Saber Forum

I've had this thing less than 12 hours and it's already broken!

It started behaving strangely after I'd disconnected it from my computer; the LEDs were flashing, and in all kinds of weird colors I'd never programmed.
Then it stopped working entirely.
I replaced the batteries with fresh ones and now the sound works, but the saber doesn't light!

What's going on, here?

Diamond?

If so, I'll move this thread to the Diamond board.   More likely to get an answer there. 

I doubt it's broken, but really have no clue about those.

Yes.

Done.

There's an actual RSX Engineering guy on here, and our own Racona Nova is pretty well versed in such things. 

They'll see it here for sure. :)

Thanks. It's still very worrying, though.

I thought these things were supposed to be a lot more rugged.

It's most likely some computer related thing, to be honest.

Typically yes, you should be quite able to hurl one down some concrete steps (don't do that), and it'd work just fine. 

I've heard of a person dropping his ignited saber into a swimming pool before (I don't recommend that either).  He drove right in after it.  It was fine once it dried out.

Honestly, it's most likely something simple like needing to write everything to the board, or something.  I'm just not the one to say for sure.

Crappy, but it'll get sorted.

But it doesn't work properly whether it's connected to the computer or not.


I'm not really sure what that means.

That is to say, I know what it means to write things to the board, but I thought I'd already done it.
And even if I hadn't, I'd expect the built-in fonts to still work.

So unless "write everything to the board" means something other than writing fonts to the board...well, I don't know/understand what's being gotten at, here.


Yeah, well, it's still a hell of a let-down. Three weeks waiting and then it breaks on the first day!

Also, the speaker on the saber is now making some crazy noises whenever it's hooked up to the computer and data is being transferred back and forth. Sounds like an old modem from the 80s.

It wasn't doing that before.

Did you buy an extra set of batteries with the saber? I say that because you said you had it for 12 hours and put new batteries in it. The Diamond only uses rechargeable batteries.

It seriously sounds like the batteries to me. I wound make sure the original batteries are 100% charged and then try it.

Yes, please say you didn't put normal AAs in there...lol  The voltage is different.

That would certainly mess things up.

Having it hooked up to the computer does drain the batteries quickly...

I really don't know a lot about the Diamond controller, but this does sound familiar.

Please just wait for RSX or Rac.  It might be a quick-fix.

It does seem to be something to do with the batteries; I stuck the ones it came with in the charger and, after a while, I put them back in the saber and it seemed to work fine.

Is it possible that the LEDs can stop working while the speaker keeps going if the batteries are low? Maybe they got drained either in transit or, as you say, while plugged into the computer.
They didn't come with those little paper tabs that most battery-powered things come with, the sort that keep the battery from touching, that keep power from flowing...could that be it?

And if only using rechargables is a thing, it seems like the sort of information that would come in great big letters with a box around them and a red WARNING! in the manual...

Indeed.  I believe the absence of the tabs is to allow the board the have a bit of power, since it does come preset.

Yeah, if the batteries do drop below a certain voltage, things will stop working.  It'd be akin to using AAs actually; there simply wouldn't be enough power to run things.  I don't believe it would damage anything, but you're not wrong.  A simple pamphlet with a few "tips" would do it. :)

So, if you had it hooked up to the computer for a bit, and depending on how long it spent in transit (though, if you're stateside, it really shouldn't be too bad.  They ship them to the other side of the planet, and they still work out of the box), the batteries could indeed be dead.

I say pop them in the charger over night, then you'll hopefully have a reply from at least Rac (I'll give him a heads-up) by morning.

I am sorry that you are having an issue.  :-\

It was kinna scary; these things are crazy expensive and it really did take forever to get to me. The idea that it was DOA was...well...

But, as I say, I put the batteries back in after a bit of a recharge and all seemed normal. That had to be it. Took 'em back out and put 'em on the charger again.
Oddly, I'm looking now, and one of the batteries is already charged. Maybe only the other was breathing its last.

It's funny, but I had no idea that rechargeable batteries were any different than the other sort...except that they recharged. That they put out different amounts of power has honestly never come up in my life before. Weird, right?
How much use do you think is normally expected with a fresh charge? Like, if I kept the saber on constantly, about how long would it take before everything went kaputsky?

