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Author Topic: Shock LE + Obsidian soundboard= which battery configuration ?  (Read 5789 times)
Icke10
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« on: June 10, 2011, 05:03:21 AM »

I'm not sure which battery configuration to pick. Are there any disadvantages with the Li-Ion ? Lifespan for example ? Which combination would you suggest ?

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« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2011, 05:14:45 AM »

I would suggest Li-Ion every time.  They will last twice as long as AAA's per charge, and the money you save in batteries will pay for itself in no time.
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Caine
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« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2011, 05:32:40 AM »

A 3.7V Li-Ion will power the Obsidian board and LED quite nicely. I would strongly recommend an 18650,  but a 14500 would work just as well.
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The_Night
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« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2011, 07:41:02 AM »

while were on the subject, wich tends to last longer per charge/ total life in your experience, Nimh, or Li-on?
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Gchu149
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« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2011, 08:04:50 AM »

Li-ion, as heard from Novastar.
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Novastar
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« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2011, 08:11:05 AM »

@Thex ... actually, the size (dimensions) & rated capacity/runtime of a cell is the main way to determine how long it will last.  I'll extrapolate in a moment, but first...

There ARE some advantages to Li-Ion over even Ni-Mh (Nickel Metal Hydride) and some other battery solutions simply because of what is called "energy density".  It's basically a way to say "pound for pound or ounce for ounce--THIS battery technology has more power than THAT battery technology".

In the case of Li-Ion cells... most research & spec sheets show that they are superior to most (read: MOST) battery chemistries available on the consumer-level market today.  Additionally, Lithium is the lightest metal on the periodic table... and thus, these cell types tend to weigh less when compared to an equally-dimensioned/sized cell of a different chemistry (for example, Alkaline).

Now... to go back to my earlier point about which tends to last longer.  Direct current... is direct current.  Whether from Lead-Acid (car batteries), Ni-Mh, Ni-Cad, Alkaline or otherwise.  And capacity--to some extent--is capacity.  If a battery company isn't "cheating their specs"... if for example:

a Li-ion cell is rated at "2200mAh"... and...
a Ni-Mh cell is rated at "2200mAh"... then...
...they should last nearly the exact same time, if placed under precisely the same conditions.  In this case, if you drew 1A (1000mA) consistently from these cells, they will be exhausted of their current charge in approximately 2.2 hours.  By the way people... try NOT TO CONFUSE "mAh" with "mA".  One is drawing current OVER TIME (like miles per hour).  The other is just plain current.  Smiley

BUT... and there is always a but... there are also OTHER things to be considered... such as DISCHARGE CURVES.  Smiley

Oh great.  Nova's talking MORE gobbeldy-gook.  But really... if you learn about it... you'll understand why Li-Ion is currently THE best solution for things such as LED sabers.

To sum it all up... you have *ALL* noticed the sort of "slump" alkaline cells can have.  In all SORTS of devices--let alone your saber.  You know what I mean... the "dimming" that begins to occur (or even color shift if you have an RGB setup) with alkalines or even Ni-Mh cells.  It's irritating, because it's like... you know... the cells die before they REALLY die, right?  Precisely.

Well, Li-Ion cells have an extremely "FLAT" discharge curve.  In other words--they do not really sacrifice voltage to maintain current output during their discharge cycle.  What the bloody blazes am I blithering about.  IT TRANSLATES TO: You Get An Even Brightness and/or Color With Your Saber From Full Charge To The "Time to Recharge" Point.  Got it?

So... I know I took a VERY long and circuitous route to answer the question, but... it would behoove some of the forum members to look up a little information on battery cells, battery chemistries... and you'd be surprised at the info you'll find.

