Converting a 2002 Master Replicas AOTC Anakin from EL to Luxeon III

**Matt Thorn** · 12-29-2008, 10:21 PM

Note that this is just the wiring. When I've finished the whole conversion, I'll post a tutorial. This was one of the first MR Force FX Lightsabers, and used EL technology, rather than LEDs. The blade looked awful when not turned on (the tube is completely clear and the EL sheet inside looks like a loose, rolled-up length of paper), and was generally creaky. It apparently had a variety of problems, but since it is the only FX version of the saber used by Anakin in Episode II, it remains in high demand. I got hold of one that did not light up for a pretty good price, and decided to try to convert it to a Luxeon III. In terms of wiring, this was surprisingly simple. The most intimidating thing, apart from the clunky, alien-looking EL board, is the 6aa battery pack: 9 volts!

As it turns out, only the EL driver requires the 9 volts; the sound board gets only 6 volts, and works fine with just 4.8 volts. The sound board is the most compact of any I've ever seen, and is disk-shaped, so it uses space in the hilt efficiently.

The first thing you want to do is check out Rath Miran's Anakin AOTC Disassembly Tutorial.

After you've dismantled the saber, you want to remove the battery pack. This just requires a careful application of violence (or a Dremel). Just be careful not to damage the sound board at the top end or the speaker at the bottom end.

You're going to replace the battery pack with a 4aaa battery pack. I suppose you could use a 4aa pack, but I prefer the smaller, more space-efficient 4aaa pack. You can also scrap the original speaker and use this battery/speaker-pack. The speaker grille from the Anakin saber fits perfectly on the end of this pack, and is even held in place by the speaker's magnet.

Next thing you want to do is chop off the EL driver.

You can discard this or use it as a paperweight. (It's heavy!)

Next, you want to remove the motion sensor from the tip of the blade. (Yeah, it's in the tip of the blade.) Since the six-year-old glue is probably brittle by now, it should not be too difficult to pry off the end cap of the blade, in which the sensor is housed. The wires--more like a cord, really--leading to the sensor are thick and a bit odd, but you'll have to shorten them considerably, and once you've cut it and stripped the ends, you'll see how it works, and should able to reconnect them.

The two yellow leads from the switch will connect to the negative lead of the Luxeon III and the negative lead on the sound board (which was severed from the EL board).

The positive lead from the Luxeon III is joined to the positive lead from the battery. (The sound board and LED share the same positive lead.) You can do this either by attaching directly to the battery wire, or, if you want to be neater about it, you can solder it to the positive post on the top side of the sound board. (Ask me if you don't know which one I'm talking about.) So here's the quick-and-dirty diagram.

And here are close-ups of the sound board.
Top:

Bottom:

One problem with this set-up is that light and sound don't match up perfectly. When you turn the saber off, the Luxeon goes out instantly, but the sound board goes through a surprisingly long "ramp-down" effect. This is kind of lame.

Adding a latching Corbin Luxeon driver might alleviate this problem.

Hope someone finds this useful.

EDIT: Before you proceed, you should know that I had little luck with this conversion (despite a great deal of effort, as the thread shows), and ultimately abandoned it. Just a warning.

**Matt Thorn** · 01-09-2009, 05:38 PM

I got my TCSS Darth Maul conversion kit yesterday and installed it in the modified hilt. The only problem is the original sliding DPDT switch. It protrudes too deeply into the hilt, pushing the blade holder down and off-center. I tried to remedy this by cutting off the original connectors, directly soldering the wires to the switch posts, and bending the pins outwards. It worked, sort of, but the bigger problem is that the switch is basically unreliable. It seems the internal connections are shaky. The LED turns off and on when one of the switch posts is jiggled, and the sound board also turns itself off and then on again, apparently because the connection in the switch is not solid. I'm going to try replacing the original switch with a better one.

And while I'm waiting for that switch to arrive, I'll try to get those cosmetic red and green "lights" on the side to actually light up, using extremely small LEDs I found and a resistor. I'll post an update, as well as photos, when I've made more progress.

**Matt Thorn** · 01-20-2009, 11:39 PM

Thanks to help from LDM, I got the board working with a Corbin Luxeon driver and a voltage regulator.

**Matt Thorn** · 01-21-2009, 07:43 AM

I thought I had finished this conversion when I discovered a few things. First, the motion detector that was originally in the tip of the blade is completely unresponsive after being moved inside the hilt. This makes sense, since the detector was made to be placed in the part of the saber that undergoes the most acceleration. This is not a problem of my wiring. The motion sound kicks in when you flick the detector directly in the open hilt. But when the hilt is closed up--nothing. The clash sensor is also reluctant to respond. This may be because it's difficult to get the blade holder (and therefore the blade) to sit firmly in the hilt. The clash detector pretty much only responds when I hit the hilt directly.

If you are going to try this conversion, you may want to replace the motion detector with another one, such as the one included in the Hasbro Force Action series.

