<--- feels VINDICATED, heheheh
Not to pump my fist TOO hard in the air, but... yup... I've been TRYING to help people make EDUCATED decisions about their battery choices for sabers since like 2006/2007. I think my thread on TCSS helps paint some of the picture, too:
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showpost.php?p=50006&postcount=1Keep in mind... at the time of "post #1"--I had really just started to scratch the surface on my experiences w/ Li-Ion cells.
But anyway... some key points:
* I don't see why the MAJORITY of people would give anything less than 6v to CF
* If you're doing most ANY kind of "FoC" (flash on clash) setup with your LEDs... chances are--yer gonna need a bigger boat, lol... :) So, you're probably ALREADY aiming for 7.2v or >
* When you get right down to it... even if you're going to power an LED which wants ~4v... you STILL should figure in ~1v for CF... ~1v for your speaker... and maybe you're using CF's accent LEDs (most like this and don't just "skip it") and possibly even a vibration motor--so let's say ~1v there?
And even if that is "being conservative"... we have 4v + 1v + 1v + 1v = .... .... TAKE... ONE... GALDARN... GUESS.
Not to mention, who in here expects their pack to "maintain" voltage PERFECTLY throughout the entire discharge cycle? Raise your dismembered hands please. ... ... ... ... I thought so.
Ah, but if you're using Li-Ion... hey... "flatter" discharge curve (as I mentioned above via TCSS thread). :D Still though. Even a Li-Ion pack starting at "8.4v" WHILE UNDER LOAD will be more like "8v true"... and dip to 7.5v pretty quickly. From there, you're getting the average--which is why batteries are rated as such, and yes... you get ~7.2 or ~7.4v. Big surprise.
//Uhhhh-ohhhhhhh... BEGIN LONG RANTSooo... any way you slice it:
* You're kind of "the minority report" if you're using <= 5v with CF...
* You're kind of underpowering the SPK if you're using AAA in general... although maybe 9.6v AAA would be OK.
* How in the holy lord of Zeus' BUTTCRACK are you fitting all those NiMh cells in THERE??!?!? Have you completely lost your MIND?!??!
Ok, ok--on the last one I am sort of joking, because YES--you CAN indeed fit 14 (!!) AAA Ni-Mh cells into a saber... and wire it in // and = and result in 8.4v ("9.6v"??)... and yes... Edwin (Eandori) did this. And it does indeed work.
But really. WHY. Why, when you can do this with 2 x 18650 and save a TRUCKLOAD of space wasted in "battery casing"... and wiring... and more possibilities for solder point #1, #5 and #12 to break??!?!
Anyway. I'm rambling. I do that after tricking workouts.
Wait. I do that all the bloody time. Never mind--look... I'll just end with WHAT I BELIEVE (read: Nova's opinion) to be the SOLE advantage of Ni-Mh chemistry--for SABERS--vs. Li-Ion.
Ready?
~~ Draw ~~That's it. From Ni-Mh, you can draw a THRONG of amps. Like... say you want 10A. It's probably not a problem. Probably. Then again... most Li-Ion cells that *I* work with (generally 18650s)... can handle "4.2C". If you don't know what "C" is... you're going to have to see another thread on TCSS. I don't remember where I posted on that.
But all you need to know is... 18650s can handle JUST FINE drawing like 4A. Probably more. It depends a bit also on the PCB protection circuit that is used... but still.
//END LONG RANT