First lightsaber... Setting up small and button LED's

[traydemark]

I've been reading these forums for about a week and still have some questions.

I want to use the style of these low-profile, brass/stainless buttons but am not sure if they will fit or if they are even usable.

(If I can use them I'll only need one so if anyone wants one, we can split the cost)

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Brass-Latching...QQcmdZViewItem

These buttons have LEDs on them
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Stainless-Latc...QQcmdZViewItem

How would I wire my setup if I add another small LED to light up a slit in the hilt, and/or to power an LED button (sorry, I'm not very fluent with circuits)

Also, I'm interested in using Erv's crystal focus. You don't need a resistor right? Do you need a separate LED for the low battery indicator?[/url]

[xwingband]

If you are interested in Erv's board you should look at his manual at his site. It has all the diagrams you should need. You may need a resistor but that entirely depends on the LED you use.

For those switches... Yes, they will work. There is a catch though. They are those "anti-vandal" style switches. They look really nice but are big! 16mm is just the switch hole you'd need. It's actually 20mm or more for the total diameter. That doesn't fit too well on some hilts.

[Novastar]

Agreed with X... I have used some of the anti-vandal switches in the past, and the only things I could tell you are the following:

1. Use a tube that is 1.5" OD or greater.
2. OR... you will want to mount it into the pommel. This may prohibit the speaker from being mounted "ideally", but the speaker could be BEHIND the switch, offering it a resonance cavity (which could actually be better).

Additionally, don't get too hung up on the "bolt down" kind of setup they have for the leads. Use solder. The bolt is nice, but unreliable for our purposes. If you don't know what I mean--you will one day run across an anti-vandal that has these bolts, and they are supposed to hold the wire leads down with pressure.

[traydemark]

Awe man... I'm using a 1.25 sink pipe for my hilt.

I think it was Madcow that made a switch from a computer case thumb screw for his amazing Qui-Gonn Jinn hilt. Anyone know how he did that? I'm assuming he just used it to push a latching switch underneath it.

So far, the small LEDs I've been looking at from Radioshack have really small intensities (10-20 mA)...I'm not sure if I'm doing this right...
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

I'm planning to add slits where my forward grip would be so that light from a small LED can bleed through.
Something like this:
________
| | |
________

I think Jedi Ranger did this...but with EL wire. I'm wondering if these small LEDs would be good enough.


As far as wiring with multiple items, would I just connect them in a series like this:

Battery -> Buck puck -> LED (Blade) -> resistor -> small LED -> small LED -> back to Battery

[Novastar]

Awe man... I'm using a 1.25 sink pipe for my hilt.

Switches are inexpensive enough... you can find many differing types and experiment until you find what you like best.

I did.

[neophyl]

As far as wiring with multiple items, would I just connect them in a series like this:

Battery -> Buck puck -> LED (Blade) -> resistor -> small LED -> small LED -> back to Battery

Definately not no. For your main luxeon led you would go :-

battery positive >>switch >>puck>>battery negagtive 
(with the 2 output wires of the puck connected to your luxeon)

For your accent leds you would go :-

Battery positive >>switch >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led1)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led2)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led3)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led4)

etc etc

Now you can use the same switch as its just turning the power on/off so a combined setup would go something like this :-

battery positive >>switch >>puck           >>battery negagtive 
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led1)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led2)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led3)
                          >>resistor >>led >>battery negative (led4)

Those 20mcd types arent really going to be bright , you want 1000+mcd types if you want it to look like bleed through.