Neb's E-11 build: Doopydoos, Tino kit, and custom electronics

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Hey folks! It has come time to post a build thread for my E-11 build. I promise not to let the thread die like I did my TK build thread (don't worry, I did get approved). This will be my trooping blaster, so while I hope to keep it pretty darn screen accurate, I also won't worry if the doopy kit is a few millimeters off in places. 

 

My main sources are the full DoopyDoos resin kit with Tino's completion kit. My buddy, who is currently studying electrical engineering, will be helping me build custom electronics for the blaster.  He has the added advantage of still being in school, so he can get electronic components at cost (score one for me). The only experience I have with electronics has been in the music field (guitars, amps, soundboards, etc.), so his expertise will be invaluable. Maybe I'll even get him to register and explain things that I can't hahaha. I will be shamelessly robbing ideas and methods from several of you guys, including (but not limited to) @T-Jay, @themaninthesuitcase, @Xinx, and @skyone

 

While I hope this thread will be helpful for others building their blasters, expect lots of questions from me! Even though I've read several good build threads and endlessly purused the reference library, I'm still feeling overwhelmed! Then again, I felt the same way starting my TK build and it all worked out perfectly. 

 

I'll continue updating this first post with my resources list, but here's what we have so far. Note that if I haven't hyperlinked a source, I have no idea where to get the part! Any ideas on that front would be appreciated. I won't be buying electronics until next month, the racing shirts ate up my 501st budget for this month. 

 

Basic parts:

DoopyDoos full resin kit $55

Tino's completion kit, $65

aluminum rod (to mount LEDS to)

Replacement stock cube and front sight, printed from files made by @themaninthesuitcase

Black paint

Silver paint (for weathering)

Gold paint (for weathering)

Too much green stuff, $18

 

Electronics:

Basics:

Integrated arduino/sound amp board (being built by "The Buddy")

Microswitch (for trigger), $1

Rotary switch (comes with TIno's kit)

Voltage Regulator

Rechargeable 9 volt battery, $22 (pack of 4 and a charger)

 

Lights:

5 RGB LEDS, $3

5 LED drivers, $5

.66" OLED display, $15

 

Sound:

2 3 watt speakers

MP3 reader board, $1.50

 

Total cost (so far, not counting tools): $152

 

Tools:

Two part epoxy glue

Clay carving tools

Dremel with plenty of sanding attachments in various sizes

Edited March 21, 2018 by Neb Sgird

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Alright, now to specifics. I'm hoping to make this screen accurate on the outside, with all electronics hidden on the inside. This is going to mean a lot drilling things out to mount electronics, and then rebuilding it with green stuff., especially in the grip. This is honestly what I'm most scared about, as I've never worked with green stuff in my life.

 

Electronics-wise, I plan to do "walking" lights, with the 5 LEDs firing in sequence to give the appearance of a bolt firing down the barrel of the blaster. The existing switch (with the ARS stamps) will be used to switch "modes" on the blaster. There will be a full-auto, single shot, and "stun" modes. Yes, the stun mode will be blue and will have a different sound effect. Lastly, there will be a display built into the scope similar to what Xirx did here. The Buddy (as I will call him until/unless he says I can use his name) thinks he can integrate a lot of the breakout boards common in other E11 builds into a single board that will be be less than 2 cm wide, so that it will easily fit in the barrel of the Doopy kit. If this works out, it will eliminate a LOT of the rat's nests of wiring also common to these kinds of builds. He thinks we can integrate the Arduino chip, sound module, and possibly even the LED drivers  onto a single long and skinny board. Fingers crossed that it will actually work out!

 

Questions I have so far:

1. What black paint does everyone commonly use?

2. Does anyone know where I can source a rechargeable 9 volt battery? 

[T-Jay[TK]]

Hi Ben, glad you are starting a build thread here. Looks like you have done your homework and preparation work, so this will surely become a good blaster.

Onto your questions:

1. Black Paint - There was an interesting discussion recently in Suspend's build. Maybe this helps. For me, it sounded complicated as I never had any issues with standard spray cans from the DIY stores. Maybe I just had luck...

2. Rechargeable 9 volt battery - if you search online, you will find plenty of these from 170mAh to 800mAh...

On 16.3.2018 at 12:31 AM, Neb Sgird said:

(...)   I've never worked with green stuff in my life.   (...)

Don't worry about that. Just mix a little bit of the blue and yellow stripe until it turns dark green. Make sure to keep your finger tips and tools wet - otherwise it will stick on there. Then you have all the time you need, as the green stuff takes about 24 hours to fully cure (depending on its thickness). If fully hardened, you can sand it like resin. If something goes wrong during your build, green stuff will be your friend.

Good luck Ben. Following...

Edited March 18, 2018 by T-Jay

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Time to play some  picture-heavy catchup. I actually got my doopys box on my birthday in December but haven't had much time to work on it. Here's what I've done so far...

 

First things first of course was washing the resin dust/mold releaser off the resin. This was as simple as doing the dishes. Here the pieces are drying (bananas for scale, I guess?

 

Next, I started on the basic customizations to make the kit more accurate. The easiest of these was installing various screws throughout the blaster that are included in T-Jay's kit. I'll be taking the majority of these back out when I eventually paint, but its nice to have them in place because 1) they look cool and 2) they won't be laying around trying to get lost. 

