Tried my first lighting mod. I used a drone battery so I never have to open the thing up again.

New pics will be up soon.

Nice job. I'm always curious - any WIP pictures?

I have a few. Stand by.

Forgive my ignorance, but how exactly does a drone battery preclude you from opening it up?

7 minutes ago, Yakostovian said:

Forgive my ignorance, but how exactly does a drone battery preclude you from opening it up?

The primary competition is against CR2032 batteries, and drone batteries have several advantages.

1) They're larger capacity
2) They're rechargeable, so you don't have to have access to change them
3) They only require a positive and negative wire to the ship in order to recharge them (compared to some that require a USB board inside the ship, taking up precious space)

All of this put together means that you can hide a recharge port (or pair of magnets) either on the bottom of the ship, or behind a removable portion of the ship (the docking doors are common for the YT-1300) and seal the rest of it up. Sealing the ship has several advantages too. It limits the potential for damage, which is especially important when you have fiber optics in there. It allows you to make certain things permanantely attached - such as the diffuser at the back of the YT-1300. It allows you to tear out more internal posts providing more working space. And it allows you to stuff more stuff in there since you can glue it all back together with clamps instead of having it naturally fit together with just magnets on posts.

The recharge port is behind the port locking door. I wanted to run fibers to the landing lights but did not want to attempt it with the primitive tools I had on hand and since this was my first attempt. I place an on/off toggle switch tucked between the front “Spears” since my reed switches are not here yet. The Ghost or the YT-2400 are my next projects.

I used a piece of sanded plastic for the rear diffuser and filled about 1/2 an inch of hot glue between the diffuser and the 9 LEDs I used.

Just now, Pooleman said:

I used a piece of sanded plastic for the rear diffuser and filled about 1/2 an inch of hot glue between the diffuser and the 9 LEDs I used.

Dang man... 9? You sure you needed a diffuser after all of those =P

I used a decent value resistor to lower the brightness. But it’s still pretty bright. I wish I had painted the inside black to prevent the lights from slightly bleeding through the plastic.

7 minutes ago, Pooleman said:

I used a decent value resistor to lower the brightness. But it’s still pretty bright. I wish I had painted the inside black to prevent the lights from slightly bleeding through the plastic.

Ah yeah, definitely a requirement on the Falcon. I actually prefer to use aluminum tape instead of painting it. It reflects the engines lights back and helps out the overall appearance imo. But you have to make sure you have every joint well covered to prevent shorts.

11 minutes ago, Khyros said:

Ah yeah, definitely a requirement on the Falcon. I actually prefer to use aluminum tape instead of painting it. It reflects the engines lights back and helps out the overall appearance imo. But you have to make sure you have every joint well covered to prevent shorts.

That’s a good idea. Wish I thought of it prior. I may gift/exchange this falcon with a another untouched one.

Not sure if it is just me, but the pictures disappeared.

1 hour ago, gryffindorhouse said:

Not sure if it is just me, but the pictures disappeared.

Ugh. Why does it do this.

2 hours ago, Pooleman said:

Ugh. Why does it do this.

Don't use photobucket. They effed their users last year, and now you have to pay $400/yr to use them. Imgur or Instagram ftw.

Photos updated.

If "drone battery" means LiPo, make sure you don't forget to turn it off or you will be opening it again! If you drain those beyond a certain point (I don't remember the exact voltage as I haven't flown RC for a few years), it ruins them.

29 minutes ago, sirjorj said:

If "drone battery" means LiPo, make sure you don't forget to turn it off or you will be opening it again! If you drain those beyond a certain point (I don't remember the exact voltage as I haven't flown RC for a few years), it ruins them.

Copy that. I think its like 3.1V, maybe 2.8V.

Also, they do tend to get very hot, at least while charging. I don't know, but i may get hot enough to melt the plastic. My brother has a couple drones and the batteries do get warm while charging.

Always here to help,

-DD

Just now, Darth Drago said:

Also, they do tend to get very hot, at least while charging. I don't know, but i may get hot enough to melt the plastic. My brother has a couple drones and the batteries do get warm while charging.

Always here to help,

-DD

Haven't had any problem with either of those statements in the 4 years that I've been using them in X Wing. And I run them all the way down plenty of times.

Interesting. Is there a certain company of battery? My brother flys Hubsan drones, and while charging has to be kept off of the carpet.

-DD

28 minutes ago, Darth Drago said:

Interesting. Is there a certain company of battery? My brother flys Hubsan drones, and while charging has to be kept off of the carpet.

-DD

Not really. I've bought from several companies, the most recent purchase was these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Y6J915/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is that Falcon repainted on a sepia tone, or it is just the photos?

49 minutes ago, Minaith said:

Is that Falcon repainted on a sepia tone, or it is just the photos?

It’s just the lighting in my kitchen. It’s an overly warm overhead light.

So I’m working on the Ghost right now. All four engines will be lit, I’m looking at adding headlights and maybe landing lights.

On 1/21/2018 at 9:59 AM, Pooleman said:

So I’m working on the Ghost right now. All four engines will be lit, I’m looking at adding headlights and maybe landing lights.

The Ghost is a super fun and friendly ship to work on. If you need any help or inspiration, let me know. In the meantime, here are the WIP picture and finished products of all of mine if you need any reference.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEDHangar/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767282063451459