Saber Forum

I ask because my mini-USB unit gets smashed EVERYTIME. It's actually super frustrating...
I can't afford to keep sending it in to get fixed, and tbh, it shouldn't be an issue to begin with, but it's placement is pretty awful.

The emerald mini is well insulted because of the board stack...
any solutions? any preventive measures? I mean, short of just installing another board altogether?
(https://imgur.com/kK1c2Hm)

I do all the time, never had an issue but I don't have any external charge ports that could get hit and I made a speaker cover.

 

it's not external. it's the mini-USB slot on my actual soundcard that's INSIDE the hilt.
I can't figure out how to post pictures on this forum... but here:
https://imgur.com/a/s7s9bbH

and this is what happened last time:
https://imgur.com/a/Ggt38

I don't get how that's even happening to a board INSIDE the saber.
Especially at the back end of the hilt where NO contact is mad while sparring

This is the second time this has happened... so I figured it couldnt just be me...
it HAS TO BE how it's stacked, or how it rests inside the hilt when pulling it out then back in? I'm honestly at a loss.
I'm just tired of sending it back for repairs, especially since this is my last working saber.

I have two stunts that have had their battery packs bust apart.
Two stunts refuse to stay on, if turn on at all.
One has a busted switch guard, so I keep turning it off while sparring...
And this Emerald/Obsidian keeps having internal issues... I had to super glue the speaker housing back onto the battery chassis

Like, I'm at my wits end here...

Given that the speaker housing is taller than the USB port this obviously is suppose to protect the board and anything on it from making contact with anything. What hilt is this in? Is there any screw, say from a covertec wheel, that's longer than usual or any other object protruding to the inside that could be hitting the port? To help save this, you could go around the port/pack a few times with electrical tape as it'll help insulate the port from contact and help to hold your batteries in too.

The other battery holders for your stunts do unfortunately crack over time from stress. They are super easy to replace if you're able to solder the two wires to put new ones in. I also use a small block of craft sponge foam between the bottom of the battery pack and pommel to give it some cushion/protection. You can also get round plastic tubing to go around the battery holder to help protect it from hitting the inside of the hilt too, as a suggestion.

The two stunts that don't stay on ... it's possible that the wires connected to the switches have come loose and only make contact occasionally. Take a flashlight and look at the bottom of the switch for this or any cracks/sharp bends in the wires to see if there's separation.

It's annoying I know :) but most of these are results from heavy use which isn't unusual and internal fixes become part of the hobby over time. It's a way to increase your skill as a Jedi knight  8)

Let me echo Hazard: what hilt do you have, and what exactly is happening?  Is the hilt being dropped a lot?

I have an Aeon V4 with an Emerald/Obsidian V4 combo as well as a Dark Catalyst with an Obsidian Lite.  I previously had a Dominix V3 with an Obsidian V3.  All of these were used to duel.  The only time I can recall any damage happening, however, was when my V4 was used as a movie prop.  One of the shots involved one of the actors calling the hilt back to his hand.  To get the "draw" shot my daughter had a camera set up and a grip was tossing the hilt toward the camera, where another grip was supposed to catch it.  They also had a pillow on the floor in case of a drop.  The floor was polished stone, so about as hard as you can get.

Of course, take after take, not only was the hilt dropped but it was dropped in such a way that it fell onto the stone directly.  At some point the speaker broke off of the end of the battery pack.  We were able to make a temporary repair with super glue and electrical tape, but in the end I had to get a new battery pack/speaker combo and wire it in.

I have never had the USB ports take damage.  :-(  I guess I'd look into maybe fabricating a couple of cushion pieces for the future.  Maybe cut something from a piece of packing foam to insert around the board to cushion it and keep it from getting hammered around inside the hilt?

Honestly, though, in my hilts the speakers serve as a chassis and keep the USB port from contacting the interior of the hilt anyway.  But the Aeon V4, V3 and Catalyst are fairly narrow hilts.  Maybe yours has more room?  If that's the case, I would certainly think about fabricating a small cushion for the interior space.

Honestly I don't heavy duel with my sound sabers to avoid things like this.  And with our stunts only my son's has got damaged (battery pack shattered on top somehow) but US fixed it for free under warranty at the last con.  I tell my son to use his sound one only for medium dueling and to make sure to put tissue loosely in the empty spaces for extra padding.  But I just plain don't duel at all with my diamond saber even though it probably can.

I have a Dominix v4. There's no covertech wheel, and from what ive seen, there's nothing else in there that would hit it. I almost never drop it. There's occasional slips and disarms, but it's rare, and since i just started using it again I dont get why it's a reoccurring thing.
The speaker housing fits perfectly so you would think that it would protect the USB port. Which why im really at a loss. It always damages from the left side as well... it kinda caves in, which makes me think I'm probably getting faulty boards? Where the port isn't places properly? like, too close to/over the edge?
I'm going to try the electrical tape ordeal, that seems like the best bet, tbh.


This seems to be a reoccurring response from my friends as well. I just havent had time to buy new ones, and I figured if I was gonna replace parts, I might as well go balls deep and just gut it and put 18650s in them, with custom housing, and a recharge port, just to avoid the whole mess anyway. But, I guess I can try just replacing them with the plastic tubing idea... I usually have some pretty thick foam that goes between the pommel and battery pack, but that probably only slowed the wear... DO you recommend PVC? or something more like a rubber tube? I'm more worried about heat issues.


After the first time the port broke off, I swore I'd only use it for light duelling, because I didnt want to replace it again. But due to my 4 stunts being KIA, I'm stuck with no choice for my weekly meetings...

T-8 tubing - for going over top of fluorescent lights.  It fits perfectly.

^ Oh perfect.

I wouldn't be concerned about heat build up from the batteries themselves esp. cause their draining not building a charge.

I've not heard of it before but it could be a freak faulty USB. I hope you get some positive results, kamoosekazi ... being without a quality functioning saber doesn't seem right  8)

I dueled several times (light to medium contact), and all boards are perfectly fine...no idea what went wrong on your's. But I second my forum mates' answers, nothing to add there.

I in-hilt charge, this wont cause issues? I mean, I guess it's already insulted and I use a smart charger... just double checking, but I assume Lord Rapine uses this already lol

I have twice now. :)

Here's my first one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8KDM15qbiA

Great stuff.  You can get it at TCSS...

Oh shoot, that's definitely perfect, I'm gonna go grab some today haha, thanks!

Hey NP. :)

Some cool ideas here, but I still find it odd because I've full combat dueled many times and no issues.. My saber battery, speaker and board are secured very well and also really tight inside so movement is very limited even if the hilt took a direct hit I don't think it would impact the usb at all. I would make sure it has little play and movement and you should be good.

 

As long as everything’s secured in the inside of the hilt, you’re all set. Keeping movement down to the minimum keeps anything from being at risk of being broken

It literally doesnt move in there... and this is the second time it's been damaged... I haven't toyed with it in months, got tired of my saber being blue, pulled everythign out and, viola, bent to hell
so yeah... since I'm the only one experiencing this issue, I have no idea what's up. I "fixed it" by bending it around again so I can force a mini usb plug in there.. but if it happens again I'm probably gonna gut everythign and run an SD card based soundcard, since this has cost way more than intended it to be, lol.