#4931025
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post a picture of how you have it wired. There really isn't too much to it.

Image

Solder the battery pack to the positive and negative traces on the left in this picture. I usually use the outer holes. No real reason why. At that point plug in the battery and grab the meter. attach meter to the positive and negative out and adjust the voltage till it is near 5v. I know it says not to use without load but I'm not sure how else you can dial the voltage properly without doing it this way.
#4931172
I have been reading up on this for a few months now, and I am currently working on getting my pack built using your code! but my question is for the slowblo red led cap, is it supposed to be that small? when I got mine in from Digi-key I was shocked to see it was tiny! lol It is the same one you listed on your github, just wanted to make sure that the stuff listed on their is for the full size wand or the smaller version?
#4931177
ArdentProps wrote: February 17th, 2020, 1:41 am I have been reading up on this for a few months now, and I am currently working on getting my pack built using your code! but my question is for the slowblo red led cap, is it supposed to be that small? when I got mine in from Digi-key I was shocked to see it was tiny! lol It is the same one you listed on your github, just wanted to make sure that the stuff listed on their is for the full size wand or the smaller version?
I thought the same thing.....there isn't a tremendous amount of room for a bigger LED cap along that bridge of the gun. Once it's mounted correctly it looks perfectly fine and is well lit from underneath.....It's a fun project! Trust the process and ask lots of questions. This forum is a great resource!
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#4931178
ArdentProps wrote: February 17th, 2020, 1:41 am I have been reading up on this for a few months now, and I am currently working on getting my pack built using your code! but my question is for the slowblo red led cap, is it supposed to be that small? when I got mine in from Digi-key I was shocked to see it was tiny! lol It is the same one you listed on your github, just wanted to make sure that the stuff listed on their is for the full size wand or the smaller version?
Most of the stuff on my github dealing with the 3d files are for the smaller 80% wand. GB Fans shop has the correct ones for the full size wand but even the ones I used on the 80% look good once mounted I think. If you want correct though check the sale site here and you will need to drill out the holes if using the full size wand I believe. It's been a few years but that's what I remember.
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#4931179
CountDeMonet wrote: February 17th, 2020, 8:01 am
ArdentProps wrote: February 17th, 2020, 1:41 am I have been reading up on this for a few months now, and I am currently working on getting my pack built using your code! but my question is for the slowblo red led cap, is it supposed to be that small? when I got mine in from Digi-key I was shocked to see it was tiny! lol It is the same one you listed on your github, just wanted to make sure that the stuff listed on their is for the full size wand or the smaller version?
Most of the stuff on my github dealing with the 3d files are for the smaller 80% wand. GB Fans shop has the correct ones for the full size wand but even the ones I used on the 80% look good once mounted I think. If you want correct though check the sale site here and you will need to drill out the holes if using the full size wand I believe. It's been a few years but that's what I remember.
Ah ok that's my fault for buying before asking lol. I have your full size wand printed as I am making this for me.

The led's and all the electronics should be fine on the full size builds?

And ya I need to find out where In canada i can get the bigger LED caps cause as much as i want to buy a lot of the stuff here on gbfans it is super expensive with shipping (worst part of canada lol ) so I need to find local places.

Also the bargragh you listed is that the right size for the full size as well?
#4931180
Electronics are great for a full size build and the bar graph was designed for the full size wand. I did not put it in the 80% build. You can go with the pre built bargraphs like I did or go with individual flat led's like some other people did. You can actually get more led's in with individuals than using the prebuilt but that requires some code modification. For a full size build I'd recommend just going with the arduino mega as if you decide to add on you will have more pin options. I was going with nanos to save space.

You can use the caps you already bought and see how you like it. I thought it looked good with them but that's me.
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#4931181
CountDeMonet wrote: February 17th, 2020, 10:53 am Electronics are great for a full size build and the bar graph was designed for the full size wand. I did not put it in the 80% build. You can go with the pre built bargraphs like I did or go with individual flat led's like some other people did. You can actually get more led's in with individuals than using the prebuilt but that requires some code modification. For a full size build I'd recommend just going with the arduino mega as if you decide to add on you will have more pin options. I was going with nanos to save space.

You can use the caps you already bought and see how you like it. I thought it looked good with them but that's me.
Ok that sounds good! Lol I will see how they look, i have a ton of arduinos so I should be good lol. Also thanks for the info and quick replies!

I'll post more about my build as I get closer. Most of my pack build is being printed on my ender 5 plus so I'm able to print a lot of it without much cutting.
#4931410
I got the voltage regulators to work (you were right about the contact, of course), but now I'm having a problem with the audio.

I tried testing it using that code you suggested, and when I open the Serial Monitor, it says the soundboard is "not found". I looked around and the only advice I saw was that the solder connections might be bad. I went over them again, fixed a few here and there, but it didn't help.

The green light on the soundboard is on, and the red one isn't. Any ideas?

UPDATE: So I ran that same test code and set up with an Uno (I had been using a Mega) and it worked perfectly. Any ideas why the Mega isn't recognizing it?

I also learned that the speakers I have stink. I had a few on hand that I salvaged from old boom boxes, and the audio was awful. It sounded good with a pair of headphones, though.

SECOND UPDATE: I found the reason for the Uno/Mega problem. I'll cut and paste the solution: "Not all pins on the Mega and Mega 2560 support change interrupts, so only the following can be used for RX: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 50, 51, 52, 53, A8 (62), A9 (63), A10 (64), A11 (65), A12 (66), A13 (67), A14 (68), A15 (69)."

