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View Full Version : crystal focus 4.3 and 11.1V L ion?



infa008
11-28-2009, 01:04 AM
I was considering building my next saber with crystal focus sound and a lux V green. I read a post that discussed voltage saying that more than the minimum voltage would be fine with this and lots of people said that 7.2v L ion is the perfect set up. However I was wondering if 11.1v would be too much for Crysal focus as the user manual, I think stated the max voltage for the board to be just 11v. Any suggestions.
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx40/infa008/lightsaber002.jpg

Jagahati
11-28-2009, 02:38 AM
Why do you need 11.1V?

It seems to me that doing a 7.2v system is both easier to fit in the hilt, cheaper, and plenty enough to run a CF and a Lux 5.

infa008
11-28-2009, 02:50 AM
I think i have pleny space in my hilt and would want it just for runtime.

Jagahati
11-28-2009, 03:07 AM
If run time is what you are most concerned with and you have plenty of room perhaps you might look into a 7.2V NiMh system using AA sized cells. Those run at almost 3 times the Mah than L ions.

Also more voltage will not increase run time in any real and significant way. I believe (not 100% but strongly believe) that the CF uses a voltage regulator to control voltages coming into the board. If that is the case then extra voltage is converted to heat when it runs through the voltage regulator.

Additional voltage does not give you improved run time increased Mah factor of the cells increases how much power can be drained for how long from any given set of batteries.

Also when figuring run times the Mah of each cell is not added together but is the same amount fore example:

Using the NiMh AA Tim sells,
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/AA-2600mAh-NiMH-Rechargeable-battery-P474.aspx

a single battery puts out 1.2V for about 2600 Mah.

Two would be 2.4V for about 2600 Mah.

Three would be 3.6V for about 2600 Mah.

Four is 4.8V for about 2600 Mah.

etc,etc,etc.

I hope this helps your understanding.

Sunrider
11-28-2009, 08:16 AM
A 7.4V Li ion setup is a good choice. For more run time add batteries in parallel or use bigger batteries.:) You never want to come close to max voltage with electronics as transients are more likely to destroy parts.

Shadar Al'Niende
11-28-2009, 08:19 AM
Yup...once you get up near max voltage those Hobo's just go crazy... rippin parts outta your sabers, stompin on things...It's like feeding frenz-



oh.......











:rolleyes:

Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie
11-28-2009, 10:30 AM
If I were you, I would put two 18650 Li-Ion batteries end to end for 7.4V. You can usually find them in the neighborhood of 2600 mAh, and that will give you probably better than two hours of run time. Pretty much the ideal setup.

infa008
11-28-2009, 12:33 PM
thanks guys. That pretty much addressed everything I was trying to figure out. I already have the nimh AA's x 6 and that takes alot of space. I need to switch to Lithium to get the space for the sound card and speaker resonant chamber. Thanks Jagahati for the volt mah explanation. I figured it to be that way but wasn't sure.

Kal El Rah
11-28-2009, 02:00 PM
infa008 the 18650 Li-Ions are 1.45" when side by side and if placed end to end are over 5.4" long so you would have to decide which way you want to go.:confused:

infa008
11-28-2009, 02:26 PM
I could probably work either way but the side by side sounds interesting. I may just have to make an outcropping in the base of the hilt to make it fit nice but would probably turn out pretty neat looking and give the saber a more asymetrical look.

Also the concave fluted area is mostly all empty and is about 4 inches long so end to end would give me plenty of space as well.

Novastar
11-28-2009, 09:51 PM
I think this question was actually answered recently in some thread--I don't remember which.

"11.1v" is actually >11.1v (it's more around 12.2v) on a full charge when first hooked up to CF v2-v4. It's too much for some of the components on the board.

If you REALLY need 11v (or let's say ~10.8v), you'd want to put some kind of zener diode off of the battery pack BEFORE it reaches CF, so that the pack is "dumbed down" to closer to a "true" 11v... or maybe even 10v.

Also, it's true that having a pack with greater voltage than the LED + board + speaker & components needs... WITH CF... actually does increase runtime a bit--but it's not something so ridiculously significant.

infa008
11-28-2009, 10:15 PM
thanks Novastar, you guys pretty much put me in check on this I've decided to stick with 7.4v. Don't want to go overkill on my first try.