Functional Pip-boy 3000 Mk IV from Fallout 4

veektohr, "Zap-Boy" I like that.

The hard part with LCDs is finding one which is the right size AND has the right interface needed.
If I skip the touch-screen like Bethesda did then there are a lot more options, most of them are fairly low resolution though. If anything I will take one last crack at it.

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I redesigned the cable reel for the third time. This time I changed to a double sided reel, which prevents the cable from touching the non-moving side of the case.
I changed the pawl such that it has lower friction moving in the retraction direction. I reduced the number of catches to just three, however I may change this one last time as landing on a catch point right now is a bit difficult.

Without the slip ring in place a single spring can handle the load, and the cable return works perfectly. With the slip ring attached I have to double the spring. With the spring doubled, the whole thing works great. Thanks to loonitick for the double-spring idea. I still am going to try to find a thicker spring as loading two springs into that tiny spool is dangerous and nerve racking. If you let go for just a second the springs explode out and you could easily get cut or loose an eye if you're not wearing protection. I already have a permanent scar on my hand from flying metal, I don't want more.
 

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Has anyone on here pre-ordered the new Bluetooth Pipboy 3000 MK IV yet? http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/iuso/ Its what everyone wanted to come with the Pipboy edition, but released months after

I thought about ordering it, but quickly decided against it. I got one of the Pipboy editions and the build quality just wasn't very good (to be fair this may be being made by a different manufacturer). My Pipboy edition appears to be a bit warped and doesn't line up properly when closed. The latch also randomly pops open (probably because of the warping) and the latch just always feels loose and floppy. It just doesn't have the tension that you expect in that style of latch mechanism, nor the satisfying clunk when you close it. I also don't like the fact that they've not included the game integration on the bluetooth unit.

Considering how expensive it is, I just don't believe you are getting your money's worth. I'm really looking forward to Zapwizard's version being finished and I think his is going to be much better. That being said, if they don't sell out and I could grab one on a decent sale... Then I could probably make room for a third Pipboy.
 
this looks friggin awesome man. i am loving how everything is starting to come together and its almost tangible at this point. might i suggest some readjusting the design on the bulb for the usb slot though? it doesnt seem as rounded and angular as it is in game. well on my current replica at least. just thought id say that. i mean its fine it just seems odd that it has a cone and then is just flat around the wire.
 
@Qumair84, See the posts a bit higher on this page for answers to those questions. The short answer is no, it isn't what everyone wanted.

@Ariannus, You can tell from the color and shapes that it is from the same design as the Pip-Boy edition. I expect the same cheap quality. The zinc metal latch even looks to be replaced by black plastic. (Probably because the zinc latches broke easily)

@Voltaire Surge, If your refering to the Pip-Boy edition, it isn't game accurate at all. However, I did take a 2nd look and tweaked the curves on the white portion. It does have a large curve and then a cone at the cable end. If your refering to the little recess where the cable enters the pod, I added that a while back but haven't rendered it up.
I also re-did the grip on the black portion so it is also now game-accurate.

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(You can compare the above image to this image from the Art of Fallout book.)

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I am running what has to be my fourth extensive search for a larger 4:3 LCD screen. I have tried several methods of physically modifying the iPhone 4S LCD to fit into the Pip-Boy, and all of them have a very high risk of destroying the LCD.
 
I've been following this project since near the beginning. Just created an account to say you've been doing a fantastic job and have inspired me to mod my pipboy edition.

Also, others have been asking about that new Pip boy bluetooth edition. I think it would be nice to get a teardown to see what kind of parts they used but IMO the thing isn't worth the price. Others have already mentioned the plastic and the latch, but even the functionality isn't that great. The UI is a little off (and at times doesn't even use the right font) plus the thing doesn't connect to the game :/ (Maybe they will update the software by it's launch?)

