TOPIC: DIY Sound Board Breakdown

Kouri wrote:
Thanks for the input. I hadn't realized it wasn't available to the public; when I saw it on the Plector Labs website with a price next to it (unlike the Shard which isn't listed anywhere, for obvious reasons) I just assumed it was out of stock like just about everything else on there (the only thing currently in stock is the PEx).
And for demonstration's sake, I probably should have linked to Erv's demo video instead instead of Shameem's:

Huh, last I checked, Pico wasn't in the shop - but you're right - there it is. I guess Erv changed his mind on that mass-order thing.

Well I'll be picking one up and tinkering with a Green/Amber/RoyalBlue star.

Speaking of tinkering, just got some testing done on an Obsidian v4. Can confirm it'll take a single lithium-ion 18650, but sound volume does drop a bit.

EDIT: Sorry Ryan, lost your post in the page change. As for the 12W+ fix, it's actually not much - just a NanoBiscotte (v2 or v3) and a Power Extender. The Prizm mentions wiring a second PEx after the on-board PEx in case you want to wire four crossguard LEDs to a single channel.

I'll see about drawing up a wiring diagram, since it's different from the standard PEx hack, but easier to solder.

I'm looking to install a Spark 2 in my Chosen warrior 12w+ purple when it arrives. I was think about using the FoC feature, can anyone tell me if Saberfoge's 12w+ led will have 3 wires (1 for blue LEDs, 1 for red LEDs, 1 for battery) or just 2? Thanks in advance for the help!

There will be at least three wires coming from the LED. Common Positive, RoyalBlue Negative, Red Negative.

Haven't handled a 12W+ Purple myself, so unsure exactly how many wires will be coming off. Both Royal Blue will likely be connected to the same negative wire, but each Red might be on a separate wire depending on what resistor(s) SF uses. If there are two Red Negative wires with resistors, just hook them both to the same channel on Spark.

Thank you for the quick and informative response Kouri!

I was looking at the Spark 2 manual and they actually reference a purple LED in the wiring diagram (for FoC), so that should help me out. Thanks again!

I have recently installed an economy soundcard salvaged from a cheap saber and also a pico crumble light side. have a look.

I'm looking at installing a Spark 2 on my ASP saber with a Saber Forge Red and Blue 12W+ LED (Purple). I'm familiar with all it's functions/electronics, but does anyone know if you can assign blade colors to each font? i.e. when you change the font, the blade colors also changed to a pre-programmed color...

I know that Spark Color 2 is capable of this...I was just wondering if Spark 2 is also capable. I really don't need/want the extra fonts nor the multicolor mixing options...

Yup yup. The Spark config utility will have separate color sliders for each font.

Kouri wrote:
Thanks Kouri! Do you know if Saberforge is willing to swap a Spark Color 2 with a Spark 2 if a Hero Tier is ordered?

I doubt it. My guess is SF gets a wholesale discount on bulk-order Spark Colors that they keep in stock, so asking for a downgrade to Spark would wind up costing extra as a custom order, if it was even possible.

Kouri wrote:
Got it, thank you! By the way, Love this thread! A lot of good info you and everyone else provided!

Is there another similar thread on LEDs? I haven't actually looked, yet...

Closest thing I've written up is a guider on color-mixing with a Hero tier:

https://saberforgeforum.com/forum/open-topics/10712-tutorial-how-to-pick-colors-on-a-hero-saber

Beyond that, basic guidelines would be:

1) Grab an SF LED if you want something pre-built for 1" emitters.

2) If going full DIY, opt for a Tri-Cree XP-E2, unless you *really* want a Luxeon-specific color. Cree XP-E2s tend to be brighter than Luxeon Rebels.

3a) Luxeon Lime is the brightest single-color LED available on the market. It's a non-blue color putting out everything in the spectrum between Red and Green, averaging in a color between Yellow and Green.

3b) Luxeon Cyan is a single-color LED that varies between SF Cyan and SF Arctic Blue, depending on bin. No telling which shade you'll get, unless you want to order 1000 LEDs from the supplier to select a specific bin.

3c) Luxeon Blue is a slightly greener shade than Cree Blue. Basically, it's closer to SF Arctic Blue than it is to Light Blue.

3d) Luxeon Royal Blue is a smidge brighter than it's Cree counterpart, but if you're interested in color mixing, you're still better off with an XP-E2 RGrB since the Red and Green Crees are brighter and mix a better yellow.

Thanks again, Kouri! I'll stop bothering you...for now

So since the boards don't control the brightness, if I decided to go with an economy board with my 12w led it wouldn't dim? I've got a thin neck saber and I don't want to lose any brightness but I want sound on the cheap.

A TIP42C reading off the economy board's LED- contact will indeed be able to handle a 12W+ without dimming.

Edit: Kouri got it

I saw a video on YouTube with somebody talking about the economy board wiring. I asked him about using one on my 12w+ saber with the 18650 battery and he said he wasn't sure of the led so I got a little concerned. Also I can only seem to find wiring diagrams for 3 triple A batteries and a regular cree LED unit. Can you maybe point me in the right direction for that?

For economy boards, your LED choices are only limited by the current limits of the transistor and battery pack.

A TIP42C transistor has a current limit of 6A - enough for a 12W+ (typically running 3-5A).

A cheap Trustfire 18650 can put out about 5A, again enough for the 12W+, though you can always spend more on a higher-end 8-10A cell.

14500 cells cap at 2A and won't do. Nor any Alkaline battery pack.

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I've gotten economy crossguard boards running a Tri-Cree main blade with single Cree quillons on a Trustfire 18650 no problem.

Looking to complete all the parts needed for a graflex 2.1 build using a crystal focus v8 - I want to do a tfa version. What do you guys think would be the best led for the tfa colored blade on a cfv8?

... White foc I guess but Id be open to any suggestions

Went with a RoyalBlue/Blue/White Tri-Cree on my last TFA build. The B/B/W I used the first time around was too close to cyan for my taste.