The Road to #SWCC 2019 - The Packening

I've been taking the final steps for getting ready for Celebration, doting all the i's and crossing all the t's.

Packing the Armor (FINALLY!)

My garrison mate TK-70701 came in, in a pinch, to keep me from wasting more money on bins that would still be too over-sized for the airline or having to relay on rendezvous-ing with a Kessel Run. It's the same suitcase he used to transport his armor abroad and back with little armor damage. Hopefully my luck as as good as his! 

The trick was getting everything in there without bending or breaking anything. It took me a few attempts to get everything in there. but finally I had a revelation. 

The trick is the thigh pieces, being the biggest rigid parts, and mine are shimmed to be bigger, making them larger than some. So the trick is to pack as much armor in them as possible, and fit everything else around them, like the ab/ kidney plates which are permanently attached on one side due to the left side strapping. Usually I don't take the shoulder bells off my arm pieces when I use the Huskys, but when I did, I was able to pack everything together tightly.

Here's how I played #TKTetris, keeping in mind that the case is already foam-lined:

• Put the boots on the bottom of the suitcase (they're heavy and should be on the top of the case when it's vertical).
• Stuff the hand guards into the forearms; forearms into the biceps; biceps into the shins; shins into the thighs (with some foam padding between the shins and inside of thighs for extra shock absorption and rigidity).
• Lay the ab/ kidney/ butt assembly into the luggage, kidney and butt plate down, but upside down (cod towards the top of the suitcase). This way the flat parts of those pieces face down when the case is vertical, reducing the chance of the cod piece cracking.
• Lay down some foam inside the kidney and butt plates.
• Lay the stuffed thighs into the inside of the assembly (alternating top to bottom for a better fit for both thighs) after laying down some foam.
• Undersuit and soft parts are stuffed in the bottom between the boots and armor for extra cushioning.
• Shoulder bells go to top of suitcase above thighs. (keep them from getting crushed when case is vertical).

• Lay more foam, and close the ab piece on top of the thighs.
• Lay more foam, rest the chest pieces & shoulder straps on top of and over the cod piece; rest the back piece below and underneath that.

• Lay more foam on top.
• Thermal Detonator and repainted Disney blaster get wrapped separately and gently squeezed into the hinge side of the suitcase (blaster is marked for easy TSA inspection as need be).
• Repair kit with new tube of CA glue gel, spare ABS scrap, Chicago Screws, safety pins, and other stuff gets slipped inside the armor near the shoulder bells.
• Place note inside suitcase for TSA (heavily borrowed from one written by TK-70701 when he traveled with his armor).

• Orange pauldron with SCG logo is wrapped in a clear plastic bag and goes on very top (to act as extra padding too).
• Close it up, put the TSA lock on it. Done!

This seems like the best setup for the job. The armor supports each other with quite a bit of foam padding to help with absorbing shock. I'll just have to pray that the gorilla baggage handlers aren't too rough with the case.

TK-70701's suitcase ended up being... very on-the-nose for this job. Not that I'm complaining. Quite the contrary.

When in Rome...

The Other Stuff

The TKTalkie and other electronics are traveling in my clothing suitcase. I could have probably put that stuff inside the armor somewhere (maybe), but I'd rather have TSA open the other bag than have to unpack my armor to get to anything, and then have them re-pack it incorrectly and risk damaging anything. The electronics are in a marked baggie ready for TSA to easily inspect them as need be.

Yes, I had to pack other clothes too I suppose, including my black staff officer outfit, t-shirts, pants, and my club shirt. Must remember an umbrella as well, thanks to Winter Storm Wesley :/

REPRESENT.

... I'll have to fix that one patch later. Tilted.

It's getting really close. Last night I made sure I had everything for my armor. Good thing too; I almost forgot to pack the web belt for the thigh garters. Tonight I make sure my clothing case is packed and nothing important is missing (especially the CON PASSES), as well as packing my carry-on that will travel in the plane wit my bucket and I.

I haven't been so nervous in... a while. I think I'll be better once I get to Illinois. I hope so. We'll see how the armor holds up in air travel. Until next time...

The Road to #SWCC 2019 - It's Bin Fun (Not Really)

Bin There, Done (with) That

So in my last blog post, I was planning to use a new Husky 25 gallon bin to transport my armor:

You know, the one I painted and can't return to Home Depot?

The problem is, even the smaller bin is over-sized by air carrier standards.

Air carriers measure luggage by linear dimensions; that it, the L + W + H of an item. Over-sized baggage is anything over 62" linear. Even the small Husky comes in at about 72" - that's 10" over the limit, so not even wiggle room worthy.

A confirmation on another Celebration group I follow from one of our airline veterans confirmed this.

