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Author Topic: PSA: Obsidian Lite works GREAT with a single 18650 rechargeable li-ion battery!  (Read 1125 times)
Dirtbagleader
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Posts: 10


« on: July 09, 2020, 07:19:28 PM »

I read several places that the obsidian lite sound card is not 'supposed' to work well with rechargeable lithium batteries, but after finding the specs on the board and attempting to upgrade my own obsidian-lite powered saber I can attest that this was pure myth and mine now runs just GREAT on a single 18650 li-ion cell!  Here's a link to the specs:
http://rsxengineering.com/saber_resources/ObsidianLite_Datasheet.pdf
Which clearly indicate the board can run on anywhere between 3.5 and 5.5V DC input. The 'normal' setup with 4xAAA batteries is right in the middle at about 4.5V (NiMH) or 5.5V (Alkaline), but of course both of these lose a good bit of voltage as they drain and drop to more like 4.0V or less once they're about 2/3 discharged.  A 3.7V lithium cell is also right about 4.0V fully charged, but the li-ion batteries hold up their voltage MUCH better even when 90% discharged, so this is still within the operating voltage range of the card.
So I got to hacking, popped out the speaker, unscrewed the speaker holder from the battery pack, cut out the old AAA battery pack, soldered in the new 18650 holder, screwed the speaker holder onto the new holder, and put it all back together, and so far it's working like a CHAMP! By the numbers, the single 18650 should have about 3x as much capacity (~12Wh) as 4xAAAs (~4Wh), so that's pretty substantial. Link to pic below!
Of final note, you should NOT use 2x Li-ion cells in series with an Obsidian-Lite card (like the 2x 14500 cells offered with Obsidian-USB boards) as that voltage will be too high for the Lite.  You SHOULD however to be able to use either a single OR 2x series 18650 cells to run an Obsidian-USB card, as it's stated voltage range is 3.5-9V DC, although since I don't have one of these boards, I haven't actually tested that myself.
Pic for proof:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JN3KCTYNM6KMFnJV9
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BaliMawr
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Posts: 149


Scrapper


« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2020, 10:54:38 PM »

Very nice!  No saber yet for me, but I was a bit irritated that I couldn't get a LiOn for the Obsidian Lite.  Might have to try this... some day.
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Cyclops942
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« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2020, 03:34:30 AM »

This looks really good!  And do please keep us posted with your experience with the comparative runtime.
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yosemitesamiam
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« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2020, 07:28:01 PM »

OK so question...a dad here researching and posting about our son's saber.  It is also Obsidian Light...in Yellow.  As you know these things LOVE juice!  We have gone through 2 sets of cheap (no name brand) AAAs, two sets of name brand AAA's and two sets of lithium throw-aways since Christmas morning.  I'm now researching alternatives.  I'm not about to take it apart and modify it in anyway, however wondering if we could go with Rechargeable Lithium-Ions that are removable?  I'm hoping this won't over power the board.

To the OP...aren't 4x AAA at 6.0v (rated) in Alkaline, and 4.8v (rated) in NiMH?  The throw-away lithiums were reading 1.8v each when we slapped them in...the saber went to lime green...was pretty epic!!!  LOL!!!  That said, didn't last long.

I don't have NiMH in AAA otherwise I'd have tried, but also concerned that at 1.2v (rated) they won't keep the yellow saber yellow very long as the green LED requires a LOT of juice in the color mix.  Guessing my go-to should be 1.5 volt Lithium Ion rechargeables.  Any input is very welcome!
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firehand10k
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« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2020, 08:02:32 PM »

You can use AAA rechargeables. A good set (I used Energizer) should give around 40 minutes of constant  running. That's what I got last time I checked with some.
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yosemitesamiam
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« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2020, 02:28:07 PM »

That's not so bad!  Plenty to think on, Thanks!
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