TOPIC: What to do with MR Anakin?

Man, Kouri, I'd give anything to have half your skill set. That is a cool looking saber!

As for the replacing the electronics, I had fully intended on just using the original electronics, but after studying the tutorial on the conversion kit, I realized that I'm missing the wires with the white plug from the original blade that plugs into the soundboard. When I removed the blade years ago, I didn't even know LED sabers existed, not to mention that I could convert my MR saber into one, so I just tossed the whole blade along with the wires connected to the string of lights inside it. Is there a way to work around the missing parts, and would that still be easier than a full replacement?

If it weren't for the sentimental value that this hilt has, I would just forget the whole thing and leave it as a non-functional hilt. But since it's kind of a memento, I'm really wanting to get it working again, so thank you again for all the help you guys are providing. It means a lot.

I'll get you a part number later, but all you need is a replacement clash sensor to wire directly to the board. Consider it solder practice before moving onto a more expensive soundboard.

Matter of fact, when I do an MR conversion, that's exactly what I do. I de-solder the connector from the board, attach the clash sensor directly to the board (one leg on V+, the other on Clash - doesn't matter which leg goes where), and run the LED wires to the appropriate board contacts (LED+ to V+, LED- to all the numbered contacts; 1-6).

EDIT: You need a SW-18020P sensor. TCSS is out, but you can find them in plenty of online shops.

Here we go, MR board either from a Mace Windu or an Anakin. Harness clip removed. You've got to carefully remove the solder first, since you'll have to pry the clip off - it's glued in place. Don't want to rip soldered contacts in the process. Or just solder to the pins in the connector and leave it in place.



Clash sensor wired between "Hit" and "VDD". Not pictured, but I'll add the LED+ wire to the VDD pad - just on the opposite side of the board. Orange wire on contacts 1-6 for LED-.

Has a built in LED driver that'll put out ~1200mAh. Any single-Cree will handle the overdrive just fine, but don't stick a single warm Rebel (DeepRed, Red, RedOrange, Amber) in there or it might burn out. Rest of the Rebel line should work fine, and if going with the usual Royal Blue, I think it's the one color that's still brighter as a Rebel than its Cree XP-E2 counterpart. Could try for a Cree XT-E to use the extra current though.

Awesome! Thanks, Kouri! I ordered the conversion kit last night, so it should be here in a few days. With the holidays coming up, I'm trying to space out my purchases on this project so it's not one big drain on my bank account, but I wanted to ask if there was any problem with just installing the metal pieces for now, and doing the LED and electrical stuff later?

Forgot if I specified previously, but you grabbed the non-removable blade version of the kit, right?

Also, on the part of the guide that says to cut a piece off the plastic bladeholder as a spacer between the kit and sound module, you can replace that with a piece of 1" PVC pipe, if you don't want to cut into the chrome plastic holder.

You're probably better off getting the metal holder fitted in the first place before getting to electronics anyway. I think it's a nice snug fit on the old 2005 Anakins. On the 2007, I wind up needing to either sand down the bladeholder, or file away chrome from the hilt lip. Funny enough, the inside of the hilt is usually fine on the later models - it's just that edge that gets a bit of extra chrome and prevents anything from slipping through.

You might also want to get the kit painted before electronics anywho. A few spots of black on the original that aren't replicated on the aluminum part.

When it comes time to do electronics, you'll be pulling the aluminum bladeholder back out, wiring in your LED, slipping the spacer over the wires, and soldering the LED wired to the sound module. Tape to align, then slip the whole blade-holder-spacer-sound-module construction back into the hilt. Chrome button/eye screws will hold the bladeholder in place. Activation box screws will secure the sound module in place. All you really need now is a royal blue LED, lens, and holder - which shouldn't be too costly. If you want want to pay TCSS shipping costs again, you can grab a set from LEDSupply with free shipping.

Slight hijack, but Kouri, did you figure out an FOC wiring for the MR boards yet?

Figured out, sure, but haven't put it into practice yet.

By the by, this setup uses the built-in driver, so you're still limited to 1200mAh (~3.6W), and I recommend a 5V input (2A battery bank for 1.25" ID MHS hilts, though I'll be trying a Panasonic 18650 with 3.7v-5v step-up board).

Don't have an exact diagram drawn up, but basic premise is:

VDD to Main LED+
VDD to TIP31 Power Input
Hit to TIP31 Signal Input
TIP31 Power Output to FoC LED+
All LED- to Board 1-6.

It's not a fancy effect, but the third LED will quickly light up whenever the clash sensor triggers.

My plan's to use a 3W Prolight RGB star with common negative. A standard Tri-Cree/Rebel would work fine, though it would only be a bit brighter than a Single-Cree, and nowhere near full Tri-Cree. NECree and SF 12W wouldn't work with the above setup since they're common-positive.

OK, I think I'm ready to start the electronics side of this conversion. I've got the motion sensor on order, and I'm about to order the LED parts. Is the Luxeon Rebel Star the LED I need to have the brightest LED that can be run from the stock MR electronics? I'm not really interested in FoC or anything, so a single color is fine, I was just wondering if there was a brighter option that didn't require more modification of the MR electronics.

Also, do the red button and glass eye screws in the Graflex section of TCSS website fit the pre-drilled holes in the Anakin conversion kit?

Thanks guys!

Single Cree XP-E2 stars are typically brighter than their Rebel neighbors, though I think Royal Blue is the one exception to the rule. I've got a Cree Royal Blue in my converted Anakin with absolutely no complaints of brightness though. Any other color, though, Cree's definitely the preferred choice.

Replica Graflex bits won't fit the pre-drilled holes, no. Nothing stopping you from picking up a 10-32 drill & tap set to make new holes that *will* work. I've done exactly that on the other two Anakins I'm working on.

On my personal Anakin, I wound up re-tapping the "button" screw hole with 8-32 threads and glued an 8-32 screw into the button assembly so it could act as a blade-retention thumbscrew. Replaced the kit's thumbscrew above the eye with an 8-32 button-head screw to make it a bit closer to stock.

Thanks, Kouri.

So are all the holes in the kit drilled for 8-32 screws?

I want to say 4-40 for the button and eye, 8-32 for the thumbscrew that replaces the flat-head hex screw.

OK. Thank you.

Ok, if I were to drill and tap the holes for the red button and glass-eye screws from TCSS, can I use one/both for blade retention, and use the kit's original retention screw hole to just hold the new blade holder in place? I've replaced the kit's thumbscrew with a button-head screw, like you suggested, so if I can use the others as blade retention screws, I was thinking I would just trim the button-head screw so that it holds the blade holder in place without interfering with the blade.

You'll only want the one retention screw, and you'll want it as close to the emitter as possible, so that'll be the Graflex button.

If you do get those 10-32 holes for the replica pieces, use the replica Eye along with that little button-head screw to secure the bladeholder (the two together should prevent the bladeholder from wobbling).

You'll still need to shorten the top RedButton screw a bit so that it secures the chrome spacer at the same time it secures the blade.

OK, all the parts for the LED will be in today, and my next question is what's the safest way to get the soundboard out of the black casing without damaging the casing?

It's alive! I can't believe it actually worked. This thing hasn't been functional in years, so I was afraid the electronics would be shot. Thank you guys so much for all the help, especially you, Kouri. I really felt like I was becoming a nuisance, but I can't tell you how much I appreciate you walking me through the whole process. My grandmother and I were very close, so this saber means a lot to me, and I'm so glad to have it working again. Thanks again, guys.