However, I do think transforming the stand into a charging station/bluetooth speaker is a neat idea. As big of a fallout fan as I am, I'm not going to be wearing the pipboy around unless I'm cosplaying or something, so having a little bit of functionality while its sitting on display at home is pretty neat (even the idea of an alarm clock is cool, even if it isn't super game accurate).
 
iklask, If I added charging to the stand, I wouldn't have done it like the deluxe edition did, with a huge rectangle protruding from the Pip-Boy. Instead, I would have used brass inserts in the Pip-Boy that would look like a small flush rivet. Then in the stand I would use high quality gold pogo-pins. This solution would add around $5 to the BOM cost.
I am thinking about adding it just for power (two pins).

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Well I found a LCD with a great fit (Although no touch-screen). It is 3.81" and 1200x1080 pixels with MIPI. Unfortunately it seems to only be available from one supplier and in 5 qty minimum. I believe this is the same LCD being used in the $300 "Pico Neo" VR headset. Perhaps once that VR headset eventually fails a few will show up on eBay.

I still can't believe with all the custom color iPhone 4S LCD assemblies out there, that I can't find any un-assembled iPhone 4S LCDs.
 
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@iklask, If I added charging to the stand, I wouldn't have done it like the deluxe edition did, with a huge rectangle protruding from the Pip-Boy. Instead, I would have used brass inserts in the Pip-Boy that would look like a small flush rivet. Then in the stand I would use high quality gold pogo-pins. This solution would add around $5 to the BOM cost.
I am thinking about adding it just for power (two pins).

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Well I found a LCD with a great fit (Although no touch-screen). It is 3.81" and 1200x1080 pixels with MIPI. Unfortunately it seems to only be available from one supplier and in 5 qty minimum. I believe this is the same LCD being used in the $300 "Pico Neo" VR headset. Perhaps once that VR headset eventually fails a few will show up on eBay.

I still can't believe with all the custom color iPhone 4S LCD assemblies out there, that I can't find any un-assembled iPhone 4S LCDs.

It's funny that I just found this thread and I'm so amazed. This may be a silly suggestion, but did you ever consider forgoing LCD and touchscreens and going with a mini CRT monitor? It probably wouldn't work and me and a friend debated on how I could build a PIpBoy with one, but ultimately it may use up too much power and take up too much room (not to mention you'd have to figure out how to interface with it). I just know you can buy very old and miniature CRT monitors on ebay for 9 dollars each (mini mini ones, but they are quite tall).
 
ColdSpike, as Loonitick said; there is no way I am using a mini CRT. First off, there simply isn't enough depth. The Pip-Boy only has about 1" of depth between the LCD and the surface of your arm. Even a mini CRT is a few inches deep. Any CRT also requires very high voltage which I also don't want running next to my arm, especially on a device literally clamped in place. And finally CRTs are power hogs. Old CRT TV's used upwards of 8 D cell batteries to run, not to mentions the massive amount of large electronics such as a fly transformer.

I did get to see the guts of one of these old portable CRT's sixteen years ago when my friend modified a retro TV into a portable media PC.

P.S. Coldspike, please don't quote the post immediately above your reply, it makes the thread longer and harder to read.
 
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As mentioned even a small CRT is very deep, the electron guns and control board take up quite a lot of room behind the screen. You could maybe fit a very small CRT into a sealed PipBoy for stationary display on a stand, but i'd advise considerable research beforehand. The CRT should be discharged at the anode before any modification is attempted and doing this improperly could shock you or destroy components. Even going this route you'd still need to house most of the components for the display such as the power supply and video board in the stand itself and run cables to the PipBoy.
 
Late to the commentary, as you've run into and resolved most of the issues I could foresee, and have thought of -- on your own -- most of the details and features I'd go with. I gotta tell you, I always love seeing someone as detail/accuracy/functionality-obsessed as I am. Partly because kindred spirit, and partly because oh thank god you're doing this and it's one less thing I'd have to bang my head against for several years to get right. :p I'm-a go do the survey in a bit, here, but what with where you are currently, I have a couple questions and suggentions I wanted to leave here for you...

- Someone else mentioned the Automatron game from the DLC. Were you going to tackle the cartridge art for that one, as with the other five?

