Upgrade: TK Talkie v3 - Can You Hear Me Now?

Disclosure: I haven't been paid to promote any items in this post or been given any free samples for blogging.

A couple of months ago I built my TK Talkie v2, a device one of our 501st members in the Star Garrison devised using off-the-shelf Teensy Arduino hardware and some clever programming. He put his design and tutorials on his site at tktalkie.com.

Recently, TK Talkie came out with the v3 iteration of the device, which adds a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module on top of the v2 design, and overhauled the file structure on the SD card, allowing integration with a phone app supported by iOS and Android. This allows the v3 device to use the following, powerful features:

• Saving, editing, deleting, and switching between multiple profiles, allowing for multiple setups or costume profiles on a single SD card an a single device
• Altering gain levels (Line In, LIne OUt, Mic, master volume, etc.) and equalizer settings on the fly (without the need of a computer as with the v2 device)
• Switching between the Line Out or Mic outputs on the fly (for example, if you need to switch to your wired mic because your wireless mic is dead or broken, or cross-talking with another wireless mic)
• Selecting a background loop, or turning it on or off on the fly

Previously many of these things could only be done with the TK Talkie connected to the computer while using the Arduino serial mode to make adjustments. Multiple profiles weren't possible without multiple SD cards. So this upgrade was a major improvement for ease of use and utility.

This video does a much better job of demonstrating it than I could put together.

With all these incentives, I decided to upgrade my v2 device to v3 using the online tutorial. I recommend reading the tutorial to better understand the build and my personal take on it.

To upgrade my current v2 to the v3 wasn't too hard, although there was a slight learning curve on the software side. Before that, though, I'll talk about my take on the v3 hardware.

Hardware

The key to the v3 build, really the only hardware difference from the v2 hardware, is the BLE module. TK Talkie's own design adds the BLE module to the Teensy board using 3.5mm jacks to make it removable. However, the BLE module shouldn't be disconnected while the device is powered on. Add this to the fact that the case I happen to use with my v2 device had plenty of room for the additional BLE module, and I decided to directly wire the BLE module to the Teensy without using a male/ female 3.5mm jack since I don't feel the need to disconnect it with all the space in my case anyhow.

One of my personal pitfalls with this design was the wiring and female pin connectors I used between teh Teesny board an dthe BLE module. Although they only require crimping, they should also be soldered to make a better, more dependable electrical connection. This was also exacerbated as I used small-gauge telephone conductors to have flexible wire between the BL and Teensy, since each piece is installed on a different half of the hinged case. Because I had a loose connection on one of my RX / TX conductors, the app would often connect, but not be able to pull up the profile or present the settings screen. I ended up removing the old ends and replacing them with modular female ends (with a touch of solder for good electrical contact) in a casing. Once this was fixed, I had zero issues using the app. This means that you can connect the BLE pretty close to the Teensy without any worry about Bluetooth connection.

Before and After pictures of fixing my BLE wiring

Software

With the hardware ready, it was time to load the software using the Arduino software and the Teeensy plugin. This was fairly straightforward, although I found that Windows didn't download the files correctly, typically saving tham as web pages with markup instead of as the .txt, .h, or .ino files required for the various directories. In fact, it was much easier for me to make my own files and structure with the proper names and extensions, and simply copy the text from the sketch sources and then paste them into those files.

Once the new files were uploaded, I was able to start personalizing things. One thing to keep in mind is that all files should be 8 or less characters in length, including profile names and sound names. This name size was done to make file access as fast as possible. Any filename longer than eight characters won't be read by the program. This affected a profile I created off-app and caused me to not be able to use it.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can change the background loop on the fly, but you must ensure that the effects_dir, loop_dir, and sounds_dir point to the correct directories, as there's currently no way to adjust these on the app (to be added in a future release). With the v3 file structure, these sounds are stored in their own directories, typically on the root of the SD card, so the sounds can be used by multiple profiles. All your sound files should be loaded to the SD card beforehand, including any background loops you may want to use, and referenced by the profile before loading the SD card into the TK Talkie (just edit your profiles with any basic text editor). Really, the only limits are your desired sound and the storage space on your SD card.

The App

The app is supported on iOS and Android. So far, the app works OK. Typically, I have to connect to my TK Talkie twice to communicate with the hardware, but this may because of my integration of the BLE close to the Teensy board and audio riser, whereas the reference design places the BLE module on its own dongle away from the other boards.

