won't do anything but waste time, but I'll try anyway...

yeah... the more I play with these, the more I'm convinced that mr.makoto's sabers probably look like colored-corn-on-the-cob also, we just can't tell from the low-res, cell phone images... :(

Vardarac
07-08-2008, 03:13 PM
As for resistors, I recommend making a long "wire" with them, then soldering the LED string to it and trimming where necessary- I haven't yet tried this, but I have to say soldering resistor chains is not easy work because they aren't already hooked up like the LEDS.

To see a picture of how to do this properly, go here (http://www.instructables.com/id/ESAFJUJVW2EP286RGN/).

EDIT: Now that I've actually tried soldering LEDs and resistors such that I get 1.5 cm spacing, I would highly recommend that you do the actual soldering of the LED and resistor instead of trying to do them separately.

Further, if you're making space calculations, remember that the LED "head" is not included in any but the last LED as far as each one's contribution to length. This is because you are connecting the LEDs at a point beyond the head.

eastern57
07-09-2008, 07:50 AM
What the... Where did you come from? :) outta left field... comes this... awesomeness!

Welcome, welcome. Thanks for a great find and pull up a seat, have a drink - LeMoel is buying ;)

ti-el_terall
07-09-2008, 08:03 AM
To see a picture of how to do this properly, go here (http://www.instructables.com/id/ESAFJUJVW2EP286RGN/).



Ah, yes, been quit awhile since I'v seen that tutorial. As soon as I found this site I thought I would never need it:cool:

So here's what I think. 40 degree's is the magic number because it doesnt shine forward so much your losing light, but its not open enough that it makes blob's in between each LED. Also, difusion, diffusion, diffusion.

One last thing about the LED's. They apparently should be bought factory direct. I have asked makotsai a few times where he suggests we should buy them, but he never really answers.

eastern57
07-09-2008, 08:29 AM
I think what he was refering to was that he can get them by the batch, not just bulk. Which means that they'd be identical to eachother... at least that's what I got out of it. Same factory batch probably wouldn't have the wild electrical variations that we're getting. It might not be an option available to us here in the states.

Vardarac
07-09-2008, 08:35 AM
What the... Where did you come from? :) outta left field... comes this... awesomeness!

Welcome, welcome. Thanks for a great find and pull up a seat, have a drink - LeMoel is buying ;)

Thanks, friend. Drinking some has a tendency to make me depressed, though. Just get me a Smirnoff so I can pass out instead :3

I found this while googling "makototsai saber"- I also want to build a saber kinda like this (with the difference being that I want to try my best to make mine not hurt when I hit people with it). So I shall be with you every step of the way, until it passes my very limited knowledge of electronics! 8)


Same factory batch probably wouldn't have the wild electrical variations that we're getting. It might not be an option available to us here in the states.

I've read that even LEDs from the same batch can vary to an extent, although exactly how great an extent I don't know. I think some American distributors or manufacturers of LEDs may be able to help you out with this, but the only purely American manufacturer I know of charges a lot for LEDs and I have no way of verifying that their quality is as good as they claim. I ordered a bunch of LEDs from them of varying colors but had no standard to test them against. They seemed pretty solid nonetheless. Anyway, you might need to pay more to ensure that you get a bunch of LEDs from the same batch.

Manufacturer: http://www.superbrightleds.com/
American distributor for HB in China: http://www.buy-leds-online.com/

I bought 180+ 4.8mm 140 degree LEDs from the distributor and they run pretty bright at high current (only resistance is the internal resistance of my battery holder w/3.6V when I tested- I wouldn't recommend testing your LEDs this way if you want long life). How long they last and how consistent their brightness is remains to be seen. When I get my electronics up and running I'll let you know how things turn out.

This thread (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=198189) at CandlePower Forums offers a few good places to look for LEDs. Nichia apparently carries some of the highest-quality (and therefore priciest) LEDs, so I'd expect greatest consistency from them. However, a minimum order is something like $70 for 100 LEDs. I don't even know if theirs is the brightest... Well, anyway, as far as where to get your LEDs it's still way up in the air. Just hoping I can give you some leads here.

Draconis Magnus
07-09-2008, 08:48 AM
Thanks for the link Vardarac... wow.. this thread is the official thread of making string LED blades! ... well done!