- Regarding the holotapes in general... I know the "chassis" you have up on Shapeways is the prop one, and you won't have the functional one up until the architecture is locked. In the meantime, I want to take advantage of the twelve switch positions available and get six of each of your covers (six games, six logs) to work on in the meantime. But before I do I want to make sure they're interchangeable between the different chassis types. (Frankly, I like the idea of a version of functional that has microSD readers inside, but the process of getting the data to the rest of the Pip-Boy might be too cumbersome. But at least that would allow more than twelve possibilities...)

- Regarding switch/knob functions... I only have three thoughts, here.

1) Too many of the display functions in-game rely on you having not just more physical controls, but two hands to use them. The screen-left knob is useless for anything that involves actually looking at the screen, as your hand will be almost completely blocking it in order to use it. I suggest using it to change the display color (a feature in F4). I can't think of anything else remotely useful.

2) Next, a proposal for the small one next to the power switch. I suggest something like this under the knob. Not necessarily that exact component (unless you think there'd be room, which I kinda doubt -- but even then it's pricey). But the key features are, if you scroll down, "2-Way Rotational, 360° Directional, Center Select". And have its functionality relate to which of the macro screens you're in. The directionality on the map screen is obvious, but then the rotational can zoom in and out, the select button then would bring up the options for wherever the pointer is, and clicking this joystick backs out one step. For the radio it can be simple volume control. And it can actually be used to control the minigames.

3) Somewhat related, and this would require a little tweaking to the UI... The select wheel and button. Have it be both the secondary select -- and then click and it becomes the scroll select. This would, however, mean altering the interface so noting is default highlighted in inventory or data -- you have to scroll through the secondary screens and actively select one before the highlighting bar appears for you to then manipulate.

- Related to functionality and on-board content... Rather than actual radio, if authenticity is your objective, have the "stations" be preselects for user-loaded content. And I don't necessarily mean the game music, although I'd include the Diamond City songs and Travis' commentary. I'd want more from the Swing Years, and a lot more classical. And uploading songs makes more sense in that respect, to me. There's enough room, though, that I wouldn't be opposed to one or several selections that are set to receive FRS or similar transmissions, say for Wasteland Weekends purposes...

- Regarding printing considerations and materials... I'd actually suggest making the two halves of the main body able to be ordered separately, once you have stuff up on Shapeways. Those are likely to be the single most expensive pieces, due to size, and doing so would keep prices down-ish, and buyers could get and work on cleaning up and prepping one, then the other. Spreading the cost out like that is pretty attractive. The knobs and wheels and switches and holotape carriage can all be one order, and I recommend maybe the black high-definition acrylate. The color's already right, and it's got a smooth hard finish (and is good for capturing details like the grooves and indents and such). It's not as flexible as the regular nylon they have, but I think you could work with that, especially given all your latest tweaks to those parts (plus it resembles the vintage Bakelite look and feel the designers were going for). I think everything else would be fine in the standard nylon, though.

- What were you going to do for the clear coverings on the radio dial and the rad counter? Laser-cut acrylic or some such?

- Had you considered the bits from McMaster that have annoying minimums... maybe offering sets of those in the relevant quantities, in part to save us having many leftovers, and in part to help you recoup outlay?

- For paint... It seems the look they're going for is 1940s vintage. Black Bakelite plastic and cork-texture olive drab paint. I found this site in my researches, and I intend to use this paint and their ground cork to paint my Pip-Boy. Thoughts?

- And lastly for this post... The knob things I mentioned above would pretty much eliminate the need for a touchscreen. On the flip side, those sorts of joysticks aren't cheap. I'd call it a wash, except that preferring to keep things as game accurate as possible skews things away from the touch screen for me.

That's all for now. I'd say you're doing a superb job, but, while accurate, the word is woefully inadequate. Like describing the ocean as "wet". I already know, however long it takes, however much it ends up being, this is the only Pip-Boy for me. Pending your answer about the holotape casings on Shapeways, I look forward to beginning to order things. Maybe as various elements are "locked", you'll upload them as well...? I have zero objection to building this piecemeal.;)

--Jonah
 
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Inquisitor Peregrinus, wow a long detailed reply, I hope I get everything answered for ya.

