Noise Amplifier for Helmet.
- Thread starter Tfett40
- Start date
Wasted Fett
Literally Asian
you guys got any new pics or ideas? thoughts on how well it works in the pocket?
Crumdum don't you have something similar to this with mics mounted under your shoulder bells? I was planning on mounting them in the same spot but I was worried about the fabric rubbing and causing to much noise. Have you had any problems like this?
crumdum
Active Hunter
Yep that is where mine are located.
I was wearing it at this con. To be honest, the microphone setup is an additional thing which is really a pain in the ***** to setup. I only wear it at cons when I might be walking alone or through a bunch of people and situational awareness is pretty important. For all other troops this is really a non-issue as I'm mostly standing still with other characters with people walking up to me for photos...or doing some basic interaction with the crowd.
Keep in mind a few things about the bell position. Do I get feedback occasionally when I move my arms...yes. But I only really get it when I LIFT my arms...which I rarely do. The setup is a pain mainly due to the wiring involved. I keep my microphone piece in a plastic box I created in my side belt pouch because I have my Aker sitting there as well (and my microphone runs down to it to plug into the Aker). I have two long wires with the velcro placed on the microphone heads that are placed under each bell that run from my left pouch. This has to run under my vest and be attached after my shoulder bells are put on my vest (I use magnetic attachments for my shoulder bells). Under both my shoulders at the top center point on my flak vest I have two pieces of string which I use to tie to the microphone wire so it won't go all over the place when moving and stays hidden.
This system works fairly well for me, but it requires a lot of effort to setup for me and as such I only use it on about 5% of my troops. Is it better than not wearing a helmet...no...but its far better than a simple external microphone pickup. On the other 95% of the troops you can hear generally when people call out for you...but you don't have any idea from what direction. This is not important when standing still and people are coming to you for pictures.
jbdubz
Active Hunter
got any old computer speakers laying around? those skinny ones that came with a subwoofer???
I cannibalized my Aker which sits in my left ammo belt pouch, leaving only the rechargeable battery and amplifier (making it much lighter). I run a wire from the amp up from the pocket and inside the flight suit, down my left sleeve and out the cuff of my glove to a momentary switch, then back through the sleeve to a circa 2000 Altec Lansing cpu speaker set. this allows me to control when my voice is amplified as it only activates the speaker when the switch is pressed. with my right hand constantly gripping my EE3, the left hand made the most sense and the switch hides easily in my palm outside of my glove.
the slender set of speakers literally hangs around my neck like a necklace and positions directly behind the center diamond, perfectly resting in my man cleavage causing zero bulge and centers my voice directly beneath my helmet. no talking out of my crotch or gauntlets or boots [emoji13]
you cant even tell its there...
being able to control when you amplify your voice is a huge perk, especially when you have to sneeze, or tell your buddy to check out that half naked cosplay girl over yonder. i have zero feedback, easy to fabricate and very easy to set up.
if anyone is interested, a full setup of these speakers (2 sets of 2 small speakers + subwoofer) in their original form goes for about 20 bucks on ebay (Altec Lansing 2100). their individual wattage aligns perfectly with the Aker amplifier output and they are LOUD together (mine is only turned up about half way). you don't have to worry about blowing them or messing up the amp itself.
hope this helps!
Sent from my R2 unit
I cannibalized my Aker which sits in my left ammo belt pouch, leaving only the rechargeable battery and amplifier (making it much lighter). I run a wire from the amp up from the pocket and inside the flight suit, down my left sleeve and out the cuff of my glove to a momentary switch, then back through the sleeve to a circa 2000 Altec Lansing cpu speaker set. this allows me to control when my voice is amplified as it only activates the speaker when the switch is pressed. with my right hand constantly gripping my EE3, the left hand made the most sense and the switch hides easily in my palm outside of my glove.
the slender set of speakers literally hangs around my neck like a necklace and positions directly behind the center diamond, perfectly resting in my man cleavage causing zero bulge and centers my voice directly beneath my helmet. no talking out of my crotch or gauntlets or boots [emoji13]
you cant even tell its there...
being able to control when you amplify your voice is a huge perk, especially when you have to sneeze, or tell your buddy to check out that half naked cosplay girl over yonder. i have zero feedback, easy to fabricate and very easy to set up.
if anyone is interested, a full setup of these speakers (2 sets of 2 small speakers + subwoofer) in their original form goes for about 20 bucks on ebay (Altec Lansing 2100). their individual wattage aligns perfectly with the Aker amplifier output and they are LOUD together (mine is only turned up about half way). you don't have to worry about blowing them or messing up the amp itself.
hope this helps!
Sent from my R2 unit
Thanks for the info. I think I'll still go with this setup even though it sounds like a lot of hassle. I do wish it was true stereo and you could tell where people were calling to you from.
jbdubz
Active Hunter
i totally just realized that this thread was for NOISE amplification, not VOICE amplification. I'm such an idiot. lol
move along....move along!!
Sent from my R2 unit
hahaha well im glad you made the mistake cuz you gave me a couple of ideas lol
I also bought these small amplifying boards, similar to what zeroskills posted, that i want to make my own "outside your helmet sound" amp. Dunno how it'll work out but im gonna give it a shot. they were cheap enough parts to get...i figured id mess around with them.
jbdubz
Active Hunter
hahaha well im glad you made the mistake cuz you gave me a couple of ideas lol
I also bought these small amplifying boards that i want to make my own outside your helmet sound amp, like the one in the first post. Dunno how it'll work out but im gonna give it a shot. they were cheap enough parts to get...i figured id mess around with them.
see, even in my stupidity i can be helpful. lol
mount a tiny directional microphone behind the holes of the borden unseen inside the helmet, seal it up so that sound within the helmet is not a factor, fans etc. just a thought.
Sent from my R2 unit
Wasted Fett
Literally Asian
would the tiny directional mics work well just inside the helmet where the ears are?
haha yea.. i had tried to take apart my Aker once and mount the speaker behind the chest plate, but was getting too much feedback. Im thinking i can take the speaker and enclose it within 2 sheets of a thinner flexable plastic with a hole cut for the front of it of course..this would make it thin and i could hang it around my neck...so i may try a V2 of the idea based on some stuff from yours...and i think because of you, i now found a good use for the push to talk button haha.
I actully got mics the same size as the borden for just that purpose. I also was thinking of putting one in the back of the helmet at the key slots. my biggest issue is usually hearing people behind me. i figured one in the front and one in the back may work. We'll see i guess. I also was thinking of using an earbud that only goes in a single ear like the ones for cell phones as to not block out EVERYTHING but what the mic picks up. But again we'll see how that works out..it may actually make more sense to have 2 earbuds. lol.
I have seen people do that. they cut out part of the slit in the left ear and made a hole between the top and bottom parts of the right ear for the other mic. thats something i may try as well.
jbdubz
Active Hunter
only thing i'd worry about is not being able to discern where the voice was coming from! front or back, back or front??? i'd be spinning around like a top and end up on my jetpack like a beetle stuck on its back LOL maybe have one directional mic feed into the left ear bud and the other into the right. but then you lose the one ear bud idea....
Sent from my R2 unit
I thought that but then i figured if it was coming from the front, id see the person lol so if i didnt see them it must be coming from the back lol
Wasted Fett
Literally Asian
well, glad i didn't get a GMH. There would be no room in that thing for all this crap.
jbdubz
Active Hunter
Big Game
Hunter
I was just curious, since I’m not familiar with wiring, about what cables you used to extend the mics and how to wire them? Really want to try doing this myself but I’ve never wired something like this
