I'm too lazy to search tonight....

[Zurath Kodul]

I went to a 501st event today and used a friends Anakin saber.... it was then that I realised.... my normal saber is too dim.

How to I mod it to make it brighter? I need it to run on the current setup, but with enough juice to rival a regular ForceFX....

[Donnovan Sunrider]

What is it running now? We'd need a base line to know what might improve the brightness.

[Lord Maul]

You already know those questions are answered by both the FAQ, Thread Index, and numerous other threads. Don't be lazy.

[virus692]

Using a 616 is a compromise you get the led in the hilt but you loose some of the brightness. one thing that helps is fresh batteries every time or you might try a custom batteriesr pack. other than that with out some parts from TCSS you are kinda stuck.

[eastern57]

I went to a 501st event today and used a friends Anakin saber.... it was then that I realised.... my normal saber is too dim.

How to I mod it to make it brighter? I need it to run on the current setup, but with enough juice to rival a regular ForceFX....

Just turn up the Blade Intensity Setting... Boost + Aurek 5 or 6 should be good.... Didn't your master tell you how to do that? It's in the Jedi Standard Teachings & Regulations (JSTR) Manual 57.96 par 3a...

...padawans... sheesh ;)

[xwingband]

I went to a 501st event today and used a friends Anakin saber.... it was then that I realised.... my normal saber is too dim.

How to I mod it to make it brighter? I need it to run on the current setup, but with enough juice to rival a regular ForceFX....

You normal saber is made from the Joe-jedi kit if I remember... that's why it's dimmer. It's a much dimmer equivalent. It's like running a Lux I where III's have been standard for YEARS and and many are going for better now.

You won't get it brighter with the stock stuff. There isn't a magic button inside it for you to push that suddenly makes it better... that's like asking where's the nitrous on a Yugo.

To get any brighter you're going to have to replace the LED and use a different way that will run the LED harder. For that there are loads of threads. If you're too lazy to find them... so am I, tough luck.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Just turn up the Blade Intensity Setting... Boost + Aurek 5 or 6 should be good.... Didn't your master tell you how to do that? It's in the Jedi Standard Teachings & Regulations (JSTR) Manual 57.96 par 3a...

...padawans... sheesh ;)

LOL! Best answer ever! +3 internets for you!

Zurath, I'm going on the assumption that you are using a 616 saber if it's not as bright as a MR. A properly driven Lux saber will blow away an MR. If it is a 616 you're running, the LED is simply not a bright one to begin with, so there's not a lot you can do to juice it up. You can however do some work on the blade to light it up better.

When that guy was selling those 616's on Ebay a while ago, I bought one. It got lost in the mail, so he sent me another. Much to my surprise, the other one eventually arrived five weeks late. I used the sound board out of the first one, so I'm going to give the second one to my nephew for his birthday.

I carefully took the saber apart and put about 4 feet of cellophane gift wrap in it. It looks pretty good at the base of the blade, but it gets dimmer as it goes up. Turns out that for some silly reason, they put a black sticker on the inside of the blade tip. I'm currently trying to get the tip off without wrecking it, so I can put a reflective disc in there. When I get it done, I'll post pictures.

If it's not a 616, cellophane is still a good idea in any blade.

Tell us what you have, and we'll be able to help you better.

Edit: Xwing posted while I was typing. So it is a 616 then. Try improving the blade. It may help some.

[Zurath Kodul]

it's a 616.

I usually wrap celophane on the outside of the blade to show the color, but that only works for so long.

Again, I'm not in the mood to search for anything.. in the monring, I'll be more up to it.. the event drained me, and it was a short one.. maybe the ride into chicago was the worse of it :p

I'd love to take it apart and put better stuff inside it, but I hvae no experience with this stuff... if anyoen has a tutorial with pics, I'd love to get my hands on it....

Thanks,
Tim

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Ahh... There's a difference between being tired and being lazy. You should have made that clear from the start and people might have gone easier on you.

There is a tear down tutorial around here for the 616. It's not hard to do. Do a search, you'll find it.

Like I said, as soon as I get the reflective disk into mine, I'll post pictures.

[Zurath Kodul]

Ok.....

So.. a piece of black tape, eh?

I think I might be able to replace the black piece with some tinfoil glued in and it'd work 10x better.....

now, to just get the tip of the blade off.

[Lord Maul]

Take a 3/4" dowel rod and use that to ram the blade tip off. ;)

[Zurath Kodul]

I wanna be able to put it back on, too... and I don't wanna take the blade out :p

[Lord Maul]

You basically have to take the blade off...Otherwise you will get a bunch of PolyC shavings inside the blade if you saw the tip off. To reglue the tip use Weld on #3 or Weld on #16

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I'm trying to cut it off carefully, so I can glue it back on neatly. The other option is to modify the saber slightly so I can use a 1" thin wall blade and do it right. The stock 616 blade is only slightly smaller than 1"

I'll let you know how I make out.

[eastern57]

I'm trying to cut it off carefully, so I can glue it back on neatly. The other option is to modify the saber slightly so I can use a 1" thin wall blade and do it right. The stock 616 blade is only slightly smaller than 1"

I'll let you know how I make out.

In the future - use a pipr cutter and stick it right in the groove.

and thanks for the internetz!! :p:D

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Yep, used the pipe cutter to separate the polycarb tube from the tip, but the tip is glued into the diffuser too. I'm trying to get it out without messing it up too bad, but I may have to lose 1/4" of it.

[eastern57]

Yep, used the pipe cutter to separate the polycarb tube from the tip, but the tip is glued into the diffuser too. I'm trying to get it out without messing it up too bad, but I may have to lose 1/4" of it.

Actually, with that - the difuser is kind of a shim, it you take it off, the tip will be loose. It's better it you just cut it flush with the end of the tip...

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Honestly Tim, I think you'd be better off just building a new lightsaber.....

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Jay-gon is right. I finished my blade modifications, and while it's better than it was, it's still nothing to write home about.

I took some comparison photos. All pictures taken with the same camera settings. I under-exposed a bit to give the best depiction of the blades.

First picture: 616 on top, PVC kiddie saber with Lux I @ 350mA on bottom. While the 616 blade is more even, it's not nearly as bright as the Lux I.

Second picture, same two sabers with a Lux III at the bottom running @ 1500mA.

Third and fourth pictures are the green and blue settings on the 616 compared to the Lux I red.


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1126239/616compare.JPG


I regret that I didn't take a before picture of the 616 saber before I worked on it, but take my word for it that it is a little brighter, and a lot more even. That said, it's still nowhere as bright as a lowly Lux I.

The only reason I did this was to make it a little better to give to my nephew. If you want a good, bright saber, you're better off to buy the parts from the store and build one.

[Lord Dottore Matto]

I agree with jay gon, use the sound from your 616, use the blade too (remove the diffuser and replace it w/quad wrap corbin's & cello and build a new hilt with a properly driven lux III or V from the shop. You'd only be into it for like $60 and you will have a really bright saber! even cheaper ould be to use some of your 616 parts to build the hilt itself. Check the tut on this in the tutorial section!

link--->http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?p=100464#post100464

[LeMoel]

bottom line make a new saber or send that one in to a saber tecnition or buy a new saber from somebody who know's how

or read the custom saber tutorial and make a standard one.

theres waaaay brighter leds out there man trust me,you havent even experienced the lux rebel greatness im sure

[DizzyKungFu]

Also, the hilts on the 616 are clunky to hold. Having an aluminium or sink tube saber feels way more quality in your hands. I also agree with the others on this thread about making a new one (the work to get the 616 up to the brightness you want would be >= building a new MHS saber).