Technical Question

[CJCool1224]

My new saber is a Dark Apprentice v4 with Std sound.  It shuts off and a voice says Obsidian anytime it makes contact.  I want to point out that there is NO serious dueling going on.  I notice that this happens more often when the blade contact is near the tip of the blade.  I’ve tested such by hitting my hand on the blade in different areas.  I’ve only had the saber since Xmas and I’ve already replaced the batteries 4 times.  The saber rarely gets used so much that it should need that many battery changes.  Any advice on why the saber keeps shutting down?  These are dueling sabers right? 

[firehand10k]

What kind of batteries are you using? Cheap ones will give you about 5 minutes before you get the symptoms you listed.

[CJCool1224]

What kind do you recommend.  Also why would the battery cause the saber to shut down when the blade is impacted?  I have two of the exact same saber using the same batteries and only one has this issue.

[Racona Nova]

Could be a connection issue. Try tightening the batteries with velcro so that they can't move. This is a rather common issue with the 4xAAA battery packs.

[firehand10k]

The batteries could cause it because playing the clash effect takes a little extra power. If the batteries are only allowing minimum current the clash effects can draw them below minimum operational voltage momentarily and cause a reset. Its how i know when to charge certain sabers.
Low quality batteries can be at that low point when new.

If you have good batteries its probably a connection as others said. Either something loose losing contact for a moment, even the battery rattling in the holder. Or something exposed causing a short and the rest i mentioned before

[chairman@swanboat.org]

I just received my Dark Initiate V2 light saber in the mail today. I found it to be sturdy and well made. While I am a Star Wars fan, the reason I bought the Dark Initiate V2 light saber is that it is a basic light saber without sound which I would like to use it as a light safety device on my white ICE VTX recumbent trike, see: https://youtu.be/Rn9U494azHM .  I am a senior citizen and I find that riding a recumbent trike is a great form of cardiovascular exercise which is much easier on the back and prostate than a standard bicycle, and easier on the knees than jogging. The problem with a recumbent trike is that it is so low to the ground that cars and trucks cannot see you like they can if you are sitting high on a bicycle.  What is commonly used for attracting attention on a recumbent trike is to have a flag mounted on a pole; however, flags flap in the wind which slows you down, plus they look dorky.  I thought mounting a light saber behind my seat on a recumbent trike would be a method of attracting attention of passing cars and trucks.  I got this idea from the following video of racing recumbent trike which is covered with a aerodynamic skin and called a velomobile, see: https://youtu.be/7bxYxka4avM  Note the flashing LED lights on a pole attached to the velomobil.  The flashing LED pole shown in the video is not currently being sold on the market. There are two reasons why you need flashing LEDs:  (1) LEDs which remain continuously on are not very bright in the daylight, (2) LEDs left continually on will drain AAA batteries significantly more than flashing LEDs.  I thought that the Dark Initiate V2 light saber I purchased would have the option to flash, but I am assuming that is only an option on your more expensive sabers; however, anyway even if they did, the more expensive sabers are heavier, and have sound which is not needed in myc case since I am only using this light saber as a visual light safety device. I am an engineer and know how to use a soldering iron, so I would like to splice in an electronic component at the wires leading to the battery pack which will allow the Dark Initiate V2 light saber to flash on-and-off.  I contacted UltraSabers and asked them if they sell a component I can solder to the wires leading to the battery pack which would allow the Dark Initiate V2 light saber to flash?  They said they did not and suggested post a question on this chat room.  So my question would be: if I buy and install one of the the following circuit boards and connect them to the wiring to the battery pack which drops out of the Dark Initiate V2 when you screw off the end cap, would this work? If so, which one would you recommend: https://amzn.to/2tl9Jtp , https://amzn.to/3b5uc6E , https://bit.ly/2RRB3cn , https://youtu.be/Ic3h_J992vk . If you don't think any of the above electronic circuit boards would work or fit into the Dark Initiate V2 light saber handle just above the battery pack, I suppose I could build a blinking LED circuit out of electronic parts as shown in the following videos and attach it to one of the wires to the battery pack.  Do you recommend any of these: https://youtu.be/xf4YW9ddzFc , https://youtu.be/lTMh62EbJ-k , https://youtu.be/Ic3h_J992vk ?  Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

[firehand10k]

I just received my Dark Initiate V2 light saber in the mail today. I found it to be sturdy and well made. While I am a Star Wars fan, the reason I bought the Dark Initiate V2 light saber is that it is a basic light saber without sound which I would like to use it as a light safety device on my white ICE VTX recumbent trike, see: https://youtu.be/Rn9U494azHM .  I am a senior citizen and I find that riding a recumbent trike is a great form of cardiovascular exercise which is much easier on the back and prostate than a standard bicycle, and easier on the knees than jogging. The problem with a recumbent trike is that it is so low to the ground that cars and trucks cannot see you like they can if you are sitting high on a bicycle.  What is commonly used for attracting attention on a recumbent trike is to have a flag mounted on a pole; however, flags flap in the wind which slows you down, plus they look dorky.  I thought mounting a light saber behind my seat on a recumbent trike would be a method of attracting attention of passing cars and trucks.  I got this idea from the following video of racing recumbent trike which is covered with a aerodynamic skin and called a velomobile, see: https://youtu.be/7bxYxka4avM  Note the flashing LED lights on a pole attached to the velomobil.  The flashing LED pole shown in the video is not currently being sold on the market. There are two reasons why you need flashing LEDs:  (1) LEDs which remain continuously on are not very bright in the daylight, (2) LEDs left continually on will drain AAA batteries significantly more than flashing LEDs.  I thought that the Dark Initiate V2 light saber I purchased would have the option to flash, but I am assuming that is only an option on your more expensive sabers; however, anyway even if they did, the more expensive sabers are heavier, and have sound which is not needed in myc case since I am only using this light saber as a visual light safety device. I am an engineer and know how to use a soldering iron, so I would like to splice in an electronic component at the wires leading to the battery pack which will allow the Dark Initiate V2 light saber to flash on-and-off.  I contacted UltraSabers and asked them if they sell a component I can solder to the wires leading to the battery pack which would allow the Dark Initiate V2 light saber to flash?  They said they did not and suggested post a question on this chat room.  So my question would be: if I buy and install one of the the following circuit boards and connect them to the wiring to the battery pack which drops out of the Dark Initiate V2 when you screw off the end cap, would this work? If so, which one would you recommend: https://amzn.to/2tl9Jtp , https://amzn.to/3b5uc6E , https://bit.ly/2RRB3cn , https://youtu.be/Ic3h_J992vk . If you don't think any of the above electronic circuit boards would work or fit into the Dark Initiate V2 light saber handle just above the battery pack, I suppose I could build a blinking LED circuit out of electronic parts as shown in the following videos and attach it to one of the wires to the battery pack.  Do you recommend any of these: https://youtu.be/xf4YW9ddzFc , https://youtu.be/lTMh62EbJ-k , https://youtu.be/Ic3h_J992vk ?  Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

Those circuits from Amazon don't seem like the could work they run on 9 volts and power low power LEDs, about 20mA. You need to run about 750 to 1000mA from 6 volts. You probably want to look at a timer circuit that can use a transistor to activate your lights. I'll  look into it more tomorrow.