Cheapo Amp

Now if you want something inexpensive to amplify your voice you can go with this setup at your local Radio Shack.



Not exactly a Vortex, but it works great & just adds some "coolness" to your helmet!

Mini Amplifier Speaker cat #277-1008C & Optimus active mic #33-3013. You can probably buy the set for $30 USD?

How big is that speaker? Where could it be hidden?

2 1/2" wide, 3 1/2" tall, 1 1/4" thick at the thickest part. Now if you open it up & solder in a couple of extra lengths of wires, you could hide the whole assembly in your helmet. It has a speaker out jack that you could plug an external speaker into. RS has a flat diaphram speaker that would be perfect for this & you could sew it to the inside of your vest or whatever you are using for a neckseal.

i tried that and had problems with feed back in the helmet. then again i didnt play with it too much to try to eliminate it. i was in a time crunch.

did you get it to in the helmet work BKBT?

i picked up the black one from the shack. it was 20 bucks and much more powerful. i put it in my side pouches.

****, you people send me off to radio shack all the time. Ok, everybody come up with some radio shack ideas and lets get a radio shack check list together so I only have to make on trip.

I've got the same one Goat has. For $20 you can't go wrong!

Is that the one that galaxytrading used to sell?

I haven't installed this in my helmet yet but I don't think I will have the same problems with feedback. The inside of my helmet & mic are isolated with a helmet gasket, so I think I can get the flat diaphragm speaker pretty close. I was thinking I would sew it in my neck seal/balaclava & snake the wire up inside to jack in the helmet amp. Everything will be self contained.

if you get it to work definately take some pics!!!

I'll take pics of the progress so if it works well I can post a tutorial here & on my website.

Does the mic on this pick up pretty well? I have a cheapo halloween voice changer that works great, but only if you stick the friggn mic in your mouth :p

unless i turn up the amp all the way i have to put it right in front of my mouth.

I'm using one from E for my Stormie Armor and for the price of $31.00, it's pretty cool. It has 3 settings and the mike is hardwired to the speaker.

I have a 20 dollar one also. I hooked up with a guy on line a couple of months ago and he recommended getting rid of the speaker it came with and adding two of RS speakers to overdrive the unit. He said it makes you sound like the troopers and fett(kinda). That is what he and his buddies in CA ( I think thats where he was) were doing. i have the stuff, but have it as a winter project so cant tell you how well it works. He also left a gap at the top of the T visor(1/16th to an 1/8th, cant see it unless you looked parallel to the visor) and wired the two speakers at each corner inside. That Ive palyed with and there is room if you want teh sound comming out of your face. Also recommended the RS mic in a bag. Dont have a number but can get it if someone wants it. I just went and said give me the one in the bag for 5 bucks and they only carry one. He mounted the mic at the bottom of the T visor and said no difficulties with feed back. Its the smoothest system Ive seen. Hope it helps and will let you know how good it works when I get there.

I got a "voice changer" at a store here in Omaha. It has two modes that I won't need, but then it has just a standard amplify setting as well. And for $8, Woo-Hoo! It has about a 2-3 foot long microphone cord for mounting inside of a halloween mask. The mic isn't very big--perfect for Fett helmets.

Phantom, I think that's the one I have. The mic is connected to a bendy chord so you can kinda wrap it aroudn your ear. For jango, I think Im going to connect it to my headgear, but like i said, you really gotta talk pretty loud and with it almost in your mouth, but the mic isself is small so i can stick it in a chest pocket on my flightsuit under my vest. I might try that mic that BGBT found because I have the RS speaker but no mic to work with it, though Im not sure where I'd put that big white box.

I tried the voice changer unit that you are referring to & I just wasn't happy with the results. I think the mic was really poor. The mic I have now is excellent & you don't need to be chewing on it in order for it to pick up your voice. It cleanly transmits sound so the overdrive method might be a good option. Maybe a resistor with the speaker? Electronics Gurus?

How are you mounting that RS Mic? it looks rather small.

I have the same one as Halo(well from the sound of it)3 voice mods.If you turn it to alein,It sounds just like bousch.I mean it sounds just like her.Heres how I did mine.(this is also what I will do for mirax)My speaker box has A clip on the back.Just stick it on your jet pack harness.Run the cord
under your vest up your neck.Go buy A rca connector.solder the
male end to the cord on the speaker box.Mount the female end
to the cable on the mic.If you are wearing your helmet.The t-lens would be 12 o'clock.I used the 5 o'clock possition to mount the female rca.Use epoxy to mount the mic,I'n the right
possision.Mount the female end at 5 o'clock about an inch up in the helmetYour voice mod now just plugs in.No fighting with
the cords if you want to take off your helmet.Just plug it in.
Or unplug it.Works great for me.I hope it works great for you.

The mic comes with a lapel clip that I am going to modify & hotmelt into the helmet. That way I can remove the mic if needed for any reason.

AH! Thinking ahead!! I like it.

Shawnpane, roger that. We are using the same mods.

Hmmm ... I thought I had some good news for y'all, but maybe not. I picked up 4 of the nicer voice amps from RS yesterday (32-2015 ... 3W output). I got one for myself, and 3 extras for fellow prop-ers. Anyway, I bought them at a surplus sale at the RS outlet store, for $20 each. They initially ran for like $35, and I wasn't aware that they dropped the price overall. Between the fact that the price dropped, and I found these as surplus, I'm wondering if we're discountinuing them?

Anyway, if anyone's interested in acquiring one for $20 + shipping, let me know. Here's some info on them:

http://support.radioshack.com/suppor...oc66/66345.pdf

They come with a belt-clip mounted main housing, a nice loud output, and a headset with a boom mic. All you need is this to set yourself up for being heard ni costume. It doesn't do the voice conversion however ... you're on your own for that one.

I have the site-used picture of one if anyone's interested (these are no longer advertised on the RadioShack.com website) ... I just don't have a host for it. If interested, e-mail me. Like I said, I only have 3 available. No takers, off to E-Bay they go.

Thanks,

ATM
wild_wire@yahoo.com

I recently bought a Cheapo voice box from my local K-Mart & I took it apart & took the guts out & **** off a few wiresthat weren't necessary & tossed the whole thing inside my helmet. But the thing that I was stuck on was tons of feedback, so I just put alot of Foam around the mic & speaker to drown out as much feedback as possible. But now the only voice I can really keep it on, for it not to give to much feedback is the deep voice - almost like Vader's voice. But other than that, it works excellent! I just sound like a bad as StormTrooper when I walk around talking

You can mount that Radio Shack Mic by attaching it to the end of a peice of metal clothes hanger and then securing the hanger to the inside of your helmet with ultra-heavy duty outdoor foam tape like the kind used to mount mailboxes and stuff to the outside of your home. Also, put a small bend in each side of the hanger so that it cannot rotate when secured. Now you can bend the mic side of the hanger to keep the mic close to your mouth. I have also used pieces from the Lego Mindstorm kit to create a headgear for that mic.

As for the feedback with the RS devices, they do not give feedback when you use your head as a buffer. Mount the amp behind your head and the mic in front and that should stop the feedback while sending valuable electronic RF waves through your brain.

There, I did my good friggin deed of the day. Can I please do something obnoxious now?

for IB! I knew you had it in you

I have the same amp. I actually mount it in my cloth belt pouch. With it being that far away, feedback is hardly a problem. You can turn it up loud enough that it will be hard to tell where it's coming from. I used it briefly at comic-con but I usually talk loud enough for people to hear as it is and I don't have a cool Fett voice or anything cool to say anyway lol...

Phil