However, once it is connected (and with my wiring and pin connectors fixed), it's now terribly easy to make changes on the fly. For example:

• If I'm at a troop with mingling, I can set my device to use the profile with the background loop.
• Alternately, I can turn it off when it's not appropriate, or apply a saved profile without the background loop.
• If the loop is too loud, I can turn the volume on it down compared to my Line In/ Mic gain.
• I could make a new profile with less bitcrusher distortion for a cleaner sound.
• If there are too many troopers with wireless mics and I get cross-talk with another trooper, I can switch to the profile for the wired mic and use that instead (and adjust the loop as necessary).
• Turning off the mic volume but using voice activation to launch random Jawa sounds (and saving it as its own profile for your Jawa costume).

There are a lot of possibilities.

I can make these changes while wearing the armor too, which helps if I need to turn off a loop or swap out profiles after I've suited up. I have to fiddle with my chest plate far less with the app interface, unless I need to adjust my Pyle Pro's main volume.

Speaking of volume, one thing to keep in mind is the Line Out Volume with the current app, which actually works in reverse (to be fixed in the next update): that is, the lower the number is, the higher the volume. This threw me for a loop the first time I took the unit out in the field, as I had the volume set to 3 and was easily getting feedback. I've suggested that the interface be changed so that the volume is a negative number, like many home theater receivers (that measure output in -dB), going from -3 (highest) to -31 (lowest). With my Pyle Pro already amplifying, I set the TK Talkie to 31, the lowest setting, and adjust the main volume on the Pyle Pro.

Now that I have the basics down, I'm going to learn how to adjust the equalizer and bit crusher settings so I can dial them in some more. The fact that the app allows you to toy around with these advanced settings, without needing to go through a console connection, truly helps add to the utility of the app.

Final Thoughts

If I had to rate the system, I would give it a 4.5 / 5. The app is still slightly rough around the edges, but it's certainly a contender with other systems out there. The TK Talkie site has a comparison between itself and other systems, and although you may need to consider author bias, it's a decent comparison in features and considering your options.

Beyond my thoughts above, when you build or upgrade, definitely give yourself time to build and acclimate to the system. I rushed mine a bit to use it on an upcoming troop and it didn't go so well. Now that I have things fixed and a better understanding of the device, it's an invaluable part of my kit.

Above is the TK Talkie inside the upper right of my chest plate. The input is my wireless mic receiver to Line In on the TK Talkie. The output is Line Out to my Pylo Pro. A small USB battery under the Pyle Pro powers the TK Talkie for many hours. Everything's secured with H&L tape, which is your friend.

(One note is that I tried to feed the TK Talkie from the Pyle Pro power source by using a step-down transformer and a power switch, and although the TK Talkie got power from it, the power had far too much noise on it to be useful, even with a filter or two in place. I may reinvestigate this later, but for now a simple $10 USB battery is the best option (although just one more thing I have to worry about charging).)

If building your own TK Talkie is out of your comfort zone, you can now order them through the TK Talkie web site at http://store.tktalkie.com. Personally, I may build a few for my garrison to order when time allows, but now there's an alternative for those who might not be as comfortable with a soldering iron and development software as others.

That's it for the blog for now. Once my troops in May or finished, I may clean up the armor and finally submit for EIB status with FISD. Until next time, carry on troopers!

Upgrade: Reinforcements - Coming to the Chest Plate's Rescue

So after a year or so of trooping, my chest plate started getting cracks in the underarm area and the neck. Part of the issues is that, like many troopers, I keep a lot of electronics on the underside of my chest plate, fastened with H&L tape.

More on this setup in the next blog post, but as you can see,

it's more than just my Pyle Pro these days.

This puts weight onto the chestplate. Further, if I end up fidgeting with the volume gain on my Pyle Pro, or making sure a wire didn't pop out (not an issue with my new, current set up above), I'd have to get a hand underneath the plate, creating pressure on the edge return and causing cracks and lines.

So I would grind them out, fill them in with ABS paste, sand and polish them, and put reinforcement behind it with ABS paste and scrap ABS.  But after every few troops, I'd get a new crack right after the reinforcement scrap ended, or worse, in between two reinforcement scraps. It eventually turned into a meme.

"Lines! Divisions! Every day more lines!"