Over-sized Baggage on Airlines

So the different airlines have their own policies about over-sized baggage fees, ranging in the realm of about $75 to $200 per piece, one way. United and American (my airline for this trip, thanks to frequent flier miles) are the worst, at $200 per item.

Worse is that fees can stack. Say your over-sized item was over 50 pounds. It would be considered over-sized (+$200) AND overweight (+$200). Add on the normal checked bag fee of $25, $35, or $50, and it can cost anywhere between $425 - $450 to put your armor bin on a plane, ONE WAY. You can check out American Airline's "wonderful" policies here (in short: do NOT fly to cons with American or United if you can avoid it). This actually happened to someone in my garrison who flew United for Celebration one year (probably Orlando).

Southwest, by comparison, would charge only $75 each way since the 25 gallon Husky is between 62 and 85 inches linear (their policy can be found here). But your airline is going to charge out the nose for over-sized bags, what are you other options?

Hard Suitcases

The least worrisome option is a hard suitcase that will protect your armor (minus the bucket, which you'll need to transport as carry-on luggage) without qualifying as over-sized. Of course, hard suitcases can be even more expensive than an armor bin, but will save you more in the long run.

Thankfully, my garrison mate TK-70701 has experience traveling with armor, and a hard suitcase that I can borrow, which is a godsend considering that I already spent $60 on a Husky I won't even be able to use.

Edit; TK 78383 recommends the Sterelite Foot Locker at Walmart. It measures in at 62.75" according to the online specs, but there might be some wiggle room with your airline. He says he's "done this multiple times" with this particular box.

Admiral's Club or Similar

Sometimes, top-tier airline travelers can travel with over-sized bags at the same rate as a normal checked bag, but this varies from airline to airline.

Ship by Freight Carrier

You can always use UPS or FedEx to ship your bin. Obviously ground freight is most economical, but can still be around $120 each way by my own estimates. And if you need it overnight... you may as well pay the airline to do it, because it will be just as expensive, if not more so.

The Kessel Run

People in some garrisons will sometimes own or rent a large truck or trailer and drive to Celebration with several bins, usually for a fee of $150 - $200 round trip (it's really up to them what they charge - this is based on my own experience). They meet you at your hotel or at Celebration with your bin, you do the con, and then you pack it up and they drive back home with it. It's a lot cheaper than many airlines' over-sized baggage fees or ground shipping, especially if you want to get your full-sized bin to the convention and don't want to buy a hard suitcase or worry about baggage handlers.

This can be handy if the person doing this is someone you trust, their schedule coincides with yours, and you're staying near the convention. I'm not staying near the convention and my schedule involves visiting my family back home as well, so I will probably not opt to do this for logistical purposes, especially if there's a hard suitcase available from my garrison mate.

Anyhow... back to other non-transportation-related news...

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Polishing armor

Armor now repaired (or at least good enough for a con), it was now time to shine it.

Sometimes you need to use a Magic Eraser, especially when boots (or bots, whatever) scuff against the shins. This doesn't really worry me, as the micro-abrasions can usually be buffed out with Novus 2 or car wax (see below).

For some of the scratched areas, I used a buffer wheel (that you can get with a headlight restoration kit) on my drill driver and Novus 3 to help relieve the scratches. I think at this rate I'll have to start making a Heavy Weapons Trooper backpack so I can just start weathering the armor and not have to worry about polishing it so much :D But until then, the buffing wheel and Novus work pretty well. Just ensure you support the piece properly with one hand while you work with the buffing (bugging?) wheel with the other hand.

Besides the normal Novus 1-2-3 for removing scratches, Turtle Wax or automotive was works really well to get white armor shiny. I use the Wax  & Dry stuff because it's easy to apply and shine.

The Side Gig

Along with the armor, I have another costume I have to wear: my recently approved black staff officer outfit.

This costume almost fell into my lap. A garrison mate who's about the same height and weight as me sold this for cheap, and I picked it up. Had to make a new hat (which I sewed myself thanks to the tutelage of another garrison mate and patterns on the Internet), but even the boots fit me to a T. It was an easy approval since it had already been approved on another person, so I'll have this costume for days I want to be more casual at the con, and if plans for the armor completely fall through for whatever reason.

So in the meantime, I have to pick up the hard suitcase from my SCG mate, get the armor packed, go through my swag to see what coins and patches I want to bring for trade, and the various other final details of the trip. But I'll have more in my next blog post. Until next time...

The Road to #SWCC 2019 - What Have a Got Myself Into?

My trip into making stormtrooper armor and ultimately joining the 501st Legion began at Celebration 2015 in Anaheim, California. It was after Celebration where my friend and coworker told me about the Anovos deal which got me and many others in on the ground level for a song.

My first encounter with the 501st Legion.

My son's too for that matter.

