HAL/SAL 9000 Lens options

[Markus]

Now if there was a way to create new words in the HAL9000 voice. Because, my name isn't Dave

The problem is that Douglas Rain (HAL's voice) recently passed away.
This leaves you with two options:

1. Hire a decent voice actor. Some time ago, I found a very promising one on the web. He had a nice example phrase for HAL, based on which I would expect him to do a very decent job, certainly good enough for me. I remember that he charged per word. It wasn't too much, but if you need a few phrases, it would add up (and it was too much for my budget builts). However, I am saving my notes at different places, and I can't find the link right now.
2. If you don't want to spend too much money, this leaves you with only one option: change your name to "Dave"!

 

[Markus]

Now if there was a way to create new words in the HAL9000 voice.

If we just could get Douglas Rain to voice another computer...
... but, hey, he already did that!

He also voiced the computer in Woody Allen's movie Sleeper (1973).
This computer, the "biocentral computer 2100 series G", appears during
the scene in which the nose is supposed to be cloned.

Here is the movie scene:

The computer voice is heard in this clip at: 0:33, 1:14, 1:27, 1:38, 3:32, 4:10

I added the following sound clips to the HAL9000 github repository.
The sound clips were edited to remove specific references to the
"Sleeper" movie, so the final clips can be merged with the
"2001: A Space Odyssey" clips.
(removed were the name "Dr. Tamkin", the name of the computer
"biocentral computer 2100 series G", and the reference to the
"cloning procedure")

* final clips sleeper-###.mp3
001 Hello, Doctor ..., so nice to see you. ("Dr. Tamkin" was removed)
002 I'll be assisting you through the entire process.
003 May I say Doctor, we're all aware of your reputation.
004 You can see the coded medical history on readout four.
005 We're ready to proceed.
006 Excuse me Doctor, but that would be a tragic mistake.
007 I think it's time to check the cell structure.
008 Something is going wrong. There's been a current break in the life support system.

 

[Hylo133]

Necroposting here, but if anyone is still looking for a decent option for a lens, I ended up using this very cheap macro filter of Amazon for my Moebius kit:

Green L - 72mm Macro Filter 10x

The curvature of the lens is slightly lower than the original but it looks a million times better than the plastic kit lens. I also found it very easy to remove the glass from the filter ring - the elements twisted right out.

The overall diameter of the glass is about 1mm too small, but fixed this by adding some tape to the inner rim of the housing.

Will post some pics when I've got my kit all finished up.

 

[Markus]

Necroposting here, but if anyone is still looking for a decent option for a lens, I ended up using this very cheap macro filter of Amazon for my Moebius kit:

Green L - 72mm Macro Filter 10x

The curvature of the lens is slightly lower than the original but it looks a million times better than the plastic kit lens. I also found it very easy to remove the glass from the filter ring - the elements twisted right out.

The overall diameter of the glass is about 1mm too small, but fixed this by adding some tape to the inner rim of the housing.

Will post some pics when I've got my kit all finished up.

Nice find. Amazon.com have something similar here:
http://amazon.com/Ultimaxx-Professional-Close-up-Diopter-Protective/dp/B084H4YHGC/ref=sr_1_6
But it seems to me that the curvature is not enough.
Here is something that I tried some time ago. I got this lens dirt cheap from aliexpress. The curvature is great. But in this case, the diameter of about 60mm is just a little too small. I tried to use it inside the 100mm arcade button (as an internal lens element), but it is too thick to fit in there.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Has anyone considered just buying a cheap 8mm fisheye and taking it out of the plastic housing? I'd like to build a replica around that, but keep it as close to the Moebius kit measurements as possible. I think I measured the outer lens of the Moebius kit to be 72mm and that mostly fits a 72mm filter adapter I own (there's a bit of jiggle room). So I'm looking for cheap 8mm Fisheye lenses that use 72mm filter rings. I feel like that's the only way to get the true diffusion of light. That might just mean that the case has to be a bit deeper than the usual to support the additional lens elements.

Anyway, has anyone gone down this path? Any specific inexpensive fisheye lenses that have been found that will fit with the kit?

 

[WBiggs]

The problem is that Douglas Rain (HAL's voice) recently passed away.
This leaves you with two options:

1. Hire a decent voice actor. Some time ago, I found a very promising one on the web. He had a nice example phrase for HAL, based on which I would expect him to do a very decent job, certainly good enough for me. I remember that he charged per word. It wasn't too much, but if you need a few phrases, it would add up (and it was too much for my budget builts). However, I am saving my notes at different places, and I can't find the link right now.
2. If you don't want to spend too much money, this leaves you with only one option: change your name to "Dave"!