Vardarac
07-10-2008, 06:59 PM
Well, got my LEDs strung up, and they're amazingly consistent. The brightness starts drooping at the end, but that's not really an LED issue. I can probably fix it by attaching another battery pack in parallel. For future reference, I highly recommend HeBeiLTD.com's 4.8mm blues. 9 cents a pop and I haven't had a single consistency problem yet.

ti-el_terall
07-10-2008, 10:04 PM
Have you tried it in a blade? Does each LED have its own resistor? If so then sweet, weve nailed a source, now we just need to compare it to see if its is comparable to lux or MR.

EDIT: How did you get them if minimum order is $100?

Novastar
07-11-2008, 01:36 AM
Well, got my LEDs strung up, and they're amazingly consistent. The brightness starts drooping at the end, but that's not really an LED issue. I can probably fix it by attaching another battery pack in parallel. For future reference, I highly recommend HeBeiLTD.com's 4.8mm blues. 9 cents a pop and I haven't had a single consistency problem yet.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/omniicyshelf/Smallsaber.png

Nice stuff, Vard! I'm going to offer what my theory is about why the LEDs essentially "slowly" go from very bright to not as bright--and I'm starting by guessing that it is not the battery pack....

I could be wrong about this, but... here goes:

As the current travels further and further along up the blade (we'll call it a blade for now)... the wires are longer (obviously)... but therefore, more and more current is lost to HEAT as it travels through the wires.

As far as I know--this is true of most any electronics. Basically... the wire now has its OWN resistance... one that is a LOT more recognizable since it's not an inch or two... it's like 24+ inches!! Eandori can probably tell this tale far better, but... I'm just going off of my super-basic understanding.

SO... a possible solution (albeit somewhat tough to "dial in") would be to SLOWLY "dial down" the resistors as you move UPWARD to the tip of the blade.

Why.

Well, if you resist an equal amount of power/current for LED #1 near the base of your blade...

...it seems clear that the very TOP MOST LED will be getting the LEAST amount of current... but not due to the battery source... due to the wire length's added resistance of the current traveling such a bloody long distance!

Problem is... getting resistors that will SLOWLY "eek down" one by one, maybe from 1 ohm to... I don't know... 0.95 ohms then 0.92 or whatever, essentially letting a little bit more current through here, then more here, more here, etc. etc. ... ...?? Well, I have no idea how to do that without buying like 500+ resistors or something, lol. And it sure sounds like a big pain in the butt.

Some easier possible solutions:

* Try finding one good "demarcation" point where you switch from resistor type A to type B... maybe in the middle of the blade? At that point, it is POSSIBLE the light change won't be so drastic???

* Try stringing TWO LEDs to a single resistor, effectively removing half of the resistors... but... I don't know if that will make things worse or not... :(

* Diffusion for your blade would have to be more "milky" near the top and a bit clearer at the bottom.

* Who gives a crud, that kind of makes it more like "auto-Corbin-film"??! :)

Whew, what a mouthful. But, good work and hope it helps!

LeMoel
07-11-2008, 01:41 AM
what degree's are those bad boys? great job by the way

and please put that in a nylon blade or something haa im really interested

Vardarac
07-11-2008, 05:08 AM
Have you tried it in a blade? Does each LED have its own resistor? If so then sweet, weve nailed a source, now we just need to compare it to see if its is comparable to lux or MR.

EDIT: How did you get them if minimum order is $100?

Unfortunately, this is only my preliminary test with an extra set of 60 blues. The only thing between the batteries and the LEDs in this picture is 2 ohms (more if you count the wires, dialing this into the "safe zone" for my LEDs) of combined resistance from the battery terminals themselves (.5 ohms) and a potentiometer (set to minimum resistance @ 1.5 ohms). The multi-resistor setup will take me substantially longer to do, mainly because I need to do a lot of careful soldering (and more of it, for that matter).

To be honest, I know absolutely nothing about blade construction, but I was planning on sticking this thing in a polycarbonate pipe just wide enough to accept it, then putting that polycarbonate pipe in a polyethylene foam tube drilled/melted through to accept the pipe. That should take care of diffusion while making the saber substantially safer for whacking people with (and perhaps lighter, too- I don't know, I've never actually held a polycarbonate tube of the size I would normally use for this).