1) "Someone else mentioned the Automatron...."
Automaton game holotape label. Added to my to-do list.

2) "Regarding the holotapes in general..."
The CAD design for the functional Holotape is done and prototyped, but the circuit board is not. There are no plans to change the dimensions in any way at this point. So even the prop versions will work. If you want to order some functional versions I can provide a link, I will have to upload a "Label Ready" model for the orange half though. PM me if your interested. The costs will be about the same as the prop version listed on Shapeways.

I have thought of a few different methods to hide a SD card or USB drive into the Holotape, but all of them require spring contacts to work. That isn't impossible, but it is difficult to get working every time. I could go for some USB stick gimmick like the deluxe edition did, but I feel that having actual optical data transfer trumps that.

The potentiometer that sets the 12 positions solders to the circuit board. Technically I only selected 12 positions as that was a good number for creating solid detent positions. Technically if you removed the detents or made them smaller you could have up to 128 reliable positions, but selecting them reliably would be difficult due to the tiny nature of the knob.

3) "Regarding switch/knob functions..."
3.1) The plan is to use the left control knob as programmable. Either volume, or screen brightness. Screen color isn't a bad idea either. You can actually reach that knob and use it by placing your right arm above the Pip-Boy. (Tried it on my Pip-Boy edition and it's useable)

3.2) Having the small knob near the radio be a joystick has been suggested and I took a look at it. The catch was that most of the joystick controls I could find were quite large. However, recently I go a development board from Silicon Labs that has a tiny joystick switch on it and I feel it could be integrated. It wouldn't rotate like the one you linked to, but it also wouldn't cost $165! It would have up/down/left/right/select

4) "I Related to functionality and on-board content..."
Having user generated content for the radio has been a planned feature since the start. The idea being that the radio selection knob would just select from a few different playlists, perhaps with the player skipping to a random section of the playlist to make it seem authentic. Even if I have a real FM radio inside, this feature is still possible through software thanks to the on-board audio mixing abilities in the DragonBoard 410c. So at that points it's a software function.
In regards to FRS, the 410c's FM radio covers 76 to 108 MHz, well below the 460MHz range that FRS uses, so no luck there.

5) "Regarding printing considerations and materials."
Similar to the Holotape, the 3D printed parts will probably have to be ordered in six or seven different pieces. This is just how Shapeways works unfortunately. I have worked very hard to optimize the models for the absolute lowest cost. I have probably uploaded over a dozen tweaked versions so far to see what changes and part combinations are best. You could order them over time as needed.

In regards to the material. The SLS nylon material is much tougher than the brittle acrylate material. Even if you order the parts in black, they can be easily dyed or painted using vinyl dye and then sanded and polished to a high shine. The materials starts out with an almost sandstone like texture, but doesn't lose much detail when smoothed out. Also the acrylate is $5 per part + $3 per CM. Efficiently 2x the cost of SLS Nylon.

6) "What were you going to do for the clear coverings..."
You got it, laser cut acrylic. 1.6mm Thick.

7) "Had you considered the bits from McMaster"
This is exactly why a group buy is needed. You can't get these types of small hardware parts in individual quantities. At this time the plan is that I would sell a hardware / electronics kit, The kit would include all the hardware with a few spare parts. The 3D printed parts would be ordered directly from Shapeways.

8) "For paint..."
I think I am leaving the paint up to the kit builder. Personally I have gotten by with spray paint for most my projects, but I plan on trying a few different techniques on this project. I am going to practice them on my two mini-nukes that I got from GhostMinion. (Buy his kit it is well made) The paint you linked to is very interesting, I am not sure if the cork may be too rough for such a small object.