As for the clash detector, I think the only solution is to get the blade holder firmly settled in the hilt. I'm working on this problem now. BTW, I'm using a TCSS Darth Maul kit, which is too narrow to fit snugly into the AOTC Anakin hilt.

Another problem I have is that the volume of sound is laughably low. I replaced the original speaker with one I assumed was better. At the same time, though, in order to get the Corbin, voltage regulator, and extra wiring into the hilt, I shortened the plastic speaker holder about 1/4". I figure either the speaker is inadequate or shortening the speaker box was a big mistake. The sound in the original unmodified saber was not great, but it was not this quiet, either. I wonder if the voltage regulator (6v to 5v) is responsible.

Any way you look at it, 4 AA batteries makes for a seriously cramped hilt. I suppose I could save room by using two Li-ION batteries, but after reading all the warnings, I've been reluctant to venture into the Li-ION's den, so to speak.

Did I mention that I hate the way the AOTC Anakin requires you to change batteries? A serious nuisance, and just poor product design, IMO. Every time you unscrew the metal part from the plastic part, the plastic threads are worn down. Plastic dust falls out every time.

**Kal El Rah** · 01-21-2009, 11:41 AM

Matt, since you have talked to LDM about converting it to Luxion, why didn't you just dothe simple conversion with a 616 kit, I am going to do that to my other 2002 Anakin.

**Matt Thorn** · 01-21-2009, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Kal El Rah

Matt, since you have talked to LDM about converting it to Luxion, why didn't you just dothe simple conversion with a 616 kit, I am going to do that to my other 2002 Anakin.

For the simple reason that I don't have a 616.

I can't find a Construction Kit for less than $140 here in Japan. The people who buy them here hang on to them. I suppose eBay is littered with broken ones being sold by parents who got them for their kids, but when you add in shipping to Japan, it's just not worth it. I'd rather just buy an UltraSound from Tim and use that. But after having tried an "orthodox" (?) conversion, I think LDM's 616 solution is the best.

I started with one AOTC Anakin with a broken EL and functioning sound board; now I've got a semi-functional Luxeon III AOTC Anakin, and a second that has a functioning EL system but a damaged sound board.

I'm in no hurry to try another conversion on the second.

I will say, though, that the Corbin driver has made this a project worth plugging away at. If I had gotten these same results, minus the Corbin effects, I'd have been tempted to fling the whole thing out my apartment window. It looks great. I just need to find some way to improve the sound.

**grayven** · 01-21-2009, 06:19 PM

Hey Matt I did one of these. Here is the youtube link. It may give you some ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7atoO...e=channel_page

**Matt Thorn** · 01-21-2009, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by grayven

Hey Matt I did one of these. Here is the youtube link. It may give you some ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7atoO...e=channel_page

Thanks, grayven. Wish I had seen that before I started.

I was originally planning on eliminating the original method of changing batteries by either adding a recharge port or having the battery/speaker pack slide out the bottom and keeping in place by making the screw on the Covertec button into a retention screw for the pack. So I scrapped the original six-battery holder and made my own sled. I now regret that. It just occurred to me a couple of days ago that I could have done exactly what you did: used the original battery holder, and housed the Corbin driver and voltage regulator in the space where two batteries would have gone.

A couple of questions. Does the blade holder you mentioned in your video fit snugly into the AOTC Anakin hilt, or did you have to pad it some way? And what is the purpose of the rod? To make the whole setup more sturdy?

I was also planning to make the cosmetic red and green lights actually light up, and even found very small LEDs of more or less the same size and color, but I couldn't get them to work. I'm afraid I may have reversed polarity or used the wrong resistor and fried them. (How the heck do you tell positive from negative in these tiny, unmarked LEDs, anyway?

) Either way, after watching your video, it suddenly occurred to me: I could simply drill two holes in the blade holder right beneath the existing red and green "lights," and let the light from the Luxeon shine through. That was a real "duh" moment. Like they say, the simplest solution is often the best. Of course, the blue light would probably make the red light purple, but it would be better than nothing. It's not too late for me to give this a try, but first I need to fix my blade holder in the hilt more firmly (not to mention doing something about the motion and clash detectors, and the sound so quiet it could pass muster with a librarian).

**Matt Thorn** · 01-22-2009, 06:51 AM

Well, apart from the low volume, I was able to fix the other problems. The blade holder is now firmly in place. A motion sensor salvaged from a Hasbro Force Action saber is working perfectly. I even drilled holes to let light through the red and green cosmetic "lights," although very little light shows through the red, and the green looks blue. I turned it on, swung it around (listening carefully for the faint motion sounds

), whacked it a few times to test the clash sensor(s).

Whacked it a bit more.

Once more.

Silence.

....

KHA-A-A-A-N-N-N-N!!!

I can guess what the problem is (a broken connection, probably where the original thin wires are soldered to something), but I just don't want to deal with it. I don't even want to look at. Maybe I'll look at it tomorrow, maybe next year. Time to move on to my other project.