It was fitting, then, that Celebration in 2019 came to my home state of Illinois. I could go home, visit the family, and go back to where it all began, so to speak. It ended up also becoming a late graduation gift for my nephew, who will be coming with me.

It also (also) ended up being a logistical obstacle course and a huge money sink. There were expenses for the SWCC passes, tickets for the multi-club Celebration Bash (at the Museum of Science and Industry, a favorite of mine), parking during the con (pre-paid parking is cheaper), airport parking, rental car, luggage fees, food expenses during the con, etc. etc.

Thankfully, I can stay with family instead of paying almost a grand in USD for a hotel, AND I had enough frequent flyer miles to get there and back, so two major expenses were avoided.

But there's also a ton of preparation, like activating passes, signing up for the various Celebration lotteries for panels and exclusives, printing out receipts for pre-paid items, and especially packing.

So I had to start planning how I was going to approach this from a frugal and practical angle.

To start, I wasn't going to take my huge 50 gallon tote to Chicago, mostly because I'd have to have someone to transport it for me, or pay up to $100 each way in over-sized baggage fees. Plus, I'd ave to rent a larger car for perhaps twice as much per day compared to a small sedan. Instead, I purchase a 25 gallon Husky tote that should qualify for regular checked bag fees instead, and will fit all my TK armor minus the bucket, which will travel with me in the cabin. it was $60 for the tote, but it will save me much more than that, so it was a net gain. I put some stencils and stickers on it too.

Arts and crafts paying off

Edit 4 April 2019: Any sized Husky bin is considered oversized luggage by any air carrier, so I'll be making alternate plans to use a garrison mate's hard suitcase for transporting my armor. More on that in future blog updates.

Before I start polishing and packing the armor in foam wrap, though, I did some work on a fan film shoot in Big Bear (I was hoping to include it in this blog post, but it won't be released until closer to Celebration). The conditions were cold, snowy, and icy, and traction was a premium, especially in TK boots with no tread. Near the end of the day, the icy snow turned to slush and I went down, putting a small crack near the edge return of my kidney plate. Earlier, I crammed my right knee ammo packs into a rock outcropping and cracked them big time. And throughout, I kept having issues with my chest plate working with my new PA chest bag (in the previous blog post) and my shins popping open, due in part to the thicker undersuit I used for the shoot due to the temperature.

Needless to say, it was time to go over the armor and make some repairs and adjustments before the big meeting at Celebration.

I covered the chest piece in my last blog post, and also how I adjusted the comm bag for a higher fit underneath. A test fit of my torso armor with the chest bag underneath confirmed it was finally in a good place. The Velcro straps that kept the chest piece on the ab plate was getting old, so I flipped the straps in the meantime since the other side wasn't nearly as worn. It should suffice until after Celebration where I can concentrate on making snap plates, saving a little money until then.

The knee boxes were more difficult, and required many days of work with ABS paste, especially after the most affected box partially melted when I added ABS paste reinforcement underneath. So I had to add even more paste to the top, shape, sand, fill, etc. until the shape was right, or at least close enough.

Slightly misshapen and mis-colored now, sadly.
Maybe I'll do more work on it after Celebration.

The shins were easier, but also scarier since I had never done the bra hook thing before. I got some advice from SCG's own master armorer TK-70701 and, of course, UKSWrath's guides here and here. First I got some scrap elastic that I used for the shoulders, cut it in half lengthwise, and made 6 strips, three for each shin. I used  the sewing machine to create the loop on one end, and then sewed on the bra hooks by hand (the most tedious part).

I made three equidistant holes between the lower, mid and upper shin and installed the bra hooks just short of the end of the armor plate, so they' need to be stretched just so so keep tension on the other half of the shin closure.

The other big trick is to ensure that the hooks are as parallel as possible to the holes to keep the two halves of the closure lined up; otherwise, it might go canted and not line up at top and bottom.

I did one shin at a time, to ensure the placement was sound before starting the other shin, and also due to a lack of magnets to do both shins at once. Test fit on the right shin was a success, so I did the left shin the next night.

I also decided to still keep the Velcro, for now, since it's a giant PITA to remove (a lot of scraping adhesive and orange oil cleaner, and that's a lot of work with so much left to do before Celebration). But this way, if the Velcro pops, the bra hooks will ensure the shins stay closed enough that I don't have to fiddle with them constantly. The shins are a bit tight and I honestly should have trimmed them 1/2" less during initial construction, but the new bra hooks are the next best thing to new shins, for sure.

There's still a lot to be done. After the closures are glues, I still have to clean an polish the armor before backing, get my other costume packed, and get everything else packed too. But more on that in the next blog post...