To REALLY REALLY SUM UP:

* I've been using Li-Ion cells in sabers since 2005/2006.
* I have probably used more sabers more often than most of the people here combined
* I've spent almost NO money on battery replacements over the past 5 years... and that is more awesome than I could have EVER imagined
* They are lighter, "smarter", more energy-dense and powerful (3.7v vs. 1.2v or 1.5v) than anything else I've encountered... and at reasonable cost

Soooo... why WOULDN'T you use them?  Smiley
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Warlock Umbra
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« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2011, 06:17:19 PM »

A 3.7V Li-Ion will power the Obsidian board and LED quite nicely. I would strongly recommend an 18650,  but a 14500 would work just as well.

Just one cell or two?
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« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2011, 06:48:08 PM »

Obsidian can run off just one cell.
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Warlock Umbra
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« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2011, 06:49:23 PM »

Obsidian can run off just one cell.

WHOA!! That's really nice!  Grin
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« Reply #9 on: June 17, 2011, 06:44:42 AM »

@Poster. I'm going for the li-ion battery set up when I do my first Shock+Obsidian saber next week. If you're worried about room inside the  hilt I don't think that'll be a problem. I'm getting the regular Shock with a blue heavy grade blade plus the Obsidian soundboard and li-ion battery set up. Cheesy
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« Reply #10 on: June 17, 2011, 07:15:36 PM »

Yup, it should be no problem to do Obsidian + single 3.7v Li-Ion cell + most any saber... based on the fact that you can "stack" the board on top of the cell (in most cases), and it saves a lot of room.

Additionally, with the 2battery holder + speaker setup that Ultrasabers uses... you can have 2 x 14500 Li-Ions (as either ~7.4v or ~3.7v) + the board + the speaker all in about 3" of space or a bit more.

Something else I can say--I highly recommend people "giving it some thought" to do the following with any LED that has a forward voltage of ~3.7v:

* Use TWO Li-Ion cells (yes, that's right--two)
* BUT... wire for the amperage, NOT the voltage.  In other words--if you have "3.7v cell with 2600mAh"... wire it so you get "3.7v with 5200mAh"
* This way, you should get about 5 hours of runtime if I had to make a guess (based on an estimated ~1100mA total draw when everything is on)

Now... of course, you cannot really do this EFFECTIVELY with Luxeon Vs... but... since those are (sadly) discontinued... it's become somewhat of a non-issue.

In case you don't know what I mean by "forward voltage" (above)... do some research on LEDs and specs, and I can at least say you could do this with Luxeon IIIs, Luxeon Rebels, Seoul P4s, and even many RGB LEDs, depending on the configuration desired.

However... if you'd prefer to shave off around $10 or something from the cost (big whoop)... yeah... just go with one cell.
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« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2011, 03:47:15 AM »

I'm getting a Shock with the li-ion set up so yeah. I won't have to worry about putting it together myself. Oh and I should definantly be able to get my saber next week because I actually forgot about the summer sale. Cheesy I just gotta get my 2 guitar cases sold and that'll help alot too.
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Sabers: Liberator V3 CG ObsV4 sound!, Graflex GB, Overlord AB, Crimson Savior BR, Bane PO, Dark Initiate V2 LE BH, Shock GB, Archon V2.1 CG, Dark Sentinel LE GB ObSLite!, Standard Issue V3 CG, Dominix V3 LE BR, Sentinel SRD, Dominix V2 FO
Next sabers: Dark Prophecy BVA, Negotiator AS, Enigma EG,
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« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2011, 03:29:55 PM »

Got one of my cases sold so far Just gotta get rid of the other one. I think I will be able to get my Obsidian saber in July though. I'll give updates though. Pics and a demo video will be up. I'll show the room inside with the soundboard pack too. One of my real life buddies is interested in an Obsidian saber too. Hes big on Star Wars.
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Sabers: Liberator V3 CG ObsV4 sound!, Graflex GB, Overlord AB, Crimson Savior BR, Bane PO, Dark Initiate V2 LE BH, Shock GB, Archon V2.1 CG, Dark Sentinel LE GB ObSLite!, Standard Issue V3 CG, Dominix V3 LE BR, Sentinel SRD, Dominix V2 FO
Next sabers: Dark Prophecy BVA, Negotiator AS, Enigma EG,
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