9) "And lastly for this post... The knob things"
I am also leaning away from a touch-screen the more I work on the project. If only to lessen the overall number of components. An external mouse can always be used on an Linux/Android system for maintenance. I can decide that later as currently the touchscreen is a separate overlay. (If I do keep it, it won't be optional due to mechanical limitations)

10) In regards to piecemeal. I am sort of tacking the project in little random piece as evident in the project log. I am locking down certain elements, but not getting ahead of myself and 3D printing the whole thing yet, as that would be a waste. The LCD I have selected has changed at least six times now for example.
I do know lots of people who wouldn't do the project as piecemeal. Also I don't plan on releasing anything to the public in general until I know my own build works.

Yes, this project is taking a long time, and I could spend every spare hour working on it and get done in months, but the reality is it's a hobby. I still spend too many hours playing Fallout 4, as well as other games. The recent steam sale will probably sink some upcoming time.

At this point I can see light at the end of the mechanical tunnel... but there is a huge electrical tunnel after that, and then a software one after that. While I went to school for Electrical Engineering, I have actually been doing Mechanical Engineering for the past 15 years, so I have a lot of re-learning to do. I used to be able to whip up a schematic in no time, now it seems I have to spend hours just studying a reference design to understand all the elements.
 
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wow a long detailed reply, I hope I get everything answered for ya.

Pretty much. I had some follow-up thoughts, but wanted to wait until you'd had a chance to reply to see what remained relevent and how your answer(s) might alter what I wanted to ask. Now, to break this up into smaller chunks...

re: Holotapes

Glad to hear that about the Automatron cartridge label. I figured it was in your queue. From what I've seen, it looks like it would go on the black game housing. So my count is two blue, two red, one orange, and one black for the games. Good to know they'll be interchangeable. Again, I figured they would be, but I wanted to make sure. Before I get cracking on these, did you have any pointers for a particular type/weight/finish of label paper? Or shall I just wing it? :)

As for functionality, my thinking was to either put one of these inside, connected to an I/O control board... or get a bunch of these, dismount them from their boards, and put them on custom-designed PCBs to simplify internals. Where the LED and switch are on the functional holotape you've designed, I'd instead put a small rectangular window of smoked acrylic, with an infrared laser diode in the LED location and a tiny receptor in the switch location, with a mirror setup on the Pip-Boy side. The holotape "reel" can house he battery. The control chip would be very simple:

IF receptor gets "activate" command from Pip-Boy
THEN stream content of MicroSD card via laser diode

Here's a tutorial for a similar component. There's also one for Raspberry Pi, and the DragonBoard folks might have some familiarity with them and suggestions for them.

The one thing that's still problematic is the lack of space for even a slender cammed arm (input rotation, output translation) to slide the holotape guard back on pushing the carriage down, and reversing that on eject...


re: Switches, knobs, and dials -- oh, my!

User-programmable upper-left and small lower makes much sense. If I wanted to plunk down for the mini-joystick I linked to, d'you think it'd fit in the space available?

And, related to that, before I spend a significant amount of time plying my Google-fu... I know there are some folks out there working on Pip-Boy user interfaces. How many have you checked out? And/or do you know of any who are doing something more promising or potentially compatible with this project?

I see your point about materials. Strong and flexible, it is.

re: Design lock, printing, and finishing

Makes sense not to put anything out until you know the whole thing works. I'll still have some holotapes to mess with in the meantime. ;) And I'm glad that whenever it is ready and available, I'll be able to piecemeal it as my costuming budget allows. I also have many more than one iron in the fire.

As for the group buys, I presume that's covered in the survey you have up. I haven't been able to view it, as you have it on Google Docs and I have no Google/gmail account. I've managed to resist their Borg-like assimilation of the internet to some degree. Are there alternatives? Or do I have to finally admit defeat and sign up?

