The REDEEMER.....
Get ready for some typos...I can barely type straight.
There are a lot of great Redeemers out there. This one is neither the first, nor the best. However, there is something that makes it special. This is my Redeemer. And by that I mean this is my first saber build.
And honestly, before I dive into a review of what "I" did, this was really a group effort. It was this community, who jumped in and helped answer so many of my questions. This is as much your saber as it is mine. Kouri, Jaden Korr, BoostinIX, RyanRising, Borommakot, SublimeDelusions, RichellM, Ottomatix, Brax, DarthMario95 (Shameem), OvrcAHst, Andi-Jae EL, and so many, many more (sorry if I didn't name you and you assisted me). I just want you guys to know much I appreciated the continued help. If you are new here and reading this, please know that there is a community out there than enjoys this hobby and wants to help.
Okay, on to the build. So my saber started out with a Spark 2 that now looks like this:
I did wire it before I got the hilt and I should not have, but I got excited. What can I say. You may remember that thread here:
Spark 2 Soundboard with Saberforge LED
I made quick connects using Micro Deans plugs for the switch, recharge port, and LED (both main and flash on clash).
And I know many people want to know how to wire up those recharge ports. Here is mine:
As you can see, starting from the left, the negative battery is on the bottom left (yellow), the negative to the board is in the upper middle (black), and both the positive to both the board and battery go on the arm on the right (RED).
There is a great thread on this here:
HERE
And here is the silly little quick connect I made for the single negative for the flash on clash from the board
I just cut the extra pins off. The one from the LED will have an exposed prong, but this way I don't have to pull or rewire the board to change the LED.
Finally, here is everything with 2w Bass speaker and shielding.
I then went on eBay and procured a 12mm raised AV momentary switch. Finally a trip to Home Depot for Magnetic Tape (not strips) and tiny 9.5mm magnetic discs (branded as "SuperMagnets" according to the packaging) and I was set. I also used Loctite Ultracontrol gel to glue my switch and recharge port in as the "ultra control" part was easy to use. 2 broken connections on a switch, some desoldering, and a bit of apprentice level Cram-Fu later, I have a finished hilt.
I glued the tiny magnet to the top of the AV switch and put the magnetic tape on the back of the control card. This allows the card to slide but it remains in place until I want it to move. The magnetic strips are stronger, but actually resulted a the AV switch being slightly depressed even at rest and reduced the action causing issues. The tape is not stronger, but works better overall.
You may be wondering about my kill key. Well, I pulled the post out of the kill key (using Saberforge's new kill key) and it proved to be REALLY tough to get out. So, I just sanded the top down until the entire kill key fit under the card. This works really well and is very easy to get to. The new kill key works great for this!
I finally glued the rails on the sides and applied a bit of plumbers seal tape to the thin-neck where it screws into the grenade section to prevent rattling. I will LocTite this when I decide on my LED.
Right now, we have a 12w+ Deep blue in here. I really want to go to a Medium Blue (giving me Royal Blue on one Channel and Light Blue on the other) or Arctic Blue (giving me Deep Blue on one Channel and Green on the other). I guess I could make my own LED with Royal Blue, Blue, and Green FoC, but I still haven't figured out how the wiring on the star works (yet). More to come there.
Well, I have run out of room on pictures so in the next section, I'll discuss the saber itself....