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Thread: Need help building first saber.

  1. #1

    Question Need help building first saber.

    Hey guys, so I?m designing my first lightsaber, and I have a basic electronic blueprint made up, but I need help making sure my plan is solid and that there are no glaring errors before I begin work.

    This is my current blue print. staff build sheet.jpg

    My goal is to have the staff set up so that I can custom choose the color of the blade via menu options like in GCSabers - http://genesiscustomsabers.com/?p=2791 .
    It will also host a rotating crystal chamber in the center of the staff found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azjmAvSdXXs . I?m waiting to hear back from the builder to see if this set up could handle light to medium dueling as that is the most I plan on doing with this saber as it will mainly be a display and trick saber then a battle saber. My electronics blueprints was based off of the schematics in the chamber video above for placement, etc. I was also planning on using an RGB LED in the chamber, but was wondering how I would wire that so that it would normally be one color, but if possible wire it up so that it flashes to another at the same time when the blade flashes?

    V1 is the simple version, with two sound cards rigged to each emitter making it two separate hilts attached via coupler, however I am trying to avoid this to save costs though. Box and covertech are located close to the back of the hilt (next to the coupler). In order shown, battery is hooked to recharge port, (that way if the kill is in, power to the chamber will be cut off) which hooks to chamber motor and LED (that way it is always on, even if the blade is off), from there the charge port connects to the momentary switch, to the petite crouton, then the soundboard to the speaker and LED. Now I want FOC, so I assume I bridge the link between the board and LED with one of these? http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Co...iver-P609.aspx

    I also noticed that the shop offers a luxeon tri rebel star http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Lu...Star-P777.aspx which in the describtion, offers a RGB LED option, but in the drop down purchase bar, does not offer this option. Does that just mean that it is out of stock? I was looking to get this LED as I am assuming this is what you would need to be able to choose what color blade you want to have using the board as in the GCS saber video above. I also was thinking of splitting the FOC wires, so that way the crystal flashes at the same time as the blade.

    V1.5 is a style change, where the choke, activation box, and covertech clips are gold instead of silver.

    V2 is a little bit more complicated as I am using one board for both blades to save money. The setup is the same as V1 except with a slight change to make up for the missing board, including the activation box and covertech centered in the 4inch tube, instead of offset. I was thinking of having the board link to both LEDs, that way if the board detects a clash, or if I change the color if the blade, it effects both ends of the saber. Also if I were to wire it up in this fashion, and use a QD plug for the FOC wires on the boardless saber, would the LED default to the regular colors since it isn?t being told by the board what color it should be? Is this possible, or should I just take the easy and expensive option and have two sound boards.

    I went through a lot of the forum and bookmarked tutorials on wiring basic hilts, recharge ports, LEDs, etc, and also I noticed on the forums that some people used cheap soundboards, and had their LEDs rigged to switches that way they could choose what color blade they want via internally rather than through a menu feature externally. http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...rystal-Chamber I?m thinking that by doing this and having cheap nano boards may be the best way to go now.

    Thanks for the help, and sorry for the heavy text.
    Being closed minded is like a windmill without wind.
    Without the flow of criticism, your mill of creativity will never spin!

    ~Aaron Stevens

  2. #2

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    Well, my first question would be the following:

    1. What sound card to you specifically plan on using?

    And my commentary would be if you are having "a builder" build this for you, they should know all of this and be able to spell out your options for you. The Tri-Rebels are out of stock, and they will be replaced soon with newer Tri-Crees.

    This also seems overly ambitious for a first build.
    Last edited by Forgetful Jedi Knight; 01-20-2015 at 03:40 PM.
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    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
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  3. #3

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    I was originally planning on using a petite crouton, and I plan on assembling this myself. I have a tendency of sometimes biting off more than I can chew. If I were to dumb down the schematics however, I'd probably get rid of the FOC, and use the nano board using D's color shifter tutorial in order to be able to change the color of my blade.
    Being closed minded is like a windmill without wind.
    Without the flow of criticism, your mill of creativity will never spin!

    ~Aaron Stevens

  4. #4

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    Well, the PC manual should answer the bulk of your other questions, and trying to use wild hacks of the NB may make your life more difficult, not less.

    Also, if you are using PC's you forgot to allow for the 2 aux switches you would need.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  5. #5

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    Hey AA, ive actually used the the rotating chamber you are talking about. Its a cool piece but dont expect it to show up in and you just slap in together. I had to heat and stretch it out because either during production or shipping the helix warped and was hanging on the outside chassis or hitting the center crystal. When its finally done it definately has a cool effect but takes quite a bit of tweaking and tolerances are tight. Your recharge port placement might also be problematic. Makes sure it clears your motor plus all the wires you will have coming through. You wont have as many wires as me since you wont have your main led and switches passing through it. If you are wanting to do color changing i would stick with a PC or prizm instead of going with a NB and trying to reinvent the wheel. Keep the FOC its one of my favorite effects! Like FJK said it is a pretty ambitious build so enter cautiously and dont expect to finish this in an afternoon. I perainally make a living at motorizing things and fabrication, (although on a macro scale in comparison) and i learned alot on my first build which also had that CC. Good luck and post pics.

  6. #6

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    @FJK - Ah. I knew I was forgetting something. Do I need two additional aux switches per hilt, or just one combined with the momentary switch per hilt?

    @lam - I'd rather not have to do that obviously, but I have no problems with tweaking. I like the challenge of learning. My art teacher said the same thing that I didn't know what I was getting into when I told him I was making a chainmaille shirt. It took me a year worth of free time, but that thing is going to last me a lifetime! It also scored me an awesome co-op at a jewellery store where I made a sweet jedi emblem ring. I may be currently clueless, but I'm a master of patience haha!
    Being closed minded is like a windmill without wind.
    Without the flow of criticism, your mill of creativity will never spin!

    ~Aaron Stevens

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by AA-Battery View Post
    @FJK - Ah. I knew I was forgetting something. Do I need two additional aux switches per hilt, or just one combined with the momentary switch per hilt?
    You would need two Momentary Switches per PC board, one would be the Main Switch, the other would be the Aux Switch. Since in V2 you only have 1 PC, you would only need 2 momentary switches. Which technically you have already, one on each side (unless that one on the right is a latching switch just for the LED on the right, but if you want color changing on both sides, both Tri-Rebels would have to be wired to the board I believe...)

  8. #8

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    Ok so if I were to make V1, I would probably add a momentary tactile switch either right in front of the activation box, or in one of the grooves before the choke if it is possible to place it there. *Edit* I checked the shop, and I could switch from box 9 to box 11, allowing me to fit two Momentary switches side by side while still keeping the look clean. *

    V2 it was the idea to have the right side as a latching switch, while the LED itself was wired to the PC as well, yes. However now that you mention it, I suppose I could switch it to a momentary if I were to wire it to the board as well.
    Last edited by AA-Battery; 01-21-2015 at 12:36 PM.
    Being closed minded is like a windmill without wind.
    Without the flow of criticism, your mill of creativity will never spin!

    ~Aaron Stevens

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