Searching for a Better Battery Pack Option

[Daynne]

Hey guys. I've got a Sentinel LE with lite sound. It's my pride and joy. I love it to death.
The 4xAAA battery pack recently broke from the tension the springs cause. It's a shame because I haven't even used the saber much. Never even dueled with it; the most impact it has ever taken was from a drop on to gravel about 2 weeks after I got it. Now it's well out of warranty,  if that says anything.

I'm not looking to upgrade ANYTHING except the battery pack. Not the speaker or soundboard... anything. I'm not even worried about using AAAs still. I just want a battery pack that isn't going to break itself.

Basically, I'm looking for the cheapest option to fix it, without running the risk of this happening again. What would you all suggest?

[Therion Jinn]

Unfortunately, battery packs like the ones Ultrasabers uses are fairly common.
Old Radio Shack packs had the same problems.

[lovetadraw]

I have HEARD that you can run Obslite on a 3.7v Li-ion cell. I've never done it myself and you'd have to adjust your resistors as well. Alternatively, you could add a rectifier diode/resistor to a 7.4v battery to lower it to 6v.

[Illyiss]

What about something like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-4-AAA-Battery-Holder-Cylindrical-Plastic-For-Flashlight-Round-Circular-1-5V-C/182688819970?epid=2146137725&hash=item2a891a2b02:g:sqcAAOSww-BaV5z5

[roland2k]

My battery pack for my Dark Initiate actually came broken in the box, and my other two for my Sentinel broke like a week or two later.  What I would suggest is buying a cheap one online, then add padding on the top and bottom with hot glue so any impacts are dampened.  Also, I like to hold my batteries in with a rubber band if your saber did not come with a velcro strap for the batteries.  You could also wrap a rubber band or two around the pack vertically to counter the outward force provided by the springs.

Hope this helps.

[lovetadraw]

One other option is that, though rare now that Li-Ion's are popular, you can sometimes find 4.8v Ni-mh protected rechargeable packs. Add a TCSS pommel with a recharge port and you never even need to open the saber again.

[Gar-Wi Musan]

What about something like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-4-AAA-Battery-Holder-Cylindrical-Plastic-For-Flashlight-Round-Circular-1-5V-C/182688819970?epid=2146137725&hash=item2a891a2b02:g:sqcAAOSww-BaV5z5

 That's brilliant. Thanks Ilyiss.

[Isola815]

What about something like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-4-AAA-Battery-Holder-Cylindrical-Plastic-For-Flashlight-Round-Circular-1-5V-C/182688819970?epid=2146137725&hash=item2a891a2b02:g:sqcAAOSww-BaV5z5

That's brilliant. Thanks Ilyiss.

The speaker can't mount to that, and the speaker mount is part of the original pack. You'll have to get creative with frankensteining a pack/mount combo if you use something like that. Your best bet is to use a proper electrical chassis instead of the cheap ebay options that are out there. You can get them custom made by 3D printers for any board/battery/speaker combo you want. I've had several done myself and honestly want to change out all the cheap internals in the rest of my US sabers to printed chassis to avoid constantly replacing the cheap battery packs.

Fix it right the first time.

[Gar-Wi Musan]

The speaker can't mount to that, and the speaker mount is part of the original pack. You'll have to get creative with frankensteining a pack/mount combo if you use something like that. Your best bet is to use a proper electrical chassis instead of the cheap ebay options that are out there. You can get them custom made by 3D printers for any board/battery/speaker combo you want. I've had several done myself and honestly want to change out all the cheap internals in the rest of my US sabers to printed chassis to avoid constantly replacing the cheap battery packs.

Fix it right the first time.

 I was thinking about stunt sabers only as I have one arriving in 2 days (hell yeah!!!). Maybe I missed something, but obviously that would not work for a saber with sound. Thank you for your input though.

[Gar-Wi Musan]

I was thinking about stunt sabers only as I have one arriving in 2 days (hell yeah!!!). Maybe I missed something, but obviously that would not work for a saber with sound. Thank you for your input though.

 Yep I see what I missed. He said lite sound. I was just thinking about my self and what I would use it for. My bad.

[DizB]

Question on rechargeable batteries.  We just received our first saber with premium sound and it came with the Xtar 14500 800 mAh Li ion batteries.  I am one who always carries spare batteries.  I see the ones on the US site are a great price but I found much higher capacity Xtar batteries elsewhere.  They are Xtar 18650 2600mAh batteries, still 3.6/3.7V just higher capacity.  Does anyone know if these will work without harming the circuitry in the saber (soundboard, etc.). Thanks.


Edit: I believe I may have answered my own question. The 18650 are physically larger.  So I will be buying a couple of extra sets from US.  (By the way.  US price on these is EXCELLENT!)