 

 

 Those of you doing your own build, be sure to countersink the middle two screws in the scope, while having the other three float on the surface of the scope. As I'm sure many of you noticed in the above picture (just awful), I had a problem installing the screws in the barrel. My drill slipped into the inner tube itself and therefore my holes are crooked. They look god-awful and I'm not entirely sure how to get them lined up as they should be. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

 

I also drilled out the barrel and folding stock.

I also carved out the stock where the aluminum tube will go. This was pretty easy with a 1/4" drum sander on my dremel. don't see any need to extend further up than where I have, as no one will see the underside of the stock (it will be non-functional). Is there any reason for me to keep going and install the tube all the way to the end of the stock?

 

I also carved out the horrendous guts of from the inside of the power cylinders. These will be replaced by hand-made parts from Tino's kit. I know they still won't be 100% accurate, but this is where I draw the line of "meh, it's a trooping blaster."

 

That's the majority of what I have done so far. Here's the most recent collection of questions...Help!

Follow-up on 2. Do you all think a 600 mAh battery would be sufficient to drive an arduino, two 3w speakers, 5 LEDs, and a constantly-on scope display?  I'm hoping to be able to go a full con troop on a charge, so 8 hour minimum battery life is the goal.

3. What should I do to fix my barrel screws (see above)?

3. Is there any reason I should install a metal tube along the entire length of the folding stock? It won't be seen by anyone besides myself...

[T-Jay[TK]]

Looking good so far, Ben. Onto your questions:

On 17.3.2018 at 1:46 AM, Neb Sgird said:

(...)   My drill slipped into the inner tube itself and therefore my holes are crooked.   (...)

That happens quite often. The easiest way to get that screw straight would be using your rotary tool inside the inner tube to correct this.

On 17.3.2018 at 1:46 AM, Neb Sgird said:

(...)   Is there any reason I should install a metal tube along the entire length of the folding stock? It won't be seen by anyone besides myself...   (...)

No, that is totally up to you.

On 17.3.2018 at 1:46 AM, Neb Sgird said:

(...)   Do you all think a 600 mAh battery would be sufficient to drive an arduino, two 3w speakers, 5 LEDs, and a constantly-on scope display?   (...)

Sounds more than enough to me but I only have little experience here. Maybe somebody else can chime in and help with this.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

For the nozzle screws I had this issue on one side.  I ended up using a Dremel with a diamond bit to enlarge the hole and then filled it with green stuff.  I then redrilled the hole which came out better.

 

As for the battery, you'll need to do that maths. Find the current use for the components in mA, sum them and compare to the battery.

 

The draw on the LEDs and sound will be high but being as they won't be in use all that often, I'd probably factor in a 5-10% duty cycle on them as generous.  It might be worth adding a battery meter in the scope display, but either way a bench test before fitting is certainly a smart move.

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

On 3/20/2018 at 2:18 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

The draw on the LEDs and sound will be high but being as they won't be in use all that often, I'd probably factor in a 5-10% duty cycle on them as generous.  It might be worth adding a battery meter in the scope display, but either way a bench test before fitting is certainly a smart move.

I definitely plan to do bench-tests before actually slotting anything into the gun.

 

Electrical gurus of the FISD, I need your help! I've put the resin work on hold (I'm waiting on some diamond burrs to show up for my dremel that should make life easier on that front) and have been further planning my electronics. I'm having a hard time sourcing the speakers. I want to keep them around 3 watts (2 watts at a bare minimum) but can't seem to find anything to fit the 20 mm tube diameter I have to work with. Any ideas? To clue you in, these will sit in the back of the blaster, where the recoil spring would normally be seen. @Xinx's build doesn't specify which speakers he used (if you read this, maybe you can chip in), and @skyone's speakers are sold out.

 

5. Do you guys know of any speakers I could fit in this tube? Help!

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

What about these: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/2w-20mm-Speaker-P837.aspx ?

[Xinx[TK]]

On 21/03/2018 at 9:41 PM, Neb Sgird said:

I definitely plan to do bench-tests before actually slotting anything into the gun.

 

Electrical gurus of the FISD, I need your help! I've put the resin work on hold (I'm waiting on some diamond burrs to show up for my dremel that should make life easier on that front) and have been further planning my electronics. I'm having a hard time sourcing the speakers. I want to keep them around 3 watts (2 watts at a bare minimum) but can't seem to find anything to fit the 20 mm tube diameter I have to work with. Any ideas? To clue you in, these will sit in the back of the blaster, where the recoil spring would normally be seen. @Xinx's build doesn't specify which speakers he used (if you read this, maybe you can chip in), and @skyone's speakers are sold out.

 

5. Do you guys know of any speakers I could fit in this tube? Help!

 

Looked at my ordering back then:

I used 2.5Watt 4 Ohm speakers 20x40mm.  These are Notebook speakers and perfectly fit in the Doopydoos pipe. 

These can be bought in a 2-pack (Left/Right speaker).

I bought them at www.Aliexpress.com (and as far as I can see you can still buy them).

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Things are progressing, albiet very slowly (as most of my builds end up doing). I will post some progress pics soon!