first parts list...

[FenderBender]

well most of the information I was able to find in the forums indicated that you were supposed to try to match the mA of the driver as closely as possible to the target mA of the LED. Info like that may be easy to locate if you know what you are looking for, or readily available if you actually know your way around electronics. In any case, the 1000 mA buckpucks were out of stock, so if all this means is that I have to source one from somewhere else, all it costs me is time. This is my first attempt at making a saber, and doing my own electronics, so maybe a congrats for getting most everything else right would have been a bit better than using "bad choice" as your first comment...but that's just me.

Congrats? For what, a shopping list? Sorry, but my bar for offering congratulations is a bit higher than that. I didn't phrase my comment in a negative way, I was simply offering criticism of your choices. You know, helping you out. This is a DIY forum, and not everything we say to each other is sunshine and peppermints. So while I could use the tone that I reserve for my two year old and said "WOW! Good job DesertJedi. You did SOOO good. Here have a cookie." That wouldn't help you. If you aren't going to be open to constructive criticism and able to learn from mistakes then you won't go very far in this hobby.

[desert jedi]

well I apologize if I misunderstood your intent, but the term "bad choice" definitely qualifies as "negative", especialy if it is the first thing that you type. The way you phrased your reply told me that you thought that my specific setup wasn't very good, even though I have since been told by other experts on here that it is totally sufficient for what I have planned. I don't have any issues with constructive criticism...I came to this forum to learn something I didn't know about. If you wanted to be helpful, maybe you should have said something like..."your setup will work just fine, but if you want your saber to be brighter, you can get the 1000 mA buckpuck because the LED's work well at that current level.". That way I would have learned that what I planned was ok, and that there was some room for improvement, if I wanted it.

I didn't actually expect a "congrats" for a simple shopping list (that was a little bit sarcastic, by the way), but at least a "good job" on the fact that I DID my research and came up with a list of parts that would work would have been nice. If my choice of components works (as verified by other members in here), then how can that be a "mistake" as you put it? You said you were "simply offering criticizm of your choices" (quote from your post), but failed to let me know that the choices I made WOULD actually work. I am sorry, but I don't consider that to be "help". Your suggestion was not a correction of a "mistake", but rather a possible upgrade to increase performance. Also you are right about one thing...using the tone "reserved" for your two year old won't help, neither would bringing it up in the first place.

[FenderBender]

Well, I apologize if I was rude. Some of us try to remain patient when we see the same mistakes made over and over when the information is here on what choices to make. The point of this whole hobby isn't to go through all the trouble of assembling/building a saber and then just make it light up "ok". The point is to have them be as bright as possible with what is available to us in this industry. The whole purpose of the 700MA pucks were to drive the Lux V LEDs (though a lot of people used 1A pucks on those as well) or to wire two of them in parallel to get 1400MA for the LUX III RED and RED-O (before Tim released the TCSS adjustable driver which is better). So while your choice would have "worked" it isn't efficient or optimal. Which is why I said "bad choice" and not "you suck, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Choice being the emphasis there. Yes, what you had would work and it would light up, but you'll find as you read more and get more involved here is that "just working" isn't what we're all about. It's like building a race car and being satisfied with a 3 cylinder diesel as a powerplant instead of the firebreathing LS7 crate engine you could have had if you read more (a little bit exaggerated on the analogy, but you get it).

I am glad that you were able to research enough to put together a well thought out and thorough parts list. It's more than a lot of newbs do and it shows that you have potential. But FYI, the more experience members do not spoon feed the newbs, we try to help them help themselves. We may not always come across as nice "feel good" people in our criticism, but it's all just to help. Hell, you should see the things we saber nuts say to each other at the Kegger Some of the comments could curdle milk. But it has helped us grow.

I was a newb too once, and I did a lot more reading than posting. Which is why I have less posts than most newbs here. I read here for more than a year before joining and still do more reading than posting (actually, now I do more building than posting but still..). Take not what I said too harshly. I, like a lot of us "Olde Guarde", are here to help you and "guide" you, but not spoon feed you.

