Saber Forum

As some people will have probably noticed I'm a bit of a battery life freak :P I've been posting around a lot to find out solutions to batteries for all day trooping and general ease of use.

Well FINALLY I have the answer to ALL of these problems (or so it would seem after initial testing)!!

If you have a stunt saber with EITHER the standard set-up 4xAAA (4.8-6v) with a resistor, OR the Li-ion Buckpuck setup this should work (Works on my Buckpuck stunt and Resistor grab bag sabers). What you CANNOT do is directly drive the LED's with this because it runs at 5v output it will probably kill your LED.

So down to the nitty gritty, what is this all mighty battery? Well simply put its a lipstick shaped USB mobile phone charging bank... yes you heard me a USB mobile phone charging bank... it pumps out 1.5A @ 5v and has a 5000mAh capacity, so should do nicely for ~5hours of continuous use!

The big bonus is that it pumps out the 5v, meaning that you don't need to alter the resistor or buckpuck - like you mostly have to do if you run a single 18650 Li-ion setup (because that only outputs ~3.7v). Compared with a single 18650 hooked up to a 1000mAh buckpuck on a TRI-CREE setup this USB Battery bank is FAR brighter - due to the higher voltage being able to actually drive the buckpuck properly.

So how do you do it, well its pretty simple. Cut the wires to the existing battery pack (there are only two - the red and black. Red is your + and Black is the -). Then solder the Black wire to a USB connector at the Ground/Negative end and solder the Red to the +5v connector.

(http://i.imgur.com/kQglRcn.jpg)

I suggest buying something like this: (im waiting on them arriving so I cut the one in the photo from an old USB cable.)

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxMjAw/z/ZqAAAOSw5ZBWFkSk/$_12.JPG)

The Battery bank:

(http://i.imgur.com/IPP4ET0.jpg)

Battery Bank in a Sentinal V4 - note this is not pushed all the way in!! I also have thick velcro on the inside of the hilt which makes it a very snug fit.

(http://i.imgur.com/ODOOftI.jpg)

And side by side comparison of Fully charged Battery Bank vs Fully charged 1x18650 3400mAh battery (both with Buckpucks and identical TRI-CREE Fire Orange LED's).

(http://i.imgur.com/As8cNVi.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/PNvEh2Y.jpg)

As you can see from the pictures the USB bank is MUCH brighter... in fact when I did another test it was still brighter than a 2xAA Li-ion setup... which is good!

The Battery banks are cheap as well, I bought four from Amazon and they were £6.99 each (~$10)... which to me was excellent value, I already have a soldering iron, solder and heatshrink but to buy those your looking at maybe £15-20 and then you need the USB connector ends which I got a pack of 10 for £2.99...

Overall a conversion which was cheaper than buying a load of 14500 Li-ion batteries or NiMh AAA's... and cheaper than the 4 18650 batteries I bought... wish I'd thought of it sooner!!

Dimensions of the Battery bank is 2.8"x0.8"x0.8" and it fits with a good 3-4mm each side in the hilt (so some thin fluffy side velcro will hold it perfectly to stop rattles!).

Seeing a big problem in the brightness comparison - the 18650 doesn't put out enough voltage to fully power the buckpuck, which is why it's a fair bit dimmer than the other blade. Swap out the puck for an appropriate resistor and you'll have a brighter blade than any tri-configuration running on a single puck.

That out of the way, the battery bank itself is a really great idea. I imagine it uses a separate port for charging than it does for providing power? If so, a little extension cable and a hole drilled into the pommel, and you could have your own little in-hilt recharge via USB.

Yeah I knew about the voltage issue with the 18650 but the capacity at the time was more important to me, from what I've seen most people using them have them direct driving a Blue/Green/White single LED, but for TRI setups and especially amber LED's which I have no idea what the voltage and mA limitations are I thought it be a safe bet to just leave the buckpuck. I was trying to find solutions that didnt involve ripping out all the wiring and hooking up multiple resistors or pucks to allow for max brightness on each LED. I may do that at some point though.

Yeah it uses a Micro-usb connector to recharge you certainly could mill out a hole, best bet for that would be to utilise 2 cables, a Micro-usb cable which ends with a female USB rather than male USB, then have a male-male USB cable and charge it from a mobile phone usb socket wall charger.

