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TOPIC: DIY Sound Board Breakdown
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54419
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Brady329 wrote:
I love the brightness of my 12w+ Green LED in my Exhalted Champion! However, I would really like the ability to load different sound fonts but would also like to do the install myself. I'd like to find something compatible with my 12w+ because the brightness is so great since the LED's are positioned so close together shining through the thin neck for minimal brightness loss. Any help or suggestions?
All of the NEC boards (Spark 2, Spark Color 2, and Igniter have the ability to fully drive a 12w+ LED, however you probably won't need the Color 2 or Igniter's color capabilities. If 3 sound fonts is enough for you, Spark 2 is what you're looking for. |
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The above post may be subject to editing. A lot of editing.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Kouri, Brady329
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54423
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RyanRising wrote:
Brady329 wrote:
How would I go about purchasing one? Would it be an easy install for myself or would Saberforge be able to upgrade it for me?
I love the brightness of my 12w+ Green LED in my Exhalted Champion! However, I would really like the ability to load different sound fonts but would also like to do the install myself. I'd like to find something compatible with my 12w+ because the brightness is so great since the LED's are positioned so close together shining through the thin neck for minimal brightness loss. Any help or suggestions?
All of the NEC boards (Spark 2, Spark Color 2, and Igniter have the ability to fully drive a 12w+ LED, however you probably won't need the Color 2 or Igniter's color capabilities. If 3 sound fonts is enough for you, Spark 2 is what you're looking for. |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54426
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Way more to explain here than can easily be typed. Look up some DIY installs. The NEC's are available for sale on the creator's site. (Not hotlinking another vender, it's easy to find)
Google for those, and some DIY installs. See if it's up to your skill level. If not, yes. SF can upgrade your empty hilt. |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Brady329
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54427
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Spark 2 sold here:
http://www.saberigniter.com/spark2.aspx If you're not familiar with soldering electronics and things like resistor calculations (not that you'd need a resistor on a Green LED), I wouldn't recommend tinkering with this on your own. You could get in touch with a saber smith to handle the install for you, or get in touch with SF to have your Exhalted upgraded to a Hero Tier saber with Spark Color 2. |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Brady329
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54428
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Kouri wrote:
Spark 2 sold here:
http://www.saberigniter.com/spark2.aspx If you're not familiar with soldering electronics and things like resistor calculations (not that you'd need a resistor on a Green LED), I wouldn't recommend tinkering with this on your own. You could get in touch with a saber smith to handle the install for you, or get in touch with SF to have your Exhalted upgraded to a Hero Tier saber with Spark Color 2. If I upgraded to Hero Tier would I be able to keep my single color green 12w+ LED? Also, what are some good sabersmith's other than Shameem? Thanks for all your help guys! |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54431
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You could get a Hero Tier in a Green/Green no problem.
Not sure of other installers, since I tend to tackle my own builds or fix up others' work. |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54432
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Kouri wrote:
You could get a Hero Tier in a Green/Green no problem.
Not sure of other installers, since I tend to tackle my own builds or fix up others' work. All I would want done is have the Spark 2 soundboard installed beacuse I'm more than satisfied with my 12w+ LED. |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54436
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Brady329 wrote:
How would I go about purchasing one? Would it be an easy install for myself or would Saberforge be able to upgrade it for me?
You can get one on the website here, and Saberforge, at least now that Customs is down, won't do it for you. As for difficulty of a DIY install, ask around. I know HotRod is currently performing one, and there are certainly others who have completed an install. |
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The above post may be subject to editing. A lot of editing.
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54440
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RyanRising wrote:
Brady329 wrote:
I love the brightness of my 12w+ Green LED in my Exhalted Champion! However, I would really like the ability to load different sound fonts but would also like to do the install myself. I'd like to find something compatible with my 12w+ because the brightness is so great since the LED's are positioned so close together shining through the thin neck for minimal brightness loss. Any help or suggestions?
All of the NEC boards (Spark 2, Spark Color 2, and Igniter have the ability to fully drive a 12w+ LED, however you probably won't need the Color 2 or Igniter's color capabilities. If 3 sound fonts is enough for you, Spark 2 is what you're looking for. I was also just told by a sabersmith that the NBv3 would power the 12w+ LED no problem and would be less expensive and less glitchy. Is this true? |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54441
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Glitchy in what sense? I've never heard of the NEC boards being glitchy. A NBv3 will power a 12W+, it just won't give it full power.
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54442
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Last time a smith gave advice on using an NBv3 with a 12W+ LED, he also told the member to use a big resistor to bring the LED down to 6W. Make of that what you will.
