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Author Topic: aviation plug for LED module swapping  (Read 5548 times)
chalion
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« Reply #15 on: August 09, 2018, 12:43:59 AM »

3rd chassis design failed. The construction worked, but there's not enough space between the switch and led module to work, at least with my abilities.

I wanted to make a slide in battery holder(no wires), a switch coupler section, then a led module plug in, but the mod-up I tried just doesn't work, especially with the av or guarded switches used by the typical saber builders. I would have to grind off some of the threads on the switch to make it push in, turn 45 to lock in, and not solder the wires to the switch. Major headache there.

I experimented with a chassis system from the other known shops, that were made to work with UltraSabers. They do work, but there's still loose bundles of wires to play with all of them, so they all have the tendency to break when moved a lot (to say, remove to recharge or change batteries).  Quite annoying. But the only way I can see my project going any further is to design and build my own unique saber hilts. Not going to happen.

Going to end this as a failure, on my part. Just can't think past the problems I see here.
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chalion
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« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2018, 10:36:43 PM »

Ordered several sets of 18650 button style batteries and holders. I'm able to move forward with the battery chassis as in a stunt saber there is ample room. Tempted to put in a recharge port, as several saber crafters have innovative ideas on how to mount them in their chassis, but i'll take this in steps instead of one big bite.

Variations in how US hilts are made make the rest of my modular chassis design not feasible. The internal diameters between the Aeon v4 & Initiate v4 are not the same in the switch area to the LED module. To the eye, they look the same, but using a micrometer the difference is about .3mm. This is not much of an issue when using wires to connect the battery - switch - led module, but a pre-sized chassis that works in one hilt will not work in another.

Aeon v4 has 3-3/4" battery compartment. Initiate v4 has the same, both 1-1/4" diameter. The top of both sabers, where the blade goes in, both have the same depth, about 4-1/2" from the flush top of the emitters, but the Aeon stops just at the switch (a small ridge there), whereas the Initiate v4 stops beyond the switch hole. This means there's more room in the Aeon v4 (since it's a longer hilt) 5" from the emitter to the bottom of the switch hole vs 4-1/4" for the Initiate v4. Note: the Aeon v4 neck(switch area) is where it narrows down, a couple of hairs more than the Initiate does.

Going forward, if I reconsider making a modular chassis to run thru-out a hilt, I would have to use the Aeon v4. Even with the reduced diameter in the switch area, the overall length of the hilt would allow more room for the plugs I want to use.



P.S.

Yes, I keep coming back to this. I really want to see this thru, but I keep hitting problems. As of now i'm considering contracting out my hilts to a machine shop to have them mill the switch areas of both to uniform dimensions. Maybe chop them each into 3 parts and thread them. But this takes the work out of my hands.
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chalion
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« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2018, 08:49:10 PM »

Got the batteries, but ordered the wrong holders. oops. Wasn't going to play with solder till the weekend anyway, but makes it harder to plan out the frame.
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« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2018, 08:57:26 PM »

Keep us updated, Chalion.  Have another point for your consistency and passion to get this done.
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chalion
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« Reply #19 on: August 15, 2018, 09:52:25 PM »

Got the battery holders. They're actually smaller than the one I had on hand, plus the plastic is more flexible, so it's easier to cut/drill/melt. Added bonus, it has a screw hole for a mount in the center, plus 2 tab slots if I had a clip in surface mount. The gauge wire used is about 30, which is thinner than even US sabers uses, so i'll probably have to replace them, maybe with some 12 gauge.



 In the lower right pic, I was able to move the + wire to the left and make a hole to push the - wire on the right. Trying to decide on if I want to cut down a pvc housing to fit around the top and make a hole to slot in the 4 pin connector, or figure out a harness/frame to go around the battery holder. Maybe even some wall mount shelf mounts with a hole to fit the end of the plug. Sounds like I need another trip to the hardware store...........
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chalion
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« Reply #20 on: August 19, 2018, 02:43:36 AM »

Trying different glues/epoxy on the battery packs to see what holds the best with pvc, acrylic discs, plastic discs and nylon stand offs. JB weld epoxy for plastic seems to be holding well, but gave me a migraine even when well ventilated. Had to put off soldering the wires since the glue testing started making me ill. Ordered 20 gauge wire because the 4 pin plug wouldn't work with the heavier wire I had wanted to use with the battery holders.

Also the battery packs for the AAA's and AA's have what look like vent holes in the ends, where the springs are mounted. May try to thread the holes so I can use machine screws to hold 1.25 inch plastic discs on the end, for stunt sabers, if the glue doesn't hold up to my satisfaction.
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« Reply #21 on: August 19, 2018, 03:06:30 AM »

Thanks for the update, chalion. Are these US battery holders or just some third party generics?  Are you going to do any mods to make sure that the batteries don’t pop out when contacted or dropped?  That’s the issue I have with my sound sabers and a workout around was wrap the batteries in electrical tape but that’s just temporary since they do heat up
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chalion
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« Reply #22 on: August 20, 2018, 02:53:28 AM »

I do have many 4-AAA & 2-AA battery holders that are 3rd party. Right now, it's just the 18650 battery holders i'm trying out. I created a mock-up to dry fit in my Aeon v4 & initiate v4 hilt (shown below). Fits well in both hilts.



I'll probably need to change the design though, since there's no way to idiot proof it yet. I probably will use standoff posts and screws to anchor the lower disc to the holder and make it so the battery is secured AND make it so the chassis can't be installed wrong.

