Starting my 1st build… need some help

[thebigdb]

Hey guys…

I just thought that I would drop a post here, & see if I can get any help. This is my 1st time building a saber, & seeing if I can get any other help what I’ve gotten already.

I started on this about 3 weeks ago, but this is my 1st build. For my 1st blade, I decided to make Kyle Katarn’s saber from the comic book (Star Wars Tales 21#). Like the 1 from the Legacy figure. Not the 1’s from the games. I wanted to do something a little different. I did find in my search the breakdown of the measurements for the ‘Outcast’ blade… but I can always do that at a later time. I wanted to do something that someone else hasn’t done yet.

About 3-4 years ago, I came down with cancer, lost all my hair… & after I was able to grow it again… I let it grow with a vengeance. At this point… I look like a Charley Daniels reject! *laughs* Because of the fact that I was weak & tired, I had a whole bunch of stuff that I had in storage for a while that I didn’t touch, & I found a pair of ‘junked’ fx sabers. They still work… they just are missing bits & pieces. I bought them for nuts & bolts… maybe a restore. Because of seeing them… I decided to do the whole Katarn thing for Halloween.

As of right now… I don’t have all the parts… but wanted more instruction as to how to install everything into the saber. The key things that I wanted in my blade were as follows –

- The ability to change the color of my blade without taking everything apart to get that effect
- Built in R.I.C.E & recharge ports
- Light & sound (kind of a duh statement after the 1st 2 items that I listed… but I threw it in there to be sure)
- Maybe some minor body sculpting.

As a base… I am so far going to go with this as a construction –

- blade holder style 8#
- 6” double female extender
- 4” fluted double female extender
- the blank MPS pummel with 12# insert in it so that I can hang on my belt.

Right now… I am kind of stuck on whether I should go with the 12# or 13# activator switches because of the fact that they have everything that I want in them. So –

a. Which 1 do you think is the better of the 2 for my setup?

b. I spoke to Tim, & he said that if I want to what I want to do, I will need to get a Tri-Rebel LED & a Crystal Focus Saber card for the sound & color. These are the stats for the card –

Dimensions : 53x23.5x7.5 mm (with the microSD card).
Power supply : 5.5 à 11 V / 3.5A (with the Luxeon LED). 2 li-ion cells (18650 or 14500) batteries recommended.
Idle current consumption : 9 mA
Compatibility : luxeon star III, V, K2, rebel, seoul P4, Ledengin, tri-rebel, tri-cree.
Speaker : 4-8 ohm, up to 2W.

What parts should I get for the batteries & speaker? Because there are options for that.

c. That & I was looking at the artistic version of the blade… & even on the toy, I can see that there are some sort of grip on the main part of the body. They almost look like grooves that you would see on the handle bars of a bike. Not foam or the diamond crosscut pattern that they offer on her, but you know how some tools have grooves ‘cut’ into the handle so that you can hold them better… some toy guns have this… but do you know if they have a service here where they can put little grooves in the piping? Because looking at the hilt, it looks like the same effect of beads being strung on a string (hanging). The metal looks like it is largely smooth on the grip area… but there are spots that are a little concave where your fingers can grab a hold of it. Do you know that can be machined here?

d. And lastly, how would I mount everything into the piping? I see that there is railing, tubing, & plates to make a housing… but I don’t know what the correct parts are to make a housing for what I have! Can anyone help me out?

Thanks guys!

Derrick


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[cannibal869]

Well, if you want RICE, you're basically saying you're interested in the Plecter Labs boards (Petit Crouton, and it's big brother, Crystal Focus).
Both are awesome boards which I think you will be quite happy with. Are there other solutions? of course.
There is always more than one way to skin a cat.

If you want to do color change, then you will need some variant of an RGB led. Do you NEED to do crystal focus with color extender board? No.
Is it nice to have? Oh heck yeah! But keep in mind, that the project has now just taken on a whole 'nother level of complexity, wiring, and variables.
Back before the CF was more readily available, we had to come up with other methods of doing color change sabers. It really depends on what your needs or wants are.

If you do decide to do a color change saber, though, I would suggest building (or buying) a 2x Li-Ion 7.4V battery pack - preferably using 14500 cells or larger (BTW, 14500 = 14mm wide, 500mm long = AA size)
Speaker selection is up to you, but typically one of the 2W ones will do nicely (the ones that Tim has available in the store that will fit the speaker mounts). Tim can machine the hilt parts to sort of approximate better what you're describing above, so it's best to just contact him and work out the details.

the internal chassis can help keep things neat inside the hilt, but is an internal chassis necessary? Again, no. It *is* nice to have though, if you can plan it out.

In all honesty, because you're just starting out, the best advice I (or the others on the various lightsaber forums) can give you is to read, read, read.
There's a lot of information to learn and digest, but I think most of us here are happy to help out - you just have to sort of iron out some of the details first.

-C

[thebigdb]

Well, if you want RICE, you're basically saying you're interested in the Plecter Labs boards (Petit Crouton, and it's big brother, Crystal Focus).
Both are awesome boards which I think you will be quite happy with. Are there other solutions? of course.
There is always more than one way to skin a cat.

If you want to do color change, then you will need some variant of an RGB led. Do you NEED to do crystal focus with color extender board? No.
Is it nice to have? Oh heck yeah! But keep in mind, that the project has now just taken on a whole 'nother level of complexity, wiring, and variables.
Back before the CF was more readily available, we had to come up with other methods of doing color change sabers. It really depends on what your needs or wants are.

If you do decide to do a color change saber, though, I would suggest building (or buying) a 2x Li-Ion 7.4V battery pack - preferably using 14500 cells or larger (BTW, 14500 = 14mm wide, 500mm long = AA size)
Speaker selection is up to you, but typically one of the 2W ones will do nicely (the ones that Tim has available in the store that will fit the speaker mounts). Tim can machine the hilt parts to sort of approximate better what you're describing above, so it's best to just contact him and work out the details.

the internal chassis can help keep things neat inside the hilt, but is an internal chassis necessary? Again, no. It *is* nice to have though, if you can plan it out.

In all honesty, because you're just starting out, the best advice I (or the others on the various lightsaber forums) can give you is to read, read, read.
There's a lot of information to learn and digest, but I think most of us here are happy to help out - you just have to sort of iron out some of the details first.

-C

Hey man…

Thanks for the advice! You have been giving me some good advice. I’ve been reading up on all this for the last 2 weeks, & I sort of have an idea of what you’re talking about.

What are the major differences between Petit Crouton & Crystal Focus. I’ve read up on them, but what’s the pro’s & con’s of each? Tim actually suggested to me to go with a Crystal over a Crouton… so I was taking his word for it since he sells all this stuff. That & the Tri-Rebel was the LED that I wanted since it's a RGB LED.

My main goal is that I want to have everything packed up neatly away, & not taking everything apart with what I want to do. My hands are still pretty fumblely after the chemo, & I would rather everything being non-fuss. Like I said, I was thinking of going with the 12# or 13# activator box because everything is right there.

With the saber itself… it is going to be meant more for show than blow… but I want it to be built where it is strong enough to take a blow. So that is something that I am looking at. So I would like more info on how to ‘pad’ the circuitry.

Thanks again!

Derrick