mp3 placement for my amp

[Quebectrooper]

Hello.

I just got my Aker amp and i'd like to have recorded movie sounds(''show me your identification''). I thought about havin a thin MP3 player in one of my drop box and have the wire go up to my Amp in my chest.

 

Is that a good idea or do you have a better solution? <_<

Edited September 13, 2010 by quebectrooper

[ELP]

Pat we've done two things:

 

1) We used an Aker amp on Lisa's TK kit. This is snapped into the chest with a very small MP3 player attached to it (cheap $10 Radio shack special). We've used snaps, elastic and weather stripping (acts like a shelf) to keep everything in place. There is enough room in the chest for both and this way there isn't extra wires running around that could get snagged, forgotten about (when getting un kitted) or pulled on by "fans".

 

2) For my TX I don't have an AKER amp so I made a pouch out of black Vinyl and a snap and attached the Ipod pouch to the inside of my chest. At ~75% the Volume is loud enough to be heard without being too loud. The result is a tiny almost invisible sound source - Works Really Well! Also the plastic and Vinyl seem to distord the sounds a bit - we really like the effect.

 

Have a look around for the MP3 TK sound file (if you don't have it) ... it's about 42 minutes long and has a bunch of great sounds on it. Lisa got it from the "501st area" of this site.

 

I'll take pictures of our set-ups when our camera batteries charge up (tonight or tomorrow).

 

Hope that helps.

Edited September 13, 2010 by ELP

[Quebectrooper]

So Matt you put your hand inside your chest and hit a button?

 

thanks.

[Rebel Doughboy[TK]]

-----------

 

I made this a little while back. 20 TK clips I recorded and cleaned up from the Star Wars soundboards on StarWars.com.

 

Let me know if you like them!

-RDB

Edited March 25, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Hey Pat, the only issue with putting the MP3 player in your drop box is that you will have to press the buttons by touch. You won't be able to see the MP3 player.

 

I tried something similar for an event with my Ipod touch, but it was really hard to use with gloves on (touch screen - duh!). I bought a cheap MP3 player from Walmart for $20 and it works great.

 

One suggestion I have is to run the wire from your amp in your chest though your arm, and have the wire exit the forearm and strap the MP3 player to your palm. This way you can work the buttons with your thumb and even bring the MP3 player up to your eyes if you need to see what track you need to play.

 

*BTW: Kevin, nice work on those trooper sounds!

[TK6294]

I have an old silver colored ipod shuffle (looks just like the new ones for ~$50) that i use. I have a black cover for it. I have a elastic loop glued to the underside of my left hand plate. I then run a wire from my aker amp to the ipod shuffle. That allows me to control the playback and the volume. For example, the first track is the imperial march which i blast at full volume using a Aker MR1505 12watt amp. It is loud enough to carry the squad march at a parade or a big entrance. the next tracks are the TK chatter that Skutch made. I then have a few loops i made. I have to turn the volume down on the chatter. The TK chatter loops really add to the effect.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Here's my setup (ignore the rare earth magnets, they were removed once the E6000 cured).

 

On the left is an Aker MR1506 voice amp w mic from TK6294, on the right is my now rarely-used iPod Classic. Since the amp has two input jacks, one for the mic headset and an auxiliary line-in port, I can both talk and have something cool playing in the background - for instance, TD-2243's "TK Loop" that mimics stormtrooper radio chatter. Alternatively, I could play the Imperial March, or pretty much anything I feel like.

 

Before I put on my armor I turn on the iPod and set it up so that it plays my choice of sounds in a continuous loop, set the volume on the device - usually about 50% works fine - and lock it. Next, I do the same for the voice amp, setting the mic volume so that I can be clearly heard over the iPod sound effects. Once I get both the mic and iPod volume tuned up to where I want them, I put on the body armor and forget about it. The only downside is that I can't make any adjustments without desuiting.

 

[ELP]

So Matt you put your hand inside your chest and hit a button?

 

thanks.

 

Pat - Yea I set everything up (got a piece of tape on the inside with all the details - volume level, etc) and then away I go. The battery life is really good for the Ipod, and frankly I can't see anything less than 5 feet infront of me with my helmet on anyway so I'm not adjusting anything after I've turned it on.

 

As for Lisa she's pretty much the same - just got the "off / On" switch on the amp that she can reach with her bucket on, if she needs to but she hasn't yet.

 

Most MP3 player buttons are so freaking small anyway I need to have my gloves off so I just don't play with the electrics while kitted up.

 

Lisa took the camera to work today so I'll grab pics tonight. sorry for the wait.

Edited September 15, 2010 by ELP