Proton Pack build for Halloween 2014!

[mrjbarl1]

I bought that last Christmas, it's what I am going to use for this pack in the interest of time. I'll build a wand later when I have the time/money.

Is the Mattel wand as cool/nice as people say it is? How loud is it and how well do you like the functions of it? I'm just trying to get an overall idea of what I would be getting if I bought one.


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[mrjbarl1]

Can anyone tell me anything about this particular light/sound kit? There wasn't much info on eBay, and without wanting to risk losing a decent deal.... I'm really not all that sure of what the heck I bought lol..

I guess you could say im a bit of the "ready fire aim" type, and a little impatient lol..


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[Daniel Nelms]

I dunno i got mine from another place. No sound but I can add it later I think it cost me like $30

 

[Daniel Nelms]

I got this for the chaser with blue LEDs http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=741
and I used this for the cyclotron lights http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=342
I just attached wires to the PCB for the leads on the cyclotron lights and used two bright white leds for each of the four lights grouped in twos; 2, 4, 6, 8.
I left off one LED from the pattern and wired the leads to number 10 in reverse so that it stays on for the complete cycle before going off (slow blinking) and mounted that to the side of the pack near the power switch. I wired both boards together and power it from a single 9v battery.

I am toying with the idea of putting in a LiPO battery and charge circuit that way I could recharge the pack "Proton charging" and put in a little port for that. Could be cool...

 

[Daniel Nelms]

Is the Mattel wand as cool/nice as people say it is? How loud is it and how well do you like the functions of it? I'm just trying to get an overall idea of what I would be getting if I bought one.


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It's ok, it's not super loud, I think of it more as a toy but it's pretty cool and the LEDs are bright. My kids love playing with it and it's the right size. There's probably some videos about it on youtube that show how it works in detail.

 

[robpenfold]

Can anyone tell me anything about this particular light/sound kit? There wasn't much info on eBay, and without wanting to risk losing a decent deal.... I'm really not all that sure of what the heck I bought lol..

That is a Heavy Props/Crix light kit. He is a very reputable seller. I know many people who have used his light/sound kit and where quite happy. I have all his resin cast parts on my pack. I used the GBFans light/sound kit because it is a bit simpler to install but its more expensive. Can't go wrong with this kit, IMO.

Here is the tutorial on how to install the kit.

 

[robpenfold]

I am toying with the idea of putting in a LiPO battery and charge circuit that way I could recharge the pack "Proton charging" and put in a little port for that. Could be cool...

That is exactly what I did and it works like a charm. I used a 12V LiPO. Make sure to get one with a higher mAh so you get longer life between charges. Mine is 9800 mAh. You can find them on evilbay for $40.

 

[mrjbarl1]

Oh wow ok awesome, so I actually did ok on my buy lol. I think once I get it, I'm going to install a much louder speaker and most likey put an even larger battery (lithium) in it than that. And that's a good idea, I too want to put an accessible port somewhere in it for charging; but also have a battery-to-direct power switch using a kick down transformer so that i can have the lights work whenever I want without using the battery. I have a very large electronics store that's located very close to me, so finding anything I'll need to do anything regarding the electronics will be easy.


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[mrjbarl1]

That is a Heavy Props/Crix light kit. He is a very reputable seller. I know many people who have used his light/sound kit and where quite happy. I have all his resin cast parts on my pack. I used the GBFans light/sound kit because it is a bit simpler to install but its more expensive. Can't go wrong with this kit, IMO.

Here is the tutorial on how to install the kit.

Thanks for the info and the link, much appreciated!!


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[robpenfold]

I think once I get it, I'm going to install a much louder speaker

I have one 4.5" 40 W 8ohm speaker in my pack and it is LOUD! Mind you the GBfans soundboard has a built in amplifier but I was surprised how loud that little speaker. I know many people have used 2 X 4" or 6" speakers. The other thing you might want to think about is I added a volume pot to the motherboard so that I could adjust the volume on the pack while wearing it. Pretty handy let me tell you. And simple to do.

 

[mrjbarl1]

Ohhh ok yeah I was wondering if it had a volume switch. I'll have to keep that in mind, maybe I'll hide a volume knob on the wand somewhere that just looks like a regular part. Thanks for the tip!


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[Daniel Nelms]

Why not use the crank knob for the pot?

 

[robpenfold]

I thought about the crank knob for volume. I do have it attached to a pot so that it turns but its not connected to anything. I didn't use it for volume because I obviously can't reach it to adjust volume while wearing it and I didn't want any wires/electronics connected to my shell. Everything is fitted to the motherboard so that the shell just lifts off once the bolts are removed. No worry about disconnecting anything.

I remember reading somewhere that someone used the knob on the Clippard valve on the wand as a volume control. You could also use any of the knobs on the wand. The only consideration that there is very little room inside the wand once you get all the leds and wires in there. Trust me, its a pretty tight fit.

 

[mrjbarl1]

Hey everyone, I'm just about done with the pep work on the body of the pack and will be posting pics shortly.

The only snag I'm having is the gun. Would anyone happen to have the pep files for the wand? Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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[Daniel Nelms]

The bellows, 3d printed and painted. Downloaded from thingiverse

 

[mrjbarl1]

progress on my pack so far, Glad the hard part is done. Now it's time to do the fun stuff!


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[Daniel Nelms]

Here's some 3d printable thrower parts http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:95727 I dunno if that helps or not but maybe it could give you some ideas.

 

[mrjbarl1]

Here's some 3d printable thrower parts http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:95727 I dunno if that helps or not but maybe it could give you some ideas.

Thanks for the link, I started messing with it and actually decided to just buy a Matty wand lol. So on the up side, that should be here in the next couple days; as well as a sticker sheet of the warning labels.

How's your pack coming along? I know I haven't had much to show, but that's because I've been gathering all the other parts for the costume.

And btw, did you use a pre made shell or make the body if it yourself? I myself am only using the pep model for the accurate dimensions, and building my actual pack from scratch. I came up with a really cool idea that will really be awesome if it goes the way I plan; which involves using extra heavy card stock roughly (1/16" thick) that I'm epoxying together to build the pack. Then I'll be covering the entire thing with thin bare-aluminum flashing (for houses) to give it the wow factor.

I'm about to start making a lot of fast progress, so keep an eye out for pics!


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[Daniel Nelms]

I got my shell from studio creations in Atlanta. It's coming along pretty good. I got the last batch of parts that I sourced from gbfans.com.
I put in the rainbow ribbon cable last night and made an attachment out of foam core and used real screws in it. It looks the part.

I'll post some pics soon.

 

[mrjbarl1]

I got my shell from studio creations in Atlanta. It's coming along pretty good. I got the last batch of parts that I sourced from gbfans.com.
I put in the rainbow ribbon cable last night and made an attachment out of foam core and used real screws in it. It looks the part.

I'll post some pics soon.

Oh ok awesome, I'm lookin forward to seein it. I'll hopefully have pictures today of mine in it's raw shiny aluminum form


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