To add as well, my next saber in line to do is a Guardian Blue single LED which currently is resistor based and runs off the 4xAAA setup. IIRC the resisitors US uses for the AAA setup is good for upto 6v - alkaline AAA are 1.5v whereas NiMh are 1.2v, making alkalines run at 6v and NiMh at 4.8v... so 5v sits nicely in the range for brightness to not be effected by the resistor dropping voltage, but has like 5x the capacity of the best AAA batteries - since the battery packs dont stack capacity, only voltage.

1ohm 2w resistors are a safe and readily available resistor for just about any LED running on a single Lithium. If you ever feel like re-wiring your hilt, pick up three of those and wire the LEDs in parallel. Any decent 18650 shouldn't have an issue putting out 3A.

Also, concerning the pucks - if you ever take one apart, would you mind sharing which mA model US is using for their Tri-Cree sabers? I imagine they're using the 2100mA model so that each LED's operating at 700mA, which is supposed to be a really nice balance between brightness and power consumption as opposed to running all three LEDs at 1000mA. I'm also really hoping that all three LEDs aren't trying to split the current off a single 1000mA puck...

EDIT: Scratch that - looks like the 2100mA BuckBlocks have a 10v minimum. Going to assume the tris are sharing a 1000mA BuckPuck, limiting the current on each to ~333mA. Enough to get them to light up, but really curious how they'd do with three separate pucks or a resistor that lets them shine at full brightness.

Yeah the pucks are the same 1000mA on TRI setups which i can understand is probably done so people don't complain about battery life.

As far as resistors go, I don't know what I'd need for Amber LED's. Blue/White/Green can all be run at 1000mA @3.7v but Red needs to be run lower than that and I suspect Amber would be the same, but I'm yet to find specs on an Amber CREE.

Great idea CJ-Nihilus . . . +1  :)

I'll be looking at trying something like this for sure, and the recharge port idea with a USB charger is awesome . . . The other great thing is having a couple charged up and easily swapping over for truely all day saber trooping  ;D

An Amber Cree XP-E2 is 2.65V @ 1000mA.

Thanks CJ nihilus, I've been planning I doin some upgrades to my stunt saber, nothing crazy just install a rechargeable power source and change switches n stuff like that- I really like this idea not only because of the high capacity of the rechargeable power bank but also because of (if I'm understanding it right) the relative ease of process.  Point for you :). I'm very inexperienced/ lacking in knowledge atm when it comes to the electronics.  But I'm gonna be researching very soon so I can get into the guts of the  sabers for future mods/ builds.

Am I right to think that -assuming I'm using the same bank or at least something with same 5v output- my stunt, which is just standard battery set up/ red led (not tri's) would be ok with whatever resistor it's already got? Or would I have to change resistor?  I know that's a dumb question i kinda just wanna confirm from someone who actually understands the stuff lol

Resistor should be fine, I saw no difference in brightness between using 4xAAA that were 1.5v rated and 4x AAA that were 1.2v rated (6v vs 4.8v) so any 5v source will have the same brightness as the AAA battery setup.

Sweet :). Thanks so much for the help and for this wicked idea/ post.  I'm def giving this a shot!  Will award point as soon as I can :).

It actually isn't a fair comparison because the buck puck limits the 18650. Take the puck out of that saber and you'll see the brightness shoot up.

This photo is my friend and I, Tri-Crees mixed to cyan, 18650 no resistor with camera flash.  (http://[IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/10/df79d8997d3cf5764735c7d8b6fbde85.jpg)[/IMG]

Yeah I know its not that fair a comparison, however a lot of people use a single 18650, also unless you're using a Blue/green/white LED you're gonna need a resistor or puck anyway.

Tri-Cree to me is more complex as for max brightness you'd drop the puck, wire all LED's in parallel and run a resistor on each LED, then wire that all together to the switch then the battery. You'd be eating through anywhere from 2100mAh to 3000mAh however and any battery you use would last a pitiful amount of time. To me it just seemed far less work and better for battery life while still retaining brightness to just hook up a single 18650 - which have now all been converted successfully to USB battery banks.

this is a great idea, and im new to wiring and everything so heres my question, if i do this settup with a stunt saber where i soder the 2 cables into the usb thing will that heat up significantly or would i not have to worry about that?

I haven't had any heat issues at all at the USB end, the only part of my sabers that run warm are where the LED's are which is to be expected.

The batteries packs though are always pretty cool to the touch and I've never had one get hot.

Why am I not hearing praise proportional to the glorious'ness of this post lol?!  Bump.