The TKTalkie v4 - Press 6 for the Imperial March

Upgrading - the Path from v3.15 to v4.0

(Note: I had started this draft last year but never finished it, due to personal issues and cutting down on troops to spend more time with family. I finally finished the draft, especially after finally getting a layout that works and is easy to wear. As always, mad props to Lerxstrulz of the Star Garrison for designing the TKTalkie system from the ground up. You can see more at his website at http://www.tktalkie.com/, which I have NOT been paid to endorse.)

I've had the TKTalkie since v2.0. With v3.0, I modified my 2.0 device with the BLE module, which the app needs to connect to the box and make profile adjustments.

Originally implemented in firmware v3.15, firmware v4.0 fully realized something that Lerxstrulz originally envisioned - being able to program up to 6 buttons buttons attached to the TK-Talkie for a number of different functions, whether that be for Push-To-Talk, playing a sound or two, adjusting gain, etc. Each button can have up to two functions, for a total of 12 sounds or operations.

With v3.15 with beta button setup, the process was all very manual for setting up sounds and couldn't be changed in the app. Plus, with this old setup I only had 4 buttons (see my previous blog post).

When I upgraded to v4.0, I redid my sound glove design to be in-line with the official TKTalkie version, with two sets of 3 buttons, so 3 buttons for each hand. Included were the mini connectors for the buttons, so buttons could more easily be replaced if broken or removed if I just didn't want to use them for a troop (ex. only use the PTT button). Besides the buttons and connectors, the rest of the cable is 4-conductor 3.5mm audio cable of 8', cut in half, with the button harder soldered onto each conductor, using the same common ground for all three buttons.

Basically, two of these 3-button harnesses.

Running the cables through the undersuit is most effective but takes practice. For ease of use, I may switch to some black elastic loops to secure the cables at my joints while just running the remainder under the armor.

The app was also upgraded by Lerxstrulz. The original TKTalkie helper app for Android and iOS wasn't up for the task of programming the buttons, so Lerxstrulz redesigned the app from the ground up, also making the user interface easier to work with to adjust gain and change folders for various effects for different profiles.

I went through quite a few beta firmware for 4.0, and found (inadvertently) new and unexpected ways to break it. It was frustrating at times, but that's the nature of beta testing in general - you'll probably find bugs that you have to report to get fixed.

The trickiest things was getting the configuration and profiles to work:

• When the TKTalkie can't read the config, it typically wouldn't play any startup noise or produce anything
• When it could read the config but not the profile to which the config is pointed, it will look for the DEFAULT config and use that instead

Eventually, I just decided to start from scratch (due to bugs in the firmware not reading my profiles correctly, which have since been fixed), using the default config and profile from the TKTalkie site. Then, I saved as a new profile and started dialing everything back in.

Since then the app and software have come a long way and you won't need to fiddle with it too much unless, like me, you're upgrading from an older version of the firmware to the newer one. Lerxstrulz has:

• A dedicate page for upgrading from previous versions, along with web tools for converting configs and profiles. 
• A  troubleshooting page should you have difficulties
• A  Facebook group for any questions

Also of note are the two videos he created for becoming familiar with the TKTalkie v4:

Personal notes on configuration

My default setup is voice activated, but if the PTT button is installed, I can easily switch between vox and PTT using that button.

An important note is that some pins on the Teensy board are analogue, and others digital. For the PTT/ Sleep button, it's important that a digital pin is used. The main and most important reason is that digital buttons are still active during sleep mode; ergo, you can wake the device up by hitting the PTT/ Sleep button if it's on a digital pin. If you did like I originally did and put the PTT/ Sleep button on an analogue pin, you can put the TKTalkie to sleep, but won't be able to wake it back up without physically power cycling it (what I call "coma mode") - which is an issue once you're fully kitted up.

Here are a list of digital pins on the Teensy board that aren't used for other functions:

2, 4, 16, 21, 26, 30, and 33.

Reference: http://www.tktalkie.com/support/v4/config

Unused analogue pins include (to my knowledge): 3, 5, 8, 15, and 16.

You can only use up to 6 buttons per TKTalkie, so ultimately you'll only need 6 pins. Besides the PTT/ Sleep button, it shouldn't matter if you use an analogue or digital pin for sounds, volume/ gain adjustment, etc.

For sounds, I use some stormtrooper soundbites ("Move along, move along!") and have some blaster sounds for my trigger finger, meaning I don't have to deck out m blaster with expensive electronics if I just want some sounds. I even some music bits and the first few bars of the Imperial March when the troops need morale. It makes even the most menial tasks, like line duty at WonderCon, a laugh as people get ushered in.

The nice thing is that the buttons can also be used to turn gain up and down, if you're having trouble being heard or maybe are getting more feedback than expected after you armor up; or to turn the background loop on or off. All the capabilities of the button programming in the new app can be found on the  TKTalkie site.