UltraSabers can use two different types of batteries.  AAA batteries and 14500 batteries. No where does it say AA. Double A batteries will fit but will not provide the 7.4 volts required to run the leds.
  Yes, if your 14500 batteries are low, you will get sound out of your saber and no lights. This can happen with both emerald and diamond sabers. If the saber is losing power the lights will rapidly flicker. As less power is available the will dim out completely.  The very last thing to go is the sound. I have a nice charger with battery levels displayed.  One battery  will always be 10% lower then the other when I charge them. I assume that lower battery has been supplying the led.

 It is written somewhere to fully charge your batteries before hooking up to a computer. Do this always!!!
The very last thing you ever want is for your saber to die while hooked up to the computer.  If that happens you will probably need to do a factory reset and start all over again.  It sucks! Especially if you were in the middle of making a new font. Everything lost.
  Charge your batteries!

No worries, this seems to happen a lot with new saber owners. Because often it just doesn't die but dies slowly people get scared. But most often it is just the batteries. They will drain off you leave them in when not in use. No US has a kill key or switch to stop this from happening. Wouldn't be a bad idea to get an extra set.

Extra set. Yes, I was considering that.

Sorry for being a bit late :P

So, I just read through everything and have to admit - all of you were/are right ;D

It was a battery issue, and like you said, normal AA size batteries are different to Li-Ion batteries in almost every aspect. Voltage is different, chemical compunds (obviously) and the fact that they are more dangerous than normal rechargeables (risk of explosion if not handled properly) ;) If an electronical device comes with a certain type of power source, please stick to that type and don't try to change it. Especially when it comes to batteries and Ultrasabers. Using the wrong type can cause various issues - from light (such as sound, but no light) to medium (speaker sounds) to serious (board damage).

So - if you get a saber with Li-Ion batteries, only replace them with the same type of Li-Ions! You can be sure that you get the right ones when you buy from Ultrasabers themselves, other sources can be a trap. And you need a specific charger designed for Li-Ion batteries if you don't already own one.

I agree that they should start to put a note inside (or even state that during the configuration) that a saber with the Li-Ion setup will not run with standard AA rechargeables and mustn't be equipped with those once the Li-Ions are drained. Just to avoid these issues. Maybe something to post in the Suggestion thread...

Not weird. We all didn't know at some point. :)

That would totally depend on so many variables, and would be different for each and every saber.  

In order to truly tell, you'd need an amp meter, and to know the actual draw of your particular saber over time - including any actions (FoC, stab, etc...) you might do.  Then there's a mAh rating on your batteries.  So basically mA x hrs = duration.

Or about an hour of idle (?)...lol

Diamond controller and no other frills. Not even accent lights.


Heh. I'm a geek, not a nerd. ;)


Yeah, I need more batteries, then.

This is to everyone here who doesn't already know this, not just BionicDance.

I cannot stress enough the need to get your Li-ion batteries from a trusted source; right now, I'd recommend you get them from US directly.  There are many (way too many) shysters out there claiming to sell brand-new, brand-name protected cells who have simply grabbed old batteries and re-wrapped them with someone else's branding, or who sell cheap, low-quality unprotected no-name cells as brand-name protected cells.  US has a reliable supplier for a reliable brand of the batteries, so they are always a safe bet.  Please, please, PLEASE don't fall into the trap of buying Li-ion batteries from someone you've never heard of just to save a couple dollars/euros/whatever, because low-quality or unprotected cells can catch fire or explode.  It's not worth the savings.

Also, the type of charger matters greatly. Again, unless you already have a trusted supplier of Li-ion battery chargers, I recommend getting the charger from UltraSabers.  This is another case where being cheap can easily translate directly to being unsafe.

And no, the Energizer charger you already have for your NiMH AA cells is not going to work on your Li-ion cells... and neither is your Eneloop charger.

I don't recall ordering a charger, but one came with the saber I bought; I can only assume, since I got it directly from US, it's the right one to use. :)

Sez "XTAR Intelligent Li-ion Battery Charger" on the side of it.

That's the right one. You have to take the batteries out of your saber for charging, though.

Yup, that's the one, alright.