Canobi
Sr Member
Coding is done for the display 
Ammo Counter - YouTube
Now working with vendor on adding a sound chip :thumbsup
Ammo Counter - YouTube
Now working with vendor on adding a sound chip :thumbsup
Nerf Aliens Pulse Rifle Build
- Thread starter quest
- Start date
majenko
Member
Hey thar... Those are my fingers you see in that video
I must say I have had great fun making this ammo counter thingie. So nice to depart from the usual drudgery of designing industrial control systems and such to do something whimsical
I've finished the sound chip system for it now, and it's winging its way to Canobi - you can expect a video from him in short order no doubt. We gave up trying to find a pre-built sound chip that worked just as we wanted, so I made my own from a dsPIC with built in DAC. It plays samples direct from internal flash memory, so there is no SD card to worry about, but that does mean you can't change the samples once programmed. The samples are only 8KHz, 16 bit mono, but that's fine for playing through a little 0.5W speaker embedded in a gun. It has the ability to play many many samples concurrently, but only a small amount of flash memory to store samples, so it's only got 4 in there at the moment. It does mean, however, that the pulse rifle plays a single sample once per round fired and overlays them on top of each other. Getting the right sound was a challenge - we tried chopping up samples from the movies, but none of them worked particularly well. It's a shame there is no one single gunshot from a PR anywhere in the movies. So, I managed to synthesize something that seems to work quite well.
It also has a grenade launch / explode sample pair, which are not a single sample but two individual samples. You fire the grenade with a thunk, then between 0.2s and 1.2s later (random time delay) the grenade explodes with a boom.
You also get a *click* when the magazine is empty...
Oh, and one more thing - while you're shooting the PR you get the odd random screech from an alien thrown in there too for extra realism.
I am planning on designing a properly integrated sound/counter board using a more powerful chip behind it that can store more samples, and have the full size dual 7 segment display on it - and all not much bigger than the display itself (the joys of surface mount components ) - that should fit snugly in any pulse rifle you care to make.
Here's a sample of the output from the current incarnation of the sound/counter combination.
http://scratchpad.majenko.co.uk/prsample.mp3
If you want the single shot (it sounds nothing like you'd expect), you can get it here:
http://scratchpad.majenko.co.uk/pr.wav
It was a single shot from a gattling cannon, with added brown noise, and some filtering. Then pitch shifted, and a phase effect added, and that's what it ended up as.
Oh, and from what I have experienced by examining the waveforms of the samples from the movies, although the gun is purportedly firing at 15 rounds per second, the sound effect is actually running at 20 rounds per second. It was that which had us both somewhat stumped with the samples for some time - nothing would sound quite right, chiefly because 15 RPS was just too slow. Crank the firing up to 20 RPS and it sounds sweet as a nut.
I must say I have had great fun making this ammo counter thingie. So nice to depart from the usual drudgery of designing industrial control systems and such to do something whimsical
I've finished the sound chip system for it now, and it's winging its way to Canobi - you can expect a video from him in short order no doubt. We gave up trying to find a pre-built sound chip that worked just as we wanted, so I made my own from a dsPIC with built in DAC. It plays samples direct from internal flash memory, so there is no SD card to worry about, but that does mean you can't change the samples once programmed. The samples are only 8KHz, 16 bit mono, but that's fine for playing through a little 0.5W speaker embedded in a gun. It has the ability to play many many samples concurrently, but only a small amount of flash memory to store samples, so it's only got 4 in there at the moment. It does mean, however, that the pulse rifle plays a single sample once per round fired and overlays them on top of each other. Getting the right sound was a challenge - we tried chopping up samples from the movies, but none of them worked particularly well. It's a shame there is no one single gunshot from a PR anywhere in the movies. So, I managed to synthesize something that seems to work quite well.
It also has a grenade launch / explode sample pair, which are not a single sample but two individual samples. You fire the grenade with a thunk, then between 0.2s and 1.2s later (random time delay) the grenade explodes with a boom.
You also get a *click* when the magazine is empty...
Oh, and one more thing - while you're shooting the PR you get the odd random screech from an alien thrown in there too for extra realism.
I am planning on designing a properly integrated sound/counter board using a more powerful chip behind it that can store more samples, and have the full size dual 7 segment display on it - and all not much bigger than the display itself (the joys of surface mount components
) - that should fit snugly in any pulse rifle you care to make.Here's a sample of the output from the current incarnation of the sound/counter combination.
http://scratchpad.majenko.co.uk/prsample.mp3
If you want the single shot (it sounds nothing like you'd expect), you can get it here:
http://scratchpad.majenko.co.uk/pr.wav
It was a single shot from a gattling cannon, with added brown noise, and some filtering. Then pitch shifted, and a phase effect added, and that's what it ended up as.
Oh, and from what I have experienced by examining the waveforms of the samples from the movies, although the gun is purportedly firing at 15 rounds per second, the sound effect is actually running at 20 rounds per second. It was that which had us both somewhat stumped with the samples for some time - nothing would sound quite right, chiefly because 15 RPS was just too slow. Crank the firing up to 20 RPS and it sounds sweet as a nut.
