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Author Topic: Roman Props MK1 Build  (Read 1286 times)

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Offline ACD

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Roman Props MK1 Build
« on: January 02, 2021, 06:46:42 PM »
Hi All,

I've been lurking this form for quite some time and this is my first post! After about a year of research I've purchased my first saber hilt, the Roman Props MK1.  I'm a huge Obi Wan fan and his EPIV sabre has always been my favorite model so I wanted something as screen accurate as possible.  I am planning on doing my own electronics install for the hilt (CFX board with neopixel blade.


I do have some previous soldering and electronics experience but I recognize that I am jumping in at the deep end here, and that I have a lot to learn.  I'm going to take this one slow, and do my research to make sure I get it right the first time.  I'm starting off with my parts list, and based on what I've read for similar builds (both on this forum and elsewhere online) I've put together the following list:

Chassis - GOTH-3Designs Roman Props MK1-Padawan Var 1 CFX Chassis
Soundbard - CFX 10 Soundboard
Heat Sink - Bespin Custom Props Heat Sink for MK1 Neopiel Sabre
Neopixel Adapter for MK1 Hilt - MK1 (KR Blade) Neopixel Adapter from Wolf69 DIY Solutions
Neopixel Connector -  Pre-Soldered Pixel PCB Hilt side connector (7 Pin) from TCSS
Battery:https - Canadian Panasonic Li-Ion 18650 3.7V 3400mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Battery from TCSS
Tactile Switches -  PCB-Mount, 2-Pin, SPST, 50mA from Pololu
High Amp Kill Switch - High Amp Kill Switch from TCSS
Recharge Port - High Amp 1.3mm Recharge Port from TCSS
Speaker - 2W 28mm Bass Speaker
Blade - 1' mid-grade neopixel blade from the Pachstore (36 inch)

I would appreciate any feedback you guys might have on the initial parts list I've put together (any recommendations, comments,glaring omissions/incompatibilities, or other feedback).  I do not plan on including a crystal chamber or any additional in-hilt auxiliary lighting.

Thanks!




















Offline ACD

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2021, 02:40:05 PM »
Hi All,

After some additional research and some help from the sabre folks on reddit I've finalized my parts list and purchased most of the items.  I've noted below in red what I've got and any changes I made.

Chassis - GOTH-3Designs Roman Props MK1-Padawan Var 1 CFX Chassis Purchased
Soundbard - CFX 10 Soundboard Purchased
Heat Sink - Bespin Custom Props Heat Sink for MK1 Neopiel Sabre Purchased - By the way Bombarta was amazing to deal with and this is a great piece
Neopixel Adapter for MK1 Hilt - MK1 (KR Blade) Neopixel Adapter from Wolf69 DIY Solutions Purchased
Neopixel Connector -  Pre-Soldered Pixel PCB Hilt side connector (7 Pin) from TCSS Purchased
Battery:https - Canadian Panasonic Li-Ion 18650 3.7V 3400mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Battery from TCSS After additional research I decided to get the 15AMP 18650 battery
Tactile Switches -  PCB-Mount, 2-Pin, SPST, 50mA from Pololu Purchased - I got these from digikey instead of pololu because shipping was cheaper but they are essentially the same
High Amp Kill Switch - High Amp Kill Switch from TCSS Purchased
Recharge Port - High Amp 1.3mm Recharge Port from TCSS Purchased
Speaker - 2W 28mm Bass Speaker Purchased
Blade - 1' mid-grade neopixel blade from the Pachstore (36 inch) Purchased - I ended up getting my neopixel blade from LGT instead of the pachstore due to far cheaper shipping EDIT: for anyone reading this for research you will need to build your own thin walled saber blade per discussion below, the LGT blade will not work

In addition to the above I've purchased 24 AWG wire, 28 AWG wire and 30 AWG wire, female machine pin headers, and a holder for the 18650 battery.  I have started building (carefully!) and will update shortly with the first pictures of my progress.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2021, 06:21:39 AM by ACD »

Offline scott

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2021, 06:19:40 PM »
Haven’t used some of these parts, but if you bought a prebuilt blade from lgs, not sure if it will work on your emitter solution. Unless I am missing something, you will need a pixel blade with the adapter recessed to the height of the top of the heat sink/pixel adapter combo. You want the base of the blade to hit the bottom of the emitter cup and go around the heat sink.

