OK - now that we know what you want them to do, we can talk modifications and plans.
To make the sound
do only power up and power down (this is the hardest part), we need to think out of the box. The built in board is pretty much hard-coded with sounds and behaviors (which is fine for normal use). But you need custom behaviors, and that means customization to the sabers.
White board time (without the white board
):
ONE POSSIBLE IDEA: Is that the speakers in the sabers be disconnected, and a small (hidden) speaker in the sconce be the actual sound source. This will allow you to separate the power-up/power-down sequence on the LEDs (which will still use the built in boards) and use something small but very capable for just the sound - think Nano Biscotti (NB). The NB would have a sound font package with Power-up and power-down sounds to match each saber, and all other sounds would be 100 ms of silence WAV files. This way, you only hear the two sounds you want. So the work is divided: the saber does the lights, the NB does the custom sound.
Wiring to the sconces uses the readily-available 8 conductor 10BASET network cable. We are working at low voltages and amperage's, so this cable is adequate.
* 2 conductors give power to the built-in saber board
* 2 conductors replace the built-in power-on switch (thick of the button just being moved 50 or 100 feet away)
* 2 conductors power the NB sound board
* 2 conductors at attached to the momentary switch connection for the NB
Each sconce's cable run separately (home run) to your control area. Now, you can turn them on and off from a single location. Proper DC power to the sabers and NB can be left on all the time, or you can turn them off when the room is not being used, your choice. The NB do make a boot up boot-up noise when DC power is applied after being disconnected.
You can use a bank of eight double-pole buttons and 'light up' the sabers in a manual sequence, or automate the sequence So they light up in a visible pattern.
BETTER IDEA: The NBs can be mounted in the single control box, and their speakers are wired through the long cables (this would mean you could use a 6 conductor cable to each sconce). I think I would do it this way so it is easier to change sound fonts and make other adjustments to the NBs in a single location.
Anyway, that is my first pass with ideas on making this work.
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