Also, this will probably come nowhere close to the brightness of Luxeons- at least, not in its current form. My intention is just to make a semi-durable melee-safe-ish blade that still glows fairly well. Mako's setup was the only one I felt comfortable settling on given the nature of polyethylene foam, so I decided to use it in my design.

I managed to get these LEDs from an American distributor for HB. The prices on each LED are the same- until you include their ludicrous shipping and handling prices (total came to $35 for 195 LEDs, though 65 of those were about 11 cents more expensive), but regardless I still think it was worth it given that I'd probably end up paying other companies a lot more.

While I'm on this subject, NEVER buy LEDs from EBay for saber purposes. You will more than likely get a few bad apples, and specs are often flat-out lies. Someone was considering a "60K mcd" somewhere else in this thread- either that LED is practically a laser (very narrow beam), or someone is scamming you.


Whew, what a mouthful. But, good work and hope it helps!

Come to think of it, I should measure the resistance of the LED leads and resistor wire. That should give me a clue as to how to set this up. Thanks for the tips!


what degree's are those bad boys? great job by the way

Pretty wide. The manufacturer doesn't list a consistent angle and mcd output for these little guys, but they do say the degree range is 130-170 and the mcd (at 20 mA; mine are running [I think] at 30 or slightly over which is not good since 30 is considered the max safe current) is something like 73-145. Doesn't sound impressive at first blush, but it looks amazing. Their other colors are supposed to be substantially brighter, although their blue-green seems to be about the same brightness (and is much more of a teal than an aqua). It probably has a lot to do with eye sensitivity to different colors.

EDIT: I've been seeing some interest in RGB LEDs here. You're probably looking at 3 times the cost of a standard array saber, both in terms of time and money, but if you're really up for it I have some ideas that might interest you. Makototsai has created a momentary push-button color-changing saber (as seen on youtube), but now that I've learned about potentiometers I think it could be possible to make a saber that one can control with 3 small dials to make smooth color/brightness changes. A caveat is that it requires a bit more wiring and a lot more room inside your saber. Like any other additional features, it'll also cost extra (3 large 5Kohm pots at Radio Shack run at $4 apiece, I think). Later I'll try and draw up a small gear-and-potentiometer based setup that will allow you to change colors simply by turning one dial. IF I do actually start planning this thing it will probably be at least a month or two before I can give you any kind of a diagram as to what this will look like.

Further edit: Probably just gonna run some extra copper wire up to another section of my led string and see what happens; maybe I can get this thing to light up brighter

Post-further edit: Added two additional parallel connections to the middle and end sections that bypass the rest of the LEDs. Brightness is considerably more consistent and will probably be even more so if I add another couple of sets in between.

Vardarac
07-14-2008, 11:32 AM
EDIT: Post removed

Lord Maul
07-14-2008, 11:43 AM
You could probably get the white core if you did it that way Vardarac. I'd put a pot on the blue lux so you can adjust the brightness so it's just right.

Back on topic, that LED strip looks fantastic. It's hard for me to tell which end is the top and bottom

xwingband
07-14-2008, 12:34 PM
Nice stuff, Vard! I'm going to offer what my theory is about why the LEDs essentially "slowly" go from very bright to not as bright--and I'm starting by guessing that it is not the battery pack....

I could be wrong about this, but... here goes:

As the current travels further and further along up the blade (we'll call it a blade for now)... the wires are longer (obviously)... but therefore, more and more current is lost to HEAT as it travels through the wires.

As far as I know--this is true of most any electronics. Basically... the wire now has its OWN resistance... one that is a LOT more recognizable since it's not an inch or two... it's like 24+ inches!! Eandori can probably tell this tale far better, but... I'm just going off of my super-basic understanding.


Yup, that's right. Wire has it's own resistance that's magnified over the distance. ALSO each LED has a bit of it's own resistance. Add it all up and over the full length it will lose current by the end of the string.

That's why I suggested a series and parallel setup to give yourself a little more current control. You'd double the voltage, but if you split it in half the amperage would be lower and better for direct driving.

This makes me want to get back to my MR strips. It sucked a lot of amps without any hesitation. I was just going direct drive on 2AA and shove it in a PVC hilt.

Vardarac
07-14-2008, 01:59 PM
That's why I suggested a series and parallel setup to give yourself a little more current control. You'd double the voltage, but if you split it in half the amperage would be lower and better for direct driving.

