5 Attachment(s)
Completed 2003 ANH Vader conversion
...and what a pain in the a** it was. I should have listened to you guys...but no...I had to learn the hard way.
Anyway, it's done and it's working. I ended up spending a little over $100 to make it happen. In hindsight, I may have been better off spending a little more and just building an MHS saber from scratch or just buying something off ebay, but this was a cool first project since I ultimately didn't care if I completely mangled this saber...which I almost did, several times.
Here are some photos:
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So, if anyone is actually curious about how to do this, here's what I did.
I bought the TCSS Vader conversion kit. From what I understand, the process is pretty straightforward with the later version of the Vader saber, but this particular version has several issues which make this a daunting task.
Problem 1
The switch location is a huge issue here. On the 2003 Vader, it's a slider switch right beneath the emitter. Since this is where the conversion kit blade holder has to go, a compromise has to be made. I've heard that some people dremeled out a slot in the blade holder where the switch can slide out in the intended location near the emitter, but I was not comfortable doing that, so instead I opted to add a new button right beneath the clamp. Which leads me to...
Problem 2
This saber uses a Single Pole Double Throw switch. The smallest switch I could find was 16mm. That's pretty big considering the small space where I was putting the switch. It just about fit in between the clamp section and where the rubber grips begin. I kind of messed up here since I didn't have 16mm drill bit, so my hole isn't as neat as I'd hoped for. But it's kind of hidden and not noticeable enough to really bother me. The other issue with the SPDT switches is that they're long. They almost hit the other side of the saber when you put them in the tube, but again, I barely made it. To buy myself a little more room, I got 16mm rubber washers to raise the switch a bit. This not only gave me more clearance inside the hilt, but it also gave the button an interesting look while covering up some of my sloppy drilling.
If you're interested, I un-soldered the switch wires from the switchboard. I soldered purple and gray together. When green touches purple/gray, the saber turns on. When green touches blue, the saber goes off.
Problem 3
The blade holder, electronics, giant 16mm SPDT button, and 6 AA battery pack will not all fit into the hilt. My uncle is an electrical expert and I was able to get his help with this. He tested the voltage on the pack and decided that I didn't need all 6 AAs. He actually sawed the battery pack in half and re-wired it to work with only 3 AAs. I was going to order a new battery pack from TCSS, but he actually made this thing run on 3 AAs and it works fine. He pried the speaker off the discarded part of the battery pack and snaked the 2 yellow speaker wires through the battery pack giving me positive & negative power wires along with positive and negative speaker wires.
Next I cut the power cables off the quick connector and soldered them to the wires from the battery pack. I ended up not using the orange wire. (Not sure what that was for, but it works without it)
Getting this thing to close was a tricky maneuver. I bought foam to keep things from rattling around inside, but it's so densely packed with wires and components that I couldn't fit any foam, and nothing is moving inside. I initially installed a new quick connector for the battery pack, but there simply wasn't enough room, so I had to do away with it.
I went with the Luxeon Rebel star in amber. It doesn't seem terribly bright. I ordered a blade and I'll wait to see how it looks with the blade before I form an opinion. If it's still too dim, then I might try another LED.
If anyone else has a 2003 ANH Vader they'd like to convert, I'd say this. You or someone who's willing to help you had better be very handy and have good electrical skills, or else it's not worth the hassle. I'm glad I did it. It was fun, but the next time I convert a saber, I'm going to do something that is less of an ordeal.
