Parts and skills needed for a saber

[Shiney]

Hey all. I've been lurking around this for some time, but I finally got the patience to register and ask after buying some of the Acrylic crystals. I'm completely new at all this, and none of the FAQs seemed to explain this clearly.


Were I to use the MHS builder, and include the basic electronics package, simple blade and whatnot, what would I still need, in terms of parts, AND skills to allow myself to actually use the blade?

As the sound drivers are out of stock, in order to get sound on my blade at a later date, exactly what would I need, in terms of skills and process to isntall the luke FX sound module?

Basically, I'm just asking what I'm missing to get my starting basic saber through the MHS, and how I can add onto it later.

Lastly, is it likely that later on, should I get an excess of MHS'ed hilts, that I could re-use some of them for other systems, such as hyperdyne?

[jjshumpert]

your mhs hilts are pretty basic, all you really need is a blade holder, center section, and pommel. the blade holder comes with the heatsink, and the basic electronics kits come with everything you need to wire the saber. all that your missing at that point is your optics and holder. tim doesnt include those with the electronics kit because of the options available to the customer. i would sugjest going with the 5 degree optics and holder. if you want red go with 3w, if you want green go with 5w, if you want blue go with k2.

if you want sound later on you can wait till tim gets more lukes in or you can buy a broken mr from ebay. the luke module lends itself best to the conversions, and can be used with a 3w or k2 as both the lux driver and sound. using an mr module with a 5w is a little more tricky, but still easily doable.

there is also the option of a buckpuck driver or corbins board for lux drivers. sound there are hasbro boards plus erv's and ultra's upcoming driver. erv's board is the best available and will work with any lux and provides programable sound, but some ppl cant afford the 150.00 price tag.

i guess i should ask mostly what color you want your blade, and then i can point you in the direction you wish to go on this project and help you design your wiring layout.

[Shiney]

your mhs hilts are pretty basic, all you really need is a blade holder, center section, and pommel. the blade holder comes with the heatsink, and the basic electronics kits come with everything you need to wire the saber. all that your missing at that point is your optics and holder. tim doesnt include those with the electronics kit because of the options available to the customer. i would sugjest going with the 5 degree optics and holder. if you want red go with 3w, if you want green go with 5w, if you want blue go with k2.

if you want sound later on you can wait till tim gets more lukes in or you can buy a broken mr from ebay. the luke module lends itself best to the conversions, and can be used with a 3w or k2 as both the lux driver and sound. using an mr module with a 5w is a little more tricky, but still easily doable.

there is also the option of a buckpuck driver or corbins board for lux drivers. sound there are hasbro boards plus erv's and ultra's upcoming driver. erv's board is the best available and will work with any lux and provides programable sound, but some ppl cant afford the 150.00 price tag.

i guess i should ask mostly what color you want your blade, and then i can point you in the direction you wish to go on this project and help you design your wiring layout.

Thanks for all the quick help. ^_^ Let me see...

So basically, I'll just buy the lens and holder in addition to my first MHS building experiment.

I'm afraid the bit on the sound drivers was complete gibberish to me. I'm a bit slow, so if you could explain that a bit more clearly (AKA, for stupid people like me) I'd appreciate it.

Color wise... Well, my original thought was the amber/yellow color for my blade, but I seem to be hearing that it looks bad, due to being the weaker light types. After that, I guess I'd either like to try red, or Cyan.

[jjshumpert]

click on the flashchat link on the page banner to enter the cantina so i can help you figure out where you want to go with this first hilt project

[xwingband]

If you want to go simple on your first build with sound there are wiring diagrams here. It'd be a straight up conversion.

For skills: soldering and drilling (optional even). Soldering... pretty basic stuff. You can practice a few times and it shouldn't be too hard.

I say drilling if you don't pay for the drill/tapping fee Tim offers for the thumbscrew to hold the blade. Really it's simple though. If you can hold a drill (have two hands with enough fingers) and twist the tap you can do it.

Upgrading... Sure. If you have the forethought you can use quick disconnects for electronics. The hilt is compatible with Hyper's stuff, but the electronics aren't. That's why it's cool, it's modular!

[Shiney]

Well, I *THINK* I understand nearly everything now, except for what a "Bin 5" Amber LED is, and, how I would add a sound module, such as luke's MR.

[xwingband]

Hmm... where you getting the bin stuff from? Bins are how the manufacturer divides all of the LEDs. Like blue has a wide range of shades that put it in the "blue" range.

AND a bin 5 Amber doesn't exist! They are only in 2,4 and 8.

Adding sound, like I said. Go to the wiring forum there will be a wiring picture for the luke module. It's still in stock too, not sure why you said it wasn't.

[Shiney]

Hmm... where you getting the bin stuff from? Bins are how the manufacturer divides all of the LEDs. Like blue has a wide range of shades that put it in the "blue" range.

AND a bin 5 Amber doesn't exist! They are only in 2,4 and 8.

Adding sound, like I said. Go to the wiring forum there will be a wiring picture for the luke module. It's still in stock too, not sure why you said it wasn't.

I meant the 3W driver, not the luke sound module.

Well, I got my info from jjshumpert, and he said that if I asked for a "bin 5 amber" In my comments on the order, it would be "More than bright enough."