Question about converting EL to LED

[TLobe00]

I have a saber (from Guy at the Saber Works) that has EL electronics in it...

Well, I see that the LED sabers are VERY awesome looking (compared to my EL)... So, I want to convert my EL saber into a Luxeon LED blade.

I can get the kit here and everything, and it shouldn't be hard to put the electronics in the hilt, my question is, will this even work (saw something about the blade width being different from EL and LED), and has anyone done it and can give me some pointers to look out for.

If it would be difficult is there any place that will outfit (convert) a non MR EL hilt?

[james3]

Do you have pics of your saber? Some EL sabers are a breeze to change and some would be quite the challenge. There have been a few folks that have done LED sabers with 3/4" blades but overall it has not gone over that well.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to convert it? EL is still nice stuff and if you are running only a 9 volt battery on it then you could get more out of it by upping the voltage to 12 or 18 volts.

I had to ask as one of the last of the EL fans 'round here[]

<center></center>

[TLobe00]

Yeah, here is a picture
(Note, that is not my blade, so if you or anyone else knows a way to get the EL blade that bright, that would be excellent)

I do use a 9v currently... I'm guessing you would up the voltage by changing to a multiple AA battery housing?

I want to change from an EL, because I love the nice bright white core look of the LED. I already have the electronics for EL, and have considered just leaving that as it, but I love the look of my saber and think it would be great to have the white "film" core on the blade.

Thanks for the reply,
Tony

[james3]

Neat saber. By going to 12 volts with a 8aa or 8aaa pack or 18 volts with 2 9 volts in series, you should get it about that bright. Make sure there is a 4khz inverter in there as well since they light up a lot nicer then the 2 khz ones do.

I have to admit that having a saber that has the bright white core surrounded by color would be awesome, truth is that isn't what a Luxeon will do. It has a wonderful way of oversaturating the camera to get that look. what your eye really sees is a bright colored base and it gets dimmer as it goes up the blade. Now there have been a few attempts to do things with film in the blade to get a little coring effect but it hasn't happened yet. I have been working with an idea to use an EL center blade surrounded by a LED to try and get the core effect but this is tricky and so far the results from myself and others have not been perfect but I have not lost hope.

As for converting that thing it would be real easy. You could most likely pull out all the old electronics and get Tim to make you up a blade holder in the proper dimensions and stuff it with whatever you wanted.

<center></center>

edit- http://thecustomsabershop.com/sabers...sp?FORUM_ID=21
The pics done in here by Stryder (Tim) are very good representations of what a LED blade really looks like. I have taken pics that look correct and I have done some more like what you see all over the place. They do light a room, they are bright, Royal Blue is amazingly bright but most folks get confused with it's rating because it is rated different from the other colors, but they just don't have that white core.

Yes I was looking forward to seeing that too when I lit up my first LED saber, I was a tad surprised.

[xwingband]

It looks like that saber wouldn't present any major troubles but EL to LED is a lot of work. Basically all of the electronics are not compatible. Look at the tutorial here to see what it entails. The hardest part would be the heatsink and mounting of the LED.

I'd say to try higher voltages too. It's a simple thing that may tide you until you get a pure LED saber. You can get 12V with 8AA/8AAA and 18V with 2 9Vs in serial. Be carefull if you can check feel the inverter to see if it's getting hot.

As stated, the LED blades we are making DO NOT give a white core. Look at the blade color gallery for pics. It is the camera making it look white. There is only one way to make an LED saber do that and it's SO much work and not really worth it.

<center>Read the FAQ or x-wing won't be happy.
Before posting did you check the Thread Index?.

</center>

[Jedi Ranger]

TLobe00 - I have one of those hilts too!!!! When I found Guy/The SaberWorks, he was in the process of shutting down his business, and I was able to get his VERY LAST hilt!!

I have not upgraded my hilt to either EL or LED......yet.

Later today, I can test MHS parts and this hilt to see if they are compatible.

<center>
http://www.members.shaw.ca/Jedi.Ranger/</center>

[Lord Maul]

you are a lucky man []

At last we will reveal ourselves to the jedi, at last we will have revenge.

[Jedi Ranger]

TLobe00 - I just tried to min-n-match the 2 part styles.

Unfortunately, the MHS does NOT fit on the Vanguard hilt.

The threads are just slightly 'off'. If the threads were removed from the MHS parts, then they would fit into the Vanguard. Then you could just use a set bolt threaded through the hilt and into the MHS part(s).

<center>
http://www.members.shaw.ca/Jedi.Ranger/</center>

[Lord Maul]

TLobe00, you should pm tim and see if he will do some custom machining for you []

At last we will reveal ourselves to the jedi, at last we will have revenge.

[LAN-ED-TUL]

really it just matters if theres enough room on the inside. cuz, youd have to have room, size wise for the blade holder, sound board, if used, and batt pack.

might could get it in there without sound. but i bet youll have to machine out the blade holder end some for tims holder to fit, and thats with him machinin as much off the outside as he can too.

dont know how big the diam is on the inside of your handle.

<center></center>

Lan-Ed-Tul
The Brotherhood Of The Sith

You dont know the POWER, of the dark side...