[bishopdonmiguel]

I need to figure out how to make them fit without jeopardizing the next foam or big red danger sticker. I think I can clear the sticker, just not sure not the foam.

You don't need to use bolts on every bracket. Skip the places where you have concerns with the outer MB. Use epoxy in those spots and the remaining bolts will hold everything in place.

Still haven't gone to sleep yet, going through build threads. Then I wen't back to Bishop's thread where he use wall anchors to hold the leds. Were they big enough that the led could fit through or did you split the wires and rewire it after they went through. Still not a fan of having to glue them in, but maybe I can't get away from it. Still thinking about if I have to take it apart and redo it I'd rather not have it glued.

The anchors I used did not allow the LED to pass through. To deal with this, I just split the anchor lengthwise on one side and fed the wire through. Once pushed into the hole, the split realigned nicely and the epoxy held it together securely. Once that dried I did epoxy the LED to the anchor.

An alternative I considered was using electrical tape wrapped around the wire to hold the LED in the anchor by friction. But if I did this and needed to remove the LED at some point, I would still have to break off the wall anchor so that seemed pointless.

If you can find wall anchors or another tube shape (I think I saw someone use nylon spacers) that would allow the LEDs to pass through, you could use the electrical tape wrap method. Probably a better design and I should have been more patient with my build.

[pyhasanon]

Ok, I'll let you in on my little secret. If you dip your knife in a bit of lemon juice the acid will melt the inside ever so slightly giving you a really nice cut.


No no, just kidding!! I'm just using a craft knife with a sharp point on the end and making lots of light continuous cuts until I am through the other side. No real technique but thanks for all the compliments!

Man, you almost got me! LOL! But, yeah, I used the same technique of continuous cuts, but mine still doesn't look as clean as yours!

I need to figure out how to make them fit without jeopardizing the next foam or big red danger sticker. I think I can clear the sticker, just not sure not the foam.

I just went ahead and drilled my holes, I just conveniently positioned my red sticker so that if there was a bolt there, it would be going through a spot that doesn't have any letters, or through like the middle of the letter "O" or something like that... LOL! I didn't want to use epoxy, as I was trying to make everything in my build easily removable...

I like the suggestions on the cyclotron shelf for the lights... I could see if I can find a blue perfboard, legend's build is really cool. I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure out how to hold the led's in place without hot glue.

I just really like the look of the electronics looking through the cyclotron lens... thought I would suggest it... LOL! Legend's photo says it all...



As for how to hold the LEDs, check your local Hardware store and see if they have rubber gaskets that have an inner diameter enough to hold the LED firmly... that's what I did... usually those gaskets have a groove along the side that the Sintra can hold onto, but not sure how readily available those are...

[bishopdonmiguel]

I just really like the look of the electronics looking through the cyclotron lens

Agree completely!

From the Sony lobby pack...

[Hoot]

First - I am very pleasantly surprised to see progress on this
You've kept us FAR too long sir

[PssdffJay]

Thanks Hoot. Still lots to do!

[PssdffJay]

Another trip to Home Depot and I found some ice maker tubing, or that's what I thinking was for anyway. I used Bishop's advice to cut the tube vertically and fed the wires through. So far so good. Im not going to glue it back together and I might not need to.



Then I tried with a sample piece of sintra and drilled a 1/4" hole and it's a nice snug fit.



Then to help with the strain relief, I folded the wires over and used a small zip tie.



I think this is going to work perfectly.

[PssdffJay]

After this next step, I'm pulling up the handbrake. I want to revisit the shelf. But here is what I did.

I wanted to give the shelf more support and after trying to use the speaker template I drilled out the other 4 holes.





But I did a crap job doing it. I didn't line them up properly and they were crooked which created more alignment issues later.



I put the shell on top and traced out the cyclotron hole openings and this is where I noticed my issue. The holes should have all lined up. Is this a huge issue? No, but because of my OCD/perfectionism kicking in, I want to now remake the shelf but bring the height down by 1/2". I wasn't able to find any 10-24 screws at 3 1/2" and I want to keep all these screws the same 10-24 I have been using and if I want to add the perfboard details, I'll need a little more room.

But at this point, before I made that decision, I drilled the holes to put in the LEDs.

[PssdffJay]

I hooked up a battery to see what it would look like. I wasn't expecting the results. I tried some different options.

Regular lighting.



Dim lighting.



Mock up with the red lenses.





I tried with my old reflector.



Then I tried a jiffy pop method with some tinfoil to see if that did anything different.





