Lightsaber Nightlights..

Beechy McFly

Beechy McFly

Sr Member
Kinda silly question.. But does anyone know if there any Force FX Lightsabers that have an adapter connect to plug into a wall socket, so I can save on batteries and just use electricity?

My missus and I are expecting our first baby in August, and have found out that it'll be a boy, so of course I want to geek him up, by using a lightsaber as a nightlight.. Any ideas?
 
I don't think you'll find any FX lightsaber with that kind of option - they were just not meant to be used this way.

Since you're looking for a lightsource (assuming you don't want the sound) - I suggest you hit The Custom Saber Shop and buy yourself parts to make a custom one. Depending on your skills - have a look at the forums where you'll be able to find instruction on how to include a "recharge plug" into your design. This recharge plug will make it possible for your saber to be plugged in for power - with the right power adaptor.

Sorry for not being very specific - but my electronic skills are not that high... I couldn't explain how to set that up, I just know you'll be able to find it there (TCSS forums) :)

Good Luck
 
I had wondered about this years ago. Not for a nightlight but like as a display. I don't see why it couldn't be done though, given the electronic skills. It would take an custom adapter shaped like the battery pack that the saber would slide down on and make the appropriate connection to a dc converter. This would also bypass the sound as the original endcap wouldn't be there. The downside would be the extra ordinary power on time on the LEDs & circuit board which would more than likely greatly reduce their life span. I was thinking of it used as a floor lamp or low end-table lamp. However I don't quite have the skill to develop it. :lol
 
I don't own a an FX saber so please take the following statement with a pinch of salt (or pepper, or curry powder, or aw, heck just read it and don't store it in your brain :lol)

I read from Amazon.com that it takes 3x "AA" batteries which is 4.5volts. So, there is no problem in getting a wall adaptor for that voltage. The only problem is, are you willing to drill holes, maybe two 1mm into the saber hilt and also do some solder into the battery connections?

If yes, there is another problem. The problem is, in theory, the saber will power off by itself after a few minutes of inactivity. So, I am assuming you have to move the saber about to make the sensors 'busy'. So, you will need to customise a timer circuit to 'activate' a sensor', say, every few minutes. The circuit can be house in the vacant battery cavity. But if you did get to this stage, then the saber would be very 'noisy' as it would be making those humming sound as if you're moving it about. So, you would have to 'kill' the speakers too, by temporarily cutting one of the wires.

Aw, heck. Just get one of those custom sabers, modify the hilt to accept fluorescent tubes and that's it.

OK, now back to normal Forum posting.
 
Mr.Engineer said:
[snip]I read from Amazon.com that it takes 3x "AA" batteries which is 4.5volts. So, there is no problem in getting a wall adaptor for that voltage. The only problem is, are you willing to drill holes, maybe two 1mm into the saber hilt and also do some solder into the battery connections?

If yes, there is another problem. The problem is, in theory, the saber will power off by itself after a few minutes of inactivity. So, I am assuming you have to move the saber about to make the sensors 'busy'. So, you will need to customise a timer circuit to 'activate' a sensor', say, every few minutes. The circuit can be house in the vacant battery cavity. But if you did get to this stage, then the saber would be very 'noisy' as it would be making those humming sound as if you're moving it about. So, you would have to 'kill' the speakers too, by temporarily cutting one of the wires.[snip]
OK, now back to normal Forum posting.
Click to expand...
That is basically what I did six years ago, and I still don't have the prop museum/home theater lobby finished to display them in. :lol (although I am getting close, the room is finally built and painted).

I created all the circuitry to be able to wirelessly control all of the saber functions from a hand held remote as well as preprogrammed computer sequences. It was a pretty big undertaking because as mentioned, the saber powers off after two minutes if no movement occurs.

It would be easy to just bypass the built in circuitry and apply power directly to the blade circuit, but then you loose the sequential LED power up and power down functionality. So for me, in the end, I decided to go all the way so that I could directly control all of the saber functions (power up/down, audio on/off, move and hit).

Here is a picture that I took of the sabers during the early proof of concept stage.
attachment.php
 
Last edited:
Oooooh...... me like-y! :love

Must... stop... hands... from... reaching... wallet... :lol

Seriously, Montagar, using a remote is a very good idea! Why didn't I think of that d'oh! So, once you switch it on, use a 555 timer to 'activate' the moving sensor every 100 seconds. But it gets irritating after a while, especially when you need peace and quiet. Just getting another channel for 'mute' is open for debate.
 
Mr.Engineer said:
[snip]But it gets irritating after a while, especially when you need peace and quiet. Just getting another channel for 'mute' is open for debate.
Click to expand...
Already taken care of... here is the list of the controls for each saber.

1) on/off (with the proper LED stepped sequence)
2) audio on/off
3) move #1 (there are 2 different movement sensors)
4) move #2
5) hit

Sorry for the hijack Beechy, I would have my showoff thread already up if it wasn't for the fact that the painter mistakenly did a patch job on the mounting hole for one of the sabers and I am having a devil of a time try to find the exact location of the original hole. :wacko
 
All good mate.. Good to know what people have tried to do.. I'm not good at electronics or building, just pay people to do it.. LOL
 
It would have been nice to be able to have them stay illuminated for an indefinite amount of time. Several years ago I posted a picture showing which contact on the battery pack you could tape off to mute the saber but still, without being able to override the motion sensor it would still shut off.

I really do like Montagar's solution but as my electronics fu is much too weak... ;)
 
If you figure out the voltage required then find a transformer that convers 110AC to X DC you should be able to wireup an "adapter" to let you use just about any of the options out there.

Fair warning - I am not an electrician - nor do I play one on TV... but in principle its not hard...

Good luck.

Jedi Dade
 
Whoa! There you go, people! All your questions answered! And you can turn from a Sith Lord to a Jedi Knight via remote :lol

Its says requires 2xAA (for the remote, I guess) and 3xAAA (for the Lightsaber) batteries. Like Jedi Dade says, get a 110volt AC to 4.5 volt DC convertor or wall adaptor.

Or someone buys one, take it apart, take photos and I'll see what I can do to help.

The electronic technology looks like what I bought weeks ago:
http://chowfookcheong.blogspot.com/2010/02/trip-to-pasar-road.html
 
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