boatman

If it helps, when I was developing the BlueCom system, another Blue-Room member traced the circuit of a Stonewood CBP1. I believe it's identical to the Metro Audio beltpack. You'll need to use some scissors and sellotape but it's all there. Not wishing to implicate anyone in copyright busting, I'll leave it to the unnamed member to own up if they are so inclined!

 

 

CBP1.zip

If you are going with the arrow on a stick carried by a cast member then cover it with LED tape and make some running lights to simulate the forward motion.

The Bluecom system was designed with a push-pull headphone amp and can be cranked up to a higher level than a standard Comms beltpack.

1 hour ago, bruce said:

Try now...

 

Thanks, that seems to have fixed it.

The file I uploaded is showing as available to me but none from anyone else.

One for Bruce to try and sort it out I think.

Sorry for the delay, two laptops have died in quick succession. Luckily most things were backed up and I have now found the latest zip file. I think I have the correct permissions to upload it.

 

BluecomBeltpack1_4.zip

Sorry, I don't have a working computer at the moment as two laptops have died within a week! However, I do have the files backed up on a USB drive and will upload them when I can get to a working computer.

Keep an eye out here.

1 hour ago, sunray said:

Totally crazy but I've seen one solution using a domestic rotary dimmerS and stepper motorS/PCB from a dead moving head fitting. It was built in a 2U rack enclosure and worked very well, but strange hearing them whizz round.

A d0mest1c dimmer and a DMX servo board might work well too.

24 minutes ago, david.elsbury said:

That’s an amazing story. Thanks for sharing it with us. Which parts are supposed to be true?

All the bits which weren't dated April 1st I guess.

I built a remote control servo using a couple of NRF24 modules and two Arduino Nano boards which worked fine. No error checking but that shouldn't be too hard to add. What is the end product you're trying to achieve?

It's certainly outside my experience so, unless someone else has an interest, the answer is no.

This YouTube video might help:

 

 

I always used spiral cable wrap for this. Some self amalgamating tape around the ends stops it unwrapping.

https://cpc.farnell.com/concordia-technologies/sw20mmblk10m/spiral-wrap-20mm-black-10m/dp/CB20507

I noticed that the two filaments in that photo appear to be at different heights above the baseplate. It might be worth checking which one is correct.

Sorry, coming late to the party. It's always a good idea to cast 8-bit byte values to 16-bit int before doing integer operations.

So:

int val = ((rxhigh_part&0x7F)<<7)|(rxlow_part&0x7F);

should be:

int val = (((int)rxhigh_part&0x7F)<<7)|((int)rxlow_part&0x7F);

 

@cedd is your man for this sort of gadget.

If you are building your own dimming circuit with an Arduino, remember that 8-bit dimming is rubbish with LEDs and you need a 16-bit PWM to get a good curve.

Another vote for JLB. PCBs are excellent quality, very cheap and delivery is very quick too.

... However, Bluecom was specifically designed to accommodate low impedance headphones and electret mics.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We moved from a four bedroom house to a two bedroom flat during the first week of lockdown last year and I don't really have anywhere to keep a 3D printer (no garage, shed or huge walk-in loft any more). However, there is a Men's Shed in the city and I believe they have one. I'll just have to wait for it to reopen.

Thanks, I'll try Tinkercad and I note your comment on the cost of third party printing.

I know there are several members on here who do some 3D printing and I want to have a go myself. So I'm looking for recommendations for easy to use free 3D design software.

 

I don't intend to purchase a 3D printer so ideas for contract printing houses as well please.

Single sided PCBs from China are only marginally cheaper than double-sided but the latter makes for a much more compact design. What's going to make that board expensive is the fact that it's over 12" long. If you can adapt your design to only three LEDs (which will almost halve the length of the board) it will be much cheaper although you will of course need nearly twice as many boards

If it's only 5 LEDs (and presumaby a connector of some sort) it shouldn't take more than half an hour to lay out on a PCB. If nobody else can help I'm happy to do it for you. Just send me a PM with the a photo of the sketch and the board dimensions.

Looking good. Well done.