Physical Setup - In the Bag, Concealed Carry

I don't use the wireless mic much at all these days. Not only is it one more thing to worry about charging (two actually, between the mic/ transmitter and receiver), but with the cheap mics there's a good chance that, especially at larger 501st gatherings, that you'll have somebody cut into your frequency (or worse, have CB or emergency services get picked up by your receiver and come out of your armor).

Recently, instead, I swapped to a microdot mic that sits really close to my face.

All I do is run the tiny cable through my neck gasket when I throw it on, and run it to much chest. There's so much slack that I have to wind the end where I connect it to the PA (I colored part of the cable that might be exposed above my undersuit with a black permanent marker). The only issue is that the male end for the PA is threaded, so I made a small in-between cable with a 90 degree male end for the TKTalkie end, and a threaded female end for the mic input.

Fabricated from solid-core wires for bendiness.

But with everything in the loop now, including my Pyle Pro, the TKTalkie with all its connections (mic, audio cable between the TKTalkie and the PA, USB battery, and optional 2x sound gloves), and the USB battery for the TKTalkie, things in my chest plate were... messy. The old way of mounting the gear into the chest plate and then hooking up the mic while I was finishing getting suited up was arduous, especially with two sound gloves. Plus, there was always the chance of a wire falling out mid troop with all the USB, mic, and sound glove cables.

For a troop or two, I dabbled with Velcro-ing everything to the Pyle Pro, and breaking out the old neck strap for the Pyle Pro and going at it that way. This too proved cumbersome. Although it was easier to get everything connected and sound checked before putting the armor on, it didn't improve the cable management. The USB battery would often become unsecured and start flopping around in my chest plate. Also, a couple of USB cables ended up breaking as they came out of the TKTalkie perpendicular to everything else and getting bent between my ab and chest plate. Also, bending over with this setup would cause the Pyle Pro et al to drop into my chest plate and drop it down. It looked something like this:

And it was... terrible.

Finally, I decided to go with a chest-mounted walkie talkie pouch from Amazon, along with audio and USB cables that terminate at 90 degree angles. Here's what my current setup looks like:

Containment. Contentment.

The only challenge with this setup is that it takes some fiddling to get it just where you need it under your chest plate, and that it takes up a lot of chest plate space. Somebody like me can get away with this, but troopers with large busts or pectorals might have issues more so than a typically chest-mounted PA setup. For me, I almost have to have the pouch at neck level, or rather an inch or so below that. But otherwise, I can leave it mostly set up before troops instead of having to piece and connect the components together every troop. When I use it, I connect the mic, sound gloves (optional), and then turn on the PA and plug in the USB battery. Then it's just a matter of adjusting gain/ volume and then throw on the armor.

The first time I tried this setup was for a fan film, and it went OK, although I should have spent more time tweaking the chest bag placement and armor fit. Plus, waaaayyyy back when I first built my armor, I threw in some ABS loop straps in my chest piece to aide in chest-mounting the PA, but I haven't used these in ages.

Once friends, now irritants...

I had them still installed for the fan film, but afterwards I removed them and it now don't have to worry about the chest piece being farther out than need be while I fight for every fraction of an inch of dead space between my own chest and the TK chest piece for the comm system.

Even though the bag adds some extra bulk, it's nice to have a totally adjustable carrying system for the vox when I need it, easy to throw on, plug in, and adjust before I throw on the armor.

As of right now, I don't have any plans to troop again until Celebration 2019 in Chicago, although that could change if WonderCon still needs help with personnel. I'll write about my Celebration planning in my next update. Until next time...

Sound and Fury(ious Repairs and Overhauls)

BACK FROM THE DEAD A****LES!!!

I'm just kidding, I love you guys! But seriously, I'm FINALLY UPDATING THE BLOG WITH NEW INFO.

Happy belated May the 4th!

It's been too long since my last blog post. But like many, I'm never done working on my armor, and never done fiddling around with things, especially with people enabling me.

Armor Repair

Anovos armor is dainty in that it is thin in many places and likes to crack. Higher CRL approval requires some edge returns on torso armor to give the appearance of thick armor; lamentably, this often leads to cracking, which is especially true with the thin Anovos pulls.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I reinforced the kidney plate with epoxy and fiberglass mesh to keep it from cracking, but the return edges just want to crack anyhow, especially near the ridge portion that runs up the back. Because the previous work prohibited me from repairing it on the inside of the edge, I had to work on the outside instead.

Although not as desirable of a repair, after sanding and polishing it's not terribly noticeable, especially when assembled next to the back plate.

Also thin are the ammo belt pieces for the main belt and thigh ammo pack.I reinforced these with thin, long scraps of ABS, CA glue, and much clamping. For the main ammo belt, I'll need to go back later and fill in some small cracks before they grow larger.

