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#150818
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So you have just got done building your amazing proton pack! It sits proudly there in your mom's dining room, ready to impress with its amazing lights and cheerful demeanor. But wait, its awesomeness falls on deaf ears!

Well, if you have a little bit of time on your hands and can look at pictures, you are in for a treat! Welcome to the Replica Props Do-it-Yourself sound project tutorial!

Now before we proceed, you must realize that by following this tutorial, you will be modifying your current light kits. If you are not comfortable doing this, please do not try to do this without help. You build and install this sound system into your pack AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Also note that I will NOT build you one of these either, I'm too busy with work and school and my own projects to be building stuff for other people. This thing is easy people, don't be afraid to try!

First and foremost, you will need to gather the parts to build this sound system.

You will need:

Sound Board model 1M- the heart of this sound system. When ordering, you don't need to upload a zip file with the sounds, you just have to let Rob know you want the proton pack sounds and he will hook you up. - $49.99

CANAK153 7 watt amp - the amp will add volume to your set up so everyone can hear you comin'- $19.95

4" 8 OHM Speaker - you need to be able to hear what your chip is doing right? I recommend 2 of these puppies- $9.00 each

Bread Board - by installing the chip on here, you will not need to solder directly to the chip - $8.99

Enclosed 2 "AA" Battery Holder - you are going to need to power your sound chip, I recommend 2 AA batteries - $1.69

DPDT Push Button - You will need to change out your current push button with this switch for this to work - $5.88

Push Button Cap - You will also need a cap for your push button, which you can either use this one or modify the plunger from your old plunger and glue it onto the new push button - $.62

OTHER PUSH BUTTON OPTIONS

C&K Components DPDT push button = $10.87
C&K Components push button cap = $0.88

I used the C&K Components push button because the plunger is plastic instead of metal. I was able to shave it down with a razor and take the black plunger off an accurate push button and glue that sucker onto this button to make it look more accurate. It's a little daring for some, but if done right, can look great in the end.

TE Connectivity DPDT push button = $16.96
TE Connectivity push button cap = $1.61


DPDT micromini Toggle Switch -you will need to switch out 1-2 of your switches on your gun to this type of switch - $3.99

12v Power Source:
You have lots of different ways you can get a 12v power supply for your amp and lights, these are just some suggestions.

8 "AA" Battery Holder - This will give you a 12v power supply but it maybe be a pain to recharge all those batteries and/or expensive to replace them if they are not rechargeable - $1.99

*Note* If you go this route, you will also need a 9v snapconnector which is only $1.99.

or

Probably the best, rechargeable power source you can use is the 12v CCTV rechargeable batteries that are listed on Ebay. They range in ampere hour (Ah), so I would say stick with one between 4600mah and 9600mah. This would be the solution I would most recommend.


You will also need other things that you can find at your local electronics store such as 20 gauge wire, speaker wire, heat shrink tubing (to make it look pretty), wire striper, soldering iron and solder, or for those that are soldering impaired, this can be helpful: Wire Glue.

Now that all the supplies are out of the way, let’s put everything together!

Now everyone one's lights on their pack are wired differently and everyone is going to want their sound hooked up differently too. So this tutorial is only going to show you the basic idea behind how to wire it up. We cannot be supplying a different write up for every possible way you may have your lights hooked up in you pack. On the subject of different light kits, please double check that your particular light kit can take a 12v power source! We don't need you firing your lights. If you do not know, contact the person that manufactured it to double check.

Setting up the Sound Board:

First thing is first. Let us wire up the actual sound chip.

I suggest installing the sound chip onto a Bread Board. By doing this, if there is anything you need to change down the road, it will be a lot easier and cleaner to use the Bread Board. This is extremely easy.

First let me explain the bread board.

Image

If you look at this picture of a bread board that is similar to the one listed above, I will explain how these are set up. Notice how each row is numbered and each column is lettered? Basically, each numbered row is connected in that section of the bread board.

And example would be row 1. In row 1, the holes "A" through "E" are all connected. So if you were to put a wire into 1A, holes 1B through 1E are all connected to that wire now. So if you need to connect 2 wires together without soldering, you would place one wire into row 1 and then place the other wire it needs to be connected to within row 1 (A-E) as well. They will then be connected.

The 2 outer sets of columns on this bread board are set up differently than the 2 inner sections. If you look, there is a red line and a blue line, with a "+" and a "-" above each column, respectively. This time, everything in each column will be connected, instead of each row (like what was explained about columns A through J).

