- June 27th, 2016, 12:42 pm#4869095
I have started this thread mainly because I'm keen to give brief details on how I managed to install decent sounds into my proton pack without the GBFans soundboard which (at the time of writing) is unavailable. More on that later while I talk about some of the other features.
I started the research for the build on the proton pack months ago, by looking at the parts identification list in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39698
Although there is a fantastic list of parts there, I was keen to keep the price as low as possible, while still maintaining a decent level of accuracy. I did stroll off the path quite a lot, but I think my ALMOST finished project bares enough of a resemblance to the reboot packs as I'd require. The one part I did splash out on was the Gun Box, which was of course by the amazingly talented Jason Murphy. I could not recommend this gun box enough.
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=41045&p=4857813&hi ... y#p4857813
Another notable part, is the front grill heat sync thingymajig, which was my own design, and is available at Shapeways here:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4FGKP ... d=59435044
Now, with new electronic light animations in the pack, I had to start completely from scratch. There is currently no kit available for this pack, although I will consider commissions if anyone is interested. My parts list for the sounds and electronics is as follows.
Arduino Uno
24 pixel Adafruit Neopixel ring for the syncotron lights, although I'm keen to upgrade to the 60 pixel ring
A lot of LED's
Voltmeter display for the lower display (keeps an eye on battery discharge for me)
Aafruit Audio FX Mini soundboard with 16mb memory
Adafruit 20w class D amplifier
A 5v portable mobile phone charger (to power Arduino)
14v Black power Brick with 10,000 mah life to power the amplifier
ED205 Edge - Fli - Vibe 5" Co-Axial 4 Way Speakers rated at 50w each
After spending about a month writing the code for the Arduino, to get the LED's and neopixels to animate as I wanted them to (depending on which switch was pressed), it was time to include the sounds. Now when people buy the soundboards it's easy to overlook the fact that it is doing so much without you even realising it. For example, when you press the fire button, it makes the proton stream sound, and this loops until you release. When you release the fire button, it then plays another sound, which is the proton stream powering down.
Due to the fact a button release command was required to make the thrower power down sound, I figured I'd need to program the arduino to control the sounds, by making pins high and low where necessary. For anyone that understands arduino, it may be obvious that it runs on a loop (void_loop), so every action repeats over and over again. This had to be taken into consideration when trying to get the proton gun power down sound, and not repeat the power down sound over and over again. It was an absolute nightmare I can assure you, but eventually it came through.
The only sounds I have not included at this point, are the overheat warning, and the vent sound, but it's very much because I'm being lazy. <--- That is the only excuse.
I'm happy with where the sounds are now, pushing about 20w out per speaker... it's VERY VERY LOUD!!!!!!
I learned a lot while building this project, but my proudest achievement was figuring out how to force the arduino uno to break out of a sound loop.
Before the sounds were installed, i also used the packs at London MCM, where we hung out with loads of other Ghostbusters, and made a video passing the torch from the original Ghostbusters, to the Reboot Ghostbusters, which was shared by Paul Feig on Twitter.
To see the "Passing of The Torch" video, navigate to here:
(Also, Follow Angela While you're in there, she's an awesome Ghosthead)
https://twitter.com/Angels_Ackiz/status ... 3736331264
In the next video, you may notice that when the power switch is pressed, it makes a really cool steampunk powering up kind of sound. I absolutely adore this sound, and I'm using it with permission from Nathan Stevic who created the file. If you wish to use it, please find him on Facebook. It is completely custom and offers me the opportunity to have a main master switch power up sound, and a thrower switch power up sound as seen in the video.
In the video, you'll notice a few bugs with the switches, but all bugs have been ironed out now, and I'm just waiting to upload a new video. I also demonstrate a switch which turns the standard Red lights to green. This will be updated to incorporate all colours in the future. I'd like to have it display any colour I want
We have also been invited to do a promotional Ghostbusters meet and greet at the local Odeon for the premier of the new movie. As a thanks for that, the management at the odeon gave us this MASSIVE banner. It's literally too big to fit in my house. The image doesn't really show it, but I estimate it to be around 8 foot tall.
So here's some pictures n stuff:
3 meter x 30cm cable tray from ebay. £20 is enough for 4 motherboards.
A picnic food cover for the outer syncotron mesh
Random comparison photo using a speaker grille as the heat sync. Guage is made from deodorant lid and a print out of the correct guage screen.
Although the image shows an arduino mega, I did settle for the Arduino Uno. Plus 24 Pixel Adafruit Neopixel ring
Fruit bowl for the inner syncotron cage. And here is a link:
http://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/non- ... ket-284823
Of course, Jason Murphy's fabulous Gun Box
Yep we bought two of them, for both of our packs:
Let there be light, syncotron Neopixels installed, and thrower LED's still on breadboard during testing. You can also see the voltmeter keeping an eye on my battery.
SO MANY CABLES!!!!!!!
More tweaking of the Arduino code
Gluing some stuff
THE MESS!!!!!
Get one from https://www.shapeways.com/product/4FGKP ... d=59435044
Adafruit Audio FX soundboard, Adafruit 20w class D amplifier, and a test speaker.
Don't they look pretty?
United we stand!!!!!!!