The NB manual states a 2A limit on the main LED. A 12W+ Green needs 4A of juice for maximum brightness. Also, an NB costs ~$70, while a Spark is ~$80. Not that big a difference. |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Brady329
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54443
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Borommakot wrote:
Glitchy in what sense? I've never heard of the NEC boards being glitchy. A NBv3 will power a 12W+, it just won't give it full power.
I'm just repeating what I was told by the sabersmith. I just want my saber to be just as bright as it is but with multiple sound fonts available. What % would the NBv3 power it? |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54444
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I'm a giant newb who hasn't even tinned a soldering iron yet, so Kouri can probably answer that more accurately. From what I understand based on the board breakdown on the first page, though, the NBv3 can only give it 6W; half the power it can support. No idea how that translates to the brightness though.
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 8 months ago #54445
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50% power, so maybe 60-70% brightness.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Borommakot, RyanRising, Brady329
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55163
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I don't usually mention minor tweaks to the initial post, but this update's a bit beefier.
Prizm updated to v4. Now includes crossguard support. As for NEC, there's a correction to the single-button mode. That's only available on Spark 2. Both buttons are required on Spark Color 2 and Igniter 2 because of the complex menus. Also, all the Plecter Labs crossguard documentation has given me an idea on using a couple of power extenders to make the NB safely handle a 12W+ LED - but the end result would cost more than a Spark... |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55171
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Have you looked into Plector's Pico Crumble yet Kouri? It's an interesting alternative for a color changing saber without any other frills for €45 (~$51).
It only works with a tri-RGB LED (I supposed any tri-LED would work, but would defeat the purpose of the board), has a single unswappable soundfont (light or dark), and the only settings you can adjust are the blade color and muting the sound. There is a way to attach a RICE port, but it's only use seems to be adjusting the settings for off spec LEDs. There is FoC (by turning on the unused die(s)) for a white-ish color. The color profiles available are 3w blue, 6w purple (red+blue), 3w green, 6w cyan (green+blue), 3w red, and 6w "yellow" (green+red). Here's the link to the manual: Pico Crumble Manual And here's a video Shameem did for a saber he installed this board in: |
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55214
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Pico Crumble wasn't added for a similar reason that Crystal Shard isn't in the list - it's not really available to the public. CS is only available to volume saber builders, and Crumble is currently only available for mass order.
Also, while it has the built-in service menu, it might be a bit of a stretch to call it a color-changing board. It's purpose isn't to offer a cheap color-changing board, but rather an option for saber smiths and instructors to have one style of pre-built saber on hand that can be offered in multiple colors. The service menu can obviously be accessed by the end user, but isn't at all intended for them. Really then, it would function just fine with a BBW or GGW Tri LED for a basic no-fuss saber with strong main blade and off-white flash, similar to an NB. Eh, I guess this *is* an information thread though, so product availability aside, the info should be readily available. I'll see about getting that opening post updated later. |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55243
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Kouri wrote:
I don't usually mention minor tweaks to the initial post, but this update's a bit beefier.
Prizm updated to v4. Now includes crossguard support. As for NEC, there's a correction to the single-button mode. That's only available on Spark 2. Both buttons are required on Spark Color 2 and Igniter 2 because of the complex menus. Also, all the Plecter Labs crossguard documentation has given me an idea on using a couple of power extenders to make the NB safely handle a 12W+ LED - but the end result would cost more than a Spark... Quick question Kouri : do you know if all effects are available/accessible using the one switch configuration with the NEC Spark 2? |
DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55245
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MrBond wrote:
Quick question Kouri : do you know if all effects are available/accessible using the one switch configuration with the NEC Spark 2?
Yup. Just that certain effects that were previously press or hold on Aux are now Gesture+Main. Idle (Power supplied, but not yet "on") Two Switch: Font Change: Press Aux Switch One Switch: Font Change: Twist Hilt Running (On) Two Switch: Blaster Block: Press Aux Switch Lockup: Hold Aux Switch (Or Press Aux Switch immediately after Clash) One Switch: Blaster Block: Press Main Switch Lockup: Press Main Switch immediately after Clash |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: MrBond
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DIY Sound Board Breakdown 1 year 7 months ago #55280
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Kouri wrote:
Also, all the Plecter Labs crossguard documentation has given me an idea on using a couple of power extenders to make the NB safely handle a 12W+ LED - but the end result would cost more than a Spark...
Buuut it would allow you to use PL fonts natively... how much more are we talking here? And does anyone have an example of what running a Plecter Labs soundfont on an NEC board would sound like? They're supposedly compatible, but I feel like mixing a hum with another hum wouldn't sound great, especially at the end. By the way, everything Plecter after PRIZM is in bold, probably due to a missing bracket: Kouri wrote:
Prizm v4/b]
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The above post may be subject to editing. A lot of editing.
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