That WWII style texture paint really has a fine granularity. Have you ever seen close-up or handled an original WWII M1 helmet, or other similarly-coated materiel from that era? Some modern wrinkle paints, if you sand them down a bit after they've cured, have as subtle a texture, but most of what folks are familiar with today for textured paint is significantly more crude than this stuff. Plus, you can mix in as much or as little cork as you want, for more or less effect. And definitely mask off the edges where the Pip-Boy halves meet, where the probe plug seats, wherever there needs to be close smooth contact. After the texture coat, remove the masking and do a plain second coat. At any rate, I think it'd be worthwhile to get some to experiment... :)

--Jonah
 
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re: Holotapes:
Game Label: The label-ready part is designed 0.5mm thinner on three sides, in order to accept the application of an adhesive label. So a 10, 15 or even 20 mil label will work well. I think 10 mil inkjet printable labels are common. Once I get the artwork designed I will send you a PM with links to the functional version on Shapeways.

As far as functionality, I don't think I can tackle a SD card to optical data circuit right now. First off, you can't just stream the contents of a SD card to another microprocessor. There is a lot of data handshaking and other communication that has to happen. There are four separate serialized signals, where even set of laser couldn't keep separated. Those signals are already very high speed, so to modulate them into separate data channels that can run with each other would require high-end fiber optic type circuitry. Far out of the bounds of this project.

In theory there is one slightly simpler method which can make the holotape save actual audio or text data signals and play them back. That is to use exactly what a CD player uses. That is write out the actual audio or text bits as pure 1's and 0's. The catch is this can take up a lot of data space. If I limited the playback to say just 1 minute or 30 seconds, then a simple flash type EEPROM can be used. If you wanted to store more, than a SD card and microcontroller would be required, which increases the cost and complexity significantly. Also powering those from 3V becomes difficult, you can't use 3.3V chips on a 3V battery.

Writing data to the holotape would be another issue too. A optical recording circuit would double the amount of parts required. The holotape could be pre-programmed, however most people will not have enough money to order more than one or two holotapes. So having it able to change on the fly is a must. Currently I don't plan on making any changes, despite what is technically possible.

For those who haven't read previous posts, the current design means the Holotape acts as a little IR remote. Sending a signal to the Pip-Boy to play a pre-programmed audio file/text file or app.

re: Switches, knobs, and dials -- oh, my!:

They joystick you linked to is really quite large. It is made for operating something like a digger. What I am looking at using is more like this.
Also I am not doing any customizations on the design for anyone, regardless of cost.

There are two stand-alone Pip-Boy interfaces I am looking at:
PyPipboyApp - Unofficial Fallout 4 Pipboy Companion Application by matzman666
And RobCo Industries Pip-Boy library.

I don't know which I would use yet. The first one is written in Python which I can work with somewhat. The 2nd is Javascript which I have never messed with.
However, the main guy doing the 2nd library is located in San Antonio, ~60 miles from me in Austin. So maybe I can convince him to help when the time comes.

The plan is to use one of those to create the interface to the game. I am moving away from the idea of "hacking" the companion app. I would rather have a all-in-one app which can have a standalone and game mode, each with the same interface. I should mention however that getting a working game interface is a secondary priority to getting the real-world interface working.

re: Design lock, printing, and finishing:

I used Google Forms for the survey just because it's simple. Sign up for the final group buy will probably occur here on the RPF. I used the survey more as a way to gauge how many people were interested and their average skill level. If you want PM me your e-mail and I will email you the questions, and you can then reply and I will add you to the spreadsheet.
 
Ever closer. Thanks for your patience. :)

re: Holotapes

I've got the existing five game labels saved and tested on my printer, so I'll get rolling on those, and start ordering the housings this week, two at a time starting with the game ones. Thanks for the pointer for the label paper. You can hold off on the functional chassis until you've got the architecture locked. I'll still be here. :)

I get what you're saying about functionality. What I was proposing with the MicroSD card reader and such was the beginning of a notion, not a full plan. I knew going in it's beyond the scope of this project. I was mainly holding it up as a what-if/have-you-considered. You're thorough, so I figured you'd already explored and rejected the possibility, but I wanted to mention it just in case you hadn't. For what we're dealing with and how much on-board space the Pip-Boy itself will have, your solution makes the most practical and financial sense.