An example of this would be if you are using the right most "-" or blue column as your ground, you would have the ground to your battery plugged somewhere into that column. Now any other wire that is plugged into that column will connect to the ground.

Now that that is explained, time to wire up the sound chip. Follow this diagram that robwerden made.

Image

By using the simple set up of the bread board that I explained earlier, you can easily just plug the sound chip into the bread board and then run wires to the same row as the terminal of the sound chip they need to be attached to. It is very simple. I would also suggest hot gluing the wires into the bread board then to make sure they do not come loose.

Here is a picture of my bread board with all the wires installed.

Image

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT A 3V TO 5V POWER SOURCE IS NEEDED FOR THE SOUND CHIP, DO NOT PLUG THE CHIP INTO A 12V POWER SOURCE. YOU WILL FRY IT.

Also note that Rob programs the chips with extra sounds and functions, such as the volume control. You may install buttons/switches to these if you wish. You just have to run a wire from the terminal on the sound chip to the switch, then a wire from the switch to a ground.

Wiring the 7watt amp:

The amp is also extremely easy to hook up. Basically, just follow this wiring diagram.

Image

Make sure you test out the amp before you permanently solder/wire glue them onto the amp. Best way to do this is to strip the end of each wire with wire stripers, bend the bare wire into a loop, and hook it onto each respective terminal. I find it better to test it first then to regret it later.

Also note when hooking up the wires to the amp, because the sound chip has .5 watt amplification programmed into it, you will need to wire the "positive" speaker wire coming from the sound chip to the "WIN" terminal on the "Audio Device" side of the amp. The "WIN" terminal is for powered audio devices (like a walkman. . . or a replica props sound chip!).

Wiring up your batteries:

There are a couple of different ways you may get power to your lights, sound chip and amp. I personally changed my power source for my lights to a 12v battery and hooked up my amp to that supply as well. When doing this, please make sure your lights can handle a 12v power source.

Another thing to consider is that the amp does not have an "On/Off" switch and you will want to cut power to it when you are not using it or it will drain your batteries. I personally wired my amp to the ground wire coming off my pack lights so my amp only gets power when my pack lights are on.

Here is a diagram of that set up:

Image

Another option is simply hooking the amp to its own switch. Just run a positive line from the positive terminal on your 12v to a switch. Then from the switch, run another wire down to the positive terminal of the amp. Lastly, run a wire from the negative terminal of the amp to the negative terminal on the battery.

An alternative to this option is running the amp to a DPDT toggle switch (similar to how the sound chip will be wired to the new push button and toggle switch you will need to install in your gun which will be detailed in the next section).

Which option you ultimately go with depends on how your lights are set up to begin with.

As for powering the sound chip, it needs a 3v to 5v power supply. The easiest way to attach this is by using the 2 "AA" battery holder listed above. Just wire the closed battery holder to the chip. I would recommend rechargeable batteries so you will not have to buy new batteries all the time. Also note that the sound chip has a sleep mode, which it goes into when not being used. Because of this, I see no need to wire up an "On/Off" switch for the sound chip.

Wiring your new DPDT switches:

Once again, please look at robwerden's diagram he has made of his sound chip. This will be helpful in the next step.

Image

The idea here is to change out your "Intensify" push button and another switch on your gun to DPDT Switches. DPDT switches are essentially double switches. There are 6 terminals (2 sets of 3 on either side) on the bottom of each switch. The first thing to do will be remove your light kit's positive and negative wires from the old switch and attach them to the new on. Word of the wise: once you strip the ends of each wire, loop them through 2 of the terminals on one side of the switch and test the button before you solder/wire glue them on there. Make sure the switch does what it's supposed to do! If it does not, then take one of your wires, and move it from the first terminal to the third terminal on that side of the switch and try again. Make sure the lights work correctly with the new switch before you move on.

Now that your lights work correctly with the new DPDT switch, it is time to attach the wiring from the sound board to the switch. Please look carefully at robwerden's diagram. The "ground" wire will always be attached to the middle of the three terminals on the switch. Then one sound wire is attached to either the first or third terminal on that side of the switch. Once again, before soldering or wire gluing the wires to the switch, please test them to make sure they work correctly first.

Now with everything installed, you should now have sound in your pack!

Image

And here's a video!



