JFO Riot Baton Electronics

[Aradun]

Inspired by @gmrhodes13, and his wicked electronic mods for his Riot Baton, I thought I'd undertake the challenge myself.  This build used @MrPoopie's awesome JFO 3D print files.  Thank you Justin!

Supply List

• 22 Gauge Electrical 2 Wire
• 18650 Rechargeable Battery  (Looks like a AA but it’s much larger)

• 18650 Charger
• 18650 Battery Clip / Housing
• Saberbay 28mm X-Bass 4 ohm/3W Speaker
• 6mm Brass Tactile Switch

• Lightsaber Soundboard Module – Sabercore Viridian and Crimson

• Pre-Wired 5mm Blue LED Diode Lights

• Electronics Soldering Kit (if you don't have one)

Note: Some people like to use different colored wires for the speakers, LED, switch, etc. that are getting wired to the soundboard.  I just used black and red for everything because it was what I had on  hand. 

I know absolutely nothing about light sabers or wiring electronics.  This was a first for me, but it was a relatively easy learning curve.  The most challenging thing was to find a decent soundboard that wouldn't break the bank.  Glen used the electronic from a toy saber he had on hand, but the only toy saber I had was an old one belonging to my son and it hand Luke's voice programmed into it.  The sound module from Sabercore was just $18.00 so I took and chance and was not disappointed.  The module is pre-programmed so you cannot modify it like more expensive boards.  It has has light side and dark side options for sound effects, and includes the following options: low/high volume, swing sensitivity, strike sensitivity, and LED options (pulse, steady, etc.).  What more do you need?

This particular module recommends the 18650 rechargeable battery.  Other soundboards may have their own power source requirements so be sure to note that when planning your own build. 

The LED light came with a resistor pre-wired so that was one less thing to worry about.  The tactile switch is used to power on the baton and cycle through the various options pre-programmed into sound module.  That's about it now onto the build.

[gmrhodes13]

Looking forward to seeing your progress  

[Aradun]

The baton was printed without any modification in PLA+. I used a Dremel to create a channel down the length of the ½” dowel used in the prod shaft to allow the wiring for the LED to sit in the dowel. The wider notch seen in the photo below was to allow for the connection of additional wire length to the existing wiring on the LED.

The other option I considered was using 3/8” plex which has the same diameter as the ½” dowel. The benefit of the plex is that it’s hallow which allows you to run the wiring through the shaft with ease. The only drawback is that the plex is somewhat flexible so I opted for the dowel because it was sturdier.

TIP: Make sure to run your addition wire through the small hole at the bottom of the shaft and then through the shaft itself before laying it in the dowel. If you don’t, you’ll just make it a bit more challenging to run your wire through that small shaft hole after the fact.

TIP: Make sure to use enough wiring to allow for your shaft to extend and retract.

I snagged a soundboard mount for a light saber from Thingiverse and modified it to fit the Sabercore sound module. I used e6000 along the edge of the sound module to secure it in the module mount. Once printed, it was roughly the same size as the battery housing so I used medium 3M Command strips to mount the back of the module housing to the back of the battery housing.



I added a piece of pvc pipe to the main tip piece and cut out a channel to make the prod shaft retractable.



The hard part was trying to figure out where to put the speaker and the tactile switch. I took the end cap and cut off the end using a hacksaw.



Once removed, used a 1” spade bit to create a shaft in the bottom of the end cap itself. The speaker was about 1 1/8” and I didn’t have a larger spade bit, so I used my Dremel with a sanding band on it to get the hole wide enough accompany the speaker.



For the cap that was removed. I drilled fine holes to allow the sound to radiate through. In hindsight, I would have preferred to have printed the entire end cap at 100% infill instead of 20% to make drilling, gluing and set up a bit easier. It’s not necessary, but I imagine that it would provide for a cleaner build process.



Then came the tactile switch. I was trying to think of where the heck to place this thing. I didn’t want to use a typical saber switch because they are large and I didn’t want to modify the look of the baton or do something that might render it non-approvable by my GML.

I thought I’d place it underneath the T-shaped detail greeblie on the end cap, as it was the perfect spot. Pressing on the greeblie would activate the sound module, but then realized that there was no way I be able to slip the end cap back over the PVC pipe due to the wiring.

Then I realized that the switch was the perfect size to slip through the “sound holes” I drilled in the cap piece. So, I created a channel to run the wiring for the switch past the speaker and up into the end cap. Once the channel was cut, I carefully hot glued the speaker into place about 3/4” from the bottom. Forgot to snag a pic of this one.

