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Author Topic: Brightest Ligthsaber?  (Read 3454 times)

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Offline Iron-E

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Brightest Ligthsaber?
« on: December 06, 2016, 01:50:11 PM »
Hey all, so I have been searching and learning the path of lightsaber construction and I quite enjoy it. But, I have seen there's multiple ways to go when it comes to Lights of the Blade. So I was curious which version is the brightest for the standard 1" diameter Blade that can be used for dueling? Also, I would appreciate it if you could link the source/guide on how to DIY said nrightest blade. Thanks! 

Offline Jyn-Toar

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2016, 09:04:10 PM »
The common consensus currently is that a tri-cree LED is the brightest for almost any color.  If you're just after brightness the Rebel Lime LEDs are crazy bright; after that you have your tri-cree LEDs.  You can source everything you need from TCSS (thecustomsabershop.com) and their forums are a great wealth of information.  Alternatively do a YouTube or Google search on wiring a saber.  The information is out there if you're willing to look.  :wink:
Run with perseverance the race marked out...

Offline Iron-E

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2016, 06:09:18 AM »
The common consensus currently is that a tri-cree LED is the brightest for almost any color.  If you're just after brightness the Rebel Lime LEDs are crazy bright; after that you have your tri-cree LEDs.  You can source everything you need from TCSS (thecustomsabershop.com) and their forums are a great wealth of information.  Alternatively do a YouTube or Google search on wiring a saber.  The information is out there if you're willing to look.  :wink:
Thanks for the reply! On terms of brightness and dueling, what are your thoughts on Makoto's V3GX?

Offline jbkuma

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2016, 06:22:11 AM »
String blades would generally be brighter, and also generally unsuited to dueling.  Some may duel with their string blades with great success, but there is a ladder of solder joints through the blade that can be broken.  There have been some novel solutions to mitigate that and they may truly be solutions depending on how rigorously you plan on dueling.

Offline Onli-Won Kanomi

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2016, 06:04:46 PM »
If one is using conventional in-hilt hi-power LEDs to illuminate a 1" hollow blade rather than string blades then to maximize brightness one would be well advised to use a blue coloured LED, preferably triples or quads, with a "Photon" blade which chemically converts blue light wavelengths into a brightness-'amplified' green colour; Photon blades are extremely bright when properly driven with blue LEDs.
To DREAM the IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. To FIGHT the unbeatable foe. To BEAR with unbearable sorrow. To RUN where the brave dare not go. To RIGHT the unrightable wrong. To LOVE, PURE AND CHASTE, FROM AFAR [-sigh-]. To TRY, when your arms are too weary; to REACH the unreachable Star!... This is my Quest; To follow that Star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far...

Offline JakeSoft

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2016, 05:41:26 PM »
If one is using conventional in-hilt hi-power LEDs to illuminate a 1" hollow blade rather than string blades then to maximize brightness one would be well advised to use a blue coloured LED, preferably triples or quads, with a "Photon" blade which chemically converts blue light wavelengths into a brightness-'amplified' green colour; Photon blades are extremely bright when properly driven with blue LEDs.

From what I gather, there is pretty much nothing brighter than this solution without getting into some more exotic (and expensive) options.

Offline Sandpeople are people too

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2016, 09:35:58 PM »
you could look up Sunrider's ss-90.  I don't know if he's updated it any, but it was supposed to be pretty ridiculous bright

Offline Gallandro

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2016, 11:07:33 PM »
which version is the brightest for the standard 1" diameter Blade that can be used for dueling?

I've been looking into this, and just judging by video, modern LED string blades constructed with the Makoto or Slothfurnace method will always be brighter than in-hilt LED blades by a significant margin.  They can't be as duelworthy as an in-hilt LED, however I think that the idea of their fragility is based on the Master Replicas blades, which used thin wall tubing in a fragile plastic frame. This clip of a Makoto duel is 7 years old, but we still have people saying that LED strings are for display only: Real duel with lightsaber 20090919 - YouTube  I'm still learning about all of this myself, and I'll be testing the limits of string LEDs as I build them, but you can't diffuse a light source down the length of a tube and have consistent brightness down the full length.  Only an LED string, where you are looking directly at the light source, can do this.

Offline Onli-Won Kanomi

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Re: Brightest Ligthsaber?
« Reply #8 on: December 25, 2016, 01:15:04 AM »
You shouldn't only judge by video - sabers in hand never look exactly as they do on video.

But I'll agree that with some of the superbright tiny LEDs available to string blade builders today yes string blades can be brighter than most normal in-hilt LED sabers. The tradeoff is still duelability though indeed string blades can be made much stronger using modern techniques than the mass production saber string blade techniques originally used by Master Replicas and still by Hasbro. A component laden [string] blade will always be more vulnerable to 'dark spots' than an empty blade of an in-hilt LED saber just as in-hilt LED sabers will always be 'brighter at the base' to some degree from certain angles. There are ways to minimize both conditions; stronger ladder construction techniques for string blades and blade films, sanding and good tip reflectors for in-hilt LED sabers but it's a "you pays youse money and you makes youse choice" tradeoff which "looks good" enough to you as is "duelability".

How much [how heavy] dueling means 'duelable' to you? If you do light sparring with a friend then string blades may work out just fine for years for you both. If you 'gorilla duel' then a string blade will fail sooner than in-hilt LED sabers would, maybe not immediately with the best string techniques, but eventually. And if you give your well-made string blade saber to a hyperkinetic cola-amped 10 year old 'sugar monster' who decides to 'Hulk Out' on the nearest concrete wall??? ;) Well then Bon Chance with that mon ami eh?

Fortunately we live in a great time in this hobby when you have a wide variety of options to make your best choice for your own needs including Erv Plecter's awesome string-blade version of Crystal Focus the CF LS. MTFBWY!
« Last Edit: December 25, 2016, 01:31:30 AM by Onli-Won Kanomi »
To DREAM the IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. To FIGHT the unbeatable foe. To BEAR with unbearable sorrow. To RUN where the brave dare not go. To RIGHT the unrightable wrong. To LOVE, PURE AND CHASTE, FROM AFAR [-sigh-]. To TRY, when your arms are too weary; to REACH the unreachable Star!... This is my Quest; To follow that Star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far...

 

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