Weird recharge phenomenon?
So I recharge my new saber with my Tenergy Universal Smart Charger (For 2.4-7.2V Ni-Cd/Ni-MH Battery Packs), and something weird happens. I plug it in. Check to make sure the red light is steady and not blinking. An hour or two later, the light is green. I unplug it, press the switch, and nothing happens. The same thing had happened when I recharged before it was complete. That first time, I figured I had messed up the wiring, so I dissected it and checked. Nope. Wiring's fine. I push the switch again, and what do you know, it works. Hm. Just one of those things, I figure, and put it back together. But today (after it was finished), I plugged it into the charger for the second time...and the same thing happened. I tried removing the batteries and (after checking to make sure they were actually charged) put them back. Nothing. I tried plugging a plastic kill switch into the charge port and removing it. Nothing. I push and push, and nothing happens. Then I push again, and it works! And I notice something. The only difference between that last push and the previous pushes, as far as I can tell, is that my finger was touching the charge port!
Next time I recharge it, I'll try to reproduce the same thing to see if I'm right, but I have a strong hunch that somehow some static charge left in the charge port after unplugging was keeping the Hasbro board from reacting to the momentary switch. Touching the port must have dissipated the charge and allowed the circuit to be completed. At least, that's my working theory.
Has anyone else had anything like this happen? I have another saber that uses the same 1999 Hasbro Qui-Gon board, but I've never had this problem with that saber. The (perhaps crucial) difference between the two sabers is that this one uses 3 aaa Ni-MH batteries, whereas the older one uses 4. (Exact same type of battery, BTW.) And the older one uses a cyan Luxeon III whereas the new one uses a white K2. I can't think of any other significant difference. They even use the same guarded momentary switch.
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Originally Posted by Anavrin
Classic MIT. When I spent a year at Harvard, I had a few opportunities to interact with the faculty and students down the street at MIT, and it was everything I imagined it would be. Just like Doonesbury. 
Can't short to the hilt, can't short to another wire, can't short to the user, can't even be damaged since it's safe inside the hilt.
Eventually you figure it out
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