I was able to improve the sound a bit using the volume pot on the amp, but it's a little too quiet now and I'm getting a constant, high-pitched whine. If I turn it down any more you'll barely be able to hear anything.
#4931481
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Yeah I ran into some issues on my Chopper build with the mega and ports. Glad you figured it out.

If you are using a larger amp there is a chance for a ground loop especially if using the headphone jack. On my chopper build I used this isolator to resolve the issue

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019393MV2
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#4931704
So update with my current build, I ended up buying the Adafruit Stereo 20W Class D Audio Amplifier - MAX9744 (Got it off Digi-key.ca, they are super fast! shipped last night got it this morning) and I have it all connected and got sound coming through, but ran into a whole new issue, since I ended up just getting a 5V Battery bank, I no longer have enough power to boost it to a higher db lol, so this Friday I will be ordering a 12v battery bank, unless I can figure out a better way, I know they have step up converters and such but, I am way to worried I would blow something up and have to get new parts.

So for now until I can figure something else out it's gonna have to be the 12v Bank to power the Amp, and the 5v bank to power the arduino and the sound FX board.
#4931719
I always go with higher voltage than I need and step it down. I also have tons of 11.1v/14.4v lipos from my RC days so it makes a convenient and lite weight power source. I've never had power sagging in my builds because of this. Stepping up voltage for a major component, especially one so power hungry, is not something I would ever do but that's me. You can power the whole thing with the one 12v source. I would recommend you use a buck converter to drop the 12v to 5v for the arduino and neopixels and then just run the 12v straight to that amp since it can take up to 14v.

Due to the new movie coming out I'll be giving my son's pack a face lift since he'll be a ghostbuster again this halloween. One of the things I'll be doing is replacing the current amp and speaker setup to get more volume out of it.
#4931749
Ya I ended up buying another battery pack, that has 5v and 12v, 5v usb will power the lights and arduinos, and the 12v will power the amp, it was a good price as well, will get about 5-6 hours with the pack on and being used, more so if It is mainly in idle mode and make sure to turn it off when not in use, so not too bad. But man this 20w Amp is awesome!, I highly recommend it.

I am hoping to get this all done before the movie comes out as I plan on taking it with me to the premiere, gonna be cutting it close since it is still winter! here in Canada, and with no heated garage it is annoying because I can almost never prime anything in the winter since I am in a basement suite!
#4931875
Things are going quite well! Thank you once again for this thread!

I haven't wired up the lights in the wand, but before I do, I have a question: do the four neopixels in the wand have to go to a specific spot? It seems theres on for the slo-blo, the light next to the vents, the light next to the clippard, and then the one at the end of the wand. Is that right, or should one of those go in the vents? If I wanted to add a fifth light to the string, does that complicate matters?
#4931889
You can add lights you will just need to code it. The jewel in the nose is the most complex one as there is an animation tied to it to simulate the firing effect. I'm not on my computer but the single lights are pretty simple. The slowblo is on when the wand is active. The top light blinks when getting close to warning and I believe the front light and vent lights come on when wand is enabled and can be swapped if you wanted to. I ordered them from back to front for easier wiring tho.
#4931893
I don't plan on changing the jewel in the nose, just possibly adding a smaller neopixel. I think I'd like the one next to the Clippard to light up as well, likely just when things are enabled, just because.

When you say "wired front to back", does that mean in your diagram, the bottom neopixel in the wand chain will be the Slo-Blo?

And THANK YOU for all the notes in the code. I kind of know code, but not really, but thanks to your copious notes, I'm able to parse out where I need to make a change.
#4950465
Hi Count. first of all what you do on here is amazing and you have been kind enough to help so many people making there dream come true of building a pack, on behalf of everyone THANK YOU :)
Pretty new to arduino and i have to say it baffles me but slowly trying to understand bits. i have been making my pack over the last month and all has been going great, the only thing that i cant seem to get to work is the theme tune on the switch! all the sounds i have working and all the lights perfect but when i toggle the switch to play the theme it mutes for a second then does nothing.
i have added the theme to the adafruit with all the other sounds and named it T16, ive tried it as a .ogg file, Wav and even an mp3 but i cant work out what im doing wrong.
the version of the code im using is the one with the ecig as im trying to make it vent with fog.
Please can you offer me any assistance as im sure ive read all the threads now and cant seem to solve it.
All the best and thanks again.
#4950529
That is odd. So all of the other sounds are triggering fine just the theme is not? The name should be

char themeTrack[] = "T16 OGG";

or T16.OGG on the device. The adafruit audiofx board can be a bit temperamental tho. What did you use to encode it? I like to use audacity for converting the audio files. Pretty sure I picked mono to save space.

One thing you can always try is the adafruit sketch. It will require disconnection of the external power source if you are using that so you can have the usb plugged in and powering the arduino and adafruit board. Just update the pin numbers to match in the adafruit example sketch. If you installed the libraries properly the example sketch is under File -> Examples -> Adafruit SoundBoard Library -> menucommands.

More info on it here https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-aud ... io-control

Basically it allows you to interactively work the soundboard using the serial monitor. You can list out the files that it sees and play them interactively. I use it all the time when testing the boards before finalizing the audio package.

If the file is setup properly on the board and plays back fine using menucommands then that would indicate some issue with the code. It's the same as the others though so I can't imagine it's the code.

The other thing to look at is your switch wiring. Of all the code the theme is the simplest. It's hooked up to pin 5 and when it is closed it should start the song.
#4950536
Wow what brilliant information thank you, the effort you put in to help others is amazing thank you.
After reading all the info you kindly gave I started by using Audacity to convert to ogg instead of the online program I used and blow me that was it, simple as that. The online converter must be slightly different or just rubbish. All working beautiful now, just the fog machine to build and try.
I can't thank you enough sir.
Thank you.
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