I had also gotten our guys at work to do a light sandblast on an extra set of lenses.



Not the best photos when trying to photograph a light but I'm not sure yet which way to go. I was surprised how much less light there was without reflectors. I mean, I suppose that what reflectors are for, but I was surprised to see the difference.

[PssdffJay]

It was here where I thought about remaking the shelf. I did tape down the wires underneath but I think I'll get it wearable again for this weekend and then start again on the electronics when I'm back. This lets me get some work done on the thrower before I go.

[bishopdonmiguel]

Coming together nicely. Could you create new bends in that shelf to shorten it up a bit without needing to rebuild the whole thing? If you end up using perfboard, you'll not see the underlying attachment points.

Call me old fashioned but I like the look of the LEDs without reflectors

[PssdffJay]

I realized that the reason I wasn't getting a bright light was that the 9 volt battery I was using to test it was nearly dead. When it does today and I tried a new battery it was much brighter! I could have tried new bends but when I drilled the support holes they were wonky and made it flex and not line up. So I made a new one today. I skipped the sides this time because if I do find a perfboard that works, I won't need it anyway and this was much easier. Sometimes I just make more work for myself.

Same deal as last time. 7" circle but I was way more careful drilling the holes and it lined up way better.

I also put in the cyclotron lights the exact same way but you can see they are much better positioned. I also lost that extra 1/2" in height.











I also drilled the holes for the zip tie to hold the loom.

[PssdffJay]

I also worked on lining up the shelf with the boards but I had not taken any photos. I'll do that once I finish that part.

I did run into something I'll need to work around. On Julz's build he had made a bracket that put 2 blue brick batteries on either side of his speaker. I figured this would work for me like this.





Unfortunately either they are bigger than his are or I screwed up somewhere on the math. I'm thinking it's the math. Mine are too long to fit there and inside the cyclotron. I could lower my 6" speaker and raise the shelf up above it and mount batteries to the back of the speaker if I can get some more room, but these batteries are just too large. With the way I'm doing the electronics and boards in the upper part of the mobo like Bishop has done and extending the thrower wires, I lost some space there where it could have gone. I think I need to find smaller batteries.

The blue bricks are 5" long, 2.5" wide and about 15/16" thick. Another issue I had not prepared for. Still making progress though.

[pyhasanon]

This is the reason I nixed my plans to migrate the wand electronics to my mobo... it is just too difficult to try to cram it all in there... Is it possible? Yes, it is, but it would just take too much time, and figuring out the space would be an extreme pain in the ass... I eventually figured out my wand board anyways, so I'm happy with the setup right now... I just dread the day that I might have to do maintenance on my wand... ugh...

[alphabeta001]

I like your over thinking. It's helping me plan my pack out and proving that what I was thinking will work.

Excellllent.

[PssdffJay]

That's why I do it! To let other people learn from my mistakes and over analyzing/ocd tendencies. I can't believe I'm at 26 pages though and not done. Thanks everyone who has made it this far with my ramblings!

[pyhasanon]

Shoot, for all the praise you give my work, it was in all honesty all inspired mostly by the work you, Julz, Hoot, Grimmy and Hijacker put into yours! Keep at it, man, I love reading you build work and how neat everything looks!

[PssdffJay]

I think I have completed all I can until I actually finish my thrower and then start on the electronics. So far, I was able to fit only 1 blue brick under my boards shelf. I may still be able to get the second one on top of the speaker but I need to find loner bolts to raise the shelf up with the cyclotron lights. The speaker is down as far as I can put it. If not, I'll have to only use 1. We'll see what I can find tomorrow for bolts.

I also figured out mounting positions for the board shelf and drilled them all in. The top left one in the photo would go right through the neck foam so what I did instead was drill and tap it and I'll stop the screw flush to the outside and you won't see it because of the foam. Well, that's what I'm hoping anyway. I used bolts going through the square spacer I made out of sintra and then socket head screws through the self into the spacer. That way I can remove the shelf, but leave the spacers in place.

Some more photos. You'll see where I hid the 1 battery and the mounting locations for the shelf.







Now that I have all the holes drill, I really hope that's all of them now besides the vent kit that I'll be getting soon, I took it all apart, sanded down the outside to make it all nice and smooth but not down to the bare aluminum, gave it a shower and its hanging to dry. I'm going to give it a few light coats of black in the morning as well as the spray the screw heads black and then hopefully it'll be dry in the evening or day after and I can put it back together and cobble the lights to work for Saskatoon this weekend.

I really hope this all works...