No but seriously, thanks CJ, I'm absolutely doing this on my next project, my dark sentinel LE.   Ideally I'll be creating a mounted port something like what you mentioned, though it's also tempting to opt instead for the set up like Jed mentioned as well, skip the port in favour of something like quick disconnects, for quickly swapping precharged replacement banks :).  Hmm.... I need to meditate on this lol...

I just wanted to say that this is awesome. I just finished putting one of these in my SIBS grab bag and it worked perfectly. I will say that I saw no noticeable difference in brightness, but I think having the rechargeable battery bank is 1000000000% worth it.

Here's some pictures of what I did:

After removing the AAA battery pack, there was only about an inch of wire to work with, so instead of wiring directly to the USB connector, I used some of the old USB cord's wire. It actually turned out to be a little too much, but I was still able to neatly tuck the wire into the hilt so the bank will fit.
(http://joelbutlerjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/usb-1.jpg)

Here it is all connected. I connected. Like I said before...too much wire.
(http://joelbutlerjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/connected-1.jpg)

Here's the before (first) and after (second) pic. Like I said, not really much different if you ask me. Totally glad I decided to do this though.
(http://joelbutlerjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/after-1.jpg)
(http://joelbutlerjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/before-1.jpg)

Not pictured is the battery bank. I put a few of my girlfriend's hair ties around the battery bank to ensure a snug fit. Works like a charm.
Thanks for sharing the idea, CJ-Nihilus!

Thanks for posting Venthros!  Great idea preserving the wiring from a usb cord to work as an adapter and make the soldering job simpler :).  I'm going to be doing this to my stunt that i'm modding right now- can't wait.

Let us know how you make out! As far as mods go, this one is pretty easy!

I'm interested in doing this with an initiate staff I'm thinking of ordering. I was wondering if these are small enough to slide in an initiate hilt? And also, this should just work with a AAA stunt setup right? With no other options? Like I don't have to worry about ordering the Li-ion with resistor? Just the basic set up. Do those come prewired with resistors? So I don't have to do anything else? Just order a saber with AAA setup and just snip off the battery pack and wire in a USB port?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, no matter what STUNT saber you were to order you'd be ok to make the swap, it wouldn't fry anything :).  Your led will already be resistored appropriately when US sends it to you, and the power banks pretty much all put out the same 5V, seems to be a standard- so actually it'll be feeding just ever so slightly less than what your AAA battery pack was (if I'm understanding correctly).  You'd have to be careful if the saber wasn't a stunt, not because of danger of frying anything, but only because the lithium ions put out a higher voltage, so that saber would have been set up with a puck or resistor that'd be overkill for the lower voltage power bank.  Hope that helps- MTFBWY :).

Awesome!! Thanks! I'm looking at ordering soon so I can get in the raffle. And I know the initiate sabers are the same width but I was just wondering if there's enough room length-wise in them for these battery packs. $10 per battery for 4-5 hours of use per saber is a steal haha.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love the idea behind this, though I am afraid it might be beyond my meager skills at smithing...

Best part is you can charge up 2 or 3 of these bad boys and carry them around.  Run out of juice, pop it out and pop in another.  :-)

I'm looking at another brand battery pack that has a 5400 mAh with an output of 5V / 2.1 A

I'm not very savvy with electrical numbers.  Do I need to worry about the amperage output?  Or is the voltage what matters?

thanks ---  i am a novice, but want to remember this post for future builds ---

Great idea!  I'm going to try this with my stunt dark initiate!

Fantastic idea Nihilus, now there's a great advancement if by any chance the standard battery pack breaks. I'll definitely try this setup on my Prophecy!
Thank you for sharing!

Amperage is just the maximum the pack's able to put out. If your LED's only asking for 1A, the pack'll only put out the 1A. Just worry about the 5v for your resistor/driver calculations.

That said, keep an eye on reviews, since lots of off-brands like to fluff up their mAh ratings.

Aweome, thanks for clearing that up Kouri! Point awarded.

Sorry to revive an older thread, but (1) do these packs have a constant output?  I read that the type I'm interested in uses 'Panasonic' batteries, so (2) what does that mean? 
(They're Li-ions.)  The type I'm interested it has LED status lights, so I'm looking to drill a square window in the hilt about 1" x 1" so I can see them.  (3) What size bit should I use?  Again, sorry for reviving an older thread, and for my very scattered questions.

No worries dragon two, that's the whole point of the forum :). 

