We're on vacation, so I'm trying real hard to not get on the forums so I can enjoy the time off with my family. However, something was brought to our attention by a few friends that really irked me. It seems some people at another forum took it upon themselves to take apart one of our Havocs and make several assumptions, pontificate on some really bad information and generally slander our product and compare us to another company I will not mention. Since that forum deliberately keeps out several reputable smiths so they can continue to spread bad info, I have to post this here and dirty this forum in an effort to correct the problem.
First, I don't remember in the last 5 years where I've ever NOT helped a customer out with one of our products if they actually came to us to give us an opportunity to do so. Since these are all handmade products, we can acknowledge that nothing is ever perfect and there will be times where things happen. However, to slander a company in public and disguise it as an 'upgrade' thread, after you didn't give them an opportunity to fix something shows petty and ulterior motives. Let's get to the "issues" that were discussed.
The heatsink:
It's no secret that for the last few years....well....since the beginning really, we've used a copper pipe cap for an optics module in our entry level sabers. We admit, it's not the most glamorous looking solution, and we've changed a few things about it after getting customer feedback and our own testing. However, it WORKS. It is a VIABLE heatsink as it is made from COPPER and does a fine job of transferring heat to the hilt which is the only job a heatsink has to accomplish. To compare what we use to a chrome plated zinc alloy nut with no heat transfer ability shows great ignorance. The copper cap has more than adequate mass and conductivity to pull heat away from the LED and get it to open air to dissipate. We have a design that is 'machined' to fit, and it is quite a bit more expensive to get mass produced but when we find the right cost balance we'll make it happen. This however, is mainly aesthetic and not necessarily for any kind of functional improvement. For reference, in thermal conductivity, copper trumps aluminum by a long shot and aluminum only has 60% of the thermal conductivity of copper. So to replace the existing copper heatsink with an aluminum one was really just for aesthetics and offers no improvement in heat transfer and to postulate it as anything else is plain stupid. In fact it creates a reduction in thermal conductivity so is an inferior solution for functionality.
The ...ah....'color' of the heatshrink. You don't like yellow....um....ok.
On certain colors, we don't resist the main LED. Yep, you caught us. We had the Shard made to operate on a single 3.7v cell so we wouldn't have to worry about resisting main LEDs except in the cases of reds/ambers. You see, current draw is a CONSEQUENCE, and when the vf of the LED is close the source voltage of the battery, it only draws what current it needs, therefore, no resistor is needed. Occasionally, and VERY occasionally a Tri-Rebel will draw more than the 2A that the onboard transistor will allow. In this case, the genius that is Erv' put in a digital control so you can limit the LED. It is the onboard "Drive" parameter. does it work for huge voltage drops like with a red? Nope. This is why we use an external resistor on the red LEDs.
Splitting Wires: Any sabersmith worth his solder, learns early on about wiring economy in order to avoid the spaghetti messes seen on poorly wired sabers. When wiring compact sabers, It is often necessary to split, or share wires with common polarity in order to reduce the overall number of wires in the hilt. This does not negatively affect the saber in any way. We also use a very expensive, high quality wire. It is thin, yes, but is rated REALLY well and it's equal cannot be found here domestically so it is imported. If you choose to use a separate lead for everything in order to not confuse yourself, this is fine, but don't use it as a talking point to try and slam another company.
Bringing up our older 'prototype' stunts to compare them to our work today is pretty silly. Our older stunts were sold as "prototypes" as we worked through what materials and techniques we were going to use. Our older AAA spring pack worked for a time, and after feed back that showed the spring pack interfered with the Pololu's ability to function properly as impacts would often cause the Pololu to reset in our stunts. This is why we now use the single 18650 solution in a nice and tight holder for both stunts and sound versions. If there is a problem with a saber shutting down on impact now, it is most likely due to another issue, like a bad battery PCB, or a loose SD card. But since no one came to us with any questions or issues, I guess we'll never know. Also, to criticize someone's work for not functioning after it has changed hands 2, 3+ times is petty.
I've always felt that we go over and above for our customers and the community in general. We often go over and above even our stated warranty, so if someone who obtained one of our sabers encountered a problem, we would have loved to have been given the opportunity to demonstrate our willingness to accommodate them. Normally, I wouldn't even respond to something so petty while on vacation, but when a post was done not in the effort to educate or to even show off a redux of someones work, but rather as an attempt to slander our reputation and business, it required my attention. So if anyone has any questions as to why we do things on any of our sabers, please feel free to ask. Also, if any customers have feedback on something, we're always willing to listen and if it makes sense, change things based on it. That's what REAL sabersmiths do. It's unfortunate that the offending post was made, and I guess it achieved it's purpose of being hurtful. I just felt the need to come in and correct the misinformation that is spread as it is the habit of a certain group to speak loudly and as often as possible to make people believe something is true, even if it's utter fabrication.