(Illuminated) AV Switch Playing Up

[Lord Sidious]

I had a few occasions when the AV switch would be unresponsive to the intended switch action. These include,

- Press it twice to switch on the saber
- Press and hold to switch off as normal but FoC would activate instead when you press and hold
- Press and hold longer than normal to switch off

The three examples above occur independently of each other, almost randomly. But I say it tends to happen when the batteries are on low juice. My saber has Obsidian v4, Lithium-ion and recharge port set up.

Any clues? Most of the time, it functions perfectly normally. This is my Catalyst.

[Lord Sidious]

And a general question, is the AV switch a fragile item? Can it fry, break etc. assuming it never had any impact from dueling / dropping? (I don't duel).

[Landen Se-Sentien]

My AV switches get a little touchy when the batteries are low, too. Especially when trying to turn it off. I'll hold it down for a few seconds, with nothing happening. When I let go of it, the clash sounds trigger. When I switch the batteries, all is well, so I just chalk it up to the batteries being too low.

[Lord Sidious]

Thanks, that's my impression too.

[Rapine]

Hey there Lord Sidious,

It seems like Landen answered your query admirably, but I concur.  Fresh batteries solve many issues.

If you ever do duel, Lord Sidious, here's hoping that you don't take too many shots to the hilt.

I'd imagine that the AV switches are quite robust though, and could take a good swat or two.  I'm guessing.

[Lord Sidious]

Thanks, Lord Rapine.

[RevanReborn]

Hey guys . 

to add my two cents- the suggestion to try with new batteries is right on the money, def a good thing to try first whenever weird stuff happening like that. 

A little random info i've picked up from shopping questions about different switch types around the saber world (it intrigued me cause i noticed some funny things about different switch types and how each handled diff situation like duelling etc):

ok, so obviously the big difference between the switches on stunt sabers and the switches on sabers with sound is that stunts use latching switches and sabers with sound use momentary switches.  Those are general/ overarching types of switches and there's different types of each.  The AV switches, for instance, can be found as both latching and momentary type- latching switches are exactly what they sound like, old school spring loaded with some sort of latching mechanism so that the connection is made and maintained when the switch is clicked, and when its clicked off it releases that connection causing a break in the circuit and killing power.  Momentary switches are also spring loaded, but they spring right back regardless of whether you just clicked the saber on or off, they don't hold in when clicked on like the latching switches do- this is because they're... well, lol, they're momentary- they depress for an instant, changing state briefly which triggers the on or off etc. in what they're hooked to. 

The whole point of all that info is because I've found- and asked around a lot and the pros seem to corroborate this- there's sort of a built in handicap to momentary switches of any kind- regardless if they're anti vandal, illuminated or non illuminated etc.  That is, if you duel hard core with them, they have a tendency to 'misfire' i guess you could say.  Latching switches are solid- you won't get one to click off on you no matter how hard you're clashing blades lol, you'd break something else way before.  sabers running boards with momentary switches have a vulnerability to being cut out abruptly due to the sudden jarring impact of a strike.  It really varies even among identical setups how prone one will be to this- I've got two identical sabers and one cuts out relatively easily, the other takes quite a bit of a beating before that ever happens. 

But that's all just about one very specific aspect of wonky switch behaviour.  in general I've found when a momentary switch starts acting wonky like what you described its usually not so much the switch mechanism itself that's going goofy, but the board running at low V, which can start to do all kinds of funny stuff.  Its good to consider stuff like this when planning a new saber- all the switches can be good calls, just depends on what the main use of the saber will be etc.  I really wish more boards could run with latching switches to be honest.     

[Lord Sidious]

+1  RevanReborn, that was very useful information. 

Well, I can eliminate the "hard beating" on my Catalyst switch because I have never dueled with that hilt. So it is either a faulty switch or more likely, the Lithium-ion batteries. My charging up of the batteries on 0.25A slow charger sitting over a day or two eliminated the problem.

