LEDs in Rangefinder??? Here is PROOF!

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

Yes, there ARE two LEDs in Boba Fett's rangefinder. Not only that, but they are in THREE different helmets! So, no matter which suit you choose to replicate, DON'T FORGET YOUR LEDS!!! Although it appears that one of the LEDs is lit in the ESB publicity shot below, from my research I can say with a great deal of confidence the LEDs are NEVER seen lit in the original trilogy. See picture below for more details.

EDIT: The LEDs can be seen cleary in RotJ when Fett is knocked down on the skiff during the Sarlacc battle. As he raises his head off the deck of the you can see the LEDs - Thanks to PropReplicator for this info.

The LEDs can also be seen in ESB when Fett is in Slave I, tracking the Millenium Falcon after Solo escapes Vader's Star Destroyers.

EDIT:

Here is a screen cap from the RotJ Sarlacc battle scene mentioned above. Thanks to Matic for this pic.

Here is a screen cap from the ESB Slave I scene mentioned above. Thanks to Kapitein Iglo for this pic.

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

It has been said that the LEDs can be seen in the ESB SE scene where Fett is firing on Luke in the Cloud City hallway. The LEDs are reported to be a "dimmish whitish amberish " color and are on all the time (no flashing). No one has ever verified this...

Although this does not PROVE that the LEDs lit up there is a switch visible in the back of Fett's helmet that obviously goes to SOMETHING electronic... Here is a pic from the Art of Star Wars, UK to verify...

As far as installation goes, contact Richie from Richie's Armor. He knows all about installing the LEDs in the rangefinder.

Personally, I think the LEDs were added for looks only. If that were the case, I imagine two holes were drilled in the rangefinder, a drop of superglue went into each hole then an LED with the leads snipped was dropped in.

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Natty15d:

I was wondering, do you think the circuit board, switch & what looks like a battery in Fetts helmet could be used to control the chest lights & not the rangefinder LED's.
The wiring for the chest lights could be taken down inside the neck piece & run behind the costume to the chestlights. The wiring would have to fitted with a quick release system to allow the helmet to be easily removed.
I dont know much about circuit boards but wouldnt the circuit board shown be a bit big to just make 2 LED's flash.

What do you think

Nathan

<a href=http://richiesarmor.com><img src=http://fan.starwars.com/buyerstrikesback/files/richiebannersm.jpg border=0 alt=http://fan.starwars.com/buyerstrikesback/files/richiebannersm.jpg><center​

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

Natty15D, I suppose that is possible, but I can't imagine why they would do something like that. I would think that they would want to make everything as simple as possible and running a wire into the helmet that didn't need to be there doesn't seem simple to me...

http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish><img​

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Natty15d:

Hi Braks

I was thinking if the original costume maker was wanting to install electronics into the chest armour without the battery's, circuit board &amp; switch spoiling the line of the armour where would he position them, and after seeing the pic youve posted of electronics inside the helmet which dont seem to power anything I thought it might be the control switches for them.
Is there a way of making the chest lights work by using a digital readout behind the armour?

Nathan

<a href=http://richiesarmor.com><img src=http://fan.starwars.com/buyerstrikesback/files/richiebannersm.jpg border=0 alt=http://fan.starwars.com/buyerstrikesback/files/richiebannersm.jpg><center​

 

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Originally posted by Slave1:

I tend to agree with you Nathan. When I saw the circuit board, I also thought it seemed pretty big to be running just two little LEDs, but who knows?

Isn't there's also another pic from CK that shows the connector for a 9volt battery?

 

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Originally posted by TK1028:

rkrish asked:

Do the LEDs blink in the helmet, or are they a continuous light?

I just got in from Dragon*Con. Braks asked me to pick up a picture of Boba Fett from Jeremy Bulloch's table, and AM I EVER GLAD HE DID! I stopped by the table Monday morning and there were almost NO other people around. I asked him many questions and one thing that he remembers DISTINCTLY is that both LEDs were RED, they only operate when the rangefinder is down, and they flash intermittently. To show me, he lowered his head a bit and stuck two fingers out to where the rangefinder would be and he twitched one finger at a time saying "tick, tick, tick, tick" to convey the fact that the two lights went back and forth in a regular pattern. He also confirmed that the two triangles on the front of the helmet have never had lights in them, and there is NO switch in the helmet for the chest display, that is opperated by a switch in the jumpsuit pocket! He also said the chest display was red-- so if anyone thinks they see white characters on the chest, that is just a reflection.

