LED blade length

[dbraxton9]

many people talk about the problems with LED blades being uneven, having dark spots or hot spots. there is much discussion about diffusers, filters, reflective material in the tip to reflect the light back down the tube, etc. What difference does it make if you have say a 30" blade vs a 40" one? is it easier to get the effect desired if you use one size or another?
DB

[xwingband]

If you do any of those methods correctly there will be no difference between a 40" and 30". The only time you could get spotty light is with a blade film that is not aligned correctly. Otherwise it's mostly preference. Some say 40" is a "floppy" blade.

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[GeluKhanGharr]

i beg to differ xwingband. It is my impression that the dimmest spot on a 40 inch blade is at about 28 inches from the LED, no matter how well you align it. That is why I make my blades 32 inches, out of which 2 inches are in the holder. That way my blades at the dimmest spot are brighter than MRs, and mostly visible only in photographs. To the naked eye they are just bright and even, and they don't flex and are easy to swing around.

Born of Sith, seduced by the light.

[JediSaberSmith]

A agree, the blades do light up more evenly when the blade is shorter. I belive that there is no need for a 40 inch blade. At that length they are in fact floppy. Im 6'4" tall and can't effectivly use a hilt with a 40" blade inserted. I think the length of the FX saber blades is perfect at approx 33" {exposed}.

JediSaberSmith
An Elegant Weapon From A More Civilized Age

[LAN-ED-TUL]

i set mine to be 36 outside with 2 inches in the holder. seems to be ok to me, but a friend said it did look dimmer at the end. i also havent tried it though, using tims diffuser in it. i have corbins film in there right now. i think the diffuser tim has may diffuse the light more evenly all the way to tip. i will see when the tube arrives and post a couple pics.

[dbraxton9]

ok, what is this stuff about "aligning" the diffuser? it's just a sleeve that slips inside the poly tube right? how do you align or misalign it?
also,I have an EL saber with a 30" blade because I'm 5'9" and a blade that is over half my height is too long to wield. I've seen the fanfilms with the 40" 3/4" blades and they look silly the way they flop around. my 30" is a little bendy but not too bad. at least it bends on impact rather than with the wind!
my next saber will be LED and hopefully the 1" poly tube will be stiffer. are the 40" blades with 1" poly tubes stiffer too?
DB

[tetmatek]

I'm with you GeluKhanGharr that length seems to be the best for the LED and is more manageable to use and transport. I have a 26 inch blade for testing certain things also. It is so short it would make a nice billy club or stopping an intruder in the house without taking out any overhead lights. LOL

[xwingband]

I have never seen a dim spot on a single LED other than the length getting dim as it should. Unless you are talking about the MR LED strings which can have dim spots. Otherwise why in the world would there be a dim spot? I imagine that's more of an optics problem.

dbraxton9, the misalignment we are talking about is with a blade film like corbin's which reflects the light back in somewhat to get the core effect. The diffuser Strydur sells is more like what is used in EL saber. It just directs the light up (I dont know a better way of saying it).

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[GeluKhanGharr]

xwing, as a picture is worth a thousand words, here it is:


Born of Sith, seduced by the light.

[xwingband]

Well, I'm not suprised the MR is uniform. How could it not be with a string of LEDs?

I bet without the reflective tip there is no dim spot, right? That seems more a product of a reflective tip that needs to be tweaked. I also bet you are using a diffuser like Strydur's too.

EDIT: Also is that the same tip you use on a shorter blade? You can't use the same reflective tip. On a longer one you'd need to change the curve (if there's any) to get it to cover the dimming of the blade down the length.

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