"Help!" for: Electronics

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If I have two fans in my helmet, should I have one blowing in and one blowing out, both blowing in or both blowing out?

It depends on the configuration of your helmet and the placement of your fans. Use whichever one creates the best airflow. Generally, one in and one out works best, but that is not always the case.
 
Anyone have suggestions for LED panels, or lights. Been looking into getting some in my suit, I'm just not sure what gives the look. Thanks in advanced.
 
Check the video in my signature, dollar store reading lights are easy to work with. Diffuse them with any plastic you can get your hands on.
http://youtu.be/sWDNHmNvvmA

A step up from that are pre-wired LED pigtails that you can purchase on eBay. A 12 volt prewired LED will run on a common 9 volt battery.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-pcs-PRE-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item19eaff1aa3&vxp=mtr

Lastly, the most hands on approach is a visit to radioshack or similar, and buy some LEDs, resisters, and battery clips. Then solder up the wiring to add to your suit. This thread has lots of discussion on what LEDs and resistor values to choose.
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/26853-quot-Help!-quot-for-Electronics?p=701054#post701054

edit:
Another eBay link. Pre wired LEDs, each with a 9volt battery clip. A little wasteful, as you can wire them yourself and run multiple LEDs on a single 9 volt battery. But this is a quick and dirty way to get your suit to light up.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-PRE-WIRE...895?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac114fc47
 
Assuming those are standard 12 volt LED strips. They actually have resistors built in. You can connect the 9 volt directly to the strip. Wire them in parallel to the 9 volt. You may need a second 9 volt to brighten the LEDs.
 
hello i am making an halo assault rifle that i want to have an ammo counter on and i have some questions.

Question 1 how do i program the ammo counter to go down with a trigger to make it go down and reset with a different button.

question 2 i am wanting to use earth magnets so i can connect the gun to the armor just like they do in the games would this interfere with my electronics?
 
Magnets are safe around electronics. At most, they could potentially mess with the switches. Don't get them too close.

For the ammo counter, look into arduino. It is inexpensive and beginner friendly. Once you have an arduino setup, here is some code I wrote for the ammo counter display.
https://codebender.cc/sketch:14207
 
wingedwolf111

1) Buy a ready made ammo counter (here: http://www.westaby.net/store/index...._id=24&zenid=fcf206388eaf90f8f6f34758f15c8103 - you can get the AR "power" switch there too) or learn some super basic Arduino loops and I/O. That's the most specific advice I can give to a vague question.

2) They shouldn't, but it's possible, particularly with magnets powerful enough to hold up a whole prop. You can use 1/8" sheet steel to shield the electronics from the magnets- the magnetic field lines follow the steel rather than spreading out normally and crossing the paths of the wiring. The worst that could happen is the magnets induce a pulse in the trigger line as you wave the gun past them and you get a false ammo count drop. It would take a much more powerful magnetic field (and faster motion than just holstering) to induce an electronics-frying current. So you don't really need to worry about it.
 
Guys I was wondering which type of sander are better got sanding belt or random orbit sander or Palm sander ?
 
Guys I was wondering which type of sander are better got sanding belt or random orbit sander or Palm sander ?

Depends what you're using it for. Honestly, though - if you're putting on enough bondo to warrant the use of a mechanical sander, the chances are that you're putting too much on.

For props, however, a palm sander might be better.
 
Depends what you're using it for. Honestly, though - if you're putting on enough bondo to warrant the use of a mechanical sander, the chances are that you're putting too much on.

For props, however, a palm sander might be better.

Well I was planning to use it for rough sanding as I tend to coat my armor excessively(Yes I cut some of it using cutter but I let some a bit excess so that I don't have keep in case I cut it too low) i plan to use it form initial sanding rough sanding only. So it's the square palm sander is good for that?
 
Well I was planning to use it for rough sanding as I tend to coat my armor excessively(Yes I cut some of it using cutter but I let some a bit excess so that I don't have keep in case I cut it too low) i plan to use it form initial sanding rough sanding only. So it's the square palm sander is good for that?

You'll probably be better off with a set of rasps/files and a wire brush to clean them often. As far as body filler goes, if you are laying it on more than 1-2mm thick, you are putting on too much.
 
You'll probably be better off with a set of rasps/files and a wire brush to clean them often. As far as body filler goes, if you are laying it on more than 1-2mm thick, you are putting on too much.

I do using files not rasp thought that things destroy my suit. the purpose of buying tools is so that I can sand the left over from files since it's too thick and I rather use machine cause using sandpaper is a pain and very long.
 
oh hello there!! i am currently running a single 12v fan off a 9v battery. while it usually lasts through a full con weekend, it is completely inconsistent with fog prevention (i always pair with rain-x anti-fog on my face shield anyway), so i am looking to improve airflow. i plan to cut out the cheek hose area on the inside and make slashes through the hoses themselves, and i would like to place one fan on each side (one for air in, one for air out). i would like to get another fan, but don't want to install another battery. would it be possible to run two 5v fans off a single 9v battery? (from the perspective of an electronics n00b, it seems like it should be better, since i'd be drawing 10v instead of 12v, but i'm sure that logic is fatally flawed somewhere.)

sorry if this has been asked before, but i did use the search feature, and did not find the answer.
 
If the circuit is run correctly, you can run 2 5v fans off of 1 9v battery. The only problem with cutting holes in those vents is light getting into your helmet. If light gets in your helmet, it will be a lot easier to see though your visor, which is not cool off you ask me. I plan on running about 4 fans in my helmet when everything is said and done. I sweat more than the average person, so air movement will be very important.
 
just getting more and more into electronics lately. i bought two of these microphones to use in an external audio system:

https://www.adafruit.com/products/1063

got it all wired up, with a pair of earplug-style headphones (part of the problem is that if i speak too loudly, it echoes in my helmet and really hurts my ears) and managed to get it working, but the sound quality is just awful and scratchy. i've tried reducing the gain, reducing the voltage, adding bigger capacitors, adding resistors, and a couple other things. even with the sound quieter, it is still scratchy. i tried different electret microphones but got the same results. any suggestions? am i just going to have to use a separate amp?

also, if anyone else is looking for a similar solution, i got one of these, too:

http://www.makershed.com/products/super-stereo-ear

UPDATE: on a lark, i put resistors between the capacitor and the headphone jack (i had been doing it between the battery pack and the mics previously... like a n00b) and that seems to have cleaned up the sound quite a bit! now it's just a little too quiet. weakest resistors i had on hand were 270 ohms, so i'm going to try out a few different strengths.
 
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