Saber Forum

Thanks for everyone's help so far.  I thought I would post some pics and a video so that it may help those attempting their own DIY installs with the Obsidian board.  Many thanks to Novastar, Caine and Ultra for their feedback and support!

I had a spare TCSS hilt and I wanted to install the Obsidian into it.  I know people might say "why not get the PCL" but I felt the Obsidian had the best balance of features that I wanted.  I was so stoked on the Obsidian I ordered it the morning it was released!  :D

Parts used:
- new Obsidian board from Ultrasabers (it's awesome!)
- Luxeon Rebel Cyan LED (3.4V)
- TCSS heat sink / Rebel lens holder, 8.7 degree lens
- TCSS speaker / AAA speaker holder
- AA battery holder
- 1 Trustfire 3.7V Li-ion battery
- Deans Micro connectors
- 2 plastic discs
- 4/40" threaded rod and nuts
- scrap ABS plastic approx 1/8" thick
- wires / soldering iron / heat shrink of course
- CA glue
- 3M heavy duty double sided tape

I started by cutting some round discs from ABS plastic for the chassis.  I simply used the speaker holder to get the inner diameter of the hilt.  I drilled holes in the center for the wires to pass through.

2 holes were drilled to allow the threaded rods to slide through.  I drilled snug holes, so that the tolerance would be tight and not sloppy.  The threaded rods are passed though the discs, and in between is some heat shrink tubing.  I added this so that the white plastic shim supporting the battery holder can be glued in place (didn't seem to stick to the threaded rods well).  The shim (I just added my Pandatrooper graphic for fun) provides a little more support for the battery holder.

Once the spacing is correct, the nuts were tightened down.  Then the Obsidian board is simply zip tied into place (using very small ties) and the white plastic shim is glued to the chassis rods.  The AA battery holder is simply double sided taped into place.  The speaker wires are fed through the end chassis plate, and the speaker holder, then soldered to the speaker.  The speaker is CA glued into the holder.  The end chassis plate has a small square piece of plastic glued to the bottom (to create a clearance for the chassis nuts), then the speaker holder is double sided taped over this plastic square.  It's quite sturdy and the whole chassis can be removed and installed with no "loose" parts.

The wires are all fed to the correct locations (see this thread here for a visual layout).
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1623.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1623.0)

 The colors of the wires off the board aren't really labeled for polarity, so follow the wiring guides.
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1533.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1533.0)
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1639.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1639.0)

The best part is that laid out this way, the chassis and components fit into a 4" section of tubing (sink tube or custom build).  The height / profile is minimal, so there's plenty of room width wise.  I left enough length in the wires to allow for any twisting, etc.

I used Deans Micro connectors (found at RC car shops) because they are very small and I had a bunch laying around.  I like to use connectors for my switches and LED's in the event I wanted to swap them out.  The board can run off a single 3.7V Trustfire battery, so the majority of the Rebel LEDS and others that are approx 3.4V will work.  I have tested this setup using the Cyan, Blue and Green and they work fine. *Note: the tape on the lens / heat sink was just used to prevent it from falling apart in the photos.  The tape isn't needed once it's installed in the hilt.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/5870902190_bd20c989a0_z.jpg)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5318/5870339949_4e6bebf414_z.jpg)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5318/5870337153_7fa2181a68_z.jpg)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5067/5870333343_bd765bba2d_z.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/5870889412_55e5e53ebc_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/5870886950_c7ebe2f6cf_z.jpg)

The video shows the CYAN Rebel LED installed on a TCSS blade holder with an Ultrablade installed (I had to sand the collar of the blade to make it fit the inner diameter of the blade holder).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_JcrAuiIFY# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_JcrAuiIFY#)

I haven't had a chance to play with the settings on the board just yet, but I will!  Right now it's installed with stock sounds and settings.

I will post pics / video with the Obsidian setup in the completed hilt soon.  I still need to enlarge the switch hole, and tap a switch box hole and finish up some paint work.

Nice work, Panda!  Looks great!  Looking forward to seeing more about how it all goes + a video someday if ya can...

One thing... I'm trying to talk to Alex more about this, but... to get even better resonance/volume from the speaker, you want space in front of and behind the speaker, and further... you want the sound to be able to flow ALL throughout the inside of the hilt wherever possible.  Additionally, "side holes" all about the hilt nearest to the pommel (or where you put your speaker) can REALLY increase sound/volume dramatically.  :)

Great work though--again--chassis looks fun (nice Panda, hahaha) and effective.  :)

Thanks Novastar, glad you like it.  Ah yes, the whole sound "resonance" thing.  I will try that once I get the hilt completed.  Thanks for the tips!

The video should be uploaded now, check it out.

Great Job!  I just ordered all my supplies needed, so hopefully I'll be posting me result by the end of next week....   ;D

I've Honestly Got To Say That I LOVE The Little Panda Trooper You've Got At The Bottom There ;)  ;D!!!!!!!!!!!!

I /love/ this harness, so nice and clean and it looks like it will keep the board from bouncing around nicely (though the board looks like it'll take a licking). As for resonance space (like Nova mentioned), since you used threaded rod, it should be a piece of cake to space it out more if need be.

Nice MWS setup!  How long does your saber last on a single li-ion battery?

Edit:  oops - didn't realize how old this thread was.  Will check next time. :)