TOPIC: Noob questions about "hero" sabers

Hello, this is my first post and I hope it's in the right place...

I have some open detail questions about the "hero" series of sabers which I'm sure that many of you can answer from memory so I don't have to bother customer service, giving them more time to make our precious sabers!

I learned that I can order two LED colors, which apparently can be activated separately since the champion comes with two AV switches. So... If I request one "blue" and one "red", this means that I can activate each color separately (at a lower brightness) and if I activate both, I would get a bright purple (similar to if I ordered a full "purple" to begin with)?
(Reason for the question is that I would actually like to have a purple blade, but I might prefer to appear more Sith-ish or more Jedi-ish at times for roleplaying purposes...)
Also, I I'd set both blade colors to "RGBA", how would this work / be configured..?

Also, I learned that the hero sabers come with some advanced sound chip that features an SD card which can hold up to 5 sound fonts. Does it come with pre-installed fonts (e.g., the "Viridium" / "Crimson" ones that you can choose at the champion tier sabers)?
Also, how do I configure the SD card? Does it contain some sort of text file that I can edit?
What other options are there?

The 12W+ emitter module has 4 LEDs. If you make them all the same color, you get the brightest blade. If you make them different colors, you get a dimmer blade but more color choices.

On my hero Gladius, I have two royal blue emitters and two red. This lets me do 6W blue, 6W red, and any purplish shade in-between up to 12W. Or if I add a photon blade, I can get 6W green (using blue light which the blade turns green). I find that blue overpowers red though, so a good purple is more like 6W red plus 2W blue, for 8W total. And my 6W blue blade looks a bit brighter to the eye than 8W purple. The different colors do not have the same visual brightness.

If you do a RGBA emitter, that means even dimmer colors, but you can turn the blade basically any color of the rainbow. The red, green, blue, and amber (yellowish) colors will be about 3W each, or can combine in pairs for about 6W. Some colors might also look good with more than two emitters activated, which should make it a bit brighter.

So, you get to choose between brightness and color flexibility.

The saber comes with 6 sound fonts pre-installed. Some are nice, others are boring. You can swap them out with fonts from a variety of sources, or make your own. It's just a bunch of .wav files. Naigon provides a Windows program for configuring the fonts and other settings here, but I had difficulty getting it to work (it uses dotNET 4 which is super old) and found it easier to just edit the text files by hand.

While you are configuring the SD card, it's worth mentioning that you'll have to quick-format the card each time and copy the contents again from a hard drive. This is because the driver requires zero fragmentation, and that's the easiest way to ensure a clean filesystem.

I recommend reading the SC2R2 manual from Naigon's site linked above. It answers all sorts of questions about the hero-tier electronics.

Oh, and if you want hero RGBA and want it quick, order from Etsy instead of SF's main site. It should reduce the wait time from like 12 weeks down to 1 week.

Ditto on what ToyKeeper said...here's my 2 cents:

When purchasing a Hero edition, you order a 2 color LED or order the RGBA LED, and, yes, there are 2 switches, but they perform other functions (changing fonts, power on/off, etc.). You change colors by gently twisting the saber.

SF LED modules have 4 LED dies:

- For the 2 color option, 2 dies are one color and 2 dies are the other color. To change the colors, you "twist" to the colors you programmed (i.e. red, blue or any color in between the two) for a total of 9 colors.

- For the RGBA option, the dies are Red/Green/Blue/Amber, respectively. As ToyKeeper said, you can program the 9 colors to be any color in the spectrum.

For fonts, the included fonts are (based on the download from Naigon's Site):

1. Father's Son
2. Essence Episode I
3. Hidden Warrior
4. Meteor
5. All too Easy
6. 501 Commander

The SD card contains these fonts, the programmed colors' files, etc.

SD programming/configuration is done with the Config Editor which can be downloaded from Naigon's site. The Config Editor is also on the SD card which you can install on your computer.

Some programming can be done "on-board" by a combination of pushing buttons, twisting the saber, and varying the orientation of the saber.

Hope this helps...the manual has more detailed info which can be download off of Naigon's Site, or, can be opened from the SD card.

Thank you guys! There is so much unsaid in the saberforge online shop.
I'm currently trying to find my way through the manual...

Regarding etsy, unfortunately my favoured "Vanquish" does not seem to be available there.

I wouldn't go for the RGBa though. It's incredibly dim. Just stick with the three color option.

RichellM wrote:
I just recieved my hero tier Templar rgbw. There are two holes. One is a recharge port and the other is a two tactile buttons in place of one switch.

Drahem wrote: Umm.. What's your impression of what has been supplied? I remain undecided with the tactiles in a Hero Setup but on a Silver Face I'm not so sure about (since the Hilt Finish is dark). If it were Black... maybe.

Tactile buttons friggen hurt. The face of the button for aesthetic reasons can be black or weathered. Otherwise I have no complaints about the hilt. I should do a review.. The tactile buttons make the config. interface a little daunting. But using my bullet button glove makes things a bit easier.

Drahem wrote: Interesting. Shall I guess much like a jaggered edge scoring across your palm or fingers (depending on grip placement)? I've really only a single (exposed) tactile for experience but I have found they're favourable with avoiding accidental trigger compared to the usual AVs and also are great with 'fumbling' when wanting to activate in a completely darkened room when there isn't a lit-AV to visually guide you. So... does that mean with yours specifically, you requested the Silver rather the Black or Weathered? Err Yes Why is this even a 'should' rather than a 'will'?

I too am curious about the colour of the switch face. I never thought I would not match the saber, so I've sent a note into SF. They just recently advised me of the move to the tactile switches. I don't want my weathered Relic to have a silver button...that just wouldn't look good...

OvrcAHst I am looking forward to doing a review for you when it arrives...Dark Red weathered Hero Relic

ic3cold wrote: Black Sharpie? I was close to getting a Crossguard but my being close just wasn't close enough. Looking forward to your Review when delivery happens. Will be following with interest to see what Cosplay you create for this incoming Hilt also.

Hey, word on the street, Phil's been previewing a new R&D Crossguard. This thing's a big-arsed Beast! Dual-sectional lazer-etched wrapping with the second part above the main emitter (before the blade), can't relocate the reference image of it again though. . This new Crossguard commands some serious attention.

Alas for this review I probably won't have a cosplay in place for the Relic. Maybe next year .

Just spoke to SF and they are installing a black tactile switch over the silver with the black ring. My saber is literally in the build phase and they are swapping the piece. So I'm glad I've been checking the forum for these little tidbits.

Out of curiosity, for those folks who purchased a hero-tier saber, does it come straight out of the box with default colors for each sound font?

hugomontoya wrote: IIRC (admittedly a bit fuzzy on it), the default colour (CLR1) is default with all included Fonts. This of course may depend on whether the firmware with the boards supplied now may be different with the boards supplied then, but you can edit it on Config. Editor yourself.