Wow, it's been a while, it's good to be back

[GrumpyBadger]

Greetings everyone!

I used to be on this forum, back in 2005-2007. I remember the very first MHS "kit" if you will and loved how a sink tube could fit over it. It was my first saber, and i didn't care how "hard" it could be, having never done any electronics before it. I wired up the cyan 3W LED, the resistor, the hasbro soundboard, and my momentary switch. And it didn't work. I then used alligator clips, had a friend who was an Electronics major take a look at what I was doing, and laughed when I showed him how I held the soldering iron. Together, he troubleshooted it, and helped me along, but let me do the work myself. He felt I had learn at some point, and I cared enough about this not to mess up. We also drove for hours in Flagstaff, Az to try and find a speaker that would fit in the hilt that I butchered with my deWalt drill to make speaker holes. I finally had a lightsaber though, and I loved it. I still have it, and it's still my all-time favorite after all these years, and 10s of lightsabers since that I've built for friends and family.

I went away for just about 6 years to the day. I have my reasons, and no, nothing to do with anyone remotely associated with Star Wars. We all have personal commitments and obligations and duties. And I followed mine even though I thought I was done. Now I'm semi-retired, a stay-at-home Dad while my lady works and I have a small business from home. Which means I work a lot of hours, and get paid little. I wouldn't trade it for the world though.

Now, I'm back, it's funny because it started with my sister, who's about a decade younger than me, going off to college. And she wore her ligthsaber and Jedi outfit for halloween. Now all her friends are asking me how to do this. And you know what? MAN I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!! WOW!!!

WOW!!!

sound boards from heaven, speakers that can put out power like there's no tomorrow, and the LEDs, yeah, gotta love those new Rebel Stars! It's a good thing that I've been club racing my RC Car and Boat, playing Airsoft in the snow, and doing all sorts of other things now too. And it's funny, every time I went to solder something, I remembered my first lightsaber.

I'm "older and more experienced" but I know that means little here. I see XWingBand and a couple others are still here and that's awesome! The technology that has come, Ep III may be over, but even before we knew the Mouse bought LucasFilm, Star Wars has been anything but over, and it's awesome to see what it's done for lightsaber guys like us.

It's good to be back. I'm older, I'm beat up and on disability, but I'm back. Combine that with a 30 month-old half-pint girl that LOVES Star Wars, Classic Cars, Horses, Medieval Knights, Cowboys, and Dinosaurs in no particular order and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

May the Force be with you all
GrumpyBadger

[Silver Serpent]

Welcome back! This hobby has advanced quite a bit in the few years I've been a member. It shouldn't take you too long to catch back up.

The advent of the Petit Crouton and the Nano Biscotte boards have drastically reduced demand on the Crystal Focus boards. So much so, that you actually have a chance of getting one now

[MrCafe]

A very huge welcome back. I have only been here for a year now and I have seen saber building go very far since I was around.