For the thing ammo pack, it had been cracked near the rivet hole during a photo shoot.I had to grind out the rack, fill with ABS paste, sand and polish; I also reinforced from behind with ABS strips and CA glue.

During the course of may troops the right cheek of my bucket developed a bend line. So I sanded it lightly, added some ABS paste, shaped, smoothed and polished. The ABS paste left some very tiny bubbles that I may fill later.

I had some tabs on the edge return of the butt plate that kept the armor from popping out too much compared to the kidney plate. Lamentably, this only caused the edge return to crack a lot, even with reinforcement. Thankfully, there was still plenty of inside edge return to apply a copious amount of Scrap ABS and ABS paste. I had to thoroughly paste the top as well due the edge return becoming uneven after cracking and repairs, to smooth the surface back out.

And... I got another crack in my chest plate, just past where I did all the reinforcement, of course. If what I did for the kidney plate pans out, I might due that to the chest plate as well, especially with a sanding block to help smooth and mold. Some edges of the chest plate have become uneven during past repairs, so I might just kill two birds with one stone, and thicken up that edge return for the entire edge.

But that's a topic for another blog post.

Fans/ Bucket

My bucket was a mess. I overbuilt it and it was hard to don and take off because the opening was narrower due to the oversized bracket. For reference:

I decided to move away from a bracketed design and instead use tape and hook & loop straps to secure fans and wiring directly to the inside of the bucket. Some of this had already been added, so there was plenty of fuzzy loop tape at strategic spots in the bucket. Hearing assist leads to the mics are held in place with copper tape, although it's admittedly not as resilient against EM noise from the wireless mic - but more on that in a moment.

I also (finally) replaced the wonky Anovos helmet harness and went with pads. Because my head is long, the top of my head needs to rest directly against the top of my bucket for me to see correctly through the eyes. however, placing pads front, back, and to the sides offers a lot of stability without compromising stability.

(Later I removed the forehead pad since it was causing my forehead some pain during my second May 4th troop. I'll need to troop without it, but so far the bucket still seems pretty stable and more comfortable without it.)

I'm also messing around with alternative fan methods. like using micro-fans instead of big blowers. Two micro-fans don't move as much air as a big blower, but they kept my bucket cool enough in the warm WonderCon main hall and made so little noise that I didn't need to use my hearing assist at all.

Even during 89 degree heat that I was in on May 4th, the mini fans did pretty well, but the analog speed controller I'm trying out is somewhat wasted upon them since they don't blow much air except at max speed. I'll be adding modular disconnects between the fans and controller so I can swap with the big blower fans and experiment between speed, noise, and cooling. Without the bracket, I can swap fans whenever I like.

As for the aforementioned wireless mic, I actually don't use it too often. The main reason, as I discovered at Comic-Con last year, is because in large groups it's possible that one's mic will pair with another's receiver, or vice versa. Nothing irritates me more than another person's voice cracking wise form my chestplate. Running a corded mic into my chest plate is the only way to guaranty that the voice coming out of my amp is MY OWN. Plus I need to run the cable from the sound glove anyhow, so it's a necessary evil.

Speaking of which...

TK-Talkie Sound Glove+ Update

Back in December of last year I started playing with TK Talkie firmware v3.15, a beta firmware that supported... a sound glove. Of course, the case (which I received from TK-Talkie) wasn't designed to support a sound glove, so I improvised by adding an RJ45 female jack to the case as a dongle, after wiring all the necessary pins on the Teensy board.

The sound glove itself is just a series of buttons attached to the hand, underneath the normal glove, using elastic straps. For my glove, I used four microswitch buttons and Cat5 cable, with each pair soldered to a button. Of course it connects to the TK-Talkie with an RJ45 male end.

I might change this design later to go with the TK-Talkie fashion of connecting sound gloves, which is 4-conductor 3.5mm jacks. v4 supports up to 6 buttons total, so typically 3 per glove (3 + ground = 4 conductors).

Initially, I had some issues with the buttons breaking off the wires, so I CA glued them onto scrap ABS backings, which I then sewed onto my elastic finger loops, for extra reinforcement.

My setup is slightly different, but here's Mr. TK-Talkie with his own sound glove for reference. I keep my buttons on my first knuckle on my left hand, whereas he puts them right on the fingertips of his right hand. It's just a matter of personal preference.

 

v3.15 was a beta version and worked well enough for the Hollywood Christmas Parade and our troop for an Anaheim Ducks game, but couldn't be configured with the app being a beta implementation (more of a proof-of-concept). Sound files had to be specifically named in a specific folder to work, so it was possible to change sounds, but couldn't be controlled per profile.

v4.00 on the other hand, paired with the v2 assistant app, adds those features and more. Sounds can be swapped on the fly. A button can be set to use the PTT/ Voice Activation/ Sleep function, used for two sounds, or used to adjust levels for various sounds on the box, like effects, voice, loops, etc. You can read more on TK-Talkie v4 here.

