My first lightsaber, some questions

[RogerWilco]

I received my RGB Overlord yesterday. 

I found that to dislodge the electronics (speaker/batteries/sound) I have to shake it quite vigorously. Tapping on something soft, like the couch or my hand doesn't do the trick.
Also putting the electronics back in, I have to screw on the pommel for the "final push".
Is it normal that it's this tight?

When looking inside, it seemed that the wires were glued to the inside wall, not just the electronics and switches. Is that how it's supposed to be? It seems to very much limit their range of movement but it might be to prevent damage?

I've also wondered if you can remove the LED. I've screwed off the top portion so I could see the LED assembly. I've tried shaking it in similar fashion to how I've got the batteries to move but it didn't budge.

Finally the AV switch has a bit of play on its "bevel" and this makes a constant ringing sound when I move it. How is the AV switch connected, is it screwed in? Then I could try to tighten it. But if it's glued or soldered in, then I would break things if I try to do that.

I'm also still figuring out how to adjust the volume without having to download the fonts each time. Read/Write parameters doesn't seem to do anything.

I am very happy to have ordered the RGB version. Switching colours on the fly is something I really like. I wish it could be combined with the free colour selections of Emerald, so you could switch between custom colours at the push of a button.

I got a Free Initiate with it as part of the Summer Sales, and I like it a lot. It looks like the The Initiate LE v2, but with red instead of gold stripes. As I was complaining that I would like to see more sabers with red (and blue) instead of black markings, it's like it's a custom order for me personally.

[James Casey]

I can answer some of these, at least...

It's perfectly normal for the electronics to be snug in the hilt - it stops them rattling and potentially banging things loose, but it does make for a snug fit. I suggest holding the hilt in an inverted grip, around the emitter, and swinging it down sharply like a hammer. That's normally enough to shift the battery pack etc.

I don't have an RGB 'sabre, but I would imagine that the electronic for it take up some extra space in the hilt.

As for removing the LED... It depends on how much play there is in the wires. So far as I'm aware, it should be able to come out the emitter end (possibly once the emitter has been removed) as there's no other way I can see them attaching it to everything else.

The Initiate sounds awesome - great score!

[RogerWilco]

Thanks for the reply.

It might just be me, as I'm an engineer, but when I get a new toy, my first urge is try to take it apart and see how it works.

[AC5FF]

Thanks for the reply.

It might just be me, as I'm an engineer, but when I get a new toy, my first urge is try to take it apart and see how it works.

Know this feeling well!   

After a day or two of playing around with mine I'm now wanting to fully disassemble it!  However, after getting the battery/sound/led driver pack out of the pommel I'm not too sure I want to take it apart now!  I can see it being a total ........ to get reassembled!

[RogerWilco]

I'm considering to just order the electronics from US for any further sabers I want, and make the hilts myself, with just the switches and sliders and buttons I like. Now that I have a saber, I like the options it gives me, but the ergonomics of the design haven't impressed me so much.

Instead of disassembling the saber I've got and trying to modify it...

[James Casey]

You might want to try buying a different hilt - the Overlord is pretty much just a tube of unchanging diameter along its length, as I understand it. Something like the Aeon/Dominix v3 or a Prophecy are really very comfortable to hold.

Of course, if you want to build your own hilt from scratch we'd be delighted to see the work in progress