Yours truly
Facebook.com/CaptivatingCostumes
I have started this thread mainly because I'm keen to give brief details on how I managed to install decent sounds into my proton pack without the GBFans soundboard which (at the time of writing) is unavailable. More on that later while I talk about some of the other features.
I started the research for the build on the proton pack months ago, by looking at the parts identification list in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39698
Although there is a fantastic list of parts there, I was keen to keep the price as low as possible, while still maintaining a decent level of accuracy. I did stroll off the path quite a lot, but I think my ALMOST finished project bares enough of a resemblance to the reboot packs as I'd require. The one part I did splash out on was the Gun Box, which was of course by the amazingly talented Jason Murphy. I could not recommend this gun box enough.
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=41045&p=4857813&hi ... y#p4857813
Another notable part, is the front grill heat sync thingymajig, which was my own design, and is available at Shapeways here:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4FGKP ... d=59435044
Now, with new electronic light animations in the pack, I had to start completely from scratch. There is currently no kit available for this pack, although I will consider commissions if anyone is interested. My parts list for the sounds and electronics is as follows.
Arduino Uno
24 pixel Adafruit Neopixel ring for the syncotron lights, although I'm keen to upgrade to the 60 pixel ring
A lot of LED's
Voltmeter display for the lower display (keeps an eye on battery discharge for me)
Aafruit Audio FX Mini soundboard with 16mb memory
Adafruit 20w class D amplifier
A 5v portable mobile phone charger (to power Arduino)
14v Black power Brick with 10,000 mah life to power the amplifier
ED205 Edge - Fli - Vibe 5" Co-Axial 4 Way Speakers rated at 50w each
After spending about a month writing the code for the Arduino, to get the LED's and neopixels to animate as I wanted them to (depending on which switch was pressed), it was time to include the sounds. Now when people buy the soundboards it's easy to overlook the fact that it is doing so much without you even realising it. For example, when you press the fire button, it makes the proton stream sound, and this loops until you release. When you release the fire button, it then plays another sound, which is the proton stream powering down.
Due to the fact a button release command was required to make the thrower power down sound, I figured I'd need to program the arduino to control the sounds, by making pins high and low where necessary. For anyone that understands arduino, it may be obvious that it runs on a loop (void_loop), so every action repeats over and over again. This had to be taken into consideration when trying to get the proton gun power down sound, and not repeat the power down sound over and over again. It was an absolute nightmare I can assure you, but eventually it came through.
The only sounds I have not included at this point, are the overheat warning, and the vent sound, but it's very much because I'm being lazy. <--- That is the only excuse.
I'm happy with where the sounds are now, pushing about 20w out per speaker... it's VERY VERY LOUD!!!!!!
I learned a lot while building this project, but my proudest achievement was figuring out how to force the arduino uno to break out of a sound loop.
Before the sounds were installed, i also used the packs at London MCM, where we hung out with loads of other Ghostbusters, and made a video passing the torch from the original Ghostbusters, to the Reboot Ghostbusters, which was shared by Paul Feig on Twitter.
To see the "Passing of The Torch" video, navigate to here:
(Also, Follow Angela While you're in there, she's an awesome Ghosthead)
https://twitter.com/Angels_Ackiz/status ... 3736331264
In the next video, you may notice that when the power switch is pressed, it makes a really cool steampunk powering up kind of sound. I absolutely adore this sound, and I'm using it with permission from Nathan Stevic who created the file. If you wish to use it, please find him on Facebook. It is completely custom and offers me the opportunity to have a main master switch power up sound, and a thrower switch power up sound as seen in the video.
In the video, you'll notice a few bugs with the switches, but all bugs have been ironed out now, and I'm just waiting to upload a new video. I also demonstrate a switch which turns the standard Red lights to green. This will be updated to incorporate all colours in the future. I'd like to have it display any colour I want
We have also been invited to do a promotional Ghostbusters meet and greet at the local Odeon for the premier of the new movie. As a thanks for that, the management at the odeon gave us this MASSIVE banner. It's literally too big to fit in my house. The image doesn't really show it, but I estimate it to be around 8 foot tall.
So here's some pictures n stuff:
3 meter x 30cm cable tray from ebay. £20 is enough for 4 motherboards.
A picnic food cover for the outer syncotron mesh
Random comparison photo using a speaker grille as the heat sync. Guage is made from deodorant lid and a print out of the correct guage screen.
Although the image shows an arduino mega, I did settle for the Arduino Uno. Plus 24 Pixel Adafruit Neopixel ring
Fruit bowl for the inner syncotron cage. And here is a link:
http://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/non- ... ket-284823
Of course, Jason Murphy's fabulous Gun Box
Yep we bought two of them, for both of our packs:
Let there be light, syncotron Neopixels installed, and thrower LED's still on breadboard during testing. You can also see the voltmeter keeping an eye on my battery.
SO MANY CABLES!!!!!!!
More tweaking of the Arduino code
Gluing some stuff
THE MESS!!!!!
Get one from https://www.shapeways.com/product/4FGKP ... d=59435044
Adafruit Audio FX soundboard, Adafruit 20w class D amplifier, and a test speaker.
Don't they look pretty?
United we stand!!!!!!!
Yours truly
Facebook.com/CaptivatingCostumes
Last edited by MagicDanielle on July 8th, 2016, 5:45 am, edited 1 time in total.