Congratulations, now you can impress your mom with how loud your pow pack is.
Last edited by mburkit on August 28th, 2009, 12:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.
By LakeEffectKid
#150926
I having a bit trouble. I wired up everything on the breadboard however I have NO sound. I just made this mini set up to see if it would work but I got nothing. Any suggestions?
By Gbass242
#150939
So, the lights (pack and gun) and amp can run off of the same 12v power source? I was thinking the amp needed its own individual source apart from the lights.

But all in all, this what was in the back of my head. If I can get away with only having 2 battery sources instead of 3, that would rule!
User avatar
By mburkit
#150952
LakeEffectKid wrote:I having a bit trouble. I wired up everything on the breadboard however I have NO sound. I just made this mini set up to see if it would work but I got nothing. Any suggestions?
Did you make sure that you have power going to both inputs on the sound chip? You need a positive wire connecting to both terminal 20 and 22 on the sound chip. Either that or maybe you don't have the volume turned up on the amp? These are some of the things that could cause no sound.

Try some of these things and let us know!
By BlueLight
#151316
Hey All,

Just ordered my sound chip from Replica Props. I received shipping confirmation only 30 mins or so! Great service Rob! Great tutorial here, looking forward to working on getting this setup running in my pack. However, I am curious if anyone here has incorporated this set-up with the exoray gun/pack lighting kits. If so, what was your experience in doing so? If not, I will be attempting it myself and will try to document the process as much as possible. Thanks!

Matt
User avatar
By Saborlas
#156954
Anyone wire up the vent sound yet? I'd like to know if it's worth the hassle.
By Gbass242
#157031
Saborlas wrote:Anyone wire up the vent sound yet? I'd like to know if it's worth the hassle.
I did. The button I used is an SPST momentary from Radioshack, and it is mounted on the top of my gun. I think it is worth to have if you've played the game. It just seems more fluid... like there's a logic to the madness....


Anyways (lol), you can put the button anywhere. I just think it makes sense there.
User avatar
By Saborlas
#157228
Gbass242 wrote:
Saborlas wrote:Anyone wire up the vent sound yet? I'd like to know if it's worth the hassle.
I did. The button I used is an SPST momentary from Radioshack, and it is mounted on the top of my gun. I think it is worth to have if you've played the game. It just seems more fluid... like there's a logic to the madness....


Anyways (lol), you can put the button anywhere. I just think it makes sense there.
Awesomesauce. Got the game the the day it came out and I still enjoy the hell out of it.

I'm not rigging any motors for game-authentic core venting, though. It's a PITA, and the finished product is likely to poke people.
By SublimeDelusions
#157234
Gbass242 wrote:
Saborlas wrote:Anyone wire up the vent sound yet? I'd like to know if it's worth the hassle.
I did. The button I used is an SPST momentary from Radioshack, and it is mounted on the top of my gun. I think it is worth to have if you've played the game. It just seems more fluid... like there's a logic to the madness....


Anyways (lol), you can put the button anywhere. I just think it makes sense there.
Where exactly on the gun did you mount the button?

I'm debating using the vent sound, but I was going to hook it up to one of the toggle switches.
By Gbass242
#157242
Saborlas wrote:Awesomesauce. Got the game the the day it came out and I still enjoy the hell out of it.

I'm not rigging any motors for game-authentic core venting, though. It's a PITA, and the finished product is likely to poke people.
I'm not either, I think it would be cool to utilize what's on the chip already. Plus, the vent sound is cool.
SublimeDelusions wrote:
Where exactly on the gun did you mount the button?

I'm debating using the vent sound, but I was going to hook it up to one of the toggle switches.
On top of the gun box, next to the vent light. I'm substituting a button for the sound instead of one of those non-functional knobs or lights that's right there.
By jt001
#157883
BlueLight wrote:However, I am curious if anyone here has incorporated this set-up with the exoray gun/pack lighting kits. If so, what was your experience in doing so? If not, I will be attempting it myself and will try to document the process as much as possible. Thanks!

Matt
I'd love some information on that subject as well.

mburkit: thanks for posting this awesome tutorial! Props to you!
By Martog
#158954
Just finished up test wiring the chip + the 7W amp on a 70W 8ohm speaker and wow, this thing rocks. I had just the chip hooked up to the speaker and wasn't as loud. Just a word of advice, having the volume nob on the amp facing you, turn it all the way to the left before firing it up, otherwise if its all the way right, it will be quite loud. :) And I have the ecto sounds on my chip, not sure if I will self install a sound chip into my pack or wait for the Exoray M2 just yet. Waiting to see what other people say about wiring the Exoray kits up. Also tested this with 4ohm 400W (200W RMS) speakers I am planning on using for the pack and sounds even better than the older 70W I was using...I found a winner for sure. :)


Burk, you thought about unsoldering the POT from the amp and sticking somewhere on the pack so you can adjust it a lot easier sound wise?
User avatar
By mburkit
#158961
Martog wrote:Burk, you thought about unsoldering the POT from the amp and sticking somewhere on the pack so you can adjust it a lot easier sound wise?
I have the POT of the amp mounted through my motherboard down by the cyclotron lights. All I have to do is reach behind me while wearing the pack and I can adjust the volume whenever I want.