Unfortunately, I WILL need that if I want my blade to ignite properly. As just a normal light string I've managed to sidestep the problem just by adding a few more wires here and there (but the whole thing stays parallel).

eastern57
07-14-2008, 03:17 PM
While I'm on this subject, NEVER buy LEDs from EBay for saber purposes...

...all too true... a little late for some of us, but no less true ;)

to clarify, I'll still get bulk LEDs for a little bling - but not for saber blades... bad, bad, bad for saber blades... silly me to fall for the old something for nothing...

Malaki Skywalker
07-17-2008, 03:39 AM
Heres Mokato's other guide: http://chinese-starwars.com/chineseforum/viewtopic.php?t=10424

I don't think theres much difference in the other guide

Looks like he's taken Aluke123's signature pic LOL

Lord Maul
07-17-2008, 10:59 AM
WTF...why would he steal my signature pic? That is messed up.

What I find funny is how everyone spells his name a little bit different.:rolleyes:

Malaki Skywalker
07-17-2008, 11:55 AM
WTF...why would he steal my signature pic? That is messed up.

That was my reaction, preeeeetty creepy :|

eastern57
07-17-2008, 12:01 PM
WTF...why would he steal my signature pic? That is messed up.

What I find funny is how everyone spells his name a little bit different.:rolleyes:

LOL! :) "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

Darth Leximus
07-17-2008, 02:58 PM
LOL! :) "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"


Sorry couldn't resist...I'm going now

BhujangiJedi
07-18-2008, 09:12 PM
Well, imagine you're reading some Chinese forum (something you pretty much never do, since you don't know Chinese) and you see a cool sig... you have no idea what it says on it, but the letters look cool, and you're pretty sure no one from that forum is ever gonna be on the English forums you use, so you nab the sig. You don't know if the foreign letters say "I will force-crush your wind-pipe" or if they're actually someone's (nick)name.

But then you go and make some of the baddest-ass sabers and do some nice spin-fu videos and get more than a little popular and even Chinese people are checking out your forums... and noticing that you've nabbed a pic with someone else's sig! Doh!

I'd say just feel flattered he liked your sig... and if it bothers you, ask him to stop using it.

Novastar
07-19-2008, 05:37 PM
Right, I imagine "Aluke123" means nothing to him (or whatever the name on the sig is; I quickly looked)... :)

Vardarac
08-04-2008, 09:26 PM
I ordered some polycarbonate last weekend, so I'll see what I can do in the way of diffusion and show you guys how it turns out.

Eandori
08-05-2008, 01:01 PM
I quickly skimmed this thread, so sorry if missed some stuff but anyways here's some observations.

1. Novastar was exactly right. If your power/ground rails are on wires that are too thin, their internal resistance will drop the voltage the LED's at the end are receiving. There are many ways to fix this. Novastar suggested one, less biasing resistance as you go down the blade. Also thicker power/ground rails, etc.

2. If you can up the voltage of your battery source, you can do this with MUCH less overall power used. Think of an array of 9 LED's each needing 30mA at 3.8v. If you wire up each one on a single 4.8v rail with it's own resistor, your battery is putting out 270mA at 4.8v Now instead, if you can wire it up so 3 LED's are in series, with just a single biasing resistor for each, you have 11.4v of LED, so with a 12v battery you have 30mA going to 3 sets of 3 LED's for a total of 90mA used. 90mA is a LOT easier on a battery then 270... and this gets more pronounced when you start using hundreds of LED's. In short, you are using more voltage instead of current (current is what heats up your wires and usually fries components) and also you are wasting less power in your baising resistors.

