Opinions?

[Weaver]

For price and reliability (i.e. how often it's stocked), I have to recommend the PC-U from TCSS. It's pretty straightforward and has tons of support on the site. If you were to go the extra mile, and could afford to wait for them to stock, I believe the Crystal Focus board is better.

It all boils down to how serious you both are about this type of replica. If he doesn't know it's coming at all, it seems logical that he would be impressed by any sound at all, let alone a top-of-the-line sound board. You also have to be able to evaluate your own ability to build with the components you have available.

It is not unreasonable to use a midrange card. Let's face it: Who's going to turn down a free, custom-built lightsaber, given and made by his mate? I wouldn't care if it played show tunes at startup, I wouldn't refuse it.

[yoda]

Thank you very much for the advice!!!! Hes like some crazy smart electronic computer guy who actually loves to build stuff and has been wanting to build one of these for a while. so my idea is actually to get everything and then to build it together cause he'll love building it and doing it with me as well as actually having it. Its also useful in the sense that he has tools and will be better at doing it than i will haha. Yeah I'll probably go midrange none the less. I figure it doesn't have to be the only one he ever owns anyways (and hopefully we build me one next hehe) so if he wants to improve on it he can do that himself later because I'm poor. Haha. Buttt I Doooo think I have figured out the way i want his hilt to look. and got a couple of second opinions from some of his close friends so it seems promising. Now im trying to figure out exactly what i need to make it work well. I've been looking around but I'm getting a little confused. Anyways thanks for the advice for the soundcard. Do i need anything else for the sound?

[Machinimax]

Blessed beat me to it but here was what I was going to say:

Alrighty then, there are three options you can choose from:

1. Hasbro "Econo" Board - You gut the sound board out of one of those plastic toy lightsabers from the store. Price: ~$20

2. Master Replicas/Hasbro FX Board - These are gutted from those electronic collectable FX replica sabers. Price: ~ $50

3. The Petit Crouton - This is the sound board sold here at TCSS. Price: $125

Now of these three options, a lot of people (including myself) would say go with the Petit Crouton. Between all three of them it is the best option but also the more pricey as you can see. If you are looking to make a nice saber but are a bit of a budget, then I would go with the Master Replicas/Hasbro Fx board. It'll still provide you with excellent sound.

However if it is in your budget, then really go for the Petit Crouton. It blows these other two out of the water. Here's a video of a saber that has that sound card.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-bA...eature=related

Hope this helps!

[Silver Serpent]

The Petit Crouton is honestly the 2nd best sound board available, and it is the best that is readily available. It is a fantastic bargain at $125.

That being said, if you've never touched a soldering iron before, I'd advise against going that route. The PC is not the easiest board to solder unless you have a steady hand and a fine tip on your iron. However, it does make a wonderful upgrade later once your soldering skills are up to speed. If you're handy with soldering though, go for it; you will not be disappointed.

[yoda]

Thank you very much everyone. I guess for that one I'll have to figure out how much money I have left once I can figure out what the price is going to be once i figure out what I need to make it work haha. Its a little overwhelming trying to figure it all out haha! as such i really appreciate alll your help.

[Machinimax]

The Petit Crouton is honestly the 2nd best sound board available, and it is the best that is readily available. It is a fantastic bargain at $125.

That being said, if you've never touched a soldering iron before, I'd advise against going that route. The PC is not the easiest board to solder unless you have a steady hand and a fine tip on your iron. However, it does make a wonderful upgrade later once your soldering skills are up to speed. If you're handy with soldering though, go for it; you will not be disappointed.

Yeah I didn't bring up the Crystal Focus.

[Garrek]

Hi, I'm newly registered to the forums but I've been poking around for years so I know one or two things.

I've noticed that no one has addressed what most of the soundboards actually do, in regards to the led specifically.

A hasbro board out of the $15-$30 toys will give you decent sound and are relatively cheap.
The MR/Hasbro FX $100ish sound boards will give you better everything in relation to the toy sabers, you can find the board on ebay already gutted for $40-$50 just search "lightsaber soundboard", keep in mind that there are 2 or 3 different sounds on these boards.
I remember at least being a sith and jedi, so you may want to check youtube to see if you like the board sound before buying it.
Then again this may not be true of hasbro boards... also I may have gone insane and made it up in my head.

However, neither of these boards can drive an led.
Correct me if I am wrong about the toy board, could be misremembering.
The led will be ran off the battery with a resistor,buckpuck or a separate led driver.
That means your led will simply turn on and off, like a flashlight.
In order to give a saber with one of these boards any blade effects you would need a separate led driver like this.
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Co...iver-P609.aspx

After adding that your prices then become $65-$80 and $90-$100 respectively.


The Petit Crouton on the other hand has a built in led driver, it will effect the blade on the on, off, clash, lockup, blaster bolt effects and the "flash on clash".
The last three are effects only available on the PC.