Good luck.

[desert jedi]

Well I can definitely understand. I may be a newbie when it comes to building sabers, but I do know how this kind of thing works...I mostly work on cars (been doing that for over 20 years) so can appreciate the advantages of doing research before starting a project. The first thing I did was to read all of the posts telling us to do our homework and use the search function, so I did...for nearly three weeks. I know that isn't as long as some people, but for me it was enough to get started. I did actually read many posts regarding LED current and the whole resistor vs. puck thing, I just managed to miss any discussions about pushing LED's up to their max. The main reason why I went with the choices in LED's and pucks was because I was following the advice of people on here who have obviously been around the saber scene for a while, and seemed to be in the "upper echelon" of this forum. That is the reason why I objected to what I was doing being called a bad choice...I was just following the suggestions of people who seemed to know what they were talking about.

In some fairness to newbies, this forum has literally thousands of posts, and sometimes the search function isn't as cooperative as it can be, especially if we don't always know what we are supposed to be looking for in the first place. In any case, I will definitely take your suggestions as they were meant to be...constructive. I would have to buy a 1000 mA puck from someplace else anyway, since they are out of stock here, so I will just keep it around and install it if my saber doesn't seem bright enough. First saber is always a learning experience.

[desert jedi]

Just a note...I wanted to show you where I got my info from about how to choose a puck, and why I picked the 700 mA. This is a quote directly from the tutorial section labeled "I have decided to make an LED saber". Since it was in the tutorials, and posted by the owner of TCSS (Strydur), I figured it was good advice...

Quote..."The current value is easy to figure out. Go to the LED Resistor Chart and find the LED you want to use in your saber. You will see that there are many different specs on the chart. You are looking for the colum that says "Target mA." Once you have found that current, look at the Buck Pucks. The Puck that most closely matches the current of your LED is the one you will want to use. Luxeon 5 LEDs generally use 700mA Pucks whereas IIIs use 1000mA Pucks."


So hopefully you can see that I actually DID read up on pucks and LED's before I ordered my parts. I figured if the owner of the shop and the forum said to do it this way, then it must be a good way to wire things. This is also why I thought you saying "bad choice" to my 700 mA puck didn't make alot of sense. According to Strydur's post, that was the exact one I should have picked for my first saber. In any case, I now know that i can push the LED's a little harder. I had also read a post with info from Xwingband, Do-Clo and Novastar about overdriving LED's, and had decided that it wasn't a good idea, based on their info...just didn't have a good definition of what constituted overdriving.

[FenderBender]

Just a note...I wanted to show you where I got my info from about how to choose a puck, and why I picked the 700 mA. This is a quote directly from the tutorial section labeled "I have decided to make an LED saber". Since it was in the tutorials, and posted by the owner of TCSS (Strydur), I figured it was good advice...

Quote..." Luxeon 5 LEDs generally use 700mA Pucks where as IIIs use 1000mA Pucks."

Ah...See? What LED did you use? P4? Lux III? They are the same requirements

[desert jedi]

I actually ordered 2 different LED's with an extra heat sink to make 2 LED assemblies with quick disconnects (to be able to change colors). I got a Lux Rebel green (700 mA) and a P4 red (800 mA), so according to the tutorial, the 700 puck should work for both, since it is the closest. In any case, based on your advice, and am also ordering a 1000 puck from another site to try it out.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

The actual maximum current for a Rebel is 1000ma, but the store description simply lists the only rating the Luxeon offers that also gives you a lumen output for that rating. They don't list the lumens at 1000ma, unfortunately, but expect it to be higher than the 700ma lumen rating. you're definitely safe with using a 1000ma puck with either led, including the red P4 as Fender mentioned.

[desert jedi]

Ok, sounds good to me. As soon as I can find someone with a 1000 mA puck in stock, I'll order one.