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Author Topic: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX  (Read 13599 times)

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darthphineas

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Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« on: June 03, 2005, 01:26:04 PM »
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« Last Edit: July 10, 2005, 08:08:01 PM by Darth Phineas »

Offline Darth Solder

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2005, 01:55:46 PM »
Did you snap any pictures of the process?  I have a Vader with quite a few dead LEDs, so I am happy to hack and slash at this sucker.  I have begun a dissection of my sabers (a Vader and a Luke, both very banded due to massive fighting) but I have only gotten as far as documenting the battery/speaker module (pinouts and construction details).

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2005, 09:17:42 PM »
Man, Someone REALLY needs to make a DETAILED turotial on this.  ;)

I am thinking about buying one of those "broken" FX sabers off ebay, just so I can tear it apart without worry of breaking it. That way, I can write the tutorial myself. (I am rather good at that kind of stuff too.)

Who knows, maybe I can fix it??   ???

Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline weylander

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2005, 02:02:14 AM »
Hi,

Great job, darthphineas. But actually, if you want a detailed tutorial of the exact same procedure with step-by-step pictures, it's already been done. You can find it here.

I guess Star Wars fans all think alike, huh? I bought an extra ESB Vader that I was thinking about modifying with a removeable blade, but I have none of the skills or experience to even try it. I was going to return it and save the money, but after reading the two tutorials I'm rethinking it a bit.  :-\ Maybe I'll let my wallet decide.

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2005, 05:53:58 AM »
Oooooh, VERY nice!

Hey, any of you guys members on that fourm? Can you get me that guys email? I would like to email him and ask permission to use his tutorial on my website, but I can't get that unless I register with the site.

Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2005, 08:29:20 AM »
 ;D

Already done! http://www.fx-sabers.com/vader_ESB_tutorial.html

I had to get permission from the original poster, but he was gracious enough to let me use it. He also said that he is going to do the Anakin one too.  :)

Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline weylander

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2005, 03:15:06 PM »
Well kudos to you then ;D.

Good job Bigdog, I'm sure a lot more people will appreciate that article now.

Offline Darth Solder

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2005, 08:56:27 AM »
I checked out that guide, and while it was very helpful in alleviating my disassembly axiety it wasn't very representative of my experience with my Vader saber.

I found significant differences in the detail of that guide and my saber, the biggest being it was tremendously easier to get apart!  I took a bunch of photos of my disassembly process, which in my case also includes getting all the way down to the LEDs in the blade.

<Side note: I am motivated by need.  I have contacted MR and they will not repair my sabers; they ONLY repair warranty defects.  I was happy to pay a service fee since I damaged them in vigorous sparring (and I admitted this to them) but they simply do not offer the service.  Sucks @$$.>

The LEDs are standard 5mm leaded parts with a clever diffuser around each one to help scatter the light.  I tested some of my "dead" LEDs and they all worked, so it would appear at first guess that the solder joints have broken.  I am pretty confident at this point that I will be able to restore this saber to 100%.

An eventual addition to this saber will be the incorporation of an integrated FM transmitter, so the hilt audio effects can be sent to a nearby home stereo.  I have already hooked the hilt audio up to headphones and the quality is surprisingly high, so I estimate that this mod will prove VERY impressive in a surround-sound living room.  :)  I was extremely pleased to see there is ample room in the hilt electronics enclosure, but the solid metal hilt does concern me so I expect to come up with some sort of external antenna to insure the signal gets out.

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2005, 09:17:18 AM »
Darth Sodomus - If you would like to write up a disassembly tutorial for your saber, I would gladly host it here on FX-Sabers.com. I am sure other people would be interested in seeing any differences in disassembly as well.


Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2005, 11:13:58 AM »
Yes, it is!   ;D

But imagine the Vader idle hum in SURROUND SOUND! :o

Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline trexy

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2005, 05:36:25 AM »
 :o ;)



 

Offline Darth Solder

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2005, 10:16:46 AM »
Hardcore, perhaps, but two facts might help.