Well, more than just lines, Saw... full-blown cracks through the material and past my reinforcements.

Reinforcing these stressed edges was definitely something I needed to do. At first, I tried applying a bead of ABS paste near the edge return, but this didn't really strengthen the armor, and I kept getting more cracks.

KMan suggested an old trick from the FISD forums:

This method works fine for a crack here and there. However, after the many times I've already needed to repair cracks in the chest plate, I didn't want to piecemeal it anymore for every new crack. Instead, I went with the nuclear option: fiberglass mat reinforcement with epoxy resin along the whole length of the arm edge returns end the neck.

I started by buying some fiberglass mat and epoxy from Home Depot, along with a couple of foam brushes to help with application. With fiberglass, you have to take extra precautions, as it will get into your skin and irritate you, or get into your lungs and cause health issues, so when working with this stuff (before it's glazed in place with epoxy or other resins), I wore long clothing, latex gloves, and a dust mask to protect myself.

The first step was cutting some strips to length. I used a long and short strip for each side edge return to work around the curve, and  a short but wide piece for the neck. I didn't worry about matching the curves at this point since I would be trimming and sanding later.

After the stips were measured, I sanded the target areas with some 100 grit paper to make for a better bind. Then, I mixed and applied epoxy to this areas, and set the fiberglass strips on top. The hard part in this step was to get the strips into the crevices along the edge returns. I did end up with some air bubbles, but I take care of those in the next step.

I prefer quick set epoxy because it sets up faster and is less likely to run, but I still let it cure for a full evening before I continued my work.

The next night I proceeded to the next step: trimming and glazing. Now that the mat was glued in place, it was time to trim the mat as much as possible to fit the curve, and then add more epoxy to the top and edges of the mat to keep everything in place. In addition, I used a hobby knife to cut into any air pockets (from a somewhat hasty mesh installation) so I could fill them with epoxy and then clamp them back shut. Again, I took precautions when trimming the fiberglass. I trimmed the curves and also excess material inside the plate near the overlap at the arm edges, and around the H&L tape. Once all the trimming was done I mixed more epoxy and generously covered the top of the fiberglass strips, including the remaining edges. This step used the rest of the remaining epoxy.

Again, I let it rest overnight before proceeding to the final step: sanding and polishing.

With the edges now rigid, cutting off and sanding ane remaining frays was trivial. Again taking precautions against the fiberglass, I carefully trimmed with a hobby knife and sanded the edges clean against the edge returns. I also made sure to sand down any remaining edges on the inside of the armor to keep from getting myself or my undersuit torn or scratched. I mostly used hand sanding but also broke out the Dremel at low speed to help with some inside work, especially near the H&L tape. Any remaining rough edges where glossed over with a little E6000.

What better way to test my work than two back-to-back troops, the latter being a parade in 90+ heat?

The armor was OK!

I should have drank more water :P

In both troops, I had to slip a hand under my chest plate to fiddle with the Pyle Pro volume, to get good voice volume while avoiding feedback. But I didn't get one new crack in either case. Now, the remaining cracks I do have in my chest plate are minor cosmetic inconveniences that I can take more care in correcting and polishing up, rather than major structural issues that I have to patch immediately before the next troop. And with as busy as May has been this year, that's quite a relief.

On my next blog post I'll talk about the TK Talkie v3, an upgraded version of the TK Talkie v2 that allows one to make adjustments on the fly - through a phone app. until then...

Upgrade: Making a Better Thermal Detonator

Special thanks to KMan for keeping this resource on the Anovos FB group!

Something I did recently to my Anovos kit was make the thermal detonator more screen-accurate.

For those not in the know, the ANOVOS TD is slightly too long due to the gray tube being a little long and the white control panel being a little short compared to other armors. Here's the CRL info from the 501st for ANH stunt armor:

Thermal Detonator For 501st approval: (A.K.A. O2 canister) attaches to the center back of the belt. Detonator consists of an all grey cylinder, without silver stickers or silver paint. The cylinder is between 2” (50mm) and 2.68"(68mm) in diameter with white end caps on each end. The white control panel pad faces upwards, with the controls/round washer style detail closest to the right end cap. The total length is approximately 7.50" (190.5mm). The thermal detonator is attached via metal or metallic-appearing clips, approximately 1" (25mm) wide.