Lockup allows you to hold down a 2nd button to put the saber into a looping "clash effect", like two sabers locked together.
The Blaster effects allows you to tap that same 2nd button to get a blaster deflection sound effect, or other sound effect you would prefer in its place, say a force power or shorting sound. "I think"
Flash on clash allows you to wire a 2nd led off a "RGB/RGGB/RGBW/RGBA" to flash during the clashes, lock ups and blaster effects.
The PC has 2 accent led pads as well, allowing you to program two accent leds to blink in a programmable sequence.

The final and in my opinion most overshadowing feature the PC has over the other two options is the ability to change the sound fonts, this is done on a mini SD.
It allows you to change all the sound effects, sensitivity of swings and clashes, as well as the accent led pattern.
Each SD can only have 1 font on it, however you can make more then one sd card and swap them out if you wish to have more then one, they are tiny, pinky nail tiny.


For most setups your going to be fine with 2 AA batteries.
However if your doing multiple leds and or flash on clash, you may want to try fitting a pair of "18650" batteries in there.
That can be tricky as they are a bit larger then AA batteries and will not fit side by side in an MHS hilt.
They are also a bit longer, 65mm long, compared to AA's 50mm. Making a 2 18950 pack, 130mm or 5.12 inches long.
Here's a link to them in the CSS store.
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Te...tery-P671.aspx


I know all this information probably did more to confuse you then help you, but I also think it is information you needed to know as for me personally blade effects are an important feature.

Welcome the the headache known as lightsaber planing.
It would be so much easier if we were just happy sticking a colored blade on a flashlight like when we were kids, eh?
Also sorry about the wall of text, I tried to break it up.

[yoda]

OMG no its awesome thank you that actually does clear up quite a bit for me thanks so much. i was just like litterally screaming "ohhhhh" the whole time

[FenderBender]

To be perfectly honest, while the 'econo' and FX boards are undoubtedly cheaper, I wouldn't classify them as easier to solder by any means. You just have that in your head because if you mess up the board it's only $15-50 down the drain. None of these boards however are made for our purposes, we adapt them for our needs. To do it right means desoldering all of the existing wiring and starting over. While this provides for excellent practice, the PC has nice soldering pads to put your connections on, and is MADE specifically for custom sabers. There are no adaptations, tricks, or extra things needed to make it work. If he's done any kind of soldering before, I recommend going straight for the PC. You'll be happier right off the bat, and in the long run.

Also, NOTHING will run on 2AA batteries except stunts. I'm not sure why that was posted. Also 18650s are not the be all and end all for batteries. Im not quite sure what the perpetual hard on with these is, as they barely fit in anything especially for one's first build. You'll be fine with a PC, and 2X 14500 Li-Ion cells. This will run most LEDs well and still work great for a Flash on Clash™ set up.

What you should do, is gather a list of parts you 'want', post it here, and we'll help you get the rest of what you 'need'. Sound like a plan? We're here to help, and make sure you and your lucky guy are here to stay in this hobby.

[yoda]

Okay! Thanks. Hmm okay well what I've figured out so far... well I came up with a hilt design that I hope will work and he'll like. I'm a little embarassed to show it haha but I will :Screen Shot 2012-01-31 at 1.13.03 PM.jpg Idk what you think but yeah. I tried to keep it somewhat simple sense I'm already so confused haha. Also its not so bad price wise. the parts add up to about 88$
Thats LED blade holder style 6 "new style"
Hilt style 2 (idk what guarded vs unguarded wholes are so thats not specified)
MHS choke style 2
and MPS Pommel Style 8
I had planned on a blue blade Im not really sure what the difference between the Luxon rebel star leds and the Seoul ones so that I hadn't figured out.
If at all possible, I really rather liked the silver switches with the blue circle LEDs in them http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/16...itch-P433.aspx However, i'm not sure what the difference between Momentary and Latching is =\.
Also I am still trying to figure out just how to adapt the very basic model for a lightsaber that I've found in order to include this switch or any other extras. Sadly I haven't successfully found any forums entitled exactly what Rachel needs to know yet I'm afraid haha. :P
The only thing I did figure out about this switch is that, from the list of things they said that it worked with (at least the ones that i actually knew what they were) I like / can best afford this one: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Ac...le-6-P569.aspx (partially because I have no idea what the holes in the other ones are for).
The switch also says it needs a resistor :S does that mean i have to get a resistor for this as well as another resistor or buckpuck or driver or whatever for my blade? sorry if thats a stupid question:P
UHM also also when Garrek said that that specific sound board runs the LED does that mean I DONT need a separate driver or buckpuck or resistor to run my LED/blade?/possibly switch LOL ah
Thank YOU ALLL SOOOOO MUCH