1.  I am the senior engineer with a large computer peripheral and iPod accessory manufacturer, so I know my way around a circuit board.  This also provides me with a LOT of equipment for tinkering.

2.  I am the product manager for all our FM transmitters.  It isn't like I am unfamiliar with the subject of adding FM transmitters to stuff.  ;)

I have made a really excessive mechanical diagram of the blade PCB with pinouts (which I will share soon) and I have started the process of diagnosing the dead segments.  As I may have mentioned, ALL of the "dead" LEDs have continuity, and almost all of them will light up if the PCB is flexed slightly.  I used my mechanical drawing to plot the dead elements, so the next step is to try to reflow the solder on the LED leads and current-limiting resistor.

BTW, I did just say "current-limiting resistor".  This IMPLIES it may be possible to increase the brightness of each LED, but I would point out I SUSPECT it will be too subtle to be worth swapping out *64* surface-mount resistors.  I seriously doubt I will try modding this aspect of the blade, but I welcome someone to try it.  If you do, PLEASE find a way to quantify light levels using a meter, don't use an auto-exposure digital camera or even worse your subjective opinion.  I'd love to know how much of a change actually occured.

Random thought: since the 64 LEDs are controlled in 6 banks, and each bank can be switched independantly, it should be technically possible to make the blade "deploy" from tip-to-hilt or even expand from the center in both directions.  Obviously this cannot be done with the stock controller hardware, but it is an intellectual curiosity.

For those who care: the "whoosh" is done using a simple tilt switch.  I have been unable to find any information about it online.  It seems like it wouldn't be possible for the sounds I have heard to be produced by a simple on-off switch, so maybe it provides some sort of ranged feedback like velocity or percentage of tilt.  For those who have ever wondered, this is likely the cause of the rattling sound you hear in the hilt.

So, now that I have exact mechanicals on the blade PCB dimensions, I can custom manufacture my own PCB that will allow me to use tri-color LEDs, and then I will make a new control board that not only allows me to change the blade color to any possible mixture of RGB (can you say "Mace Windu to Count Dooku in one flip"?) but also a random mode that will cycle the entire blade through the RGB colors as well as allowing each individual LED to cycle independantly, so the entire blade just friggin SWIRLS with color!  While I am replacing the control board I will go ahead and add surround-sound audio FX ripped from the movie DVDs and transmit it over a 2.4GHz link to a S/PDIF-equipped home theater system (THX preferred, doncha know).

Psych!  Just kidding.  Even I don't have that much free time.  ;)

Offline Bigdog01

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2005, 10:49:27 AM »
Hmmm....

I don't know if I should rejoice or cry.   :-\

My first thought was: Cool! With the tri-colored LED's, you could, in theory, program the controler to "flash" yellow during the "clash" sequence. Maybe program it so just the middle LED's "flashed." That would be VERY nice!

Of course, you would have to build your own custom hilt, with a dial switch which allows you to dial in the color you want. Heck, you could even do blande "length" too.

Ohhhhh....the possibilities!    ;D

Master Replicas Collection
2004 Luke ESB Force FX (2x)
2005 Vader ESB Force FX (3x)
2005 Anakin ROTS Force FX (x3)
2005 Luke ROTJ Force FX  (2x)
2005 Mace ROTS Force FX
2006 Darth Maul FX (x2)
(= ;=__((===============

Offline JediLuke7

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #13 on: July 02, 2005, 04:38:19 PM »
The tutorial for ESB disassembly doesn't cover RE-assembly....so we're left with a broken toy.  :(
He said Luke stay away from the darker side, and if ya start to go astray let the force be your guide, Yo Yo Yooo Yo Yooooda...

Offline JediLuke7

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Re: Disassembly/Reassembly of Vader Force FX
« Reply #14 on: July 02, 2005, 06:00:34 PM »
I get nervous about gluing things back on...
He said Luke stay away from the darker side, and if ya start to go astray let the force be your guide, Yo Yo Yooo Yo Yooooda...

 

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