TOPIC: Unleashediv's Exemplary Redeemer: Journey

Hi All

This is a thread I wanted to start an open up to the public, for opinions, suggestions, support, advice and anything else to help me build something special and something that is my own.

I am going to use this thread to blog, update and provide photos and maybe a video at the end of a SF Redeemer I currently own. I love the SF Redeemer, straight out of the box it is an amazing piece of equipment and a favourite of many.

But I want something that is my own, something I can look back on, have learnt from and say to someone who see's it, this is something I created. With the help along with...

So the story behind this is, I purchased this in person on the day of the premier of Star Wars Ep VII: The Force Awakens. I purchased it at a Champion level with a Light Blue LED. I purchased it with someone at the time was special to me. She isn't special anymore and I look back and don't want to be reminded of that. I was almost tempted to sell it...

But now is the time for a new and like myself to rebuild it into something special.

What I currently have planned, this thing is going to get a new Sound Board, the SF Veridium is great but I wanted something with a bit more. The light blue LED, feels too light for me and doesn't quite hit the mark in person. It doesn't feel powerful or something that would protect me or anyone else. That's for the electronics.

For this hilt, it needs to be battle ready and reflect what is I think the master of Form III Soresu of Obi Wan Kenobi in RoTS. It is here I believe I will need the guidance from the community and also from certain specialists. But I have a fair idea of where I want to take this.

So down to the nitty gritty (will be updated as I go a long):

Electronics and related:
-Niagon Electronics Spark 2™ (not going for the colour as I only want one colour for this saber)
-Cree Tri-XP-E2 from the Custom Saber Shop. (subject to change) rB/b/b or rB/b/w
-2W 28mm Bass Speaker from the Custom Saber Shop. (subject to change)
-Li-Ion 18650 3.7V 2600mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Battery Module
-in hilt recharge (current one already does a swell job)
-LED Heatsink (happy to shop around or research)

Aesthetics and durability
-Need to look for a battery pack and chassis which will fit the current Redeemer.
-Add greebly and moving the Recharge port.
-Different kill key

I am also going to see if I can get in touch with NeBosa. Some of the ideas and mods he has completed are amazing.

I am hoping to get away without needing to do a retention screw for the LED Module. I can see the current C rings in my current Redeemer and I believe I have something to get it out without breaking it.

But again, any help or information would be appreciated. I welcome all to get involved and help me to add ideas or customization that will help my fulfill my dream saber.

Again all of this I will be doing myself for the first time, I have been reading through the forums, watching various tutorials and reading on anything I can get my hands on.

Also note to the mods, apologies if I have posted this incorrectly, please feel free to move or advise me otherwise.

Current Photos.

I think you'll be happier with all Royal Blue LEDs, rather than a Blue/RoyalBlue mix. It just feels like a Guardian Blue.

You might also consider ordering a rB/rB/rB/w custom star from ShopSaberParts. I'm rebuilding a thin neck right now, and the third LED helps with blade brightness. You can reuse the existing heatsink and lens in your current hilt.

You can reuse the 18650 from your Champion electronics. No need to buy a replacement.

I machined my own 1.11" chassis discs for my rebuild. Snug fit. Doesn't slide freely, but doesn't need a lot of force to move. I imagine that size chassis from Darth Ryo/Goth3D should work great, though the 1.10" should work just fine also.

Kouri wrote: Thank you for that, because yes I do plan on getting is as bright as possible. So I may just do exactly that.

I most likely will reuse what I can, however I don't mind buying something brand new either and using my left over parts for other projects too.

What would a Rbx2 Bx2 look like? For FoC I am planning to have to ever so light that the blue isn't over powered but not a flicker.

I am going for a Guardian Blue for sure, but I want to avoid going too dark either.

Again regarding the battery I am almost happy to reuse it elsewhere. I have 2 empty hilts that need some loving as well. The Redeemer is something I want to give the special treatment until I get a new saber.

So if you were to recommend a chassis which would you prefer? If you did not make one.
I like the idea of going a Darth Ryo/Goth3D.

When you mean the 1.10" is that from a particular group other than Darth Ryo/Goth3D?

Thank you so much Kouri for the input and any future input. P.S love your work especially the Kylo Ren work. Awesome stuff!

