MR Vader 2003 Lightsaber - Not Enough current

[Jedihrak]

Hello all,

I have a MR 2003 ANH Darth Vader lightsaber. I believe that it was the first MR LED lightsaber. The blade broke on it long ago and I am taking the sound board out to be used in a MHS hilt. I have another LED blade that I will be using with the board. But I have a power issue and I am not sure how to resolve it.

The board runs on 6 AA batteries with 3 of them running parallel to the other 3. This gives you a total voltage 4.5 volts with 2x the current. the board works fine on the 6 AA. But if I only use 3, you get sound, but the blade will not light. 6 AA will not fit in the MHS hilt and I cannot use only 3.

My question is this: How do I power this board and the blade and have it fit in the hilt? I thought of the 3 NIMH batteries. It would be the 4.5V, but I didn't know if they would have more current than a normal battery to be enough. And there is also Li-ion batteries that I could use with a power regulator to step it down to 5v. But again, is it enough current than 6 normal AA batteries.

Any ideas?

[Jay-gon Jinn]

The board will run on 3.7-6volts as long as you are not using the stock battery holder. I used to use these boards quite bit and have often run them on 4 aaa's or AA's, NiMH rechargeables, and even 3.7 v Li-Ions.

[DarthFlatus]

I have an 03 Vader that I'm converting to a flashlight. I hope to swap out the string blade with a white LuxIII and Optics. I'm planning to use the sounds with the addition of a switch on the speaker wires to shut off the sound on occasion. I would love to hear your input on this project. I'm very excited to get started!