Welcome, Guest
Username: Password: Remember me
Threaded Indented

TOPIC: Question about adding sound board

Question about adding sound board 11 months 2 weeks ago #71337

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Can a sound board be added to a non sound hilt?

Say for instance you have a ultrasabers grab bag hilt can a sound board be added to it
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71361

  • Jas-Ot
  • Jas-Ot's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Platinum Member
  • Posts: 1046
  • Thank you received: 322
Lord270 wrote:
Can a sound board be added to a non sound hilt?

Say for instance you have a ultrasabers grab bag hilt can a sound board be added to it

Quick answer is yes.

Exactly what all would be involved is more complicated, and depends on what the current stunt saber has inside it, and what you'd want to add or change.

The Sabercore 2.0 boards are REALLY easy to install, assuming you have basic soldering skills. Nano Biscotte is slightly more complicated but still on the easy side. I'd advise you to read as much as you can, watch videos, ask questions before jumping into any DIY installs.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71364

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Thanks Jas I have some basic soldering skills. Will read up more and definitely watch videos on the subject
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71409

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Hey Jas or anyone else that can answer this. Could the plug and play champion sound board from saberforge here with the pnp led and switch also work for what I'm possibly thinking about doing
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71411

  • Kouri
  • Kouri's Avatar
  • Online
  • Platinum Member
  • That guy.
  • Posts: 1056
  • Thank you received: 755
Mmmm~ Should be fairly-compatible with a US Grab Bag, actually, if you can get the grab bag gutted alright. Just a few notes:

1) You'll need to drill & tap an 8-32 screw hole to retain the LED along with a 1/8"-1/4" 8-32 set screw.. US tends to cheap out in this aspect, and just expects you to sandwich the LED module between the switch and blade - which is why a plug is mandatory on their budget hilts, and why their LED modules rattle around.

2) You'll need a momentary switch. You can buy a Momentary Guarded switch from US as a direct replacement for the Latching Guarded switch it comes with, or you can re-drill the switch hole to 12mm (1/2") and drop in an SF Momentary 12mm AV.

3) The SF Champion kit is intended to fit inside a 1 1/8" ID - while most grab bags have a 1 1/4" ID, so you'll probably need a bit of velcro wrapped around the kit to keep it from banging around the hilt.

4) Grab bags come with solid pommels. You'll need a vented pommel to let sound out. The solid pommels are really thick aluminum, so you might have some trouble drilling through . If you get a V3/V4 hilt, the easiest solution is to buy a replacement MHS pommel. If you get one of the older v2 hilts, you'll have no choice but to drill out the included pommel since they don't use MHS threading.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71416

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Thanks Kouri
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71619

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Ok. To give an update on my saber I got today and in regards to my question. The saber is a US Aeon LE V2. I know I've got to drill out the pommel for sound. Jas or Kouri or anyone else that can answer this particular point for my possible future mod of this saber. Is it better to get the PnP champion soundboard and do like Kouri suggested or try and go for the sabercore 2.0 like Jas suggested. I'm totally new at all this and don't know very much about the wattage, voltage, amperage specs for doing a mod like this yet. I haven't soldered anything since vo-tech like 15 years ago but I still remember the basics.

It would probably be simpler for me to go with a PnP setup and I definitely want to change to a lighted push switch. I wish US had the PnP setup like SF has with the champion soundboard.

One thing that might help me to decide if I want to maybe order a SF saber compared to modding my US is what is the general overall outside diameter of the SF sabers and the inside diameter as well?
Last Edit: 11 months 1 week ago by Lord270.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71622

  • Kouri
  • Kouri's Avatar
  • Online
  • Platinum Member
  • That guy.
  • Posts: 1056
  • Thank you received: 755
SF OD is ~ 1 3/8" for Apprentice, ~1 1/2" for Elite/ASP.

ASP dimensions are ~1" for Emitter, Switch, and Pommel. ~1 1/8" for the Body.

Elites vary on the body section - I've seen some 1 3/16" Reliants.

Haven't handles an Apprentice myself to evaluate ID.
Last Edit: 11 months 1 week ago by Kouri.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71626

  • Jas-Ot
  • Jas-Ot's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Platinum Member
  • Posts: 1046
  • Thank you received: 322
Apprentice line is similar to ASP.

1 1/8" ID down "main body" section. ID of the rest of the hilt depends on what it is. For the most part it's 1" but sabers with a choke point go down to 3/4" to 1/2" depending on the depth of the choke.

Disciple and Acolyte are two really great hilts for a DIY install.
They are a little longer than the rest of the line so you don't have as much Cram-Fu to deal with. I'd highly recommend one of those hilts as a first build.

Personally, I would just build fom scratch rather than go the PNP route. I think you will learn more. And if you are trying to add sound to an existing stunt, you'll need to cut and solder some wires anyway. This assumes your basic soldering skills. The Sabercore 2.0 board has really big pads to solder onto so it's a great board to start with. The Nano Biscotte has good sized pads too.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71635

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Do either of you have an opinion about the obsidian board from ultrasabers
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71636

  • Kouri
  • Kouri's Avatar
  • Online
  • Platinum Member
  • That guy.
  • Posts: 1056
  • Thank you received: 755
It's not a bad board, it's just way over-priced for what it is.