There may be a third option...
I've seen some AI programs where, from around 5 seconds of audio, it lets you clone someone's voice for Text to Speech, and once I find a good, reliable, and easy to install project, I'll be sure to share it here!

 

[Markus]

There may be a third option...
I've seen some AI programs where, from around 5 seconds of audio, it lets you clone someone's voice for Text to Speech, and once I find a good, reliable, and easy to install project, I'll be sure to share it here!

Yes, please do so!! I could imagine that this should be possible. And even if it was not perfect, it would surely be great to have it.

 

[WBiggs]

There's a GitHub repository for one, but the creator said that he's stopped maintaining it, and to try to find another project.
But here's the link if you want to try it out!

CorentinJ/Real-Time-Voice-Cloning

The majority of the training has been done before hand so you only have to put one clip of the voice- I may try to modify it so it can take in multiple audio files so it can more accurately imitate HAL though! Would a new thread be the best place to continue this, or should I just keep posting here?

 

[Markus]

There's a GitHub repository for one, but the creator said that he's stopped maintaining it, and to try to find another project.
But here's the link if you want to try it out!

CorentinJ/Real-Time-Voice-Cloning

The majority of the training has been done before hand so you only have to put one clip of the voice- I may try to modify it so it can take in multiple audio files so it can more accurately imitate HAL though! Would a new thread be the best place to continue this, or should I just keep posting here?

This looks really interesting. I just don't think that I have time right now to have a closer look into this. But I would recommend starting a new thread for this. It certainly deserves one!

 

[joberg]

Interesting for sure...would solve a lot of problems. Defo new thread

 

[WBiggs]

Quick update before I start my own thread detailing my HAL 9000 build: I found a website called 15.ai that has a TTS program that supports many voices, including HAL! I'm assuming it synthesizes his voice very well just based on the documentation because the site is down right now. Once it's back up, I'll post on this thread, as well as my own if I've started build by then

 

[alensatemybuick]

interesting. But the seller.

2001: A Space Odyssey HAL 9000 GLASS LENS, RED FILTER, WHITE LED for Moebius kit | eBay

The Moebius HAL 9000 kit is NOT included. That should be obvious, but we live on Earth,so. The kit is great (for a plastic model kit) but the lens is.less so. And since it is a thin plastic injection piece, it also does not recreate the eye/light effect seen in the film.

www.ebay.com

 

[Fett_Ish]

interesting. But the seller.

2001: A Space Odyssey HAL 9000 GLASS LENS, RED FILTER, WHITE LED for Moebius kit | eBay

The Moebius HAL 9000 kit is NOT included. That should be obvious, but we live on Earth,so. The kit is great (for a plastic model kit) but the lens is.less so. And since it is a thin plastic injection piece, it also does not recreate the eye/light effect seen in the film.

www.ebay.com

I like my HAL well enough but have been looking to replace that plastic lens, so I ordered one.

 

[joberg]

^^eager to see what will come of it Fett_Ish

 

[alensatemybuick]

Hope it works out for you. It looks pretty nice. I guess you don’t have to like a person to do business with them, and Ebay and Pay-pal protections will no doubt protect you. But the auction description alone is a turn-off to me. Kinda snarky. Nooooo! Boooooo!

i guess one has to admire his offering these “at cost, as a service to the collector community“.

 

[Fett_Ish]

Yeah, I try to avoid the drama and hope for the best. I have not dealt with this person myself but know of other peoples issue. There is little risk due to eBay and PayPal as you say so worth the shot. I will post up what I get.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I like my HAL well enough but have been looking to replace that plastic lens, so I ordered one.

Figured this would be a more inexpensive option than finding and retrofitting a wide angle lens, so I went ahead and ordered one too. I'd be interested in seeing how you install yours when you get it in hand

 

[Fett_Ish]

So I received my lense today exactly as advertised.Pretty quick considering I ordered it late Friday night. It looks great as the curvature is so much more extreme than the plastic lense. I built my HAL when I got it so I was able to get the plastic lenses off and pull the eye from the frame, but those 3 parts ar not coming apart so I’ll have use a dremel to cut the inner lip, but it appears the glass will fit right in there. Not sure what glue to use, Anyway I’ll do the surgery after work tomorrow and update.

 

[Valor]

Fett_Ish I was unclear from the eBay post. Does it include the lens housing and ring as shown here?

 

[the DOCTOR]

Took the plunge, and got a 'posted' notification and tracking number within an hour.

Working on a 3D printed mount so it's a straight swap.