Recharge ports

**xwingband** · 10-30-2006, 07:48 AM

Chargers:

There are two types of chargers; "smart" and "dumb". The smart charger can sense when the batteries are charged and send it only a trickle to remain full. A dumb charger will continue to charge as long as it's plugged in.

If you buy a dumb one it will often state the rate at which it charges. You can use this to figure out how long it will take to charge it. Example: a 500mAh charger will take 5 hours to charge a 2500mAh battery pack. So if you are going to get a dumb charger go with a low amperage so the risk of overcharging is minimal.

There is also two other options; universal vs. static. A Universal charger will be able to charge packs of different voltages. A static one will state its voltage and only be able to charge those packs. So if you plan on doing other sabers at different voltages you'd need another charger.

Needless to say, I'd recommend a smart universal charger which will run you around $30. Note: Battery chemistry matters, you will need seperate chargers for NiMH/NiCD vs. Li-ions

Plug and ports:

You can use many types of plugs for this. I've stuck with size N plugs because they are relativly small. You can use mono and stereo jacks for recharge ports also instead of the standard style plugs. I will caution/not recommend them for li-ions though. They introduce a momentary short which after long term use may make the batteries go boom.

Here is the jack I normally use (RS part#: 274-1573):

These are two ports I've used (RS parts: 274-1583 and 274-1576):

For wiring these it's pretty simple. You will see on both the jack and port that there is a tab for the center and outer portions. You solder the positive to one and the negative to the other. It doesn't matter which goes where as long as you remain consistant with both port and jack, and if you plan on using the same jack for other sabers.

Otherwise it's not too difficult, it's just a splice into the wires. If you want to get fancy about it with kill switches and charging LEDs I'd defer you to Corbin's article until I write one up myself. http://randomsabers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20

Basic diagram (Note: you can't have the LED or inverter on at the same time it's charging:

**Tenric Starkindler** · 10-30-2006, 08:30 AM

Redundancy is not always a good thing........

link removed since X-Wing already included it.........

**xwingband** · 10-30-2006, 08:34 AM

hehe, read my post more closely. :P

EDIT: lol, less of this "Ooo, I can add to this!"

and more reading. :P

**Proximal** · 10-30-2006, 06:47 PM

Tag. Thanks xwing.

**Firebird21** · 11-05-2006, 07:36 AM

I thought I'd share some of my latest findings when it comes to Recharge Ports from working with my Luke project. Whether you like it or not.

Long and boring story, short...
I had no good place to fit the "N" type plug, so I ran over to my local hobby shop to get some ideas... (Although I already knew what I was looking for, I just didn't know if it would work)

I picked up some RX R/C Radio plugs (also known as Futaba's "J" plug) used for R/C Planes, Cars, Boats, ect., that ended up working out quite nicely.

This is what they look like...

Here’s an All-in-One Recharge Port, On-Off switch, and Battery Level Indicator.

The BLI is set for R/C planes and will read Low Battery at about 5v so it will say Low Battery long before you notice any dimming of the blade. It is switchable to read 4.8 volt systems so it would read L/B at about 3.8v, but I couldn’t guarantee that you wouldn’t damage it running 6v on it in that setup.

There are a couple of advantages to the plugs...

1. They are very common in the R/C world and therefore easy to come by.

2. They are small and have many different applications and forms of plugs so you could essentially wire your entire saber with them.

3. There are endless Chargers available for these plugs so you won't have to retrofit some random charger.

4. The shape of this Charge Receptacle makes it easy to mount it flush lengthwise on your saber with out having to machine a flat spot onto the round hilt.

5. It fits onto the Luke Switchbox.

My charger setup.

I’m only trying to provide more options for everyone, it really doesn’t matter what you use, as long as it works for you.

**xwingband** · 11-05-2006, 07:39 AM

Yup, that the beauty of this. You could literally charge through two wires sticking out of your hilt.

Anything that provides an outlet for two wires works!

Anyone know what the name for the type of outlet boomboxes use? They look like the graflex prongs and that'd be neat.

**Do-Clo** · 11-05-2006, 08:23 AM

Another option would be a XLR connector: http://mpja.com/productview.asp?product=2972+PL

This could be mounted in the hilt or pommel with a little work