For level two certification (if applicable): Thermal detonator belt clips are positioned with little to no gap between the clips and the end caps.

As far as a more screen-accurate version goes, for those hoping for EIB or Centurion status in the 501st, this diagram depicts proper measurements for a TD (courtesy of UKSWrath on Whitearmor.net) (click to enlarge):

Screen-used prop reference
(posted by USKWrath on FISD (whitearmor.net))

Most important is the overall look of the TD; if there's too much gray showing, it will affect EIB and Centurion approval. Further, the screws will come into scrutiny as well, since the Anovos-supplied screws for the TD aren't screen accurate to those used in the original prop. Take my finished TD for example (this photo is from its original final assembly):

That's a lot of gray showing compared to the TD in the 501st CRL or the screen-used prop. Approvable? Yes, but only for Basic.

Edit: the main thing keeping the Anovos TDs from higher approval is actually the screws. There's more info on that later in this post.

The overall length for most Anovos TDs is about 7 3/4", whereas a more accurate TD would have an overall length of 7 1/4". That's a difference of half an inch, which might seem trivial but will be noticeable to those looking at approval pics for EIB or Centurion.

Note that, as USKWrath notes in his build, the Anovos-supplied TD control panel is slightly shorter than the ones used in screen-used props. They key is the overall look. Like I mentioned above, as long as there's not too much grey showing, the small discrepancy won't affect your eligibility for EIB or Centurion.

Thankfully, cutting half an inch off the tube is trivial, whether you're building the TD for the first time or rebuilding it like I did. For the former, you can simply cut all the extra off of one end. In my case, I had to make two cuts, but with a Dremel tool it wasn't terribly hard.

I first started by disassembling my TD of all parts except the control panel, which I glued on with E6000 in the original build and didn't want to move, since I had sanded the gray tube underneath it for better adhesion.

Next, I measured 1/2" form either side of the control panel to mark where the edge of each tube cap would need to rest. Then, I put the tube cap back on each end and marked that. The space between that mark and the 1/2' mark was the difference I'd have to remove from each end in order to have the cap rest at the correct spot.

After measuring the difference, I measured the same distance from the end of the tube, and then wrapped scotch tape evenly around the circumference of the tube's end. After that, I simply cut along the edge of the tape with the Dremel tool until I had cut around the tube. I then duplicated the process for the other end of the tube.

The screws:
As I mentioned earlier, the screws supplied form Anovos aren't screen accurate for the TD but, ironically, the ones they use to construct the helmet are. Since I had long since replaced my helmet screws with more screen-accurate screws, I had saved these old bucket screws for this project.

First, I measured out where the new screw holes would be for the TD belt clips but putting the end caps back on and penciling where the holes would be with the clips flush against the tube in the correct location. Thankfully, the clips would cover the old screw holes, making those a moot issue once I did a little deburring with a knife to make them more level with the rest of the tube.

However, since I still plan to use my TD as storage, I needed to shorten their length. So I used the cutting disk on the Dremel to do that while holding the screws with needle nose pliers.

Once that was done I used a piece of scrap foam and some masking tape to set the screws into, and then painted the screw heads the correct color with Testor gloss black paint.

While the paint was drying I carefully drilled the new screw holes into the gray tube using a very small pilot hole, then a slightly large bit to match the screws' diameter. Once the paint was ready, I removed the end caps and carefully bolted the clips onto the tube with the new screws and washers and carefully re-touched the paint on the screw heads.

I also sanded down the right edge of the tube to make removing and replacing the cap easier for storage. The cut-down bolts will make it easier to add and remove items with less chance of snagging, but I might spring for some crown bolts in the future to cover the ends of the threads.

Sure enough, the detonator is now about 7 1/4" long :)

Compare the before and after shots, and then the CRL reference picture:

Before

After

CRL Reference

The Anovos TD still shows more grey than the reference picture because the control panel is shorter than the screen-used prop, but it's now showing far less gray and is the proper length. FISD won't make Anovos troopers buy new control panels as this is a minor issue and is fine even for Centurion approval.

My next blog entry was going to be on the TK Talkie v3, but first I'll probably be covering my ever-cracking chest plate, and how some troopers reinforce problem areas to add strength and reduce the possibility of cracking, especially with thinner armor like the Anovos suit. Until next time...

