So you have just got done building your amazing
proton pack! It sits proudly there in your mom's dining room, ready to
impress with its amazing lights and cheerful demeanor. But wait, its
awesomeness falls on deaf ears!
Well, if you have a little bit
of time on your hands and can look at pictures, you are in for a treat!
Welcome to the Replica Props Do-it-Yourself sound project tutorial!
Now
before we proceed, you must realize that by following this tutorial,
you will be modifying your current light kits. If you are not
comfortable doing this, please do not try to do this without help. You
build and install this sound system into your pack AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Also
note that I will NOT build you one of these either, This thing is easy people, don't be afraid to try!
First
and foremost, you will need to gather the parts to build this sound
system.
You
will need:
Sound Board model- the heart of this sound
system. When ordering, you don't need to upload a zip file with the
sounds, you just have to select proton pack from the options. The difference between the 1m and the 4m is the 4m adds the GB theme song and a extra hum loops sound, but removes the volume up and down feature the 1m has. Most people never use the volume feature any way because they control the volume through the canakit amplifier.
CANUK153 7 watt amp - the amp will add volume to
your set up so everyone can hear you comin'- $19.95
4" 8 OHM Speaker - you need to be able to hear
what your chip is doing right? I recommend 2 of these puppies- $9.00
each (because the Amplifier requires 4ohm you will be wiring these in parallel like this
Bread Board - by installing the chip on here, you
will not need to solder directly to the chip - $4.00
DPDT Push Button - You will need to change out
your current push button with this switch for this to work - $4.80
Push Button Cap - You will also need a cap for
your push button, which you can either use this one or modify the
plunger from your old plunger and glue it onto the new push button -
$.62
I
used the C&K Components push button because the plunger is plastic
instead of metal. I was able to shave it down with a razor and take the
black plunger off an accurate push button and glue that sucker onto
this button to make it look more accurate. It's a little daring for
some, but if done right, can look great in the end.
DPDT micromini Toggle Switch -you will need to
switch out 1-2 of your switches on your gun to this type of switch -
$3.99
12v Power Source: You have lots of different ways you
can get a 12v power supply for your amp and lights, these are just some
suggestions.
8 "AA" Battery Holder - This will give you a 12v
power supply but it maybe be a pain to recharge all those batteries
and/or expensive to replace them if they are not rechargeable - $1.99
*Note*
If you go this route, you will also need a 9v snapconnector which is only $1.99.
or
Probably
the best, rechargeable power source you can use is the 12v CCTV rechargeable batteries that are listed on
Ebay. They range in ampere hour (Ah), so I would say stick with one
between 4600mah and 9600mah. This
would be the solution I would most recommend.
You will
also need other things that you can find at your local electronics
store such as 20 gauge wire, speaker wire, heat shrink tubing (to make
it look pretty), wire striper, soldering iron and solder, or for those
that are soldering impaired, this can be helpful: Wire Glue.
Now that all the supplies are
out of the way, let’s put everything together!
Now everyone one's
lights on their pack are wired differently and everyone is going to
want their sound hooked up differently too. So this tutorial is only
going to show you the basic idea behind how to wire it up. We cannot be
supplying a different write up for every possible way you may have your
lights hooked up in you pack. On the subject of different light kits,
please double check that your particular light kit can take a 12v power
source! We don't need you firing your lights. If you do not know,
contact the person that manufactured it to double check.
Setting up the Sound Board:
First
thing is first. Let us wire up the actual sound chip.
I
suggest installing the sound chip onto a Bread Board. By doing this, if
there is anything you need to change down the road, it will be a lot
easier and cleaner to use the Bread Board. This is extremely easy.
First
let me explain the bread board.
If you look at this picture of a bread board that
is similar to the one listed above, I will explain how these are set up.
Notice how each row is numbered and each column is lettered?
Basically, each numbered row is connected in that section of the bread
board.
And example would be row 1. In row 1, the holes "A"
through "E" are all connected. So if you were to put a wire into 1A,
holes 1B through 1E are all connected to that wire now. So if you need
to connect 2 wires together without soldering, you would place one wire
into row 1 and then place the other wire it needs to be connected to
within row 1 (A-E) as well. They will then be connected.
The 2
outer sets of columns on this bread board are set up differently than
the 2 inner sections. If you look, there is a red line and a blue line,
with a "+" and a "-" above each column, respectively. This time,
everything in each column will be connected, instead of each row (like
what was explained about columns A through J).
