EL conversion kits

[DACOTA]

Hey I was thinking.Once Tim has led kits for all the current mr fx's could he build el conversion kits?I dont know if anyone would like el enough to buy these but would it be possible?Or if not could we but the led ones and put in a reducer and a washer to make it el style?Im not sure if an mr board can run an el blade but some help or ideas would be great!

[Lord Maul]

talk about a PITA for nothing...

luxs are way brighter than EL, and mr boards won't power el (unless you have the original luke rotj or ani aotc). you would need to cram in a lot of stuff for a lesser effect than lux

[DACOTA]

It was just an idea.I like led way more but I thought maybe there is a possibility it might work but nothing.

[Marsupial]

talk about a PITA for nothing...

luxs are way brighter than EL, and mr boards won't power el (unless you have the original luke rotj or ani aotc). you would need to cram in a lot of stuff for a lesser effect than lux

Sometimes you're not out for the effect...

I know I want one of my saber to stay on all night without me worrying about heat and power consumption. This would be achieved with EL.

[Do-Clo]

talk about a PITA for nothing...

luxs are way brighter than EL, and mr boards won't power el (unless you have the original luke rotj or ani aotc). you would need to cram in a lot of stuff for a lesser effect than lux

You would only need to add a relay and the el inverter, and change out the battery pack to a high voltage and you have a el MR saber, not that hard.

[Lord Maul]

do clo, for you not hard. most of us me included, have little to no electronics experience. doing all of that would be a MAJOR undertaking for me

[Jedi-Loreen]

Sometimes you're not out for the effect...

I know I want one of my saber to stay on all night without me worrying about heat and power consumption. This would be achieved with EL.

What makes you think an EL saber would stay on all night? Have you seen one do that? You should only get a few hours from a set of batteries. Inverters suck a lot of battery power to change it into high frequency A/C. And there is some power wasted from the heat from that process, though not at much as from an LED.

[DACOTA]

Dito.Maybe I'll make an el setup for an mr but I wanted it to have the origanal sound but oh well.But could I convert a stock luke to el without taking out the stock batt pack or board?

[Barmic Rin]

Good idea, certain EL colours are kinda nice, though not in the same league as Lux's.
It's not that hard converting, I changed my Luke ROTJ '03 into an EL. The effect wasn't great, though not bad.
My one gripe was that the blade looked funny in such a fat saber. Standard 3/4" blades look so delicate in a MR hilt.
The worst part was cobbling together a reducer that sat comfortably. Once it was done, I switched on, stood back, and sighed out my disappointment.
Try it if you want Dacota, but my opinion is that all the work isn't worth the result, that's why i've gutted the saber & will be bunging in an ultra kit for the led mount & erv's V2 for the effects.

[Marsupial]

Sometimes you're not out for the effect...

I know I want one of my saber to stay on all night without me worrying about heat and power consumption. This would be achieved with EL.

What makes you think an EL saber would stay on all night? Have you seen one do that? You should only get a few hours from a set of batteries. Inverters suck a lot of battery power to change it into high frequency A/C. And there is some power wasted from the heat from that process, though not at much as from an LED.

My main concern is heat. You don't want the saber to overheat. Period. Heat is bad for the luxeon, and keeping it on for hours will end up in accumulated heat. Unless you have a MASSIVE heatsink with fans. The EL system doesn't heat as much. I've seen EL sabers turned on for whole troopings, several hours. Of course, if you go 4Khz you have shorter lifespan, but if you have a good bat pack you have a longer one. (10 rechargeable AAs lasts a longer time then one alkaline 9V)

I plan on using one saber as a nightlight. The power would be redirected to the mains.

My point was that not everyone is for pure light effect, and I still believe some different people have different needs for their sabers. Plus, you all know that the EL is a lot easier to change colorblades then any other systems, and small things like that. There's pros and cons in all technology available out there.

I don't say EL is better the LED... most of you know I was amongst the pioneers in luxeon sabers. All I say is that everyone can make their own choices.