FX-Sabers.com
FX-Sabers Discussion - Including a Gallery of custom sabers. => New Ideas and Technologies => Topic started by: Wilson McDermot on March 28, 2018, 11:30:02 PM
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While light whips aren't strictly canon, it has to be accepted that they are an interesting variation of the classic light saber. I recently had an idea of how to make one and I'm looking forward to reading what the Forum thinks of it. The following YouTube video shows what it looks like and how it's made:
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That's really cool!!
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Oh my gosh you're amazing! That is so cool. Very creative
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Very cool! What is the power requirement for the whip?
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To jbkuma:
The power supply consists of 18, nine-volt batteries in series for an open load voltage of 162 VDC. In operation, the internal resistance of the batteries drops that to 135 volts to the LEDs. Total current is only 0.18 amps, which allows the use of very fine wires in the blade.
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One disappointment is that the action of the whip isn't right. It tends to tangle much more often than real whips. This was also true with all the other light whips I've seen on-line.
I found that this is because real whips aren't uniform along their lengths. They taper from very thick, barely flexible, near the handle to extremely thin and limp near the tip. I'm researching ways to replicate this taper in a transparent tube.
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After rewatching the video, I wish I had used red filament LEDs. Somehow a light whip seems like something a sith would use rather than a jedi.
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To jbkuma:
The power supply consists of 18, nine-volt batteries in series for an open load voltage of 162 VDC. In operation, the internal resistance of the batteries drops that to 135 volts to the LEDs. Total current is only 0.18 amps, which allows the use of very fine wires in the blade.
162 VDC?! Holy smokes! (Maybe literally) Where were you hiding 18 batteries in your hilt? It's hard to see in the dark.
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Because whips aren't twirled like light sabers, the hilts don't have to be completely free to rotate 360-degrees. This let me mount the batteries on a waist belt with a wire carrying the power to the hilt.
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The following very short video explains how I modified the blade to move more like a real whip:
If there are any real whip users or builders in the Forum I would appreciate any suggestions on how to further improve its whipping action.
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Sharp-eyed viewers of the first video may have noticed segments blinking off. This was caused by a switch problem. It's fixed now, as can bee seen in the second video where all the segments remain on even during repeated swings.
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The following video shows how bright this light whip is:
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That's rather nice.
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So bright! So awesome!
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That looks like it would be blinding at night. Really cool
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Thank you! Yes, It looks pretty good. The flexible filament LEDs put out a very pure, bright green. They could probably be overdriven to 5 watts each for a total of 40 watts, which would be blinding. It needs to be longer, though. Something around nine feet would create a more dynamic 'whip' effect.