Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build - FINAL p.20!

Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

ThreeFN said:
I'm with Raybans on this, I think a touch of shadow to the outside visor is the way to go. I agree so much, I doing the same thing with mine (though that decision, on my part, was made long ago). I don't think it has to be hardly any tint at all, since the dark interior should 'subjectively' increase the tinting value (if that makes sense).
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'll be running some RIT tests to see how dark I want it to be. I have a scrap Guy visor from a while ago that was WAY too dark for me to use, and I found that the heavily tinted surface reflected the red light back in a pretty nasty way. Lighter tint will be better as well for keeping light out of the interior of the helmet and out of my eyes.

Progress:

Got all the LEDs painted (first silver, then black) and arranged then in the subvisor for soldering. After these were assembled, I removed them to wire the column and row leads.

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The leads were gathered into bundles and shrink-wrapped to tidy things up a bit

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Then I put them back in the subvisor... and got ready for some really, really tedious soldering.

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I got three of them finished yesterday before calling it a night. Once everything is connected, it starts to look a hell of a lot cleaner. Still 2 to go, but they're moving faster now. I also frosted the LEDs themselves to help with light dispersion a little. I'll need to touch these up as some of them have light scuffs on them, but the LEDs project much better now and aren't as piercing.

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Hoping to test the matrices tonight if things go smoothly... which they never do.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Every time you post I'm just as amazed as the last time. This thing is going to be flat out amazing.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

tekparasite said:
How are you frosting the LEDs.. ???:confused
Click to expand...

Krylon matte clearcoat. I made another jig that would hold them in place while I painted them one column at a time. For touchups, I just sprayed some more clear into a cup and went over the LEDs with a brush. Works great!
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Volpin said:
Krylon matte clearcoat. I made another jig that would hold them in place while I painted them one column at a time. For touchups, I just sprayed some more clear into a cup and went over the LEDs with a brush. Works great!
Click to expand...

Thanks!! Mine are already mounted, so I may not be able to do that on mine. If I do, I'll have to figure out a way that I can apply without spraying.

I see that you used some type of coating to prevent your anodes and cathodes from touching. Correct? I thought about it for weeks on how I was going to approach that.

At the end, I used jacketed 30 AWG wire which is probably more painful than your method, but seems to work well.

I spent my holiday soldering..so, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one. :wacko

:thumbsup
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Atlas said:
How's the visibility with all the LEDs?

_A
Click to expand...

See previous page:

Volpin said:
Visibility, actually, is very good. My wife and I both tried it out last night, walking around holding the visor up to our face. Its difficult to convey the feeling of wearing it without actually wearing it, but this comes close:

5763960806_c7dded0289_b.jpg
Click to expand...

I'll be doing some "running" tests soon, then we'll see what its like with illuminated LEDs as well...
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

tekparasite said:
I see that you used some type of coating to prevent your anodes and cathodes from touching. Correct? I thought about it for weeks on how I was going to approach that.

:thumbsup
Click to expand...


Wax works very well for this and is super easy to apply.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

These helmets are really impressive! I'm definitely subscribing to this thread.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Teese said:
wow! this is shaping up! Do you have an estimated completion date?
Click to expand...

I need to have it done by DragonCon 2011, but earlier would be nice.

Got the rest of the soldering on the matrix done last night. Need to get the code onto the Arduino for some test runs. Hopefully we'll have fun blinking light action in a few days!

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Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Your work is nothing short of amazing!!
You are simply inspiring.. When I get back to work, I plan to finally build that 8x8 RGB LED Cube I have been dreaming about :)
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

WOW! I really have no words for this. Great work.

This just makes me feel worse about letting my build languish, but that's what happens when you move to a city with no real workspaces like I did. Whoops! :lol

I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through your awesome build. Can't wait to see your LEDs blink to life!

Keep up the awesome work.

-Nick
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

The more I see of this build, the more I have to wonder why Daft Punk hasen't had the LED helmets remade with modern technology. Volpin has demonstrated that the whole package can be done without the need for giant backpacks and 15 feet of cable coming out the back of the helmet, and certainly someone with Daft Punk's resources could make something even more impressive. Did they just get tired of them completely? I always assumed that the switch to simplified helmets was due to the technical limitations and fragility of the LED helmets.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Spike said:
The more I see of this build, the more I have to wonder why Daft Punk hasen't had the LED helmets remade with modern technology. Volpin has demonstrated that the whole package can be done without the need for giant backpacks and 15 feet of cable coming out the back of the helmet, and certainly someone with Daft Punk's resources could make something even more impressive. Did they just get tired of them completely? I always assumed that the switch to simplified helmets was due to the technical limitations and fragility of the LED helmets.
Click to expand...

Actually, much of the tech in Volpin's build was available in one form or another, the difference is the hobbyist access to said technology and the cost. Having PCBs printed back then would have been A) difficult to get someone to do on such a 'small' run, and B) ruddy expensive as a result. I'm sure with their artistic attitude of "lets do everything once" they decided they'd spent the money and wanted to spend the next chunk of change on something new. The money for that pyramid had to come from somewhere after all.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

i would like everyone to know that i wrote this post while looking through an animated LED matrix.

Vid to come, very late and very tired...
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Thats what i had thought. The matrix is near impossible to see through. Not even a capital "I" used to start the sentence. haha :p

Cant wait for this.
 
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