Flash On Clash - Should I try to add it and if so what colour

[cwfox9]

I've recently seen a few people saying they wish they had got flash on clash on their lightsabers

I've got a Sentinel LE V5 in Fire Orange with Premium Sound V4 on order and I was wondering what peoples opinion on getting flash on clash added (if I can still) and also if it turns out to be a resounding yes what colour I should get to go with fire orange?
It gives the options of Silver/Red or a bit more premium priced pyrestone orange, budget wise I'd prefer the less costly options unless everything believes the pyrestone orange is far superior.

Also as a secondary question what are peoples opinions on the light up AV switches (currently have a regular Silver AV non illuminated)

Appreciate the help.

[Tai Chi Chuan Wijchen]

Points to Karmack for sharing his picture, wich might help you.
This is what an illuminated switch does to a dominix v3:

He has an even better picture of that beauty, but I couldn't find it.

Me, I had to replace a guarded switch on an Aeon v4 a few weeks back, went for an illuminated switch from TCSS, and it came out great:


And Cyclops most of the time, gives this great advice:
It's probably wiser to order a new saber with the upgrades you desire instead of sending your sbaer to US, let them install the FOC and return it to you.
The costs for shipping, installing and the parts might be the same, or in the range of an entirely new saber. Especially beacause the sentinel isn't in the upper price range.
So you could inform US for the cost of letting them upgrade your current saber, in the meantime do a quick check on the website what a new saber would cost, and then do the math.

[cwfox9]

Points to Karmack for sharing his picture, wich might help you.
This is what an illuminated switch does to a dominix v3:

He has an even better picture of that beauty, but I couldn't find it.

Me, I had to replace a guarded switch on an Aeon v4 a few weeks back, went for an illuminated switch from TCSS, and it came out great:


And Cyclops most of the time, gives this great advice:
It's probably wiser to order a new saber with the upgrades you desire instead of sending your sbaer to US, let them install the FOC and return it to you.
The costs for shipping, installing and the parts might be the same, or in the range of an entirely new saber. Especially beacause the sentinel isn't in the upper price range.
So you could inform US for the cost of letting them upgrade your current saber, in the meantime do a quick check on the website what a new saber would cost, and then do the math.

Appreciate the responce, +1 for the help.
Well my Sentinal is still on order with a 5+ week timeframe on the hilt so it would be either I add it now or never do being UK based. 
I have emailed my prior contact when I added a MB to my order to see if it will be possible to add these upgrades onto the order.
I'm thinking of adding a orange illuminated AV switch just wondering if it's worth the extra cost.
With the flash on clash i'm wondering if it's worth the extra cost and what colour will work best with a Fire Orange blade

Appreciate the help,

[Tai Chi Chuan Wijchen]

I'm sorry, I can't help you with the FOC question. No experience there.

On the illuminated switch. Well, I don't know what it costs to upgrade to that with US parts.
I know it's a few $ when ordering the parts from TCSS and tinker yourself. But that would deprive you of the warrenty (one year).

Is it worth the extra cost? I don't know.
I like my illuminated switch, but wouldn't have had one, if my old switch didn't break.
I am a fan of the AV switches, because of the comfort they offer and not being in the way of your grip when spinning and working on techniques and sparring.
From a practical point of view, your only seeing the illuminated switch when your not using the saber, or when turning it on and of. On all the other occasions, you're holding and handling the saber, so the light will probably be blocked by your hands. But I have to admit, an illuminated switch does look really good.
I think it's all a personal decision to make.

At this moment in time, I wouldn't order one, but I do have a spare illuminated switch laying around here, in case on of the other switches break. And yes, I'm planning on ordering a few more when I need another spare part. To me it's worth the few extra dollars/euro/pound. Especially because it'll be my first upgrade.

But this question does remind me of a discussion I had ones with a car sales man. He wanted to sell me chrome strips to fit into the car jamb. I didn't see the point of those things, because there 99,9% of the time hidden because of the closed door. He looked at the 0,1% moment of time...

[Darth Rob]

Honestly I have flash on clash on three of my sabers and I have an illuminated switch on one (Dark Omen). I have to say I don't know if the flash on clash is worth the $35 as you have to really hit it hard to make it flash. The silver shows up the best though if you go this route. I chose a different color on all three and the silver is the most noticable so if you choose it that's your best bet.

As for the illuminated switch, I love it!!! Wish I had gotten it on all my sabers not just the one. If I had it to do over I would have gotten all mine as illuminated switches. Definitely go for it, at least that's my opinion!

[Cyclops942]

The Flash on Clash (for ME) is now a must-have, unless I’m going with a Tri-Cree, which does not offer it.  I have several stunt sabers without FoC and a couple Diamond sabers and, just like with having no sound, there is something so “almost,” so “not quite what I want,” so incomplete, without the FoC.  I do not have any sabers with sound that do not have FoC (although I could modify a Diamond font do to that), nor do I have any stunt sabers that DO have FoC, but if you have sound, I personally recommend spending the money for FoC.

There is my $0.02.  Remember that free advice is usually worth what you pay for it.

[cwfox9]

The Flash on Clash (for ME) is now a must-have, unless I’m going with a Tri-Cree, which does not offer it.  I have several stunt sabers without FoC and a couple Diamond sabers and, just like with having no sound, there is something so “almost,” so “not quite what I want,” so incomplete, without the FoC.  I do not have any sabers with sound that do not have FoC (although I could modify a Diamond font do to that), nor do I have any stunt sabers that DO have FoC, but if you have sound, I personally recommend spending the money for FoC.