[pyhasanon]

The speaker is down as far as I can put it. If not, I'll have to only use 1.

Use only one speaker, or only one battery? I, personally, wouldn't sacrifice either... The sounds of the pack are awesome, and it's amazing to hear it resonate throughout a crowded Con, I wouldn't want to lose that ability by sacrificing a speaker... Sacrificing a battery may cause issues later... The Finchers have reported some discovered issues with connecting the eCig vent mech with the same battery as the soundboard... If you do any research on vaping, depending on your setup, these things can sometimes eat current up quick... Just something to be aware of... Also, if you plan on connecting a bluetooth module, it can (and most likely will) introduce noise and feedback to your soundboard if connected to the same battery together...

[bishopdonmiguel]

Great solution for battery #1. I agree with Phil, don't remove a speaker. You will find a spot for battery #2. You might need to use one with a smaller footprint. When the pressure of finishing this for the upcoming Con passes, you'll figure it out. Don't rush it.

[pyhasanon]

There are smaller batteries that you can use for the vent system... Not sure what to do to help with noise introduced by Bluetooth receivers (assuming that you do end up with that problem, you might get lucky)...

By the way, can the second battery not fit above the speaker area (where that green tape is placed)? When I was building mine, I found that area to have a significant amount of space...

[Grimmy GB]

OMG...I just got caught up on your build, Jay. Solid, clean work! I have to echo this...for someone whom is terrified of electronics, you sure are knocking this out of the park ice rink!

Hey Phil...I just reworked some of my thrower...it's not as bad as you think But you also have a few more gadgets than I.

So seriously Jay... I can't wait to see this outcome!

[PssdffJay]

Sorry, I should have clarified a bit better but it was 2am when I posted. After drilling all those holes, there is no way I'd lose a speaker. I was thinking of only 1 blue brick. I do have an ecig vent kit on its way and I'm getting that battery too so there would be that battery too. I'm working on still trying to fit the second blue brick above that speaker, I just need either longer bolts or Bishop had suggested a coupler. I'll see what I can pick up at the HD today or even a bolt supply place on my way to the office.

Thanks for the compliments Grimmy, I haven't actually gotten to the electronic aspect yet with hooking it all up and extending the wires etc. that's what I'm a little afraid of, my knowledge base isn't there yet.

I just put a few light coats of black on this morning so hopefully it'll be good to go tonight and I can keep going. If not, I'll start again on my thrower. Tonight is the only actual night I can work on it before we leave so it's make or break day.

[canpara]

Jay, I have just caught up on your pack build thread. What a pleasure to read! As a fellow 'Bertan, I hope I will get to meet you and your amazing pack in person someday soon, possibly at a Comic Con or similar event. This has been very informative... It has certainly given me an idea of what to expect should I start my own build. I can't wait to see how things go with the thrower! Hats off to you, sir!

[pyhasanon]

Jay, you better be at the Boston St Patty's Day Parade! If Hoot and I can do it, you can! =D

[Hoot]

Jay, you better be at the Boston St Patty's Day Parade! If Hoot and I can do it, you can! =D

For us that's a long drive - for Jay, that's an epic journey across two full time zones, three provinces, and two states lol

[PssdffJay]

Thanks canpara. We are typically at all the local cons between Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, and now Saskatoon. I'm sure we will run in to each other somewhere.

[PssdffJay]

You guys have a lot of fun stuff going on out east, but I think if I'm going to do an epic journey that far, it would be for Dragoncon. I really want to try and plan for it next year. It is 36 hours driving each way so it'll be a good 10 day trip most likely unless we drive straight through and only stop for fuel and essentials we could probably make it 8 days.

[PssdffJay]

I think I have fit the second blue brick in. I can't really test it with the mobo while it is still curing but I think this will work. It's sure tight!



I have tried to charge 1 of them starting last night and the charger still has the greening on. I turned the battery on, connect the charger, and then plugged it in. I believe that's the right order, I had to go and find the thread about charging but this seems like a long time.

[pyhasanon]

I don't think that's a good spot for the battery, with the magnet and the vibrations going on there...

[PssdffJay]

Oh, now I understand what you meant by "above the speaker" not ontop of the speaker. I don't know if I tried that yet. Thats still an option.

Now what don't I know about putting the battery on the magnet on the speaker? I went this route because is saw Bishop put his there and Julz also had his right against but his speaker is facing the other direction. I was going to use some industrial Velcro on it. Please let me know if I'm going to explode myself or something. This is where I get nervous with the electronics and catching on fire.