1) constant current... As opposed to intermittent lol?  Hmmm, now that wouldn't make for a very good power source would it lol? ;).  That's probably some distinction I don't know about cause I'm new to the theory of these small electronics, but  Yep, your all good on that one.

2) Panasonic batteries just refers to a specific brand/ type of Li ion- pretty much all of the bank's I've seen that use cells use 18650's, so I'm sure you'd be fine using any brand of 18650, but when it comes to batteries some of the cheapy ones are just crap- really terrible peroformance and really exaggerated stats, so i'd stick with a reputable brand personally, you get what you pay for for sure- easy piece of mind would be to google Panasonic 18650 info/ specs, take a quick look at their stats (guessing 3.7V, 3400mA) and then you could just make sure whatever batteries you scoop have the same as those, Panasonic might put out a little higher current than more generic brands (2400-3000mA'ish) but otherwise the same - I seriously doubt it's referring to any kind of wired pack (multiple 18650's heat shrunk together) because just too bulky to fit in bank for one, and also redundant- your protection circuit is already in the bank- who knows though, maybe panasonics 18650's are a diff shape/ dimension than most?  Might be worth it to pay the extra for those either way, you know they'd be aweome quality batteries.

3) to make the window it all depends what you want- a square window, any shape with right angles really, would be more labour intensive than circular, unless you know someone who can mill it for you, since you're gonna have to start with a circular hole- but totally doable though, with a bunch of little files, a dremel and some burrs, grinding stones, etc.- the best way to go about it isn't to start with a particular bit size, but by actually drawing out the exact window on the hilt (or tape it off or whatever but just mark off the exact area you want removed), then start trying bits until you've found the absolute biggest bit that will fit, the biggest bit you can use to drill out as much of the middle of your square as you can without exceeding that area/ going outside the lines of your drawn window.  So you'll end up with, say, a 3/4" hole removed from the middle of your 1" square, then you use the files and dremel to achieve the rest of the shape/ remove the rest from the corners.  cutting disks on the dremel are an easier way to get the right angles involved in square shapes, but you need a gigantic amount of space in your cutout area to allow you to get the disk down in there and cut... 1" oughta be doable actually, I bet that's right about what the diameter of most small heavy duty cut off wheels are, you might be able to sink a fresh one right through the hilt body completely to form each of the four sides... Won't that be a little big though?  I'd draw it out and see how it looks on the body first.

The status lights are likely 5mm diodes- 5mm's wil fit through a 13/64" hole (tiny), so even a small hole will completely show your led's- to put it in perspective, my bank is rectangular, with the biggest side being slightly less than 1", so a 1" window would actually show the entire bank.  I always kinda prefer the look of elongated windows with curved lines, so I started with two 1/4" drilled holes and removed the rest of the shape like I described above:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/major_major/F57CE745-3A24-4B23-B668-1FCC2275BEE2_zpsvbzgyc8h.jpg) (http://s736.photobucket.com/user/major_major/media/F57CE745-3A24-4B23-B668-1FCC2275BEE2_zpsvbzgyc8h.jpg.html)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/major_major/BB2017CF-B415-46D2-A884-0FE008D268E5_zpsqi9ocz5u.jpg) (http://s736.photobucket.com/user/major_major/media/BB2017CF-B415-46D2-A884-0FE008D268E5_zpsqi9ocz5u.jpg.html)
Surprising how big even a small cutout looks on these hilts- this one's 1/4" by almost 1", and I still had enough viewing area to dress my bank all up like an exposed circuit board and illuminate it.
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/major_major/3216D2B0-36EE-4E65-9B4E-6A49F5AEB3F6_zpst7ygol5k.jpg) (http://s736.photobucket.com/user/major_major/media/3216D2B0-36EE-4E65-9B4E-6A49F5AEB3F6_zpst7ygol5k.jpg.html)
Hope that helps- if you're looking to do this you might might wanna take a quick look through my current build log, "my main dueling saber...etc." Should be just on second page somewhere- there's some stuff you might find helpful in there, cause you'll be getting into a lot of the same stuff- like making an adapter to go from the bank to your wiring etc.  Hope that helps, MTFBWY :). 

I've actually been following your build, but I haven't posted in the thread (yet).  Could you PM me the link to the power bank you used?  I looked for it, but couldn't find that particular one.  Thanks for the help!