I was able to play with the v4 firmware and v2 app on May 4th, during troops at a children's play center and a wedding. It was endlessly fun to play the Imperial March on a whim, to tell people to "Move along, move along," or to inspect a wedding gift and verify that "These aren't the droids we're looking for."

There are endless possibilities, especially when one considers multiple profiles you can create on the TK-Talkie and then swap on a whim with the app. Look out San Diego Comic-Con! So even a basic TK can have some fun with the sound glove, on top of the other functions that the TK-Talkie supports and adds with v4 firmware - which I'll probably discuss at length in the next blog post.

Until next time, carry on troopers!

Why I Decided to Sell Stuff

To all my fellow veteran troopers, friends, and readers, thank you for your service on this belated Veterans' Day and Remembrance Day.

If anyone's visited or even heard of the Scum and Villainy Cantina, they'll know it was the vision of a big fan who wanted to build something cool and offer it as a service to fans. It's really a great place and I personally love it. I went there when it was just a pop-up bar and afterwards when they decided to stay open indefinitely.

Now I hear word of another Star Wars themed bar that will be popping up in Hollywood (as well as New york and DC) and wondered why somebody just couldn't come up with their own original idea and let things be.

And then I got it. I understood. To a point.

Last week (last post), I decided to post in general about products that I am making that are similar to those being produced by UKSWrath. There were some that called me a recaster for what I was trying to do. Although it was wrong of me to knock his price points or in any way demean his product, the situation started with events on FISD that caught my attention.

I've been apprehensive about publishing this post, but ultimately this is my personal blog, and a space that I feel I should be able to talk about topics I want in regards to my armor builds and overcoming difficulties in the build, even if those difficulties are more social and less technical.

An Apology to UKSWrath / Tony

Firstly, while I have done so privately, I'd like to apologize to UKSWrath / Tony for besmirching his work. Even though we use off-the-shelf tech for these systems, they are very tedious to make. Adding other items like more quick connects makes it even moreso and, frankly, I should probably be charging more for my work (and I probably will) since it can take a few hours to put together a hearing assist system from start to finish (installing it can take another hour or two, depending on the buckets). If you've read my previous blogs, you know that the hearing assists have to be built component by component, by each resistor, capacitor, and jack. It's certainly no easy task for anyone, especially someone who builds a lot of these devices each month.

When I announced that I intended to sell my own product to people through the Anovos Facebook group, I knew there might be consequences. Heck, I'll admit that not talking to the person already making fan kits on FISD/ Whitearmor, and knocking his price point was probably not the best way to go about it, do the general attitudes in the cosplay community about people who "recast" or make clone items, or people who don't "respect" the work of those already doing business.

Being First to Market in the Cosplay World

Although Tony might not have been the first guy to figure out how to make hearing assist (because I honestly don't know), he was arguably the first guy to offer them for sale on FISD. Out of respect for the guy that did it first, members generally don't compete with other members doing ongoing sales for the same or very similar products. Some could argue that this creates a monopoly. Could I compete with Tony on FISD? Sure, but arguably we're currently making very similar products. Do I want to deal with the drama or politics that entails, or being the pariah of FISD? No. That's far too stressful.

And seeing my artist friends who constantly have to fight off other artists, or even large corporations, from keeping people from cloning their ideas, I completely get that.

But as a guy who feels like an artist who was plagiarized, I also feel it.

The Hearing Assist Filter Issue

When I was a child our school hosted a craft fair. I found a salt dough recipe for my best friend and I to make little Nintendo character knick knacks to sell at the fair. In the end, however, he took the dough recipe, made them himself, and shut me out.

If anything, the thing with which I took issue and led me down the path of selling my own product, beyond my wife being unemployed for a few months, was developing an improvement on an old design - not reinventing the wheel per say, but making it easier to roll.

One of my big issues was the noise filter in the hearing assist systems, and its commercialization. While I argue that the final result was because of my published work, UKSWrath will argue that he'd been looking for the solution for a while and had spent quite a sum of money looking for the right combo of filter and USB battery to work with the hearing assist without producing EM noise if fans were also being used on the same battery.

That being said, I don't know if I wholly believe in the coincidence. Those who read my blog will know that I initially found a solution to the EM noise issue (running fans and a hearing assist on the same power supply) was published on 29 November 2016, after messing around with my hearing assist build for days and taking a break for Thanksgiving.

Tracing the threads from Whitearmor alone is suspect:

• I started talking about my solution on 2nd March 2017 when I saw a thread about a FISD member in the UK trying to do what I had already blogged about. Before this, USKWrath had said it couldn't be done, despite having spent $200 researching the issue.
• I finally published my work on 11 May 2017 on the same thread. 
• Thereafter, around 22 May 2017, USKWrath started selling a 5V USB-powered Hearing Assist with an EM filter on his Sales thread.

