not new, but OLD sound technology

[Marsupial]

When I started building luxeon saber, way before they luxeon hype we know nowaday, there was not much tools for customization as we have right now. The help we could get from the big yellow box and that's about it. The plasma sabers were just about dead, master replicas had a brand new FX saber with EL blade...

... and Light Tech industries had a sound "module" that was ment to be added to existing lightsaber; while being self powered. (they don't exist anymore)

I had been in contact with a certain "corbin das" who was working out drivers, and had decided at the time to not make my own, but something was still missing in the equation; adding sound. So that "sound module" they had at light tech seamed at the time to be the best thing for any saber hobyist projects... except I never could contact them asking if there would be a way to pair that with the upcoming corbin drivers...

Years after, I make my own luxeon controller, and Master Leda gave me this piece of custom saber electronics archeleogy


Leda was one of the rare person to get her hands on one of these, but it didn't work out too good for her...
Soooo.... I started to give a look at these beasts.

First thing you'll notice, they are self powered... by 3 button cell.


problem with that is that the batteries needs be fresh otherwise the electronics will fail and control won't be good on the saber module.

Now... these are intended as "SOUND ONLY"... so I will want to try to integrate this with one of my luxeon controller.... I therefore decided to start digging inside the module, and took pictures in the process, I figured some people might be interested in the same info which is why I am posting... even if most of us were not even in this hobby when these stopped being produced. lol.

the speaker is suboptimal.

However, the module itself create a nice rich sound - which can be amplified by a better resonnance chamber on the exit of the pommel...

here's the bottom of the PCB


and the top


notice the chip-blurb?
the board includes a hit sensor similar to what's made nowaday, and a tilt sensor for the swing. That module was very advanced despite being one of the earliest models out there - there's several swing SFX, several clash SFX, humm, extension and retraction sounds.

it even had an audio jack to plug an external FM transmitter

that can be good for conventions or presentation - full blast sound from a huge sound system! lol.



PLAN: I intend to connect this to my luxeon controller...

replace the 3 cell by the output "piggy back" power from my controller.
Steal the hit signal from the sound board
a DPDT latching switch for powering both electronics at once.

in theory, that could work and make an advanced light system paired with the oldest sound board I know of...

BONUS
here's a comparison picture with an OM acerocker OWK pommel that is TCSS compatible, to compare size with TCSS


opinions?

[Arm on Fire]

I say hell yes!

Build it and they will come!!!!!

[Rhyen Skytracker]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I can't believe they stopped making them back then. Even making the same exact module today would have been profitable for them. Let us know how it works out. Do you recall what they were going for back then? Just curious.

[Marsupial]

here's a small video for the sound (click on it)


I think they were sold around 70-80US$ + shipping, in KIT form... might be wrong.

[Jedi-Loreen]

I have one of those, just the sound module itself.

It's currently some where in one of my junk drawers. It started freaking out and I got mad at it.

I never did put it into and EL saber, like originally planned to, 6 years ago.

I think paid $50 for it back then.

[Kal El Rah]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I can't believe they stopped making them back then. Even making the same exact module today would have been profitable for them. Let us know how it works out.

What RS said

[Marsupial]

I think that's pretty much what everyone did with them. That's most likely what they stopped selling them.

Change the 3 small watch-sized batteries inside, it will sound correctly. However, slightly used batteries won't be powerful ennough from my experience; it will start, but won't shut down, or partly start then stop. I suspect the switch itself doesn't help either.

The board itself is about as good as the common MR boards, minus the light controller.


I think they should have sold the boards without the rest of the modules for people like us; it would have sold a lot if we look at how the alternative goes.

[Lord Dottore Matto]

That is a great find Mars! Now if I can just get into J-Lo's junk drawer...

[Jedi-Loreen]

I think most of my drawers in my roll-around-cabinets are junk drawers these days, except my Leather working drawer. I just kind of throw crap into the other drawers willy-nilly. There's not much organization to them anymore, like they first started out with.

At least I know which of the 3 cabinets it's in though.



LDM, if I should suddenly drop dead, you can come to my house and look through my junk drawers. I'm sure you'll find some interesting stuff in there.

Maul will have my address on a Priority Mail box he'll be getting from me in the next couple of days.

[psab keel]

For the price they weren't bad, and at the time, MR FX sabers were too expensive to go ripping apart. Plus, these had some pretty decent sound to them. I think I ended up getting about 3 of them, and either took them apart to mod them to fit in my sabers, or sold them. That was a while back now, and I haven't had my hands on one of those units in years. They were great modules, especially for the time they were available.

Psab