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majenko
Member
The system I made for Canobi has a "mode" switch on it which selects between PR rounds and grenades. I know not everyone would want this method of switching, so for the integrated board I am thinking of making I'd like it to be switchable between different styles of operation - maybe make it so you can set different parameters through the display
I have come up with other methods of alternating between PR and grenades, and was wondering if others had any thoughts on it...
1. Mode switch (as above) - in one state it's firing (and counting) PR rounds, in the other it's firing and counting grenades.
2. Dual trigger - Only display PR round count - one input fires PR rounds, the other fires grenades. Maybe have a separate button for displaying grenade count while pressed.
3. (this one is the cunning one that came to me last night in bed) - Priming mechanism. Normally it fires PR rounds when you pull the trigger. But, pump the grenade launcher and it switches to grenades for the next shot. The display shows the number of grenades left. Pull the trigger, one grenade is fires - and it instantly switches back to PR mode. Pump the grenade again, and it primes another grenade for firing with the next trigger pull.
4. ... any other ideas?
I have come up with other methods of alternating between PR and grenades, and was wondering if others had any thoughts on it...
1. Mode switch (as above) - in one state it's firing (and counting) PR rounds, in the other it's firing and counting grenades.
2. Dual trigger - Only display PR round count - one input fires PR rounds, the other fires grenades. Maybe have a separate button for displaying grenade count while pressed.
3. (this one is the cunning one that came to me last night in bed) - Priming mechanism. Normally it fires PR rounds when you pull the trigger. But, pump the grenade launcher and it switches to grenades for the next shot. The display shows the number of grenades left. Pull the trigger, one grenade is fires - and it instantly switches back to PR mode. Pump the grenade again, and it primes another grenade for firing with the next trigger pull.
4. ... any other ideas?
Canobi
Sr Member
I've started an interst thread on behalf of Majenko so we don't hijack quests thread (sorry quest, not intentional, got carried away :behave)
http://www.therpf.com/f13/majenko-electronics-small-form-pulse-rifle-fx-172492/
http://www.therpf.com/f13/majenko-electronics-small-form-pulse-rifle-fx-172492/
Canobi
Sr Member
With the display sorted, it was time to find a stash place for power, and after looking at several options, I plumped for this most handy of spaces:
I'm going to make a custome shaped 7 cell pack based on the configuration in the pic, though two cells will be dummy's as five 1.2v cells will give me 6v which is the operating voltage of the module. The charge connector will be located at one of the cut points where the stock crossbar which I'll be removing, or in the hole in the bottom of the handgrip normally resurves for a spare dart.
I'm going to make a custome shaped 7 cell pack based on the configuration in the pic, though two cells will be dummy's as five 1.2v cells will give me 6v which is the operating voltage of the module. The charge connector will be located at one of the cut points where the stock crossbar which I'll be removing, or in the hole in the bottom of the handgrip normally resurves for a spare dart.
baron von blondle
Sr Member
wow! looks great! is that scratchbuilt too with the styrene?
BritNerfMogul
New Member
Here's my tribute to the pulse rifle, more of a MK II if you will:
Entirely built using only nerf parts, and the ammo counter is a static counter from the solid resin kit. Currently enrolled on a Design and Technology course at my local university, so I'll be converting the counter as soon as I can. Also, it's still fully functional as a fully automatic Nerf gun.
Entirely built using only nerf parts, and the ammo counter is a static counter from the solid resin kit. Currently enrolled on a Design and Technology course at my local university, so I'll be converting the counter as soon as I can. Also, it's still fully functional as a fully automatic Nerf gun.
crimsonjester
New Member
great conversion, looks really good.
BritNerfMogul
New Member
The rifle itself makes a fantastic cycling sound as it fires, so I'm just going to focus on giving it with the count down function for now.
Canobi
Sr Member
:facepalm totally forgot that! I saw a 22v mod with one of those, man did it fire quick, and the sound was beautiful :thumbsup
SWEET!
Haha! No worries
The round counter info definitely belongs here, as part of the evolution of the project.er...I mean...I am deeply offended and you should mail me a round counter to atone for this gross infraction
Great work my friend! Great work
KlotziDotCom
Member
Nice builds, the Stampede as well as the SPAS Cage!
Gesendet von meinem MI 2 mit Tapatalk 2
Gesendet von meinem MI 2 mit Tapatalk 2
Tan Djarka
Master Member
I posted another dedicated thread, but no one seemed to notice or care, but has anyone seen the new MECHANISED gun from Nerf, the "Stryfe"? It looks to be about the same size as the core of the "Recon" (or whatever it's replacement is called) but doesn't require you to cock it for every shot (or at all, actually). That seems like it would be a good thing, given the nature of the shroud. You get the autofire feature of the "Stampede" while retaining the proportions of the "Recon". As far as I can tell it will accept the "Raider" stock and "Longshot" barrel extension, so all you need is the shroud and a good paint job.
Canobi
Sr Member
Don't worry, I've had threads that died after one or two posts myself. Could you stick a link up, very interested to have a look at it. Some of the new Nerf are just BadA** cool.
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