3. Like somebody else was wondering, yes you are basically doing a Hyperdyne setup. You guys will notice that your setups require more voltage, more current, they are way bright, but your batteries don't last long. Your blades will be heavier, and you tell me about durability. Seems like it would not be as durable. Even if it survives a few HARD hits... what about 1000 hits? Bending metal on LED leads is BAD NEWS. Try bending an LED led in your hands 100 times...

pipster79
10-19-2008, 11:35 PM
ok, ive read over this thread, and here is the answer to your problems.
1. you need to have seperate banks of leds
2. each led needs its own resistor, but the lead from each led must be soldered before the resistor on the one before it, so each led is resisting the same amount from the main power supply.
wires having resistance? i havent herd of that one before, in the 3 years i took electricity in high school, nor since then. and even if it did...1, or 2, or even 3 feet the resistance would be so minimal that it would make no difference to the naked eye in light.
take christmas tree lights for example...100s of lights from a single power supply, run in series or parallel, they will still be evenly lit. of course parallel is the best way to go, same with a light saber blade, same way mr did there blades. and if you test the resistors on a led strip from mr, you will find that each resistor is the same value...and their blades are evenly lit.

heres a tutorial i found on led string blades that you should find much more easy to understand than the chinese one

http://www.instructables.com/id/Darth-Maul-LED-light-saber/

Novastar
10-20-2008, 12:05 AM
That instructables thing has been around for years. I discovered it back in the day when researching for BOP I and quickly discarded the idea since it was way too fragile, although neat and all.

As to wires having resistance... they do indeed. It's true to some extent that a 1" length of wire has a resistance so small that it would not affect power... but with a wire length of 30" and a gauge that is thin? Yes, it definitely could. EVERYTHING has some form of resistance.

Xmas tree lights do not use a thin gauge of wire. Also, some Xmas tree lights do have a form of driver in there (as I think we all know). Not all of them. Some Xmas lights are still "lamps" and not LEDs as well.

Some MRs I've seen (WITHOUT THE BLADE AND DIFFUSER ON) have shown various levels of brightness from LED to LED. Just my experience (back in 2005).

Finally, Pip--Eandori just said that using a mixture of parallel AND series wiring (a.k.a. "banks of LEDs") could be another solution--and he explained why it'd be somewhat more efficient. Although... NO you do not HAVE to do this. You can if you want to--a point Edwin also mentioned by comparing the two methods.

eastern57
10-20-2008, 12:08 AM
Hiya pipster79,

Yes, all these issues have been discussed, and this isn't the only thread on DIY LED strings - there's a bunch more that really dive deeply into testing, theory, construction, and comparisons.

There's lots of ideas circulating -some good, some not-so-good- but everyone has their own priorities and goals... and not all of them work with banks or resistors.

That's really the beauty of Do-it-Yourself: people are free to make sabers the way they want. :) And as long as they work, who can say what's right or wrong? [but I'm certain someone will ;)]

btw, there's already english tutorials around. And that particular tutorial has been mentioned - it's even in this thread, cleverly disguised as an underlined blue word.

:)

Hasid Lafre
01-28-2009, 12:59 AM
I got to looking at some leds and I am trying to figure out which ones would be better to use, the clear or the diffused ones.

Also what would the definitive led size to mcd be, 5mm? 7mm? 8mm? 10mm?

White 10 mm 265,000 mcd, 40* VA, 100ma.

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16642

According to a calculator thats 98.5 lumens from that one led, 60 leds, jebus christ. Then we can get colored tubing to put the leds around and put it in the white foam behind a diffuser.

Also what about using more than one led string and say a single mr board? counter productive?

vargose
01-28-2009, 08:21 AM
White 10 mm 265,000 mcd, 40* VA, 100ma.

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16642

Also what about using more than one led string and say a single mr board? counter productive?

Be careful with those specific 10mm LEDs you mentioned. You need about 66 leds to fill a 34 inch blade. At a $2.75 a pop you'll be spending a pretty penny. If cost isn't an issue, milliamps may be. 66 of those will draw about 6600mA. You could do some series/parallel wiring to get it at double the voltage but half the current for about 3300mA.

In general I would say, try to find some LEDs that don't suck as much juice.

I know Makoto has used an MR board before. It would give you a nice scroll. Might want to check the amps coming out of the MR board to make sure it has enough to power the number of LEDs you want.

JerrySkywalker555
01-28-2009, 01:42 PM
I would say that would be waaay too much money for a saber test.way too much.. if you want 10mm leds go to ebay,way cheaper. and there pretty bright:D

Sairon
01-28-2009, 04:38 PM
But ebay can give you crapy leds, it's better to buy from a retailer then some random person you don't even know.

eastern57
01-28-2009, 05:35 PM
The only "benefit" that those wide-head LEDs offer is the possibility of a wider viewing angle. 6-digit mcd counts are nice, but @ 100mA per LED, you won't be able to power too many. Naturally, with a concentrated point source, the mcd rating will be higher... but it's a much thirstier LED.