Nano Biscotte or Spark will get you roughly the same features at ~$70, while Prizm and Spark Color get you color changing for $115.

Or you can gut a $20 BladeBuilder and solder a $5 transistor to make its board cooperate with a Cree LED.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71640

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Do you have to put a RP on the sabercore 2.0 or can you just take the batteries and charge them on a charger separately?

Will the standard battery pack I have now work with it which is the one that uses 4x AAA batteries or would I need to put in the one that uses the 18650 battery?
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71642

  • Jas-Ot
  • Jas-Ot's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Platinum Member
  • Posts: 1046
  • Thank you received: 322
I'm not sure if the sabercore board will run off that battery pack. I'm assuming that's 4AAs in series at 6 volts. Kouri might know on that one. I would however recommend going to a Li-Io battery source for better run time and compatibility.

As for a RP, it's not necessary, but its nice to have. You could make a chassis using a 18650 battery holder, attach the sound board to the back (works with the Sabercore 2.0 and NBv3 board. Other boards get a little wider and don't work as well. You can use some thin Velcro to wrap around the whole thing in two spots. It will slide in VERY snug, and stay put. But you can pull it out and change the battery.

I'm not a fan of that, since every time you pull the chassis out or slide it back in you risk causing some kind of issue with the wiring. You could loosen a soldered joint, or pull a wire out of a connection, etc. given enough wear, eventually even the best connections and wires will fail.
Recharge Port is not a hard thing to add in IMO.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71643

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Well for me to add a RP I would have to drill into the hilt to put one in since the hilt I have is one whole piece with the detachable pommel
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71644

  • Jas-Ot
  • Jas-Ot's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Platinum Member
  • Posts: 1046
  • Thank you received: 322
You probably have enough real estate inside the hilt to build out some kind of longer chassis, using blade stock or PVC, and get a little creative with the battery holder to make for easy removal of the battery for charging in a wall charger. This is part of the fun and artistry of building these and modifying "off the shelf" sabers.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71647

  • Kouri
  • Kouri's Avatar
  • Online
  • Platinum Member
  • That guy.
  • Posts: 1056
  • Thank you received: 755
SF doesn't post tech specs, neither does NovaConceptions.

Went digging around for info on the old Neutrino board that Sabercore is based on. Still no hard specs, but evidence that it works fine on a 4xNiMH 4.8v rechargeable pack.

So technically, you probably could get away with the current AAA battery holder as long as you used 1.2v rechargeable batteries, but I won't recommend it.

The big issue is that you'd need to put the soundboard in the middle of the hilt, which would hamper motion sensitivty. You want the board as close to the pommel as possible. Sitting it on top of a 14500 or 18650 is the preferred setup.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71660

  • Jas-Ot
  • Jas-Ot's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Platinum Member
  • Posts: 1046
  • Thank you received: 322
Here's a pic of a Sabercore 2.0 and battery holder "chassis" under construction on a build I did recently to give you an idea of what we are talking about:



Its just a smidge wider than the battery holder but fits on top very nicely. You can secure it with a little hot glue, super glue, or even some tape. If you go the super glue route, just be aware that it's not coming off there.
Last Edit: 11 months 1 week ago by Jas-Ot.
The administrator has disabled public write access.

Question about adding sound board 11 months 1 week ago #71664

  • Lord270
  • Lord270's Avatar
  • Offline
  • Senior Member
  • Posts: 53
  • Thank you received: 14
Thanks Jas for that picture. I am just worried about my soldering skills and since this is my first time attempting something like this I'm leaning towards the PnP setup for the sabercore 2.0 and I recently found a video of a guy installing one of these in a ultrasaber hilt similar to mine
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Threaded Indented

Member Login

Latest Posts

    • Blade Length (2 Posts)
    • You can get the blade tube @ 40 inches uncut if your willing to make them yourself, need to also get...
    • Blade Length (2 Posts)
    • Is there any way to get a larger blade? 36"/37" seems to be the ideal length, however with the way...
    • Timing shims (3 Posts)
    • I'm building it myself. Thank you for the info man.
    • Saberforge Customs Price ... (16 Posts)
    • Quote: Quote: How long does it normally take them to reply to enquires? I sent them an email on the 20th Dec about...
    • Continuous Upgrade expens... (19 Posts)
    • If you go for an empty Elite hilt $150 plus ASP PNP Veteran $150 plus LED $40 plus AV switch $10...

More Topics »

Forum Statistics

  • Total Users: 6343
  • Latest Member: hfbncGap
  • Total Posts: 63.2k
  • Total Topics: 5331
  • Total Sections: 24
  • Total Categories: 136
  • Today Open: 3
  • Yesterday Open: 5
  • Today Answer: 17
  • Yesterday Answer: 29