Luxeon K2

[Stan Johnson]

I don't know much about LED, but in the pics I've seen there has been an uneven distribution of light. EL blade have an even distribution; that's one more reason they probably will not become obsolete. I think EL electronics can fit into smaller spaces than LED electronics, but again, I don't know much about LED.

[GeluKhanGharr]

In my personal experience, EL setups take up more space than LED. Yes, the LED holders tend to be a bit longer, but with EL you have to account for the length of the plug/jack and the inverter - overall about 1.5 or more precious inches more than an LED setup. I've built both kinds and for those who have seen the difference, I think there is no going back from LED to EL blades.

Born of Sith, seduced by the light side.

[xwingband]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I don't know much about LED, but in the pics I've seen there has been an uneven distribution of light. EL blade have an even distribution; that's one more reason they probably will not become obsolete. I think EL electronics can fit into smaller spaces than LED electronics, but again, I don't know much about LED.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It's a trade off really. LED gives a tapered coring effect while the EL doesn't. EL tends to look more like the prequel yet LED seems closer to the original trilogy.

Spacewise it depends on the setup. On the basics LED takes up less in the hilt but if you add a driver board it doesn't. If these K2's can be made into individual blades it would be a different story.

[GeluKhanGharr]

xwing, don't forget the issue of brightness. unless you can get EL film like the one used in the older MRs, and which is fairly bright, LED is way brighter than EL. Brighter than the MR film too, though not by that much. Here's a side by side of my EL MR and my Luxeon III custom built. The MR is on the right.


Born of Sith, seduced by the light.

[xwingband]

I didn't forget. I know EL is less bright although some like the lime EL can be pretty close to LEDs.

[GeluKhanGharr]

You are right about lime wire, it's nice and bright. But...

oh, yeah, price too. I think overall LED can be less expensive. At least in the long run, LED life is way better than EL. Don't get me wrong, I think EL still has it's applications, just not for lightsaber blades anymore. But ther'll be EL blade builders around for a long while - at least as long as those people still sell that info on eBay. Everyone starts somewhere, right?

Born of Sith, seduced by the light.

[Strydur]

Led lifespan vrs EL lifespan is not something I would take into consideration unless you plan on running your saber for like 1 year non stop.

Tim
The Custom Saber Shop

[UltraSWG]

The life issue may be moot for 2khtz 9 volt systems, but has anyone tested the 4khtz 18 volt? I don't think that setup has been around long enough to test. The brighter the EL, the shorter the half-life. In a couple years we'll see how these new brighter EL systems are holding up.

As for illumination uniformity, I've come pretty dang close to achieving it and so have others. And as LED's get brighter, the uniformity will get better. Of course, we'll always have that flare at the base, but personally I love that.

And hey Strydur, have you considered trying to make a Lux III system with the LED in the base of the blade? Seems to me that it could be done.

[LAN-ED-TUL]

i love that flaring effect at the base too. it looks awesome.

[Derthh_Mawlz]

I wonder if there is any way to have a saber that has both EL and LED in it. Maybe have the EL in the core of the blade somehow, surrounded by the LED light...