Mm~ Full Royal Blue isn't dark at all. From my last round of testing, I'd say Royal Blue is blue, while standard Blue is more of a sky-blue. Combos sit in between, but tend to stick closer to the lighter side.

The Light Blue you have now is made with all-Blue LEDs, and a combination with Royal Blues will be *slightly* deeper, but not by much.

If you really want to try out different shades of blue, I'd recommend taking advantage of the Spark's color-mixing abilities and going for any of the following:

Tri-Cree RoyalBlue/RoyalBlue/Green
12W RB/RB/RB/G
12W RB/RB/G/G

Royal Blue and Green can mix to any of the blues (Royal Blue, Medium Blue, Light Blue, Arctic Blue) while also adding some extra colors (Cyan, Mint Green, Green).

Spark will let your blade pulse with whatever settings you want (My Kota's Green fonts just have the intensity of the green fluctuating), but it's important that Flash-on-Clash be a contrasting color. Proper FoC isn't about making the blade brighter on impact, but changing the color enough that the effect is noticeable. White's usually used because it's bright enough to overpower most other LEDs and product an off-white blade, but other combos work, and Spark lets you dim the main blade color for emphasis - so it's entirely possible to have a Blue main blade with Green FoC, or Deep Blue with Arctic Blue FoC.

If you have to go TCSS for the 18650 battery, double-check for their 3400 battery - if you didn't see it in Cells, look for it again in Packs. It uses the same Panasonic cell as the SF battery. Not sure of the limit on its protection circuit, but it'll handle 3-4 LEDs just fine.

As for chassis:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/goth-customsabers?

Modular components are offered in both 1.10" and 1.11" ODs with All-In-One chassis available in 1.10". Your pick.

Wow a font of knowledge!

Thank you so much! So also considering you mad mention and well known that thin necks do limit some of the light through the thin neck itself.

If I went a rb/rb/b/w what can I expect? I haven't got the pdf up on my phone. But depending how I wire the LED to the board it the rb/rb/b for main blade and white FoC.

There is a lot to consider, especially because the outcome I am after is something usually done in hindsight. Having said that the closest colour I have seen which appeals to me most is the medium blue from SF.

Do you know the colour combo needed for that? Because I may see what I can do to fit in a white or remove a blue for a royal blue. Etc.

Re: chassis thanks that will go a long way.

The battery I may have to do more research now.

RB / RB / B would mix to something a bit deeper than Medium Blue but lighter than Deep Blue.

Traditionally, SF blues are mixed as follows:

Arctic Blue: RB / RB / G / G
Light Blue: B / B / B / B
Medium Blue: RB / RB / B / B
Deep Blue: RB / RB / RB / RB

If you put too many Blue LEDs on your star, you won't see much difference from your current setup.

As for wiring up to the Spark, you'd put the three blues on Channel 2 and White on Channel 1 (it just wires more cleanly this way). There's no set Main and FoC channel like on Nano Biscotte - you can mix either channel however you like. So you'd max out C2 for Main and C1 for Clash and Block.

This setting would give a a pulsing blue blade that varies in intensity:




And this one would give a maxed blue blade with a soft white pulse:

Oh awesome!

Well this makes it a lot easier now. Definitely will help to try and decide exactly what I want to do. I am almost tempted to go RB/RB/RB/B without the white for FoC.

Or alternatively go RB/RB/B/W then this might give me a bit more flexibility in terms of how I want the shade of blue to look, and also with a nice FoC.

Having said that though, I do remember you made mention that using 4 of a single colour for a thin neck helps as it will improve the brightness going through the thin neck.

The next step I have to do is confirm that the chassis will fit the hilt.
When I get time tonight I will go and measure my hilt and also make sure the chassis will fit. I think I have the OD right and plan on getting a 1.10". Smaller in this case is better because I can always put a bit of extra velcro on the outside to increase the thickness.

But thank you so much this is definitely helping me make decisions and also educate me on the flexibility of the board.

So looking at the chassis I wish to buy.