In actuality, the viewing angle is more important - because a ridiculously high mcd count means nothing if it's shining it DIRECTLY up the butt of the LED right above it. Do you see what I mean? 40 degrees is decent, but again, 100mA...

The reason Makoto's LED are so great is that they're a relatively high mcd-count for the angle - while the current requirement remains low. Plus, they're all consistant.

I've bought 6 batches of LED from ebay distributors in china, and NONE of them had any consistancy. In comparison, Makoto's absolutely destroy LEDs that I've bought on ebay... for LED strings, at least. ;)

Hasid Lafre
01-28-2009, 05:37 PM
thanks eastern, BTW jerry dosent know what hes talking about.

Malaki Skywalker
01-29-2009, 12:29 AM
Who should we avoid on eBay?

Hasid Lafre
01-29-2009, 12:36 AM
As for the mr board thing, I was thinking, 2 short led strips powered by an mr board, would be just about the same as 1 long strand on a board wouldent?

LeMoel
01-29-2009, 01:45 AM
Yeah as eastern said i also noticed the viewing angle playing a major part. I was actually surprised tho when i tryed leds that were 100 degrees viewing angle and they werent as bright as my 8mm 40 degree tests .

so maybe the brightness(mcd) of the led does matter a bit

vargose
01-29-2009, 08:10 AM
Whoa. Lets keep our cool. No need for language. When we are slandered, we answer kindly.

vargose
01-29-2009, 08:17 AM
As for the mr board thing, I was thinking, 2 short led strips powered by an mr board, would be just about the same as 1 long strand on a board wouldent?

Again it depends on how you wire it. I know Makoto has managed it. I am sure we can figure it out.

If you wire the two strips in parrallel to each other it would be the same.

LeMoel
03-12-2009, 11:52 PM
heres my test update



http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=7560

Sairon
03-13-2009, 09:28 AM
Looks good LeMoel.

Jedi Sleepy
03-13-2009, 05:39 PM
Any idea how Makototsai did this?

Marsupial
03-13-2009, 08:28 PM
Any idea how Makototsai did this?

Leds facing a quartz cristal?

Sairon
03-14-2009, 09:54 AM
Its a rbg accent led, with one of Makototsai's custom crystals.

Vardarac
03-28-2009, 01:17 PM
I'm back after some months. I made a "kid-safe" LED saber from the materials I had. Keep in mind this is just a very crude first model- that's why the blade is massive and the handle is a PVC pipe. The thing is literally designed to be a lamp you can hit people with (and it is for the most part safe, both for the victim and for the blade components- as long as you don't go overboard).

The consistency of the LEDs when not in their PE foam sheath is very good. I know I've already mentioned this before, but I'd like to reiterate that everything I've ordered from Hebeiltd's American distributor has been nothing short of impressive. I recommend the 4.5 mm LEDs.

vargose
03-30-2009, 08:18 AM
Where did you get a PE foam sheath?

Vardarac
03-30-2009, 04:36 PM
Where did you get a PE foam sheath?

That's a fancy phrase for a white pool noodle ;)

Strydur
04-17-2009, 11:51 AM
Anyone try using the EL diffuser and tubes for Mak's LED's? It looks like they would fit pretty good.

xwingband
04-18-2009, 08:41 AM
Probably. He uses an MR like foam inside a thin PolyC tube. I'd personally throw that into a nylon tube which is what I've done with MR strips.

Jase Kala Maris
04-19-2009, 10:32 PM
Ok where to start... Hmmm

I went on ebay and bought some Flat head 5mm 13,000 mcd green led viewing angle of 120 degrees... there bright but 13,000 mcd hard to say.

I followed the directions of those before me and put them in a string and powered them off a flashlight led driver at around 3.6v and 2800mah.

That is what the led driver says I have a multi meter but I can't get a satisfactory reading off it so I can't confirm this...

