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By mburkit
#441866
Guess where we were today!?

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That's right! A liquor store! And we just so happened to bump into our old friend, Danny.

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And video evidence:



Ray Stantz signed the replica Ray Stantz pack. That must be like nerd gold, or something. And before anyone asks, no he didn't care. He just wanted the thing signed and me out of the way so he could continue to sign bottles of vodka, which is what he was actually there for; which I expected. Still glad I got it signed though!
Sutton621, gEkX, THEbryon and 1 others liked this
By Sutton621
#441887
mburkit wrote: before anyone asks, no he didn't care. He just wanted the thing signed and me out of the way so he could continue to sign bottles of vodka, which is what he was actually there for; which I expected. Still glad I got it signed though!
Now I feel like an ass for asking that. Sorry budd.
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By mburkit
#441894
Sutton621 wrote:
mburkit wrote: before anyone asks, no he didn't care. He just wanted the thing signed and me out of the way so he could continue to sign bottles of vodka, which is what he was actually there for; which I expected. Still glad I got it signed though!
Now I feel like an ass for asking that. Sorry budd.
Don't be sorry! You asked what anyone would want to know. And obviously I wish he would have been elated at my pack but he's just an actor. He can't tell the difference between my pack and any other pack there. Heck, there was someone there dressed as Gozer and he called her "Zuul". He wrote the script and after 30 years he can't get half the characters straight.
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By mburkit
#442285
People have been clamoring for 2 things from me: they want to see my flash bulb in action and they want to know how my popping mechanism works.

Well, I shot a video of my flash bulb, because honestly, that's easier to share, since it requires less explanation: I made a socket out of acrylic and some copper leads that the GE AG-1B flash bulb sits into. Supply power and "POP"!

Here's the video:



I'll try to explain the popping mechanism then, once I have some more visual aids.
jessejames51, Vee, dred and 3 others liked this
User avatar
By mburkit
#442291
jessejames51 wrote:SICK!!! are the bulbs good for single use only??
Yup, once and done. I bought 20 of them off Ebay for like $10 a few months ago. I won't use it every time I fire the wand, but its neat to show off once in a while.
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By mburkit
#442295
Now onto the popping mechanism. I won't be able to show a complete break down of the mechanism because I really don't want to pull it apart out of my wand. I will do a more thorough explanation when I fabricate another one for my HMS pack build. BUT, at least right now, I can show what's happening inside my gun body to give people at least some idea of how it all works.

Lets start with some photos.

Here is the inside of my gun body.
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As you can see in this photo, there is a 3/8" OD metal tube that runs the length of my gun body. There is a copper flange that I purchased from the hardware store that is slipped over that metal tube. Both inside and outside of the tube are 2 springs that, when compressed, cause the acrylic tube to extend.

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In this photo, you can see the 1/4" aluminum rod that is attached to the acrylic tube as it extends into the gun body. It is attached to the copper flange via the button head screw. The slit you see cut into the tube is there as a guide for the flange and the rod so nothing twists. When pushed back, the flange gives an edge or lip for the trigger to grip onto, to hold everything back in place.

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In this photo, you can see the trigger I fabricated out of 1/4" aluminum square bar. This trigger is attached to the green lever and will move with the lever. You can also see a shaft collar with a socket head screw holding it in place. This is there to attach a spring to the green lever, to cause the trigger to always be pulled down onto the 3/8" OD tube. When the acrylic tube is pushed into the front handle assembly, it pushes the 1/4" aluminum rod and copper flange back against the springs. Once fully back, the trigger holds the whole thing in place until I pull the green lever back.


The whole mechanism is held in place by 2 plates. The one in the front (pictured below) is held in place by the screw holding the front cylinder on the gun body. (Sorry its not the easiest thing to see)

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And just like the front plate, the rear plate is held in place by the rear cylinder, which is a little bit easier to see.
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Now a quick video demonstration, so you guys can see what happens inside the gun body when you use the mechanism.


And that's all my dirty secrets with this pack. Hopefully it makes enough sense that people can replicate it. Thanks!
jackdoud, jessejames51, FunkPunkTwang and 4 others liked this
By Lundo12
#442612
lunchbox739 wrote:Very innovative sir. Anyone who owns handguns has seen a similar mechanism while cleaning their guns.

