DVA showing up as red?

[AndrewTheInitiate]

I just received my ultrasaber in the mail today and after removing it from the box and turning it on I immediately noticed it being red and not DVA. 
I read the information in the box that said to replace the batteries but I'm not sure how that would affect it. It does flash purple randomly (I'm really lost.)
If anyone can throw something for me to get back on the boat it'd be very appreciated!   
~Andrew

[DavidOgilvie]

Yeah charging the batteries should help. As far as i know, the blue is a higher power LED than red and so needs more current to power it, so when the batteries are low the red will show much more than the blue, hence creating a predominantly red saber.

[Molina00]

It's generally a good idea to charge your batteries when you first get your saber, although I usually play with mine a little first. 

Just charge them up and you should be good to go.  It's also a good idea to have an extra set of batteries on hand.  That one you can keep one set on the charger and always have full batteries ready.

[Ziran Le]

Yep.  This happens.  Your batteries are very low.  Go ahead and charge 'em up for several hours and you'll see the difference.

I don't know the science behind it but I was told that it requires more power for the blue die in the LED to operate than it does the red, therefore as current slowly reduces (due to battery drain) the blue goes out first.

Agreed on the batteries.  I would suggest a minimum of 2 sets of batteries for each saber with sound/emerald etc. as these devices draw power quickly.  I actually have 8 batteries for my Prophecy and a 4-slot intelligent battery charger.  I always have plenty of spares.

[AndrewTheInitiate]

Thanks guys! I'll just swing by the store and buy a pack of AAA's I don't have the rechargeable ones.

[Molina00]

Was this a grab bag saber?  I just assumed it had a lithium-ion setup. 

[Ziran Le]

Ah, I see.  I guess I just assumed that this was a Li-Ion setup.

I suggest investing in some NiMh rechargeable AAA batteries and a decent charger.  Ebay is a great place to find these and they will save you a ton of cash on buying Alkaline batteries.  For batteries, I STRONGLY suggest that if you buy rechargeables, BUY NAME BRAND!  DO NOT buy any of the cheapo, bulk batteries from ebay that come in pretty colors like red, green, purple or yellow, from China.  These are garbage, I know, I tried 48 of them from different companies; all junk.  Batteries:  I recommend Tenergy brand, or Eneloop from Sanyo.  These are great.  Search for them on ebay or Amazon to find them.  Charger:  I recommend the Nitecore i4 V2.  It's a no frills, intelligent charger with automatic mode select, trickle charge, independent charging channels and it won't overcharge or cook your batteries, plus it's about $18.00 shipped.

I run Tenergy Premium and Tenergy Centura batteries in my stunt sabers.  They run you about $10.00 for a 12-pack of batteries and they are great.

[magik0012]

The Energizer "Recharge" AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries aren't too bad and can probably be found at any large local store.

[AndrewTheInitiate]

I'm back again. And it doesn't like to stay purple for long. It will randomly turn DVA and will stay red otherwise...

[Ziran Le]

Hhhmmm, that doesn't sound good, if you tried them out with a brand new set of batteries.

How confident are you in taking a look inside the saber?  I don't know much about wiring and electronics, but you may have a loose wire connection, or possibly a bad resistor.  Might be time to shoot a short video explaining and demonstrating the problem, upload it online somewhere, and contact Emory at UltraSabers.  His email is [email protected] if you need to contact him.

[magik0012]

I'm back again. And it doesn't like to stay purple for long. It will randomly turn DVA and will stay red otherwise...

Yeah.. that sounds like a short or bad/loose wiring..

[Ziran Le]

Ya know, on second thought, US warranties their products and they have superb customer service.  You may just want to go ahead and contact them.  Couldn't hurt.

[Master Bluespike74]

Under normal circumstances to clear up any confusion to future readers:

The DVA, VA, BH, HP are made by mixing the colors from a Red die and a Blue die on an RGB LED.  Red requires 2.3 Volts to turn on and Blue requires 3.3 Volts to turn on.  When your combined battery power falls below 3.3 volts, only the Red die will stay illuminated. 

Due to shipping regulations (especially with Li Ions), the batteries must be shipped in a holder or container approved by the shipper.  Most require card board boxes with plastic separating them but if it is being shipped with an electronic device, it has to be shipped inside the device.  This is no exceptions or it can be held by customs or shippers for a period of time defined by them. 

I recently built a Hot Pink saber for my daughter using a Rebel Star RGB LED.  The Red die burned out quickly and was doing the exact same things described by the original poster.  I think that Rebel Star is having some issues with a bin of RGB LED's.  What you have is an unstable die on the LED and it will burn out.  Definitely follow the given advice and ship it back for warranty work. 

[Darth_Phobius47]

Hmm this sounds an awful lot like my SY unit. Sometimes it'll be a nice lemony yellow color (expected), but you can see the red flicker in the color and changes it from the lemony yellow to a lime green color. (I'm just gonna send it back with my Dark Arbiter for repairs all around. Maybe even have them add FoC to the unit..,)

Anyway my point is not everything is perfect. This includes Ultra Sabers, but they sure are close! And that's why we're all repeat customers!

[Choco]

Bluespike got it sometimes some faulty leds do find their way out there so I too would suggest sending in while the warrenty is in place and is exactly why Ultrasabers has a warrenty to make sure that if something isn't quite right they can make it right and are usually pretty good about it