Then the wiring was soldered to the switch, I inserted it into the center hole of the cap and hot glued the switch in place. e6000 was used to reattach the cut piece back onto the end cap.



I’ll paint the switch black to hide it better, but this really is a perfect spot because I can activate it with my pinky finger while holding the staff. Kids will love it. Big kids too!

Then it was pretty much connecting the wiring for the speaker, tactile switch, LED, and battery to the board using the diagram provided by Sabercore. Easy-peasy.



I’ll see if I can get a video uploaded soon.

[Aradun]

Here's a link to the video:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/187t2wg19chznig/IMG_3628.mov?dl=0

I've got a few more little details to add, like the silver potion on the one black button and the copper band around the main top piece of the staff.

You can certainly put in a usb port to make it easier to recharge the battery rather than removing the end cap, module and battery itself.  I thought about it, but decided simple was simply better for me with this being my first time working with soundcards and running electronics.   

[Zv288bot]

That thing is amazing! I need one! LOL

[TreeHuggerMatt]

That’s amazing Dennis!!!

 

And with a fantastic thread as well.

 

Superb stuff and great solutions.  

[MrPoopie]

Very nice work. 

[Aradun]

Okay, so after my first troop, it became apparent that I needed to make some adjustments in the baton’s set up.

The rod was originally secured into place using the method developed by MrPoopie in his JFO WIP. That’s an excellent method if you’re not using electronics, but will lead to this if you have wires running through the body of the baton.



That’s the LED wire that runs through the prod shaft. The two screws I used to lock the shaft in place were catching the wire and pulling it up into the PVC channel I created as I extended and retracted the prod shaft. I realized something was amiss when I recently couldn’t retract the prod without a great deal of effort. So the channel and the screws were removed.

Original set up:


I then printed a new end piece for the prod and a new tip for the main body both with 100% infill. I wanted solid pieces so that I could insert magnets to secure the prod in place. I also anticipated some filing and sanding to get the pieces to slide freely with the magnets, which is why 100% infill was needed. I didn’t want to risk compromising the integrity of the piece with a lesser fill ratio.

I used a Dremel with a grinding stone to shape out the channel for the magnets. The key is to go slow and steady because the stone will quickly melt the plastic if a high rpm is used or you work one area for too long. I think I was operating it between 5-10K rpm. It’s also a good idea to keep the wooden dowel in place so the internal side doesn’t warp or become misshaped during this process. I was originally going to use three magnets but went with two out of concern for integrity.





Make sure to mark the outside face of each magnet so that they are oriented the same. If you mess up the polarity thing it won’t work .

Then I did the same for the main tip. The walls of this piece are much thinner, so the magnets will not be flush with the outer surface as they are with the shaft end.



You’ll then need to do some filing of the inside of the main tip and the inside of the PVC pipe that the tip slides into. Just spot filing. There’s no need to file the entire inside of either piece.

It’s a snug fit with the magnets so I did not use glue in case I ever have to disassemble it for some reason. However, because it is snug, it will make the inner tube of the main tip snug, which means the prod may not slide freely without some effort. A little filing of the main tip and everything was sliding through with easy.

I felt that if the prod shaft had too much weight, the magnets would be unable to support it and hold it in place. The magnets are 60x10x3mm Neodymium with 18 lb pull. I used 3/8” PEX pipe instead of the wooden dowel to reduce the weight and to allow for the LED wiring to feed through.



I used flat pan connectors rather than solder to connect the wires running from the LED to the wiring running from the battery up the shaft. This too will make for an easy disconnect if I have to remove or replace the prod tip or LED.



Once everything was reconnected and put back together it worked like a charm. Easy slide and the magnets do what was intended. What’s really cool is now I can thrust the baton and it locks into place while activating the sound at the same time. Pretty cool effect .

[TreeHuggerMatt]

ya gotta get a video of that lol

[MrPoopie]

I dig it. My original grasp method was definitely a proof of concept and needs more eyes and use for someone to figure out a better way. There are probably many better ways to do it.

 

Are you planning on using the magnets to complete the circuit? That way it will only be on when it's full extended.

[Aradun]

7 hours ago, MrPoopie said:

Are you planning on using the magnets to complete the circuit? That way it will only be on when it's full extended.

Didn’t even know that was a possibility lol.  I’ll have to look into that as you have me curious now.  

[TreeHuggerMatt]

had a quick google search and YT threw this up.   It certainly seems possible but whether it could be done at a scale you'd need to fit the baton .  Its annoying as my ONC is in electrical and electronic engineering and as I haven't used any of it for 30 years ive forgotten most of it lol.