Lightsaber Edge Cards - straight ESB style leads

thd9791

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hey folks, a comment over on someone's show off thread spurred me to make a thread documenting this search as a community.

For Luke's ESB saber (and for a Shared Stunt post ANH) we look for 22 or 44 pin edge connectors. That's not a specific component so they can come from numerous sources. The thickness of the leads, finish of the gold etc really dont affect the product a whole lot, so there's no guarantee that a brand matches the style we look for.
props6.jpg

It's like a mess of specificity to me.

22 pins
22 pins with the correct space between leads
22 of the right thickness (gold AND silver leads)
Correct "end" to the gold part, round vs flat AND no overlapping plating. (The correct ones I think are flat but have dulled corners making them appear round in some instances)
Style of gold plating
Type of PCB fiberglass
No components close to the leads
Straight leads not hand soldered or curved
13 pins with no break
The list goes on

Anyways can folks snap a picture of their cards? Anyone, any if this type of card you've sliced and snapped off and put into a graflex, and where it came from? Thanks!
LukeESB-04_zps7509d7ae.jpg


I'm curious how close we've gotten, because folks are right, we haven't nailed it yet. I've gotten close, but not with specific brands, but with specific component type boards.

Otis - small board with only resistors etc.
Screen Shot 2015-03-13 at 11.35.40 PM.png
20190903_103222.jpg


Extension card from Israel
20190903_103232.jpg

Heald - board with a chip and a few components
20190903_103237.jpg


Unidentified pcb - very inaccurate
20190903_103207.jpg


Vector prototype board vs a cut Heald board
20190903_103124.jpg
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Hey, here are a couple of my cards: an ESB Otis elevators cards and a Heald card not trimmed yet.


That particular Otis card looks darn close, thanks to the symmetrically-spaced silver traces. The big question is whether the gold traces should be rounded or squared off. I tend to lean toward squared, but the reference materials make it hard to tell which.
 
I'd like to bump this thread, given the most recent conversations over this. The card in the film seems to have more gold than green visible, with very skinny silver leads. If there is 4k disc reference we need to look it over!

I have been digging this hole for a long time and you'd be surprised how many gold, silver and green boards there are that are very close. Point is, you're going to see the normally big gold leads take up a tad bit more space than the green between them, with industrially thin silver leads. The SW team cut the card crooked and there is at least 2/3 of the clamp space showing the gold.

The same vertical scratch can be seen on all the belt hangers that are in focus.

Here is a bladed stunt saber
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Screen Shot 2020-04-01 at 2.35.46 PM.png

Belt Hanger
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Ranch saber - I actually don't see the scratch. Has the same lead patterns, just as thick. Could be from the bladed stunt.
LFA_LukeESBrs.jpg
LukeESB-04_zps7509d7ae.jpg
Screen shot 2014-08-05 at 8.07.44 PM.png


The closest board I've found, still not a match
(Otis - 1 of 3 I acquired from overseas from scrap dealers a long time ago)
Screen Shot 2015-03-13 at 11.35.40 PM.png


(Heald Boards look wonderful but idealized)
 
I never even noticed that before, Seth. Where can I get one!

I wish I knew!

Of the various cards I have found, sometimes there is a mix of thin and fat traces. I don't know where this card is from, but if Otis cards ONLY have thin traces, then it could be from anything!
 
it appears on some to the right, on the left only microscopically.

Remember manufacturing in the 70s was not to extremely tight tolerances, and what mattered was the functionality, not the look of the boards. Some of these details we look for could have been one offs, those straight skinny leads on the Hero Graflex were not even standard to all of a companies boards (see post #11)
 
That's a bit of blurry lens stuff going on, it has the same scratches and lead pattern as the Bespin one
 
First is the 1977 Otis board we all know and love:

IMG_4999.JPG


Second is from a 1960s MOD computer card. Thinner traces, with solder:

IMG_5000.jpeg
 

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