Calling All Cram-Fu Gurus

[Old Stormtrooper]

14xxx side by side packs fit fine within the standard ID of MHS hilts.

Definitely an option. If an 18650 2600mAh gets around an hours worth of use, how much can be expected out of a 14650 1050mAh pack?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Definitely an option. If an 18650 2600mAh gets around an hours worth of use, how much can be expected out of a 14650 1050mAh pack?

It depends™ . Mostly it depends on how many die you're running and how much Amperage you are feeding them. I saw something about a quad, so I'd say around 20-30 minutes max.

[NanoRex]

Do the math The mAh value is directly proportional to the amount of runtime.

[Count Malik]

FWIW: I had a build once very similar to this- (CF, CEX, RGB LED, 7.4v 18500 pack, with full ports etc..) the switch boxes are handy but will still eat up alot more space than you might think- especially in the AV switch and ports area- i used a basic threaded tactile switch from the shop and had no issues with it, space wise. The AV switch would allow you to fit a 18650/18500 stick, but it is VERY tight and personally do not recommend it unless its your only option. (you have to put the battery, the CF and the CEX all in approximate distance of each other to give yourself enough clearance for your switches and ports.)

If you're thinking of doing a chassis of any kind you will not have space for it with the switch box set up.

So this is what I did: put the CF on the back end of the battery, let my speaker "float" in the pommel inside a speaker holder. The CEX was up on the top of the battery pack but had to be at a 40 degree angle or so, for the switches and stuff to barley fit over the top. Everything was inclosed in a piece of thin plastic tubing to protect from shortages and rattling... it fit nice and snug though and everything was pretty secure. This was for a 10.5" MHS hilt. It was also a big nightmare and wanted to rock myself to sleep in a corner! lol

I recommend either figuring out a better switch and port design, or use the x2 14500 cells the others were speaking of!

[Old Stormtrooper]

It depends™ . Mostly it depends on how many die you're running and how much Amperage you are feeding them. I saw something about a quad, so I'd say around 20-30 minutes max.

That's pretty much what I figured, just wanted a second opinion.

[Old Stormtrooper]

FWIW: I had a build once very similar to this- (CF, CEX, RGB LED, 7.4v 18500 pack, with full ports etc..) the switch boxes are handy but will still eat up alot more space than you might think- especially in the AV switch and ports area- i used a basic threaded tactile switch from the shop and had no issues with it, space wise. The AV switch would allow you to fit a 18650/18500 stick, but it is VERY tight and personally do not recommend it unless its your only option. (you have to put the battery, the CF and the CEX all in approximate distance of each other to give yourself enough clearance for your switches and ports.)

If you're thinking of doing a chassis of any kind you will not have space for it with the switch box set up.

So this is what I did: put the CF on the back end of the battery, let my speaker "float" in the pommel inside a speaker holder. The CEX was up on the top of the battery pack but had to be at a 40 degree angle or so, for the switches and stuff to barley fit over the top. Everything was inclosed in a piece of thin plastic tubing to protect from shortages and rattling... it fit nice and snug though and everything was pretty secure. This was for a 10.5" MHS hilt. It was also a big nightmare and wanted to rock myself to sleep in a corner! lol

I recommend either figuring out a better switch and port design, or use the x2 14500 cells the others were speaking of!

Was the tubing sized for the MHS hilt, or sized to the battery/boards? Do you think that shrink-wrap could work if I cut an opening for the micro-SD card?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Shrink wrapping everything is not a good idea. The board, etc do give off heat.

[Count Malik]

I wouldn't recommend heatshrinking everything for what FJK mentioned as well as any maintenance or upgrades you ever do on your saber.
I used this kind of tubing- http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/9-...bes-P1009.aspx it fits perfect for MHS stuff although i got mine at a hardware store- the diameter is the same

[atomsk]

Just finished upgrading an older 11" hilt of mine. pretty small as far as 7.4v crystal focus builds go. I can confirm and used in this build: the 7.4v Li-ion 1600mAh 14500 side by side pack, with switch box 2 (16mm AV short, switch20, and recharge port) placed above the battery. I get half hour of runtime as im using a triCree GGW. with 7.4v I can run the two greens in series at 1000ma, with the white for FOC.

Runs on CF7.5 which is also mounted above the battery using the "Chassis Discs for PC 2.0 and 14500 side by side pack S5". But no CEX. Its a cram fit for sure. Definitely use 28awg+ wire and I'd advise caution using these chassis discs, they are fragile until its assembled (get a few extra). And I'd also definitely recommend clipping the leads shorter and heat shrinking the two switches and recharge port after theyre wired. That saved me enough space to fit a small length of dbl stick foam tape to further insulate the switches from the battery pack below them. Works fantastic, and its loud as hell. I've never tried the single cell hack on a crystal focus, Im too worried about the 30% volume loss @ 3.7v. But maybe its not as dramatic as I imagine.

[Das Ding]

I built a small saber a week ago, CF 7.5 with triCree, CEX and a 18500 2000mAh 7.4v pack i made in a MHS 7" hilt + pommel and emitter. The battery is exactly as long as the two boards + room for the sd-card and all fits perfectly in the MHS chassi between the speaker holder(which extends into the hilt) and a guarded switch in the standard position. I wired the recharge port past the speaker holder into the pommel and made a hole in the MPS insert, when i unscrew the pommel the insert rotates. No R.I.C.E. in my saber, but the port could be added to the MPS insert.