This is the reason my hearing assist is similar to his because, arguably, I developed the concept first.

My Outstanding Objection

When I originally saw the Velleman MK136, and thought it would be great to add to a bucket, I Google searched the idea and and read up on Tony's threads (among other sources) to improve my design Similarly, Tony probably read up on my work and improved his designs.

The difference is that Tony does so commercially. And while I posted my ideas in the hopes of showing off my work and helping others builders (arguably builders that couldn't afford Tony's work) overcoming similar issues, my intent wasn't to help somebody else earn a profit on my work. Anyone who's an artist, creator, or inventory can understand. And although he reportedly spent a lot of money in R&D, I honestly don't think he could have made that final breakthrough without my contribution.

No Right Answer

Obviously Tony and I aren't the only ones making product or publishing work. Many people reference this YouTube video from 18 July 2012 about helmet electronics, which was also a huge inspiration to me. There are guys who've been making fans "for years" coming out of the woodwork. Some of these people, like the FISD members who handed down the Echo Fan business to USKWrath, work for a profit, some don't. But those that do have arguably been inspired by, or used work from, others before them. People have been borrowing and improving on each other's' ideas since the dawn of time.

Personally, I'm a fan of the free market, competing by price point and innovation, and letting customers decide. But when we start dealing with loyal fanbases, the muddled idea of originality, and trying to break into inferred monopolies where somebody who's already established is being infringed upon, it's a large ball of worms.

Going Forward

I respect Tony, and don't doubt that he spent a bit of R&D trying to figure out how everything works, but to be wholly honest, the timing was and is suspect. Arguably, he just may have figured out one particular USB power bank that works well with the solution I penned.

However, out of respect for Tony, I've decided to not broadcast my sales to FISD for the time being.

Instead, I will do limited commissions on a case by case basis. You can find my Sales page here:

https://obsidiustk.blogspot.com/p/tksnakes-5v-systems.html

There will always be competition for any builder, like those improving on old designs or creating wholly new systems that could undercut what Tony, myself, and others are doing. But I also believe that there will never be a "one size fits all" solution, especially when it comes to price point. New systems are typically priced higher for customers that need the bleeding edge. People who can't afford that will get the next best thing. Although there might be systems in the future that can replace the MK136-based designs, there's no telling when they'll be to market, or how expensive they might be.

In that same vein, I also intend to diversify my product offerings by making products different from those sold by Tony and others. I'll be looking into different fan offerings, cutting down on feedback when using hearing assists with helmet speakers, etc. Consider the hearing assist EM filter as the first in a series of innovations to come.

Adversely, this lamentably means that I will be remiss on blogging about helmet electronics or construction methods, since I'm not interested in any further ideas being used for somebody else's business venture. If someone is going to make earnings off of my innovations, it will be me and those with whom I select to partner.

I'll be putting my current two products (and others to come), on a page connected to the blog as to keep that page updated. Because this blog was originally meant to be about building armor, this will probably be the last time I blog about my products unless I have to announce a change to page host or URL.

Next blog, I hop to have something more positive or lighthearted to talk about. Until then...

NOW SELLING - TKSnake's 5V Systems

It's been awhile since my last update.

The armor is still holding up, although I had to reinforce the butt plate and kidney plate with epoxy and fiberglass mesh, much like I did with the chest plate. I like to keep a bigger return edge on these pieces to make the armor look thicker, but the price for that is a higher chance of cracking. So the reinforcement was necessary to ensure that the armor would last for many years.

A while back I discovered how to lessen or eliminate EM noise in my USB-power Hearing Assist by using a DSL filter, which I published in a blog. Now, I don't mind sharing my info, but a later discovered that it was being used in a commercial venture, without even any acknowledgement.

Edit: For information about my offerings, please visit my Sales page!
(https://obsidiustk.blogspot.com/p/tksnakes-5v-systems.html)

Ordering

If you like what you see here, send an email to TK76235 (at) gmail (dot) com (I've broken the email address here to prevent spam bots from reading it). From there we can correspond and I can send you PayPal instructions to start your order.

My pal Brent at TK Talkie is also offering his system for sale if you aren't technically inclined to build your own. If you're interested in purchasing, tell him I sent you :)

So that's what I've been up to lately. I've already started building these for people in the Southern California Garrison, so now I'm offering my services to my first brotherhood, my fellow Anovos armor builders. If things go well I might start competing directly on whitearmor.net.

As an aside, TK Boots is sadly going out of business, so what they have in stock is up for grabs. If you like their boots, hit them up while you can.

Until next time...

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...