I have a string of 66 leds running at the 2800 mah so thats what 43ish mah per led. These are rated for 25 mah but I've heard of peeps overdriving these things crazy so I figured what the heck. :p and I can't believe I'm getting 2800 mah outta this thing :mrgreen:

Also a package of 100 of them only cost me about 15 bucks with shipping off ebay. :rolleyes:

I clear packing taped them all up then rolled them in bubble wrap then shoved them in a TCSS sanded blade and... what you want pics ok sure.

but first my MR Anakin ROTS is about 45 lux on my meter...

this on is about 275 lux :)

Pics ok here...
http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp319/jasekalamaris/multimeter.jpg
http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp319/jasekalamaris/bubblewrap.jpg
http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp319/jasekalamaris/anakinvsebayleds.jpg
Makototsai is finishing up my MKTT FS V2.0 hopefully this week then a week shipping, so two weeks I'll have that to show some comparisons and get some Lux readings...:cool:

and a Video on youtube...

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

Novastar
04-20-2009, 03:18 PM
Looks great, Jase... and just so you know-- ~3A is not totally insane from this kind of thing! H-blades were probably always meant to spit out far more than 1A, and certainly Mako's blades must run at much >1A as well.

Also--I don't think you're doing anything crazy by going ~40mA vs. ~20mA for the little indicator LEDs. It depends on a lot of things of course, and I believe the industry standards try to use data that allow "good" light output with very good lifespan. Additionally, depending on the LED--it may be one that is meant to be "always on", or one that was never intended for that. Although most are meant to have a "max continuous current" rating.

If possible, you might set up a dedicated power supply to "crank it up and down" and see what the difference is in feeding 20mA, 30mA and 40mA (etc.). In some cases, moving from 20mA to 40mA will affect things... and in other cases, it could be barely noticeable. :)

Jase Kala Maris
04-20-2009, 03:56 PM
I really wish I could afford to get one of them Varible Power Supplies. Like the ones I see in Xwings Videos, but the cheapest I've seen one is 75 and 15 shipping and handling. Just can't drop the money on that right now.

I totally think it's a must have! Trial and error setups to find what mah runs best is just ridiculous! Would be so much more effiecient to just wire it up to one of those and be like... Ok 25mah gives this lux 30, 35, 40... and so on.

I know what you mean about the light output just staying the same no matter how much amp I put through these little suckers. I bet they have a sweet spot someplace around 30-35mah so I'm just waisting the power-I could be putting more led in the string!!! ;)

Maybe I'll suggest Tim carry those Varible Power Supplys, maybe he could get a deal on them.

and as always thanks for the support Nova

Novastar
04-21-2009, 07:53 AM
Hey, I hear ya. *I* don't have an adjustable/variable PS... and neither do I have anything but a BEAST of a soldering iron... :) So don't sweat it. I'm just saying... for your projects--you might even hook up a POT to a battery source and see if you could "dial it in", heheh.

Also--I don't know IF you are wasting power/amperage... I'm simply saying--yup... you'd want to find out I'd guess!

For example--there *IS* such a thing as "overdriving TOO far" on a Luxeon LED (for example)... and I don't mean the obvious "too much" when it blows up. I mean, sure standard maybe 1000mA... then, you give it 1200 and see some more brightness... yum!! But then you go to 1300 and only detect minimal improvement... plus it starts getting HOT... and you even try 1350--and you don't feel it's a good move any more.

So... that LED is probably best @ ~1200 to get some "pimped" results--at the cost of a little lifespan... whereas going to 1250 or 1275 or 1300... might just SEVERELY cut the lifespan (via tons of heat)... and add a measely 20 lumens or whatever. Not worth it.

So... yup... sometimes ya gotta pick yer pony! :) You may be right that adding more LEDs (and lessening the current per LED) MIGHT actually be "more ideal" electronically vs. driving the whole shootin' match harder. It depends. :)

xwingband
04-21-2009, 06:41 PM
Actually a large honking pot would probably be pretty decent for a variable power supply. If you could get a fixed output like from a "wall wart" it could work with a meter. You could even get gator clips and a project box to make it look nice.

I actually did that for a circuits class. Our PSU had two variable outputs and a fixed 5V... we needed +12V, -12V, +5V, -5V and a variable one to act as our trigger voltage for the sensor. We had to take the two variables at 12V, the fixed for 5V and parallel the 5V with a pot for our variable output.

A PSU is not a huge need for everyone, but for us hardcore builders that pump out a lot or do complicated things it's something I wouldn't do without. I've manually charged batteries. I use it all the time in place of batteries because who always has fresh batteries out all the time? It's great for measurements too.