So I was quiet for a while getting my DT approved, but now I'm back at Fett.
My helmet came in and I started working on the electronics and motorized stalk. First problem was that the hollow stalk from MCR doesn't match up size wise with the bobamaker stalk. The Outer diameter of the rounded part at the bottom is too big (by 1-1.5mm). Next, the bobamaker stalk itself was a little narrower so the "stops" at the top and bottom are a little small. I didn't want to modify that part of the helmet in case I ever want to go back to the bobamaker stalk, so I modified the MCR stalk instead. The MCR stalk is also a little thicker than the BM one so I had to deal with that too.
The left picture is the bobamaker stalk on top of the MCR stalk. It's not super obvious, but there is a difference there that made it so it wouldn't fit in the ear cap housing. I took a grinder to the MCR stalk to modify the outer radius and then ground down the parts so it doesn't smack into the stops. Once that was done, I polished up the aluminum again to get rid of the grind lines. It's not perfect, but I figure the small imperfections will line up well with the weathering when that gets done. Also bored out the hole in the middle to handle the shaft extension for the motor kit.
Next was modifying the helmet. I bored out the hole on the ear cap and helmet with a little room to spare (like 1/64" over the 3/8") so the motor moves freely.
The next issue was mounting the motor itself. The bolts that came with the BM helmet were about 1/8" too long and prevented the motor from sitting right. I cut them down and replaced the nuts with nylocks so I don't have to worry about them coming loose with the motor kit installed.
Once all that was done, I mounted the motor and control box. To balance out the helmet, I moved the control box to the other side of the helmet. After that was the switch to control the motorized stalk. @NeoFett was kind enough to mod her kit to allow a switch to actuate the motor that is tied directly to the control box (vice using wireless which still does work if I want that option too). I mounted a lever switch just inside the visor that I can activate by sticking my jaw out. I can talk freely with it in and it doesn't activate which is good. Next up was putting in the suspension system (thanks
Irongladiator) with sweatband. After that was wiring all of the power to my ethernet breakout so I can connect to my main power system. Next came fans with the outputs blowing across the face shield. Last but not least was the microphone which was mounted in just in front of my mouth. Haven't fully tested that yet to make sure it doesn't pickup too much, but the testing didn't have too much noise on it. Other than the mic, everything tested out perfectly and the bucket fits great!
Pic of the inside of the helmet.
When I get home tonight I'm going to test out the mic to make sure it doesn't cause me issues with the helmet on. Don't need my amp picking up my breathing and whatnot.
Next steps are to finish up the RF kit, but I need to wait until I get my stalk weathered up. With how I mounted the control box, the wires that came with my motor kit wont be long enough so I plan to extend them with some CAT 6 cables I am going to pull apart. No real current going up the line so the tiny wires shouldn't be a problem and will easily fit in the hollow stalk. I also need to solder the light board and mount it so its ready. After that will be milling out the slot in the helmet for the wires to go through. Last but not least will be assembling the RF kit! For bonus points, I also got the microswitch for Level 2 that needs to be mounted, but its a hair too large so I need to figure out if I can shave the switch down or safely mill down the BM helmet housing for it. Not a priority as its L2, but I may as well give it a shot!