My bad if I am not understanding the design.

Offline ACD

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2021, 07:56:37 PM »
Thanks for your comment.  I had actually worried that I'd made a mistake here when the blade arrived.  The blade looks like it fits but now I am concerned about stability.  Is there some kind of adapter I can get to make this work or should I buy a different blade?

Offline scott

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2021, 05:54:24 PM »
Post some pictures so we can give you educated guidance. That said, I am guessing that you have a pixel adapter in a raised heat sink and a blade with the blade side adapter at the bottom of the blade. You likely have less than a half inch of blade depth. That will work if you hold the saber vertically, but not for swinging around. In this style emitter, you need a very low profile pixel adapter holder (haven’t done your exact hilt but have done a ton of thin necks) that fits at the base of the cup, or even better, in the recessed area at the bottom of your emitter has one. The other alternative is to make your blade so the adapter is recessed in the blade to the depth of the adapter in your hilt. The blade will go around the heat sink/adapter and make contact with the bottom of the emitter while your pogo pins hit the adapter inside the blade. I have a few of these and can make a short video if my attempt at explaining isn’t clear.

Offline bombarta

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2021, 10:12:13 PM »
As Scott mentioned bud, blade side pogo disc needs to be recessed inside the blade to the height of the heatsink.
I think wolf69 also sells the part for the blade side.
You'll probably need to make the blade yourself unless there's someone who can supply it ready made.
The unfortunate part of Romans design is that the heatsink holds the emitter on, unlike others where emitter screws directly to the kneck.
I don't know, i gotta bad feeling about this!
       

Offline ACD

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2021, 08:26:21 AM »
Thank you both so much.  I am blown away by how helpful everyone on this forum has been.  Your explanations are very clear.  I'm going to go back to the drawing board on this and it looks like I'm going to have to make my own blade.  I was thinking about pulling the pcb from the LGT blade and recessing it but the LGT blade has too thick an inner diameter to work with this hilt as well!  Will report back with how I make out with the new blade.

Offline bombarta

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2021, 12:40:30 AM »
Thank you both so much.  I am blown away by how helpful everyone on this forum has been.  Your explanations are very clear.  I'm going to go back to the drawing board on this and it looks like I'm going to have to make my own blade.  I was thinking about pulling the pcb from the LGT blade and recessing it but the LGT blade has too thick an inner diameter to work with this hilt as well!  Will report back with how I make out with the new blade.
Yeah you will need a thin wall blade for these type of hilts.
I don't know, i gotta bad feeling about this!
       

Offline scott

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2021, 07:37:33 PM »
I suggest either 3D printing an adapter yourself, or grab a thin walled tcss 1” blade and a 7/8” pcb adapter.  If you can print, it’s better as you can create more surface area on the holder to secure the recessed pcb (a normal one can rotate in the blade) Some slight sanding to get it to fit. I have made a few of these recessed blades and the trick is to get the adapter to stay firm in the blade. You want it at a height to make good pin contact but not have too much pressure to loosen the hold. This is done by making sure that the height is such that the bottom of the blade hits the bottom of the emitter when the pins make good contact. In other words, you don’t want the glue supporting the full weight of the blade.

Offline ACD

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Re: Roman Props MK1 Build
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2021, 04:02:48 PM »
Thanks for the comments.

I actually finished this build last weekend.  I worked on it for pretty much two days straight but I got it done!.

With respect to the blade I was able to use the TCSS 1' thin walled blade.  I salvaged the LED strips and the blade side PCB from the LGT sabre blade and used them in the TCSS blade I bought.  The blade side portion of the shtok custom works adapter I had worked fine with the LGT pcb.  I am using a 1/8' thumb screw that I tapped into the blade to hold the blade side PCB in place so I can make slight adjustments if necessary.

This was a super challenging project and I think there was some beginners luck involved here as I was pleasantly surprised when my first test boot worked.  Thank you all for your comments and support, it was super helpful.  If anyone is doing this for the first time and has questions about this specific build I would be happy to answer.

I also have incredible respect now for anyone who does a MK1 with a crystal chamber.  I needed almost all of that space for cable management and I almost cant fathom how you would fit all the wires in with that space gone!

 

retrousse