Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 10Electronics - Basic Lightsaber, NO sound
Basic - No Sound.
For the High Power LED we have: Luxeon Star in III, K2, V, and Rebel; Cree; Seoul.
There are others but I leave it to you to do the research. Which ever LED you choose, you have to make sure that there is OPTICS available for it that it will fit in the very small space we have inside the blade holder.
For the basic lightsaber with NO sound we will need the high power LED(s), Optics, batteries, a resistor or a buck puck, battery holder and a switch.
That's it. Easy. And this method leaves lots of space inside the hilt. Space that can be used for a larger battery capacity or more voltage. If you want to have an INSANELY bright bright lightsaber, this would be the best way to achieve it. "Class III laser warning" bright = higher voltage and amperage reqirements. Plus there is heat management to take care of, i.e. larger heatsink. Not having sound and a speaker means more room for batteries and a larger heatsink.
You also have to find the right kind of Switch. For the basic no sound lightsaber you will need a switch that must be pressed/flipped/moved to turn it on and pressed/flipped/moved again to turn it off. This can be a slider, toggle, push on/push off, or latching switch. You must consider the size, mounting hole requirements, voltage and amp rating and look of the switch.
About Battery Choices:
A standard 9 volt battery is not going to cut it. You need something with decent capacity (measured in mAh - milliamp hours) and voltage. The best choice would be rechargeables.
-- Three AA NiMH is a good choice for powering a single LED. The mAh of most rechargeable AA battery is above 2000.
-- The next choice is a battery pack for RC remotes and airsoft guns. These also tends to be NiMH technology and can be purchased in different mAh/voltage/size configurations. Using a battery pack means you can install a recharge port on your lightsaber and just plug your saber to a charger to be recharged.
-- The newest technology is Lithium Ion (Li-Ion). Li-Ion batteries pack a lot energy density in a small space, that means that 1 AA size Li-Ion battery puts out the same voltage as 3 NiHM AA connected in series (3.6v). So you can get away with buying ONE battery to power 1 LED. This makes wiring much simpler and saves on space. The thing to note about Li-Ion battery is that they are VERY sensitive to overcharging and discharging. Overcharge a Li-Ion and they tend to EXPLODE into a fireball. Overdischarge a Li-Ion battery and it will not ever charge again. There are special chargers and protections circuits used to prevent both cases. Often times the circuit is built into the battery. Li-Ion battery sizes are designated by their diameter and lenght in millimeters. So a size 16340 means the battery is 16mm in diameter and 34mm long (remove one trailing zero - thanks for catching that Dr. dB). A 14500 is equal in size to a AA battery (14mm x 50mm).
Current Control:
To control the current going into the LED we have two methods. 1) Have a resistor between the LED and the battery. 2) Use a Buck Puck.
If you go the RESISTOR current limiting method, you must calculate the correct resistance needed to limit the current going into the LED. Get this wrong and you either get weak light or a fried LED.
Go to this site to calculate the correct resistance:
http://ledz.com/?p=zz.led.resistor.calculator
If you go the BUCKPUCK method, then you just need to purchase the buckpuck that comes closest to the mA of your LED. Buckpucks come in 350mA, 700mA, and 1000 mA. The 350 is hardly ever used in our hobby. Again, look at the typical mA of your chosen LED and match it as close to one of the buckpucks above.
The higher level lightsabers build on the principals on this page of LED, current limitter, switch, and battery.
For the High Power LED we have: Luxeon Star in III, K2, V, and Rebel; Cree; Seoul.
There are others but I leave it to you to do the research. Which ever LED you choose, you have to make sure that there is OPTICS available for it that it will fit in the very small space we have inside the blade holder.
For the basic lightsaber with NO sound we will need the high power LED(s), Optics, batteries, a resistor or a buck puck, battery holder and a switch.
That's it. Easy. And this method leaves lots of space inside the hilt. Space that can be used for a larger battery capacity or more voltage. If you want to have an INSANELY bright bright lightsaber, this would be the best way to achieve it. "Class III laser warning" bright = higher voltage and amperage reqirements. Plus there is heat management to take care of, i.e. larger heatsink. Not having sound and a speaker means more room for batteries and a larger heatsink.
You also have to find the right kind of Switch. For the basic no sound lightsaber you will need a switch that must be pressed/flipped/moved to turn it on and pressed/flipped/moved again to turn it off. This can be a slider, toggle, push on/push off, or latching switch. You must consider the size, mounting hole requirements, voltage and amp rating and look of the switch.
About Battery Choices:
A standard 9 volt battery is not going to cut it. You need something with decent capacity (measured in mAh - milliamp hours) and voltage. The best choice would be rechargeables.
-- Three AA NiMH is a good choice for powering a single LED. The mAh of most rechargeable AA battery is above 2000.
-- The next choice is a battery pack for RC remotes and airsoft guns. These also tends to be NiMH technology and can be purchased in different mAh/voltage/size configurations. Using a battery pack means you can install a recharge port on your lightsaber and just plug your saber to a charger to be recharged.
-- The newest technology is Lithium Ion (Li-Ion). Li-Ion batteries pack a lot energy density in a small space, that means that 1 AA size Li-Ion battery puts out the same voltage as 3 NiHM AA connected in series (3.6v). So you can get away with buying ONE battery to power 1 LED. This makes wiring much simpler and saves on space. The thing to note about Li-Ion battery is that they are VERY sensitive to overcharging and discharging. Overcharge a Li-Ion and they tend to EXPLODE into a fireball. Overdischarge a Li-Ion battery and it will not ever charge again. There are special chargers and protections circuits used to prevent both cases. Often times the circuit is built into the battery. Li-Ion battery sizes are designated by their diameter and lenght in millimeters. So a size 16340 means the battery is 16mm in diameter and 34mm long (remove one trailing zero - thanks for catching that Dr. dB). A 14500 is equal in size to a AA battery (14mm x 50mm).
Current Control:
To control the current going into the LED we have two methods. 1) Have a resistor between the LED and the battery. 2) Use a Buck Puck.
If you go the RESISTOR current limiting method, you must calculate the correct resistance needed to limit the current going into the LED. Get this wrong and you either get weak light or a fried LED.
Go to this site to calculate the correct resistance:
http://ledz.com/?p=zz.led.resistor.calculator
If you go the BUCKPUCK method, then you just need to purchase the buckpuck that comes closest to the mA of your LED. Buckpucks come in 350mA, 700mA, and 1000 mA. The 350 is hardly ever used in our hobby. Again, look at the typical mA of your chosen LED and match it as close to one of the buckpucks above.
The higher level lightsabers build on the principals on this page of LED, current limitter, switch, and battery.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
-Custom Lightsabers