When you wrote "misfire", do you mean as a result of hitting the switch itself?

[JediXIX]

Yep . . . more points Rev, very helpful info . . . +1 


I'll add that sometimes a switch will just fail . . . or have an intermittent fault, and the only thing to do is replace it . . . Of the probable tens of thousands of av switches US has sent out there has been the odd one or two that members here have had fail . . . Of all my sabers, there is one with an intermittent issue that I can always rectify by pressing to the side of the switch instead of the centre, probably just a minor contact issue . . . I'll replace it one day, but it's still acceptable for the time being . . .

Best of luck with yours Lord Sidious . . . I'd suggest contacting US by email if it's annoying you . . . they'll probably fix it for you . . . cheers 

[RevanReborn]

Thanks guys .  Ya that's a good point Jed- considering the way all of our components are mass produced, it's inevitable that there will be flukes/ defects etc every once and a while- I realize that's not really what's happening here in this case, most likely just low voltage thing, but wanted to get that info in the thread so others searching the forum for info on their switch problems can see- I remember when I first noticed the phenomenon I searched and found some mention of straight up switch defects, but no mention of this- which really isn't a defect at all so much as an unfortunate occasional side effect of the switch type. 

Actually, Lord Sidious, it happens just from sharp/ hard impact to the blade, doesn't have to be near the switch itself or strike to the hilt at all- the sudden jarring zips/ transfers through the hilt and the saber will just instantly cut out.  You can just turn it back on, but can be a nuisance if trying to hard core duel or run drills with a saber that's acting up particularly bad that way.  Something about the momentaries leaves them more vulnerable to this- that's why if you check the spec sheets of a lot of the boards out there right now, they'll say something like 'anti shut down technology' or 'switch off protection' etc., they actually build safeguards against this into the boards, but it's not perfect, can always happen.  But I mean, usually it takes serious level of intensity before that happens, in which case it's like, a sound board probably won't keep up to that kinda action anyway, might as well use a stunt, you know?  (Latching switch)

[Lord Sidious]

+1 Good info. It's very useful to know about this so we better "understand" the loaded hilts with sound, Lithium-ion, momentary etc.

[RevanReborn]

Thanks Lord Sidioius, point back at'ya .   I agree, good to learn about all the little known, often unmentioned nuances of this amazing hobby of ours.  There's SO much to learn.  This forum is an amazing resource in that respect, I feel lucky to be a part of it. 

Also just wanted to mention one last time, just for anyone who might find this post- I'd hate to give the impression that I'm dissing momentary switches!  All the switch types can be great calls, perfect fit for a saber, just depends on what the main plans for saber are, on a particular persons tendencies/ styles with using sabers etc.  So like, if you're the type who loves the saber artistry let's say- always spinning, maybe doing light to moderate dueling but more on the choreography side of things, and that type thing, or let's say you've got the customizing/ modding addiction like me lol, and you'll bang the sabers around here and there when you get the chance, but don't find yourself dueling on a regular basis or don't have opportunity to etc... For anyone like this, basically for anyone who's main focus isn't getting serious with saber combat, there's a chance you might not ever even realize this phenomenon exists lol.  It might not ever happen to you, or almost never anyway, and there'd be no reason to be nervous about going with sound and momentary . 

I was just kinda honing in on a super particular little possible area of wonky switch behaviour/ characteristics etc to flesh it out a bit- it really wouldn't be a big deal to most, only run into it in the most specific of circumstances if you know what I mean... But it does happen enough to be worth discussing/ learning about- very real consideration for someone thinking about a saber for the combat side of things for sure.  IMO, it's great if you can build up a ginormous stockpile collection of at least a couple sabers- something with sound and all the bells and whistles for that wow factor when you want to spin one around or mess around with friends etc., and something more stripped down and solid for rugged use... And maybe even a infinte spectrum few in between . 

[Rapine]

-1 RR