This makes me want an aluminum thrower so much more.
Of this is an exclusive fit only an aluminum thrower can handle I'm so happy I got in on Vincenzo's run!
By Lewis Tully
#450128
I don't know how often I can say this, but that flash bulb literally made my jaw drop. I had to re-watch the video just to make sure I saw it right. Incredible!!! :)
By Letmebleed75
#457640
Why special order? Go buy some aluminum sheets at lowes and bend it yourself. Took no time to do mine and it works like a charm. Cheap too! Check out my build to see how I did mine
User avatar
By mburkit
#475756
Its been a while since I posted in this thread because this pack has been done for a while but I participated in a photo shoot last month and I felt this photo really highlighted this pack quite well.

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Happy 30th Anniversary, Ghostbusters!
abaka, Sutton621, FunkPunkTwang and 5 others liked this
By Mike Witt
#475990
For the flashbulb, did u just splice the wires in with the front push button and hat light wires on an existing light kit? Or did you have to create a separate circuit board for it. Im just curious cause im starting a new hero build and id really like to have a working flashbulb setup. Any tips would help.
User avatar
By mburkit
#476106
I had to run my gun ear light and flash bulb off of my "intensify" button because it had 5v going through it without any resistor on it limiting voltage or amperage. I personally wouldn't recommend altering any light kits you purchase. I only did it because I designed the kit myself.
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By mburkit
#477576
Small update that people may or may not care about but I wanted to share anyway!



I'm in the process of throwing together my own sound solution for my pack using off the shelf stuff and a little bit of soldering on my own part. This board can take a micro SD Card and its playing my remastered versions of some of Volguus' sounds from HProps (with his permission). Its by no means cheaper than what is currently out there in the community, BUT it has the flexibility someone like me wants. I plan on controlling the sound board with an arduino.

I'm HOPING to have this working in my pack for the St. Patty's day parade in Boston this year; but we'll see. I'm still waiting on parts in the mail to tear apart the amp I have to move the volume and power switch as well a few other odds and ends.
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By Morydees
#477602
Sounds amazing and the speed is good. You know, this is the second video I've seen lately with that shorter startup sound. I'm guessing that's to emulate the Ray pack (vs. Slimer in the movie)? If so, do you just plan on having a switch or a code to alternate?
User avatar
By mburkit
#477651
Morydees wrote:Sounds amazing and the speed is good. You know, this is the second video I've seen lately with that shorter startup sound. I'm guessing that's to emulate the Ray pack (vs. Slimer in the movie)? If so, do you just plan on having a switch or a code to alternate?
The long start up will be attached to me "Activate" switch and will play when all the lights are turned on. The second, shorter start up sound will be tied to my vent light.
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User avatar
By mburkit
#477910
Here's another video showing this stuff working with my proton pack lights.



It consists of the SparkFun WAV Trigger, a one-off control board I put together using a small Arduino that reads the signals coming from my gun lights and converts them into something the sound board can read, and a 20 Watt Amp. Once I have all the hardware I need to mount this permanently into my pack, I'll do one last video of it all sealed up and working.

Also take note that it keeps track of what switches are thrown when you turn on the wand. For example, if the vent light is already on before the Activate switch is thrown, it skips the long power on and just plays the short on attached to the vent. I know that seems trivial but most of the sound sets up have had over the last 5 years have been unable to do that.
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User avatar
By mburkit
#4784386
Well, here we are again, with my pack torn apart because I wasn't happy with something. . .I've finished installing the WAV Trigger and 20watt Amp into my pack. There was a few bumps on the road here and there, but it all works. Pictures first!
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There's a new amp, a ground loop isolator, 2 new boards, and a new battery. My biggest issue was in the testing phase, I had everything running off of different power supplies so I didn't realize there'd be an issue with everything running off one battery. I ran into ground loop issues between the WAV Trigger and the amp; which I corrected with a ground loop isolator. You can see up next to the amp in the photos. After having it all installed, my next hurdle to jump was getting it loud enough. I ran into issues of the amp popping if I turned it up too loud, which resulted in me spending a while tweeking my sound files to get the decibels low enough that the sounds could be amplified to where I wanted them in my back. But with all those kinks taken care of, it works pretty well!



I think the biggest issue anyone else would have putting this into their packs would be the little one-off board you can see mounted just above my lights in the pack. It involves some soldering and some components that you need to solder up correctly or you will blow up the Arduino. It is obviously possible to do, since you can see it working in my pack, but its definitely more expensive and more labor intensive then other options that are available to the community.

Thanks for looking!
jackdoud, Kingpin, Sutton621 liked this
User avatar
By julz
#4784439
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Love it! Nice work mr Burkit

Did you find the lepai made your setup louder or same same?
Sutton621 liked this

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