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Thread: ? on 2002 El Anakin

  1. #1

    Default ? on 2002 El Anakin

    I am new here and kinda messed up my 1st post so here it goes. I have a 2002 EL Anakin Saber. It is my first EL saber. I have 5 Force FX sabers, and 1 Luxeon Maul saber. I can notice quite a difference in the 3 kinds (FX, EL, Luxeon) but did that model come w/ a plaque of some kind? Mine did. It says on it Anakin Lightsaber, "I will be the most powerful Jedi ever". At the bottom it says Anakin to Padame Attack of the Clones. And what is the difference between the different ways to light up the saber? FX have 64 lights, Luxeon have 1 super bright LED, but what is an EL? Is it 1 electro-eluminescent bulb (or 1st gen LED) like the Luxeon style just not as bright? Is it harder to convert this type of saber to a Luxeon, or any other? Thank you for all your help.

  2. #2

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    EL is a wire that runs up and down the length of the blade.
    Here's a page the describes how they're made.

    http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=2024

    As far as modding it into a Lux or another type, that's doable, but not simple. Here is a thread where Jay-Gonn goes through the process of such a conversion.
    http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=3992
    Last edited by Donnovan Sunrider; 10-28-2008 at 10:42 AM.
    Yes, I spell it sabre. I just like it that way.

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  3. #3
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    That tutorial in the link posted above is based off of my original tutorial that I wrote back in 2003, making me sort of "famous" in the lightsaber community, before LED sabers were around. Tim has improved upon my tutorial a bit though. And made a one-stop shop for everything you need.

    I believe that the Anakin EL saber has a film or paper type of EL, instead of wire. As stated in the tutorial, it stands for ElectroLuminescent.

    Here's a blurb of information that I have gleaned over the years about what EL actually is and how it works:


    The substance in EL wire that gives off the light is phosphorus. When it is surrounded by a high frequency AC current, it glows, or, phosphoresces. It consists of a solid "core" wire, which is coated with the phosphorus, and 2 fine wires that spiral around the outside of the core wire. These are what surround the phosphorus with the current.

    The color of the wire is determined by the colored sheathing around the wire. Since phosphorus naturally glows a greenish blue, the sheathing over the aqua wire is clear. The only exception to this is the white EL wire. The white color is achieved by sort of "doping" the phosphorus by adding chemicals to change the chemical properties and make it glow a different color. The coating on the wire looks pink, till the current is applied.

    Phosphorus is a bit toxic, so make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after scraping the coating off the main wire when connecting EL wire.

    As for EL wire deteriorating, I know that pure phosphorus reacts with oxygen, though I'm sure what's in the EL wire is mixed with other chemicals, especially the white EL wire, so it couldn't hurt to seal the cut end with a bit of glue or clear nail polish. This is also another good reason to put hot glue on the wires after you've soldered them inside the audio connector.

    EL wire should glow for a few thousand hours before it starts to dim, it won't glow at the same brightness indefinitely. But unless you're using it as a night light, it should last longer than most people will be able to wear it out in a lightsaber blade, especially of you have more than one blade.



    If you want to convert your MR EL saber to LED, the inverter board is different than the LED driver of the newer ones, so you can't use the board to drive your LED. I think someone asked about that here, check out this forum for that thread.

    I believe you can still use the board for sound.

    If you're thinking about converting it to Luxeon, you would probably just bypass the board to drive the LED with a buck puck or resistored, though I don't know how complicated that would be.
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  4. #4

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    Ask ldm he did a lux conversion using guts from a 616 kit.
    Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. - Albert Einstein

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  5. #5

    Default Thanks

    Wow (and again sorry) Blue 8 your knowledge on phosphorus is exquisite. My father taught chemistry at Ohio State, and even I never asked him to explain it that much. So basically what your saying is a new-b like me should pass this saber on to more skillful hands? It took me 4 days to get into my maul to see what was wrong,(and still don't know yet, but am trying to figure it out) and 2 days to get that stupid pin out of the ep 5 vader! I have studied the anakin saber, seems easily accessible, but should gain far greater knowledge before attempting any conversion. Thank you for your help. I will study the links for a while and see if I can grasp it. Anyone know about the plaque mine came with?

  6. #6

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    Was this saber custom made? I didn't think MR made EL sabers. The EL on it may not stand for ElectroLuminescence but something else entirely.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hasid Lafre View Post
    Ask ldm he did a lux conversion using guts from a 616 kit.
    Here you go bro!

    http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=6272

    I have converted 3 of these, all a little differently, but this tutorial is the most simple method that I have used. You will be much happier with it as a lux III saber. PM me if you have questions or feel as though you are not ready to do this conversion and I can help you.
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:1. LDM's Basic Saber-build Step-by-Step Tutorial 1A. Maul's Saber Dictionary 1B. THREAD INDEX 1C. Econo Sound Diagrams
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  8. #8

    Default pic

    yes I was surprised to see that it was an EL saber, thought they were extinct. Here is a picture of the box and saber.

    anakin 1.jpg

    anakin box.jpg

    anakin 4.jpg

  9. #9

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    Wow, an antique! heh heh. heck it might be worth something now.

  10. #10

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    N ot really
    Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. - Albert Einstein

    Reaganomics not Obamanomics


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