Just to update on this.  I picked up the 5V, 2.1A output power bank and tried it on my tri-cree fire orange stunt.  If left on, the hilt gets pretty warm.  Not blazingly hot, but if it was my cell phone, I'd be worried. 

I don't get any of the heat problem with the Aukey power bank.  Same brightness for both of them. 

I am planning on making this modification to my Sentinel v4 here before too long..

I did a little poking around inside the saber (mostly trying to figure out the proper way to pull the electronics out so that I have a decent amount of room to actually work on the wiring).

I am not seeing any simple way to pull the electronics out -- I have the standard guarded switch, which I understand is just press fit into the hilt.

I have two questions, I suppose:

1.) If I remove the switch, the LED module and battery casing should slide out from the emitter, correct?

2.) Is it necessary/recommended to remove the electronics before wiring up the new connection?

Well, there's your first problem- sentinels don't like to be poked around in, they prefer a gentle caress, and even then they'll usually make you take them out to dinner first and have long boring conversations about where you see yourself in ten years, hahaha!  No no ok seriously- the simple answer to your questions: yes and no.

1) yeah, pulling out the switch and then snipping the wires allows you to slide your internals right out.

2) nah, really no need to take your electronics out if that's all you're doing :).  Swapping the battery pack for the bank is insanely easy- if you can get your pack out far enough where you can reach the two wires coming out of it  then you're all set- just cut them (ONE WIRE AT A TIME IF BATTERIES ARE STILL IN IT) and solder the bank in and slide that back in and you're good to go.  Good luck- MTFBWY. 

Thanks for the info :)

just getting started on it now. Point for you! :)

Well I was hoping to replace my battery pack in my emerald saber with obsidian sound but 5v isnt enough. The LED wont power on with anything less than 6v :-(. I order a DC-DC step up and will see if I can rig it to work with the power bank. I know it has a 3.7V cell and is stepped up to 5, I am hoping I can step that further to 7.5v. Although the capacity would then be reduced significantly, likely by half.

Very interesting Ackevor!!  I'm very much looking forward to following this- bringing these power bank set ups into the land of sound boards etc. would be wicked :). 

DC step ups . . . have you been hacking my iOS history?  ;)

That's something I'm looking into.  May not be an easy solution though.  Step up in Voltage will result in current loss. 

It's going to take some experimentation with various setups and using a multimeter to read the outputs to get it right, but I'll post it when i get there.

Whoa!  I'm TOTALLY looking forward to seeing this!!

If it's an Emerald setup, I'd say to skip the USB bank and just grab a 2x 18500 stick pack for the increased runtime. Only about 10cm (4")  long and should fit into any v4 or full-MHS hilt. 2X 18650s are also available, if you've got > 13cm (5") of hilt available. A drop in replacement for the 2x14500 US hilts usually come with, as long as you can come up with a mounting solution.

I already got the battery bank arrived and the USB connectors, the pyrography set will do as a soldering iron, now just waiting for the solder to arrive.
Pretty excited on this one, will come back once I've done the first conversion.

Nice!!  That's awesome :).  good luck man, can't wait to see it. What saber you doing it on?

Thanks Revan, there's my Dominix v4 LE which I do first and if that goes well, the Aeon v4 and Prophecy will follow.
Hopefully they'll all go fine :)

Yeah it's super easy so long as it's on a stunt saber, you'll be surprised :).  Just use the pic CJ has up of the pins of the USB end- so can see which is pos and neg, and it's a simple/ straight swap, like just a matter of cutting the end off a USB cable and hooking your wire to that to plug in to bank. Point for good luck.

Just wanted to chime in say thanks for posting such a useful idea.

This evening I finished converting my two stunt sabers over to the cell phone charger.  EASY, and at least on my sabers, the LEDs are obviously brighter.  My Initiate, for instance, is so bright, it actually is now BLUE.  Before, it was always this weak blue/green.  Since it was a christmas present, I didn't know what color the blade was supposed to be.  Well, now, it's definitely Guardian blue, lol.  My red saber is also obviously brighter, (its a stunt built up from mhs and various parts with a 1up red cree led).

