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Thread: 2003 Darth Vader

  1. #1

    Default 2003 Darth Vader

    Before deciding to take the plunge and buying an Ultrasound 2.0, I bid on a non-functioning 2003 Vader lightsaber at Yahoo! Auctions Japan, and despite my low bid, I won. The seller seems like a trustworthy guy (412 good reviews, zero bad). He says he bought it used (though it looks to be in great shape), but it didn't function from the start. He says the battery pack worked in another saber. So I have no idea what I will find when I open it up (I just won the auction an hour ago), but I have two questions.

    1) If I open it up and there's nothing obviously wrong with the connections or wiring, is there some way to test the board to see if it's functional/fixable?

    2) If I do manage to salvage the board, any suggestions on what to do with it? I searched the message board, but couldn't find anything on how to use this kind of 3rd generation board.

    I probably should have posted this after I got the saber and opened it up, but I thought I'd risk the flames and toss this out there. I'll post an update and photos when I receive the saber and have opened it up.

    And the joke will be on me if I open it up and discover it's already been stripped by an earlier scavenger.

    Thanks in advance for help or suggestions.

  2. #2
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    Im doing a conversion on one of those right now. The switch is near the emitter on this one instead of the clamp. Going to be a pain with the blade holder. When you get it, I would direct connect a battery/speaker source to the inputs on the board to make sure it wasn't a faulty connection in the pins that the battery pack pushes against. If nothing there its a good chance the board is toast (the bad kind, lame...not buttered). If you can get it to work then great, good luck converting it if that is what you are planning to do.

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  3. #3
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    as far as what you can do with it...put it in any custom hilt, or convert/customize the vader itself! It is just a standard MR board, just an older generation (unless it happens to be the EL Vader???)
    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
    TCSS the #1 Part supplier of LDM customsabers!

  4. #4

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    Thanks for the replies, and the advice. After saying I searched and found nothing, it occurred to me to search for "2003 Vader". Doh. It looks like there's some info to be sifted through that I hadn't known was here.
    FenderBender, I'll try the direct connect you suggested. I guess if I had used the leetle grey cells, I could have thought of that myself.
    I can't wait to get it. I already ordered everything I need to make an MHS saber (and hoping that my order for the Ultrasound 2.0 will actually be filled in this lifetime), but after looking through the galleries, I've developed a hankering to make something more or less from scratch. Unfortunately, we don't have anything anywhere nearly as well stocked as a Home Depot here in Japan (that I know of), but today I went to the nearest thing we have here in Kyoto and scoured the shelves for potential parts. I didn't find much, but was happy to discover that they had lengths of both 1 1/4" (32mm) and 1 1/2" (38mm) aluminum tube. (Hey, it's a start, right? )

  5. #5
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    It is a great start. Since I'm doing one right now, if I run into anything unusual or come up with anything else helpful, I will let you know. Good luck.

    If you're new, please take the time we all consider just as precious as you and READ!

    GET LATHED!

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  6. #6

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    I did one of these. It was a lot easier than I first thought. I use a MPP Blade Socket form the graflex shop ( I don't think Tim sells them yet), and a newer MR sith sound board. Runs on 4 AA.








    The Anakin AOTC was definitely a hard chore to convert.

  7. #7
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    Are you using a different MR battery pack? Why did you go with a newer board, more power?

    If you're new, please take the time we all consider just as precious as you and READ!

    GET LATHED!

    Official BMF and LORD OF THE STRINGS

  8. #8

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    Thanks, grayven. For the moment, I'm planning to do the reverse of what you did, which is to use the 03 Vader board in an original DIY hilt. I don't suppose you happen to have a photo of the original board, do you? Well, either way, I should have the saber in hand within a few days.

    On the other hand, I suppose I could fix the saber (assuming it's fixable), do a conversion like grayven did, and auction it here in Japan. There are fans here willing to pay a lot for a good saber (bidding is always fierce when an FX saber appears on Yahoo! Auctions Japan), and as far as I can tell, there is no equivalent of a TCSS, Ultrasabers, or Plecterlabs here in Japan where you can get all the parts you need in one place at reasonable prices. It took me a while just to find online sources for Luxeon LEDs in Japan, and they cost a fortune and only come in white. Even after shipping and handling costs, it's cheaper (and easier) to buy from TCSS and have things shipped to Japan than to track them down and buy them here.

    Say, Tim! If you ever want to open a Japanese branch, I'm your man! I can translate the whole site into Japanese, respond to Japanese e-mail, process Japanese orders, etc. There's definitely an untapped market here.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by FenderBender View Post
    Are you using a different MR battery pack? Why did you go with a newer board, more power?
    No I bought it as a as-is saber from Ebay and the board was bad and blade was broken. I allways want to have the bigger DV saber with Lux. I like the switch position.

  10. #10

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    Somebody just put up a functioning (new?) 2003 Dark Vader FX saber on Yahoo! Auctions Japan with a "Buy Now" price of 39,900 yen, or about $419 U.S.. Insane.

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