Chris Skidmore
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe"
SergeantTK1028@aol.com

 

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Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369:

CHris... Great discussion with Jeremy, thanks...

"No room for LEDs.....unless I drill into the metal to make room"

I know the regular viynl helmets range finders has plenty enough room for LED's and the switch to be tucked inside. Richies Armor does a great job at doing a blinking LED conversion with them, it costs about $25, although he does 6 LED's in stead of two. He adds 4 LED's at the bottom of the range finder.
I have it in mine, altough not correct, looks great and it gives it a cool look.
Lynn

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

TK1028, that is AWESOME!!! Great find! Great news! This thrills me beyond belief (I am being quite serious here in case this is coming off sounding sarcastic)!!! We would have NEVER known these things without that!!! Ah, the sweet smell of victory! The quest for another detail ends. I think we have got this little baby completely wrapped up. I can't think of ANYTHING else we need to know about it! Now the question is, can we contain everything in the rangefinder? I think not..especially with the other mods we were talking about at DragonCon, TK1028. I will opt to hollow out the stem and run wires down to the helmet where I can keep a larger battery and the switch. That leaves the problem of the wires interferring with the servo that makes the rangefinder go up and down. Man, that is just SO awesome!!!

EDIT: I guess the wig-wag answers the reason why only one of the lights is lit in the pic above. From the few refs we do have, JB's answers are corraborated. Wonder is you can see anything at all in the Slave I scene in ESB???

http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish><img​

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369:

BB.. I'm not sure what other mods you were talking about at DC as far as the range finder, but the electronics can easly be placed inside of the range finder LED's, switch, batteries, and all.... Please read my above post directly above yours on it....
Lynn

 

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Originally posted by SITHcamaro:

Well, so far so good on my attempt (remember, I have a deluxe helmet, not the regular DP mask). I hacked away at the thick metal chunk in the rangefinder with my dremel for about 3 hours. I made enough roon for the new top to fit with 2 LEDs.
Now the major problem....first, you don't need 9 volts of energy to power 2 LEDs...3 volts do just fine (besides, there's no room within the langefinder for a 9 volt). Being that the shaft is solit metal, I can't run the wires down into the helmet.
This leaves me the task to try and find a way to enclose the batteries within the rangefinder. There are smaller batteries out there...AAA are just too big, but I'll have to look around RS tomorrow at their other batteries.
The other problem would be to add a switch. I thought about just powering it up and leaving it in there, but I need to glue the top onto the rangefinder in the meantime, and I can't just keep popping it off everytime I want to turn it off. So I think I'm gonna try to find a small sensative push button switch that I can install into the top of the rangefinder that won't be too obvious. If I can pull this off, I'm all set! I'll post some picts as soon as I have them.

 

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Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369:

Here's mine in my regular DP helmet...

It fits all inside as snug as a bug in a rug....
Like i said, not correct, but looks cool.
Lynn

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

Lynn TXP 0369, how long will a battery that wouls fit into the rangefinder last? That is the part that concerns me. Also, I am concerned about having to change the battery like at a con. If the power source was in the helmet it would be no prob but in the rangefinder? That might get tricky.

That pic looks pretty cool. Is that what Richie did? Do you have any problems with reflections or glare from the lights that are facing you when the rangfinder is down?

SITHcamaro, have you considered using a mercury switch to turn the lights on and off? They should ONLY be on when the rangefinder is down so you really wouldn't even need a switch outside the rangefinder at all. Just flip it down and BAM!!! Light come on!

http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish><img​

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369:

BB... My lights are on all the time, which is fine with me, because it is cool when the some fans say wow! he even has lights in is range finder or black thinggie....

It is run by 2 watch batteries, I have had mine for almost two years and havn't had to change them, they are as bright today as they were when new. I think it would be next to impossible to change as it is super glued shut. Richie told me he has had his for a few years and has never had to change the batteries.
You wont be using it all the time were it would drain the batteries down quickly.
I have no glare problems at all when the RF is down.

I'll post a pic of what Richie use's before the mods to be fit in the range finder, but he is the one who installed them in mine, the blinking LED unit cost $10. It can be used for the chest lights as well, and is what I use for my chest lights, I don't have the #'rd part in mine though.
Lynn

 

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Originally posted by Lynn TXP 0369:

Here is what Richie use's and is what is inside my RF.