An example of
this would be if you are using the right most "-" or blue column as your
ground, you would have the ground to your battery plugged somewhere
into that column. Now any other wire that is plugged into that column
will connect to the ground.
Now that that is explained, time
to wire up the sound chip. Follow this diagram that robwerden made.
By using the simple set up of the bread board that I
explained earlier, you can easily just plug the sound chip into the
bread board and then run wires to the same row as the terminal of the
sound chip they need to be attached to. It is very simple. I would
also suggest hot gluing the wires into the bread board then to make sure
they do not come loose.
Here is a picture of the bread board with
all the wires installed.
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT A 3V TO 5V POWER SOURCE IS
NEEDED FOR THE SOUND CHIP, DO NOT PLUG THE CHIP INTO A 12V POWER SOURCE.
YOU WILL FRY IT.
Also note that Rob programs the chips with
extra sounds and functions, such as the volume control. You may install
buttons/switches to these if you wish. You just have to run a wire from
the terminal on the sound chip to the switch, then a wire from the
switch to a ground.
Wiring
the 7watt amp:
The amp is also extremely
easy to hook up. Basically, just follow this wiring diagram.
Make sure you test out the amp before you
permanently solder/wire glue them onto the amp. Best way to do this is
to strip the end of each wire with wire stripers, bend the bare wire
into a loop, and hook it onto each respective terminal. I find it
better to test it first then to regret it later.
Also note when
hooking up the wires to the amp, because the sound chip has .5 watt
amplification programmed into it, you will need to wire the "positive"
speaker wire coming from the sound chip to the "WIN" terminal on the
"Audio Device" side of the amp. The "WIN" terminal is for powered audio
devices (like a walkman. . . or a replica props sound chip!).
Wiring up your batteries:
There
are a couple of different ways you may get power to your lights, sound
chip and amp. I personally changed my power source for my lights to a
12v battery and hooked up my amp to that supply as well. When doing
this, please make sure your lights can handle a 12v power source.
Another
thing to consider is that the amp does not have an "On/Off" switch and
you will want to cut power to it when you are not using it or it will
drain your batteries. I personally wired my amp to the ground wire
coming off my pack lights so my amp only gets power when my pack lights
are on.
Here is a diagram of that set up:
Another option is simply hooking the amp to its own
switch. Just run a positive line from the positive terminal on your
12v to a switch. Then from the switch, run another wire down to the
positive terminal of the amp. Lastly, run a wire from the negative
terminal of the amp to the negative terminal on the battery.
An
alternative to this option is running the amp to a DPDT toggle switch
(similar to how the sound chip will be wired to the new push button and
toggle switch you will need to install in your gun which will be
detailed in the next section).
Which option you ultimately go
with depends on how your lights are set up to begin with.
As for
powering the sound chip, it needs a 3v to 5v power supply. The easiest
way to attach this is by using the 2 "AA" battery holder listed above.
Just wire the closed battery holder to the chip. I would recommend
rechargeable batteries so you will not have to buy new batteries all the
time. Also note that the sound chip has a sleep mode, which it goes
into when not being used. Because of this, I see no need to wire up an
"On/Off" switch for the sound chip.
Wiring your new DPDT switches:
Once
again, please look at robwerden's diagram he has made of his sound
chip. This will be helpful in the next step.
The idea here is to change out your "Intensify"
push button and another switch on your gun to DPDT Switches. DPDT
switches are essentially double switches. There are 6 terminals (2 sets
of 3 on either side) on the bottom of each switch. The first thing to
do will be remove your light kit's positive and negative wires from the
old switch and attach them to the new on. Word of the wise: once you
strip the ends of each wire, loop them through 2 of the terminals on one
side of the switch and test the button before you solder/wire glue them
on there. Make sure the switch does what it's supposed to do! If it
does not, then take one of your wires, and move it from the first
terminal to the third terminal on that side of the switch and try again.
Make sure the lights work correctly with the new switch before you move
on.
Now that your lights work correctly with the new DPDT
switch, it is time to attach the wiring from the sound board to the
switch. Please look carefully at robwerden's diagram. The "ground"
wire will always be attached to the middle of the three terminals on the
switch. Then one sound wire is attached to either the first or third
terminal on that side of the switch. Once again, before soldering or
wire gluing the wires to the switch, please test them to make sure they
work correctly first.
Now with everything installed, you should
now have sound in your pack!
And here's a video!
Congratulations,
now you can impress your mom with how loud your pow pack is.