Writing data to the holotape would be another issue too. A optical recording circuit would double the amount of parts required. The holotape could be pre-programmed, however most people will not have enough money to order more than one or two holotapes. So having it able to change on the fly is a must. Currently I don't plan on making any changes, despite what is technically possible.

Yeah, that's why I liked the idea of being able to just unscrew the housing and swap cards if you wanted to change what was played. But, as you said, the interface with the Pip-Boy is a whole other level of don't-want-to-mess-with-that. Given a complete holotape, with shipping and screws and battery, would come to under fifty bucks, I have no problem accumulating many, and I hope others will, too. I want all six games, and I want a bunch of persona-appropriate logs that can be played for bemused onlookers at events. I figure I am not alone in such geekiness, though also not a universal metric. :p

re: Switches, knobs, and dials -- oh, my!

They joystick you linked to is really quite large. It is made for operating something like a digger.

The base is 1.25" in diameter and .629" high. I didn't know how much space was behind that part of the housing and just tossed it out there as a possibility, for further discussion.

Also I am not doing any customizations on the design for anyone, regardless of cost.

Wasn't going to ask. ;) Everything you've done so far is orders of magnitude beyond what I could manage at my current level of schooling and equipment, so I'm not about to get demanding. On the flip side, I've a well-honed ability to tweak and modify nearly anything, given sufficient motivation. If there's room for a joystick like the one I linked to (or a smaller version of same that I might scare up through more extensive Googling), I'll see if I can make it work. If there isn't, I'll stick with your recommendation.

Will look into those app projects. I'll also keep an eye peeled for your ongoing exploration of this. The idea of you being able to collaborate with someone local is a promising one, and I hope that pans out. Plus it would take some of the R&D workload off you.

Closing thoughts

[/B]
I used Google Forms for the survey just because it's simple. Sign up for the final group buy will probably occur here on the RPF. I used the survey more as a way to gauge how many people were interested and their average skill level. If you want PM me your e-mail and I will email you the questions, and you can then reply and I will add you to the spreadsheet.

Gotcha. PM inbound.

I've been thinking... You know how, during WWII, to produce sufficient quantities of a thing it would be subcontracted out to more than just the originator of the thing? So, like, there were B-17 bombers built by Boeing, of course, but also by Lockheed and Douglas and others. Maybe add an easter egg somewhere in the housing to the effect of designed by RobCo for Vault-Tec, built by Zapwizard...?

--Jonah
 
Hey folks... sorry no real update today. I simply have been playing games from the Steam Sale instead of working on the Pip-Boy. (Played Tomb Raider and Just Cause 3...may still play Witcher 3). Along with playing Fallout 4 semi-regularly.

Getting a good LCD and supplier is by far the most frustrating part of this project. Anytime I find a listing for raw iPhone 4 LCD panels, and I e-mail the supplier, they always say that the listing is old and then take it down. Then try to sell me iPhone 6 or other panels which don't fit. At this point I may have to find someone able to help me engineer a proper MIPI to Parallel RGB circuit.
 
Inquisitor Peregrinus, In response to your question above, and in the survey: The main driver behind a touch-screen was for the Companion app. The secondary drive was the ability to use other Android apps in general. However at this point in time, I can take or leave the touchscreen idea. I am now more interested in making a dedicated Pip-Boy device. That is one that works in real-life the same as in-game. An in-game interface would have to be programmed later. The LCD interface is turning out to be the hardest part of this project to nail down. iPhone 4 LCDs are plentiful but only with attached glass. Cutting or separating that glass it far to difficult for your average joe (even down right dangerous).

In response to your survey question about options. I try to avoid updating the survey questions too much as that skews the results already listed by others. I think I have made it clear that this design is being made to my own preferences. With input from the survey to help guide the outcome. For example 80% of the respondents prefer to purchase the 3D printed parts from me rather than building it themselves. And that is the plan. Selling the components on shapeways allows me to protect my CAD files.

The design will not be modular or with optional "features" for people to select from. The only optional items will be those which can be separated 100% from the Pip-Boy such as the number of holotapes included, the stand, and charger dock.
 
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