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« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2018, 03:28:20 AM »

The mock up looks good there, chalion. Can’t wait to see the prototype working
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chalion
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« Reply #24 on: August 23, 2018, 03:24:35 AM »

My mock-up did not survive a drop test. the battery holder was too flexible and acted as a spring which popped the discs off the ends. The plug connector held together though. With this failure, I discovered a new direction to try.

No massed produced battery holder at all. Instead, using 1" OD tube (blade material - 18650 battery just fits inside) 1" disc end caps with 1.25" discs attached, maybe with threaded rods for structural support. Reduced weight & easier to construct. Trying to decide on how to make the end nearest the pommel removable so the 18650 battery can be removed for recharging/swap out.(I may thread the end, or something). With the female end of the plug glued into the mid part of the hilt with the threaded rod, in a triangle configuration, to make it so the plug can only be inserted one way. Since the whole construction is plastic, I can use a spring and more rigid wiring, with the negative end of the wire on the outside of the tube, but sealed into the inner wall. This setup is easier to produce, takes less materials and can be done entirely with hand tools.

Threaded rod I can only find shipped from China (M3, with .5 pitch), so that will take a couple weeks to get here, but I can play around with this, maybe with my nylon hexagonal stand-offs instead.

 

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« Reply #25 on: August 23, 2018, 11:58:34 AM »

I love that idea and it protects all of the electronics at the same time!  Looking forward to this. Point.
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chalion
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« Reply #26 on: August 26, 2018, 10:55:02 PM »

Could not get screws to fit in the 1/8" side wall of the battery chamber without breaking the screws or cracking the plastic tube. Thought about making a notch twist-lock, but that's getting overly complicated, so i'm having to make end caps from 1-1/4" OD plastic. Ordered solder tabs from China, plus a dremel. Hated having to buy the dremel but needed to make some cuts, holes & tap them. Hand drilling was just not accurate enough.

Nice thing about making an outer 1-1/4" cap is that I can make all the solder connections and set in the 4 pin plug into the cap, then glue them onto the 1"OD plastic tube. makes it so I can set everything up, then dry fit to make sure it all works before finalizing it. This way the 4 pin plug acts to make the connection 1 way, so it's more idiot proof.

With the dremel i'll also be able to make the switch hole bigger, since i'm going to try and make an inset for the switch for the hole, so I don't have to worry bout putting the switch in first, then solder that stupid, excessively long, wire. Found some pvc that a 16mm av switch just fits snug.

Not posting pics yet, since this new idea hasn't gelled in my mind atm.

I'm annoyed I had to change plans so much and that it's taking so long. Maybe in September i'll schedule time off for a few days to work on this.

Also, thought about how to do a recharge port, but i'll have to get outside help to wire it, since i'm not sure about how they work. But that also obviates the need for the battery chamber, so probably not going to happen. Other saber makers put a recharge port in the chassis itself, instead of how UltraSabers puts it in mid-hilt. Sorry, just posting thoughts here.
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« Reply #27 on: August 27, 2018, 02:01:11 AM »

Great update, chalion.  Just know that you're R&D-ing a new method so there's going to be lots of trial and error until you achieve a working prototype that follows your guidelines and goals.

I installed a recharge port that I bought from TCSS and installed it into a chassis for my Dominix just to 'test' the waters with that.  I used the following video to learn how to wire and solder the port.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wemK6SD0Imo" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win"><b>!</b> No longer available</a>
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chalion
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« Reply #28 on: August 27, 2018, 09:59:18 PM »

Yup, i've watched that video several times over the last month. I'm not venturous enough to do a recharge port with a soundcard install, but I may try a stunt saber...........but not till I have this design down and locked in. Still, I have  watched stunt saber recharge port videos to get ideas, but my 18650 protected li-ion batteries are not the wired setup, but more the use-replace style.

Needed to buy some latching 16mm AV switches because atm I only have momentary switches. An oversight on my part as I forgot stunt sabers used latching switches since there's no card like the pico to toggle that. oops.

I'm going to make a pvc shroud for the switch, so I can do 2 things; A) make a mounting point for the switch that I can glue onto the hilt so I don't have to mess with threading and tapping the hole, or conversely, using hot glue into the switch hole which can get quite messy. Sorta like how the Electrum Wind button is set up, but B) I'm going to make the head of the switch a little recessed so it doesn't accidentally get bumped and shut off the saber. This will raise the button up maybe 1/4", but this will make it so I have more room in the hilt to clear the 4 pin connector. IT will not go all the way around the hilt, but only about 1/2 inch around the switch, maybe a little less.

Had a couple thoughts about how to make a chamber for a diamond card setup, or maybe the emerald, but since the emerald is many cards stacked together, it would have to be VERY CAREFULLY crafted. More wires, more complexity.

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chalion
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« Reply #29 on: August 29, 2018, 09:06:39 PM »

Mailman was pissed at me. The 1-1/4" OD plastic tubing was delivered today, but instead of the 6 - 24" tubes I requested................I received 2 - 72" tubes. Makes it annoying to cut down, since I have to do that outside, but not till the weekend since it's near 100 degrees for the next few days. But also delivered today were the latching switches and some 10 pin connectors. Surprised the switches were shipped with their own resistors. That helps out a bit.

Maybe i'll take the tubes to work and get them cut down.
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