I havn't been able to locate these locally at any of the specaillty electronics stores or at RS, I have know idea where Richie gets them.

They cost $10, from RA, and are about the size of a credit card and comes with 10 blinking LED's. He has them with colored or white LED's. You can change also if you want super bright LED's.

He just took one apart and stuffed the guts inside the RF. I think you can cut off more of the LED's and still it work, I havn't tried it though.
Lynn

 

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Originally posted by TK1028:

Imprisonedfett wrote:

I wonder if it would be possible to somehow run the wires to the belt pouches? This would be the space to put a 9 volt battery to keep it out of the way i think.[\quote]Well, that is what Jeremy said they did for the chest display. I'm sure the wires from the rangefinder just run into the helmet. There might have been room in the original helmet's metal because there was never a servo. The reason I think this is because Jeremy said "When you lowered the rangefinder, the lights come on." This sounds like Brak's idea:

SITHcamaro, have you considered using a mercury switch to turn the lights on and off? They should ONLY be on when the rangefinder is down so you really wouldn't even need a switch outside the rangefinder at all. Just flip it down and BAM!!! Light come on!

I will clean up this thread during the regular weekend purge after the discussion has been up for about two weeks. We need to keep these threads concise with information so we can have a permanent archive of definitive here that is easy to sort through.

Thanks, too, Lynn for that AWESOME pic of Richie's LEDs. There is also a video clip of how they flash that is up at Richie's site.


Chris Skidmore
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe"
SergeantTK1028@aol.com

 

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Originally posted by ShackMan:

See, now THIS is the type of prop talk *I* like ... lights, switches, batteries. Maybe that's why I never got into sabers and blasters much.

Just a couple of things to touch on, since I just found this thread (and may not be back for a while).

1) The circuit board shown in the helmet (assumed to be powering the range finder lights) isn't too big to house a flasher circuit. I've made them smaller based on need. But considering these guys were making something to be hidden in a helmet, I don't think they were too worried about conserving that much space.

2) Someone mentioned that 3V is enough to drive LEDs, which is true to a certain degree. If you're wanting them to flash, you may need more power. The reason being that most circuits will require 4 (or 5) volts. Also, LEDs have the circuit basically built-into the LED. All you have to do is power them up and they flash. I've never used one, so I couldn't tell you what voltage they need.

3) Regardless how you're doing your range finder lights (flashing, steady-on, etc.), be sure to use current limiting resistors in series with the LEDs. This will not only save your LEDs from burning themselves out, but could also significantly increase your battery life.

4) If buying LEDs and doing this yourself (as opposed to the flasher kit shown above), don't forget that LEDS are polarized. Diodes only work one way. So if you hook the LED up backward, everything else could be fine and you'll still never see any light.

Good luck,

ATM

Rapier wit? This is the end of the twentieth century! I'm using a laser sighted under-and-over twin barrelled wit, with a 7.62 mm floating breech pulse rifle firing caseless one-liners on top, and a 40mm explosive gag launcher underneath. For backup I've got a 14mm pump shotgun firing flechette rounds with 10 barbed comments in each, which can also shoot sabot ego-piercing rounds. Of course when all else fails, there's always the trusty flamethrower which I've strapped to my pulse rifle with duct tape in the approved style.

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

TK1028, check up on me, but is this what JB said the rangefinder light sequence looked like? This is set up on a 1 second switch...

http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish><img​

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by Braks Buddy:

Lynn, can you LEDs be pushed down into the rangefinder? They look like they are sticking out too far to me. From the pics I have seen (see first post in this thread) they appear to be flush on some helmets or just barely peeking out above the surface of the rangefinder...

http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish><img​

Restless soul, enjoy your youth - Eddie Vedder​

 

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Originally posted by TK1028:

Great job with the animation! Actually, his fingers moved a bit faster than that, maybe between 3/4 of a sec and a full sec, but I like the slower "tick" myself-- slower just seems to be more "Fett" to me. Jeremy could have just been moving them more quickly because he was trying to convey movement. Or he could have been moving his fingers more rapidly because we were talking so FAST! I was trying to pump him for the information I could and we were speaking a mile a minute. I'm gonna e-mail you about this...

Chris Skidmore
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe"
SergeantTK1028@aol.com