Anyhow, for anyone on the fence, don't worry.  If I can solder a few wires and have the leds still light up, anyone can do it.  This is just brilliant, thanks again!

some photos:

The red saber, with usb:
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jerryhazard/20160617_220243.jpg)

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jerryhazard/20160617_220334.jpg)


And my modified Initiate with usb, and BLUE led, lol:

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jerryhazard/20160617_220026.jpg)

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jerryhazard/20160617_220141.jpg)

My Initiate led color before the swap:

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jerryhazard/20160611_160601.jpg)

very cool!  thanks for posting.  I think that colour shifting has to do with how it's resistored.  There's more current available from the bank, and the voltage changes ever so slightly as well, so depending what diodes are in a given led and how its resistored the mix could be affected like this.  But the V change isn't gonna be dramatic enough to do harm or anything in a stunt. 

My first conversion is done!
The Dominix v4 has an even brighter and shiny red blade! :)
I ordered 2 more banks immediately and will convert the Aeon v4 (CG) and my wife's Dark Apprentice (FO) too.
I'd be happy to do the trick on my silver Prophecy too but I'm afraid it has not enough space in the back of the hilt to have a nearly 2x size battery pack tucked in. Although I can swap its think standard pommel to the one on the Aeon, still it's pretty small inside so I'll leave it as it is.

Thank you for the great tip and all the descriptions, I'm very happy with this conversion, well worth it! A huge point for Nihilus!
(The pics show the progress not the result, at the end I covered the connector with a better load of stuff :))

(http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r493/swatopluc/battery%20bank%203_zps8dqhquhj.jpg)

(http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r493/swatopluc/battery%20bank%201_zpsrdznmjvg.jpg)

Very nice, medwyn!!  Usb charging opportunities are everywhere, such a handy mod... Great work :). point awarded.

Such an awesome mod. Great job on everyones mods. Points! Excellent work jhaz and med!

Where did you get that from?

Thanks guys for your support! :)


You can buy these battery banks (of that's what you're looking for) on amazon and ebay. 5000 mAh capacity is considered to be the smallest kind so it's also the cheapest (and at least it's small enough to be tucked into the back of some hilts).

Thanks. I will get one eventually to use withmy first saber.

Way overdue; POINTS! Thanks for taking the time and sharing. I will post mine here for sure. I'll occasionally get left over swag bags from business cons and get a bunch of these. Pretty sure I know where 2 are, 1 for sure. Really excited to get this working lol.

Round 2 has done, I bought 2 more battery banks and modded two other stunt sabers.
Again, pretty straight forward job and the results are great.

There's one thing I think worth mentioning: with the new battery banks installed I can feel the hilts warming up when the sabers are switched on. I guess it's the LED itself. Funny thing is that the BR Dominix LE v4 is somewhat exempt from this effect while the identical Aeon V4 warms up. Also does the Dark Apprentice.
Another thing I recognized that the new power supply brights up the CG quite much and now I rahter have an Emerald green saber :) Which I actually like so that's fine - no colour change on the others.

Here are some pics of the modded sabers: Dom LE v4 in BR, Aeon v4 in (used to be) CG and Dark Apprentice v4 in FO.

(http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r493/swatopluc/Windows%209_zpsdn7fa31d.jpg)

(http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r493/swatopluc/All%203%20modded%202_zpsrgssxvcz.jpg)

This pic below shows the windowed emitter of the Aeon - I like how the FO echoes back from the hilt ;)

(http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r493/swatopluc/reflections_zpsed72oc3v.jpg)

Again, thank you for all the help, I'm very happy with this conversion!
I wish the battery bank was smaller so I could put one into the Prophecy too...

Great work medwyn!  quite the arsenal you've got there :). 

I guess I really should use this for my scratch build. It sure beats the floppy in-line battery pack I was trying to make. Should make the goofy power pack (http://i.imgur.com/OXGOzZl.jpg) I have on mine look better with a charging port, too.

And while I'm at it, I might even be able to use USB connectors instead of those Molex ones I've been trying to use. For whatever reason, I could never get those to crimp right and I get an unreliable connection as a result. I'm not sure if USB is the best connection choice for sabers, but it should definitely be easier and more readily available.

But... this is safe for stunt sabers, right? I'm not as learned in my small electronics as I should be, so I'd like to make sure first. I'm currently using a single silver LED with the regular resistor and x4 AAA battery pack.

Did your led and it's resistor come with that aaa pack? If the led came resistored for that (6V), like a US stunt, then your all good- power banks put out 5V. 

See that pic in my sig?  That's a power bank- dressed up with circuit card and 5mm led's inside a cutout in the grip section of a sentinel.  I'm still working on it- I'm running USB recharge in hilt as well- but that's just cause the bank's use USB ports, and it's an easier, sturdier connection than anything else you could use- you could even solder your lines right to the pins on the female USB port on bank- you can easily hack the end off your USB charge cable and replace with any type connecter you want tho.