I know pchrisbosh1 has his amp mounted under the crank knob of the pack and actually can turn the crank knob to adjust the volume.

Those are just some of the ways you can set it up.
#159278
Alright, so I've been wiring up my exoray light kit to the configuration that the tutorial provides. However, I am running into an obstacle. I have an exoray gun kit, and a pack kit. The pack kit is connected to the gun kit so that the switch that controls the gun lights and bargraph also activates the pack lights. I am able to wire the lights to the dpdt toggle so that the lights on the gun activate with the power on sound. On the same poles, I attached the lead wires to the pack kit so that everything (gun lights and pack lights) switch on and off with their respective sounds. Here is the trouble. Upon switching off everything, including the main switch on the gun, which provides power to all of the components, two lights on the gun remain lit (not fully sort of half dimmed). With only one component wired up (either gun lights or pack lights) this does not occur. I am wondering that if the gun and pack lights can't share the same poles on the switch because of a power issue? At this point I have 4 battery packs all hooked up, one for the pack lights, one for the gun lights, one for the sound board, and one for the amp. I also am wondering if there is a triple pole, double throw toggle that would alleviate this problem. Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm going to keep tinkering and let you guys know if I figure it out.

-Blue Light
#159412
BlueLight wrote:Alright, so I've been wiring up my exoray light kit to the configuration that the tutorial provides. However, I am running into an obstacle. I have an exoray gun kit, and a pack kit. The pack kit is connected to the gun kit so that the switch that controls the gun lights and bargraph also activates the pack lights. I am able to wire the lights to the dpdt toggle so that the lights on the gun activate with the power on sound. On the same poles, I attached the lead wires to the pack kit so that everything (gun lights and pack lights) switch on and off with their respective sounds. Here is the trouble. Upon switching off everything, including the main switch on the gun, which provides power to all of the components, two lights on the gun remain lit (not fully sort of half dimmed). With only one component wired up (either gun lights or pack lights) this does not occur. I am wondering that if the gun and pack lights can't share the same poles on the switch because of a power issue? At this point I have 4 battery packs all hooked up, one for the pack lights, one for the gun lights, one for the sound board, and one for the amp. I also am wondering if there is a triple pole, double throw toggle that would alleviate this problem. Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm going to keep tinkering and let you guys know if I figure it out.

-Blue Light
Do you have the Exoray Deluxe light kit or not? The Deluxe gun kit allows you to wire the pack lights directly into it and are controls when the right switch is flipped on.
By BlueLight
#159569
Yes I do have the deluxe kit. There is a wire that goes from a gun switch that runs into the pack and connects to the pack control board. This is the switch that I would like to wire all my sound to. So, when the switch is flipped, the pack lights, and main guns lights and bargraph come on with the power up sound. The way the switch came with the kit has one pair of wires to the gun board, and another pair of wires that go to the pack light board. These wires on soldered to separate pairs of poles. What I attempted to do now was to wire both pairs of wires to the second pairs of poles on the dpdt switch that is used for the replica props sound board setup. When one pair of wires (either pack or gun) are on the poles, everything works fine. However, now I have the gun lights soldered to the poles, and when I add the wires that control the pack, everything goes funky. Everything is fine and dandy when the main fun power switch is enabled, but when everything is shut off on the gun, two lights on the gun remain dimly lit, and the power cell lights on the pack remain on dimly. Any thoughts?
By Martog
#159598
Well everything should work fine as long as you have the lights on a seperate pole than the sound. From my understanding the Exoray original switches are STSP because his sound bard is integrated into the whole setup.'