There is my $0.02.  Remember that free advice is usually worth what you pay for it.

Do you have any opinions on the best FOC colour to go alongside Fire Orange, it seems orange blades are much rarer so i've struggled to find video examples

Appreciate the advice

[Cyclops942]

I have mine set up with Adegan Silver (white) as the FoC for my Diamond saber.  I tried to get some videos, but because I’m camera-ignorant and don’t know how to monkey with the settings properly, the color difference doesn’t show on the blade; the sensor is overpowered by the orange, and it looks almost white.  To the human eye, the difference is stark and obvious. 

Here is a link to one of the videos... it’s short (under 30 seconds), and if you look at the way the walls change color, you can get a better idea of how big the difference is when it flashes to white.

https://imgur.com/a/VCk1FVH

[cwfox9]

I have mine set up with Adegan Silver (white) as the FoC for my Diamond saber.  I tried to get some videos, but because I’m camera-ignorant and don’t know how to monkey with the settings properly, the color difference doesn’t show on the blade; the sensor is overpowered by the orange, and it looks almost white.  To the human eye, the difference is stark and obvious. 

Here is a link to one of the videos... it’s short (under 30 seconds), and if you look at the way the walls change color, you can get a better idea of how big the difference is when it flashes to white.

https://imgur.com/a/VCk1FVH

 

That's great and I defiantly noticed it, would you recommend silver going off this over red? Also +1 for the help and making the video

[Cyclops942]

 

That's great and I defiantly noticed it, would you recommend silver going off this over red? Also +1 for the help and making the video

Yes, I would recommend Silver over Red, because red and orange are close to each other on the color wheel, and my experience with blades changing from one color to another when the two are like that is that the contrast is low, and the change is not easy to notice in all lighting conditions.  (Okay, in Phoenix-level midday direct sunlight, NONE will be easy to notice, so let’s not worry about the ridiculous lighting conditions... deal?) I prefer the high-contrast color changes, and the silver/white fits that bill for a LOT of different colors, and I think it does well with orange.

[Galef]

In general I agree with others that FoC is a must in most cases.

But I think there are exceptions and colors that make it depend.
As mentioned, Silver is available for all colors and looks decent for anything. However, and this may just be my opinion, it's boring especially for mixed colors.

Let me explain. Blue Red or Green are 'primary' light colors and thus will contrast well with Silver.
Silver, or white light, contains all 3 colors, so Silver FoC on a Guardian Blue will contrast because of the Red & Green spectrum within the Silver.
Mixed colors like VA, AB, SY, FO, SRD, BH, BVA and PO all contain 2 of those 3 main colors, so a Silver FoC doesn't contrast as much.

To me, $35 is a lot for an affect that doesn't contrast as much as possible. And that's made all the more discouraging that the FoC options, specifically on the mixed colors, are limited.
For example, Blue Violet Amethyst would contrast well with either Orange, AB or SRD because they are mixes of the colors opposite BVA on a color wheel. But instead BVA only has FOC options for the other "purples" and Silver

Of course, if you only ever get 1 saber, I'd certainly get Silver FoC just to have it. But if you're planning on getting several sabers, I'd pick and choose which ones get FoC starting with the highest contrasts.

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[cwfox9]

Honestly I have flash on clash on three of my sabers and I have an illuminated switch on one (Dark Omen). I have to say I don't know if the flash on clash is worth the $35 as you have to really hit it hard to make it flash. The silver shows up the best though if you go this route. I chose a different color on all three and the silver is the most noticable so if you choose it that's your best bet.

As for the illuminated switch, I love it!!! Wish I had gotten it on all my sabers not just the one. If I had it to do over I would have gotten all mine as illuminated switches. Definitely go for it, at least that's my opinion!

Yes, I would recommend Silver over Red, because red and orange are close to each other on the color wheel, and my experience with blades changing from one color to another when the two are like that is that the contrast is low, and the change is not easy to notice in all lighting conditions.  (Okay, in Phoenix-level midday direct sunlight, NONE will be easy to notice, so let’s not worry about the ridiculous lighting conditions... deal?) I prefer the high-contrast color changes, and the silver/white fits that bill for a LOT of different colors, and I think it does well with orange.

In general I agree with others that FoC is a must in most cases.

But I think there are exceptions and colors that make it depend.
As mentioned, Silver is available for all colors and looks decent for anything. However, and this may just be my opinion, it's boring especially for mixed colors.

Let me explain. Blue Red or Green are 'primary' light colors and thus will contrast well with Silver.
Silver, or white light, contains all 3 colors, so Silver FoC on a Guardian Blue will contrast because of the Red & Green spectrum within the Silver.
Mixed colors like VA, AB, SY, FO, SRD, BH, BVA and PO all contain 2 of those 3 main colors, so a Silver FoC doesn't contrast as much.

To me, $35 is a lot for an affect that doesn't contrast as much as possible. And that's made all the more discouraging that the FoC options, specifically on the mixed colors, are limited.
For example, Blue Violet Amethyst would contrast well with either Orange, AB or SRD because they are mixes of the colors opposite BVA on a color wheel. But instead BVA only has FOC options for the other "purples" and Silver

Of course, if you only ever get 1 saber, I'd certainly get Silver FoC just to have it. But if you're planning on getting several sabers, I'd pick and choose which ones get FoC starting with the highest contrasts.

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Appreciate all the input guys, gave some points in appreciation