This looks like it would be a good thing to do for conventions. My Phantom V4 stunt staff would appreciate it! Anyways, are the wires in a USB cable able to be hooked up to the corresponding wires in the saber? I would think so, but i dont know if the wires have a different ground or what not. It would make things immensely easier to just splice wires than to do soldering. I have a few USB cords i never use, and i can find the power banks for as low as $5 on sale at walmart.

I was just testing this yesterday and they absolutely work. It was tricky because the wires were so fine, but I think that's because I was using a cable normally intended for phones. I don't know if other USB cables have thicker wires, but it should definitely be doable. As for which wires, they should be the left-most and right-most ones, one of which is silvery with no insulation.

Yeah i referred back to the post where someone used a USB cord. Alrighty. Anyways, for people who want to do it that way, make sure to cover the exposed wires with something non conductive. Also make sure not to twist the wires together too tightly, or the thin wires that make up the "cord" will snap and the setup wont carry power as well.

Ok so, i wired one of my two Dominix V4's in VA for USB power.

(http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/sonic1_02/ASRAHPC/PB%20Uploads/20160918_154322_zpsugdwzxro.jpg) (http://s102.photobucket.com/user/sonic1_02/media/ASRAHPC/PB%20Uploads/20160918_154322_zpsugdwzxro.jpg.html)

Funny thing here, the blue shows through much more prominently near the hilt at times. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesnt. Im not sure why. I had it hooked up to a 5V 1.5A Limefuel bank. Itd be nice to see stunt sabers with this option straight from US. Mixed colors might not be the best candidate for USB power banks(unless you use a buckpuck/resistor for optimal MA delivery, so one color doesnt overpower the other), but im sure it would work very nicely for single color or RGB sabers. AAA's as a power source is kinda old news by now.

Looks great!
Just a question: are you sure there's sufficient cooling installed in your room? That keyboard looks melted :)

I plan to try this out with one of my stunt sabers! If I am successful, I will probably be upgrading most of my sabers to the battery banks.
Already ordered a bank and a few extra usb cords. I'll let you know how the progress goes!

Ok, so looking at this power bank:
https://smile.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Compact-Fast-Charging-Technology/dp/B01CU1EC6Y/ref=pd_sim_107_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01CU1EC6Y&pd_rd_r=5JB24SKW25RAKZ00EDNH&pd_rd_w=ZAmH1&pd_rd_wg=MAyHt&psc=1&refRID=5JB24SKW25RAKZ00EDNH

I think I should be pretty good, yes?

Will these battery packs work with a Dominix V2?

Thank you for this <3  a smaller powerbank is on the way :-)

(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161219/cb34b817b5bcfbad5ae1170797d51f3c.jpg)

Very cool saber you've got there Franzie! 

Hey Corwyn I think that banks all good buddy, should fit no prob I believe- anyone know the inches to cm conversion? 

3cm is a hair over 1.18"
I went with that brand because we have  used lots of their stuff at work, and only one thing has gone bad, and they immediately replaced it.

Hopefully I can squeeze a charging cord past the bank so I dont even have to remove it...

Yup, you'll have room :).  You can totally leave the USB sitting just inside the pommel.  Heck, 2.1mm sockets can be wired to USB for a straight up recharge port if you wanted :).  I like the idea of running to a female USB adapter and mounting that in the pommel, so you plug USB right into pommel.

The one in the original post will, as checking my Aeon V2 you have just over 1", and the pack used in the first post is only 0.8"


Yeah, cause I am sure drilling a rectangle through a solid inch of aluminum to fit the female USB is a breeze!! lmao

Hi all.  I'm finding this topic to be very interesting and informative.  This option is a super good idea... rather than what almost now seems to be the antiquated batteries route.  But can this really only be used for stunt sabers ?  I'm guessing Obsidian/Emerald has been explored and addressed more fully elsewhere.  Have looked up my Amazon.ca choices... but not sure as some of the Aukey and Anker brands of 5000 mAh cylinder shaped chargers seem a bit long.  :-\

Thanks to whomever resurrected this discussion and to those that are continuing to add on.  :)  8)

Unfortunately so, as the power banks only output 5v. Stunts normally use 6v, but apparently can run fine on 5v. Sound/Emerald run on 7.4v, so you would be way underpowered I would think.