I've never worked with Exoray kits before and it will be at least a month before I will have a pack in hand with the light kits and attempting it with the Replca Prop's sound chip. You should be wiring the switch up just like in burk's diagram and it should work just fine I'd assume. Being on seperate poles there will be no interference from each other. You could also have a bad switch, somehow the poles are being crossed inside when they shouldn't be.
By BlueLight
#160209
I agree, everything should work fine haha. Definitely possible that I have a bad switch, going to pick one up today and see if that is the problem. However, I just find it odd that the problem seems to be related to a completely separate switch. Seems odd that only when everything is switched off that two lights and the power cell remains on dimly....I don't know I'll see what happens with a new switch. I wonder if I can get exoray to give some input on the situation.
By Martog
#160230
BlueLight wrote:I agree, everything should work fine haha. Definitely possible that I have a bad switch, going to pick one up today and see if that is the problem. However, I just find it odd that the problem seems to be related to a completely separate switch. Seems odd that only when everything is switched off that two lights and the power cell remains on dimly....I don't know I'll see what happens with a new switch. I wonder if I can get exoray to give some input on the situation.

Yeah I'd definately contact Exoray if the switch doesn't fix it, because it should still function the same with dual poles on each switch, just his light kits only use one side of the throw instead of both.
By BlueLight
#160312
Alright I just figured it out! Well sort of. On exoray's original switch, there are two separate pairs of poles...gun wires on one set, proton pack light control wires on another. I assume he did that for a reason. The problem I have been having is wiring both pairs of wires together on one pair of poles. Well, simply enough the solution was to put the pack control wires on the same poles as the sound and the gun control wires on the other pair of poles. Everything works flawlessly with this configuration.
By Martog
#160343
Hmmm, that is good, I bet there are different voltages running through the wires then if they stay partly lit up. I will have to remember this when I wire it up with my Replica Chips to Exoray's as I can't see him having sellable Mark 2 kit by this halloween.
By BlueLight
#160783
Weird new occurance. Sound kit is not working now. I disconnected all batteries after establishing the working configuration so I don't know what's up. Hopefully wiring the lights to the same pole didnt send current to the sound chip and fry it....
By Martog
#160789
BlueLight wrote:Weird new occurance. Sound kit is not working now. I disconnected all batteries after establishing the working configuration so I don't know what's up. Hopefully wiring the lights to the same pole didnt send current to the sound chip and fry it....
Hmmm, the Replica Props board only runs off of 5V max, and I know Exoray light kits can use 12V, so it is a possibility you did something to it. May want to get ahold of Rob and see what he says.
By Wingfan191
#161088
Maybe I missed something here about the original diagrams at the top, but why are you connecting the + wire from the amp to the - wire of the pack light kit? Wouldn't that be giving the amp 2 negative connections to the 12v power supply?
User avatar
By mburkit
#161089
Wingfan191 wrote:Maybe I missed something here about the original diagrams at the top, but why are you connecting the + wire from the amp to the - wire of the pack light kit? Wouldn't that be giving the amp 2 negative connections to the 12v power supply?
With Direct Current (DC), "negative" is relative. It just denotes which way the current is flowing. It's "negative" because it is coming out of light kit but its "positive" because its flowing into the amp. If that makes sense. It's about direction.
By BlueLight
#161124
BlueLight wrote:Alright I just figured it out! Well sort of. On exoray's original switch, there are two separate pairs of poles...gun wires on one set, proton pack light control wires on another. I assume he did that for a reason. The problem I have been having is wiring both pairs of wires together on one pair of poles. Well, simply enough the solution was to put the pack control wires on the same poles as the sound and the gun control wires on the other pair of poles. Everything works flawlessly with this configuration.
I feel compelled to post as a warning DON'T DO THIS!!!!! I fried my soundchip!!!!. The solution will be a 3 pole double throw switch which I am ordering...along with a new sound chip. Progress report when I get the new stuff.
By Wingfan191
#161208
mburkit wrote:
Wingfan191 wrote:Maybe I missed something here about the original diagrams at the top, but why are you connecting the + wire from the amp to the - wire of the pack light kit? Wouldn't that be giving the amp 2 negative connections to the 12v power supply?
With Direct Current (DC), "negative" is relative. It just denotes which way the current is flowing. It's "negative" because it is coming out of light kit but its "positive" because its flowing into the amp. If that makes sense. It's about direction.
Ah, ok I did not know that. Man I hope I don't screw mine up. I have the Proptronix gun and pack light kit and am about to try to hook up the sound chip with these directions.

I have another question though, how do you connect the wire from the amp to the wire that runs from the light kit to the battery? Do you just cut the light kit wire in half and then make like a T shaped connection? How do you hold it together? I'm a total noob when it comes to wiring.
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