All-in-1 I2 / Spark2 - 1.10" OD

OR

GCM110-01-IG2 - Igniter 2 / Spark 2 + 18650 cell

The specifics for this are as followed:
All-in-1 I2 / Spark2 - 1.10" OD
in Black Strong & Flexible
WIDTH: 2.794 cm / 1.1"
HEIGHT: 2.794 cm / 1.1"
DEPTH: 9.782 cm / 3.851"

Once I get home tonight I will be measuring my Redeemer to make sure it fits.

Edit:
Upon further research I found OvrcAHst's two threads which he has measured his Redeemer's given they are CR's I will still need to measure my own but worth having an idea.
OvrcAHst's v2-cr-redeemer-ffs-sf-story-so-far-pt-iii
OvrcAHst's v1-cr-redeemer-sf-story-so-far-pt-iii

Will have to thank OvrcAHst for always delivering!

You've got about three inches of body once threading is accounted for, so that 4" All-in-One chassis is not going to fit.

The stand-alone igniter+cell should work fine, but you'll still need to sort out a speaker mount.

I don't recall mentioning four-of-a-single-color helping. I've said before that there's no real difference between three and four LEDs, so 12W have the advantage of offering three of a color while still offering a FoC diode.

With a RB/RB/B/W, you won't be adjusting shade on a Spark - that would require three color channels, so your options are limited to Spark Color,or Igniter - and maybe a Prizm. And if you're going to be adjusting shades of blue with a color-changing board, I'll recommend a RoyalBlue/ RoyalBlue / Green / RedOrange board to open up lots more color options. Mix the blues and green into any shade of blue you like. Mix in the RedOrange for an off-white FoC, and open up lots of yellow and purple options. You could also swap the RedOrange for a Red or PhotoRed if you want to go SIth Red on occassions - but for mixing Jedi colors, RedOrange is the brightest of the lot.

Ah sorry lol, I must has misunderstood what you meant by the following in that case.
Kouri wrote:
I think I may have confused myself lol. Apologies.
Kouri wrote:
You are correct, I had just had a look at my Redeemer and measured it up.
Having said that though, a lot of the current setups I have seen sometimes use the shielding, can't remember the name but I have seen it on one of the sites. I could also do that as an alternative.
Kouri wrote:
I understand now, my bad.

Ah i see, still going with the Spark 2, so in this case from what I understand I would have to Rb/Rb/Rb/W (2 colour channels) or if I went with a Tri LED Rb/Rb/W (still 2 channels). (No red what so ever with this saber.)

Or even still just forego the white and go Rb/Rb/B/B for a similar Medium blue and setup a flicker rather than a FoC. (Which would mean just buy a medium blue from SF)

But if I was to go a Spark Color or Igniter I would consider it for sure.

But thank you rest assured I am getting closer to my goal!
I do appreciate the help and education

Royal Blue and Blue also have close-enough voltages that you could stick them on the same channel, if you wanted to blend the shade on that channel - you just don't get to adjust it any without using resistors. So you could do a RB/RB/B/W star wiith W on C1 and RB/RB/B on C2, or a Tri RB/B/W with RB/B on C2 and W on C1.

If you don't *need* the white FoC, I'll still suggest a RB / RB / RB / G combo with G on C1 and all the RBs on C2. I'm not sure if you're aware, but the way these LEDs are set up, RB is the true blue, and B is basically blue mixed with a touch of green, so you can mix C1 and C2 into your personal preference for any shade of blue, while still sticking to flicker-on-clash, or even some custom Green and Cyan flashes that would contrast quite well with a Medium Blue blade.

Here's a blue mixed on my G / G / RB Kota - RB at max, Greens dialed down to under 1/2 power:



EDIT: So browsing ShopSaberParts for ideas on another build when I noticed something odd about the Redeemer/ProdigalSon switch sections. Maybe it's just a trick of the light, but they seem to have a thinner wall at the threaded section - implying a wider ID - perhaps the same 1 1/8" ID as ASP bodies. Can anyone confirm or deny? That would buy a couple extra inches for the chassis, if switches don't get in the way.

Ah thanks Kouri, that does help a lot actually.

I am happy to wire the extra resistors if need be. But I have a lot deeper understanding now of what I will need to do.

I still haven't placed an order yet but I will be soon. I may go with 3 LEDs rather than 4. I am not sure yet.

Having said that back on to the chassis I am almost tempted to just use the clear plastic instead.