In my Sentinel I have right about 4.25" of battery space, and the link I gave gives two measurements 10cm(3.93") or 4.2". so I will be using pretty much every last bit of space, but it should squeeze in there

Don't know if I'd go so far as to call the battery route antiquated - these 5v battery packs are really just lithium-ion cells with 5V boost-boards in a fancy casing.

That said, as long as you're willing to adjust your driver and can work within the 2A limit, there are options for other uses.

Stunt w/ Buckpuck: Really only recommended for running a single Red or Orange. Green, Blue, and White need 6V minimum for full brightness on a puck.

Stunt w/ alternative driver: Won't go into sourcing components here, but flashlight enthusiasts use more efficient LED drivers that should be able to run any single-LED at maximum brightness on a 5V power source no problem.

Stunt w/ Resistors: Use diodes or resistors to knock the 5V down to something safe for the LED. Regulated power source means dimming shouldn't be an issue.

Obsidian - Single Color: Obsidian runs fine on 3.7v (single lithium-ion), though at reduced volume. 5V should be the minimum for full volume, so go nuts. Use one of the above driving methods.

Obsidian - US Tri Cree: Avoid a buckpuck or other 900-1000mA LED Driver. The Tri-star can be safely run up to 3000mA, and the 5V pack will pump out up to 2000mA, so use a resistor calculated for your LED voltage at ~2000mA.

Obsidian - Custom Tri-Stars: Won't mention where to get the custom LEDs, but Cree PhotoRed, Red (US Blazing Red), RedOrange, and Amber (US Fire Orange) all run at about 2.5v. Two such LEDs on a star could be soldered in series, acting as a single 5V 1000mA LED, requiring no resistor, and offering the brightness of two LEDs at half the current draw.
This leaves 1000mA available for a full-brightness FoC color. For instance, a Red/Red/White star with the two Reds wired in series and White wired to a resistor/driver would enable a Blazing Red blade with Silver FoC.

Thanks so much for your reply.  :)  That's what I meant about the batteries... more directed towards the casing/housing and perhaps ease of usability.  Kouri... you have so much shmexy knowledge... gosh I'm fan-girling... look away Corwyn and don't tell Rac, Rev or Rapine.  :-[  ;D

point to you  8)


Thanks CVB for your info as well... because in the case of lightsabers... size really does matter.  ;)

points given to you and Rev  :D

No worries girl, too busy fan-girling myself here! :D  I wont tell if you wont! lmao


Ok, so I'm going to go with "You're welcome" and leave it at that, ok? :D

And if you're not dead set on using banks that contain li ion CELLS, do what I do, and grab the ones that use lithium polymer sacks- then you're looking at mAh ratings up to 10,000mAh easily in the same amount of space.  With that much current, you can run everything parallel to make up for lack of voltage- and if you did reds in series like kouri suggested, shoot- that saber would last for ever.  The banks that use the cells boost the voltage a bit like kouri mentioned- and that comes at a slight cost to their current. 

Hey kouri you remember a LONG time ago we talked about using 26650's?  I'm gonna pull the tigger on one and see if I can't make a found parts saber to house it.  I just at least once wanna use a battery that has a wider OD than most sabers lol.

How wide was that EPIC pvc cross guard you did?  It couldn't fit one could it?! 

26650 should be 26mm wide, or a hair over an inch. Should fit fine inside of most hilts, actually - you just can't stack a board on top of it. I think KeepPower is a reputable brand.

PVC crossguard probably could have if it wasn't for the transistors and battery holder. Was built with a 1" ID pipe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019K6F8DI/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1485680123&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=aukey+portable+charger&dpPl=1&dpID=41ZWqIz5uRL&ref=plSrch
This seems to be too wide for a Dominix V4. Would a 3350 mAh battery work?

I meant Dominix V2

Not sure if I should start another thread on this, but since it involves this upgrade, I will put it here. In addition to changing to this battery option, I would also like to put in a brighter LED. Can you buy the tri-cree seperate? Will it work with the 500mah power bank? would I need to do a resistor change?

TIA

Tried to do this on one of my PHantasm v3's.

The Auskey bank is too long, with buckpuck+bank+wires inside, the battery can't go in far enough to screw pommels on.

In addition, the power bank shuts itself off in a way that when you press the switch on your Ultrasaber to turn it on, the battery bank doesn't turn on, so you wind up with everything connected but nothing turns on.

500 bucks down the drain...