1 Year Later - My 501st First Anniversary

A little late on this update due to work, family and trooping. As many 501st troopers know, May is a busy month between 501st Day (5/01), May the 4th, and Revenge of the 5th. A lot of places want 501st representation during these days, so it helps that a lot of people like me joined the 501st after we got our Anovos kits together to help spread the joy :D

Speaking of joining, on 20 April, 2016, I was officially approved into the 501st Legion.

Hi Erik,

Thank you for your patience! We have finished our review and have reached a decision. Congratulations! Your costume has been approved and I've moved your application into the next phase. Welcome to the 501st Legion!  

Although it was with some trepidation, as I would realize that I trimmed my thigh pieces far too short and would have to shore them back up, it was a good day. After months of building during the evenings starting on 31 January the same year, most of my work had finally paid off. I would later repair the thigh pieces and join my first troop on 13 May.

Members of the @official501st's @southerncaliforniagarrison and the @rebellegion.us's @sunriderbase joined forces to support the HIghland PTA country fair this weekend. CC-9617, CC-61513, TD-9087, TK-21129, TK-76253, Rey, and an X-wing pilot adhered to a temporary cease fire in support of this event. Great job troopers! • • #socal501st #southerncaliforniagarrison #starwars #official501st #501st #501stlegion #badguysdoinggood #charity #theforceawakens #rogueone #thefirstorder #rebellegion #sunriderbase #commandercody #captainrex #stormtrooper

A post shared by Southern California Garrison (@southerncaliforniagarrison) on May 16, 2016 at 1:29pm PDT

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Escorting a potbellied pig around the OC Zoo

Hanging out with the crazy Imperial Sands Garrison at SDCC

The OC Squad Photo

Walk for Alzheimer's

The Weird Al show At BlizzCon

Tree Lighting in Anaheim

AnaConn at the Anaheim Library

WonderCon 2017

Our Star Destroyer backdrop at WonderCon

Meeting Ashley Eckstein

Scum & Villainy Cantina, Hollywood

(not a troop, just a ton of fun)

I've come to know so many great people through the 501st, and made some new friends in the process. Like I said in my 1 February post, it's weird to think about how a box full of ABS could change a person's life. To think that I almost passed this up, and what I would have missed out on - meeting great people, helping to raise funds for charity, putting smiles on the faces of kids and adults alike... it's crazy and amazing, thinking back on my first year.

All that being said, according to my garrison's mission reports, I did 9 official troops, 10 if you count WonderCon (and also a handful of unofficial troops), not as many as some of my other fellow "Anovos" troopers, but more than a few. The armor has held up pretty well considering what I've put it through on some occasions :D

Like doing 44 pushups in armor for the Walk for Wishes at the OC Great Park

(Formerly MCAS El Toro, my first duty station when I was active USMC)
At $0.25/ push-up, I raised $11 :D

Am I really ever done with the armor? Well... sorta? Not really? There's always maintenance, like fixing cracks, or tweaking things, like the TK Talkie I've been using and upgrading to v3, or the thermal detonator I finally modified (more on that in the next blog update).

Cracks are the biggest issue these days, especially in the chest plate with a speaker mounted directly in the chest plate as to not need to strap it to my person directly. I might also look into a different way to lay the armor out in my bin to reduce any bending on the piece while in storage. Here's where my armor has been cracking, for reference of any newer members looking to anticipate repairs or avoid them by doing some reinforcement with ABS paste or scrap ABS:

• Chest plate: neck and under arms
• Kidney plate: Top edge return
• Sniper knee: top of plate
• Right forearm: elbow edge
• Helmet/ bucket: under the rubber gasket
• Shims: make sure to reinforce the snot out of these to prevent future cracking

I've fixed all my cracks, upgraded my TK Talkie system (yet another topic for the near future) and will get my suit ready for tomorrow for my first May the 4th troop at the USS Iowa, which is now a floating museum in LA/ Long Beach. Being a Marine veteran, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the day off and see a classic battleship while doing my 501st thing. I'm really excited. It's weird that I never got to see this boat when I was in the service, but now I am, as part of a volunteer group of plastic spacemen, as Albin would say.

Next blog update I'll talk about how I modified the Anovos Thermal Detonator to be more accurate, and also the upgrade of my TK Talkie to the new v3 system, which supports configuring it on the fly through a smartphone app (eat your heart out, iComm! :P ). Until then...