Custom? (The start of Crystal Focus)

[vortextwist]

cool can't wait to see em.

[erv]

Some more news, I updated my firmware. I appologize for those whom already have their buttered toast, if necessary, I'll give them the clues for upgrading :-)
News :
- now compatible with momentary switch. Parameter switchpolarity on the SD card can be 0 (switch normally closed), 1 (normally open) or 2 (momentary button)
- blaster AND clash on the same button, due to popular demand, I worked it out. Quick pressure = blaster blocking (on release), long pressure = lockup. The delay to distinguish the 2 is adjustable on the SD card of course.


Just made a few tests :
- I've run an amber lux III saber to 3h40 at 1A with a 2500 mAh nimh battery pack. Amber, red, and red-orange have a lower forward voltage than cyan/blue/green/white luxeon, but with the latters, I have anyway an autonomy at constant current (and therefore brightness) > 2 hours).

- 2 luxeon in serie with a single crystal focus board : works well, but you need the appropriate power supplie voltage, about 8.2 V for 2 white/cyan/green/blue or 7.2V for a red/red orange/amber luxeon III combo. Pretty much the same for K2's.


Erv'

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

I'm thinkin I may have to get one of these... Can it power a 5w?

[Lord Maul]

yes. it can power a 3 watter, k2, or a 5 watter :wink:

[Ryma Mara]

And many on one board.


yes it does, but you need at lead 7.2V to operate it properly (above the forward voltage of the lux v, which is about 6.85). The board will be running at 700 mA.
Erv'


I was wandering would your board run 5 watters?



I've tested with a white lux III in serie with a blue K2, you need 8.2 V to run both at 1A. The voltage required will be a bit lower if you run them at 750 mA.
For a red/red orange/amber combo, 6.5V minimum, 7.2V to have a bit of a current regulation (and hence autonomy)


I was thinking how would it be possable to use your board with 2 lux3 ambers?

[erv]

I've also been asked if Crystal Focus would work with a star I or a star/O : the answer is yes, but... since the current is half the current of a lux III (or even less, 350 mA versus 1A), the output ramp will have a pretty bad resolution.
For example, with a 5V power supply (4 AA, average), it takes about 500 step to go from Luxeon OFF to full brightness, at 1A. For 350 mA, you'll have only 175 steps. Even with my shaping curve this is not enough to get a smooth ramp.
But that's just for information purpose : when you want to put a crystal focus in the saber, I' don't think you're considering using a star/O... you might think about some more lux-hurry :mrgreen:
Erv'

[Firebird21]

What's a "Kepper"???

[erv]

oups, I've seen this "special rank" several times and didn't noticed... I guess it's meant to be 'keeper' ?
Erv'

[Firebird21]

oups, I've seen this "special rank" several times and didn't noticed... I guess it's meant to be 'keeper' ?
Erv'

lol

I thought xwing was calling you a lepper or something. hehe

[xwingband]

I don't remember adding that rank... I think it was an admin (Tim, SaberGirl or Corbin) that added it.

I can fix it though... EDIT: Fixed

[Ambo]

Man i have never wanted to have buttered toast in my life......gotta......sell.....to......make.....eno ugh.......for toast....

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

So from what I gather, this board has power up and power down effects/sounds, 8 different clash sounds, 8 different swing sounds, a place to hook up a momentary switch, which when tapped makes a blaster bolt deflection effect/sound, and when held down makes a lockup effect/sound, and the sound effects are also able to be reprogramed.

Do I have this right? and did I miss anything? and also, does running it at 7.2v run a 5w at its full potential, or would more voltage (9v?) be needed for that? Thanks!

-Luke

[Lord Maul]

you can customize the clash sounds on it. i forget if there is a 8 sound limit, but you upload your own sounds for it. we were joking to put animal sounds on it :lol:

[Firebird21]

You can customize all 21 sound FX.



You can preview them by D/L'ing the mixer on this (http://www.plecterlabs.com/index.php?option=content&task=showblog&id=40&Itemid=61&PHPSESSID=14398e47df994b02ce0a0a378e27f306)page.

[Marsupial]

you can customize the clash sounds on it. i forget if there is a 8 sound limit, but you upload your own sounds for it. we were joking to put animal sounds on it :lol:

I intend to have a "spare" card with joke effects - I was thinking more in the looney tune sound effects... :D


from my point of view, the genius of that sound board is the total customizability via programmable data card.

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

So, I read the user's manuel, and this sounds incredibly awesome! There is way more effects in here than I would have thought of. There is one thing I was wondering, though. Could it possibly be programmed to have more than two zones for the sensors? (as in lc, hc, ls, hs) for instance, maybie two or three zones for different sensitivites of swings, so that when you swing harder, it plays a matching swing, but when you only move it a little, it just makes a slight variation in hum? But I think I will definitely be getting one of these eventually...

[Marsupial]

I might be wrong, but if you move the saber just a bit, the humming sound is altered in realtime to reflect the movement. Then if you move the saber ennough you get into swing mode and hear a swing.

maybe that's not what you have in mind..?

[LordArgyll]

It does change pitch depending on the blade's posture, but that's not what he means. He's talking about a more subtle "whoosh" when you move the blade in slow arcs (like changing stance/posture) instead of the more excited swing sounds.

Maybe it could play back the hum at a higher frequency whenever the saber is in motion but below the swing threshold? Like when the detected motion of the gesture is within the noise gate buffer.

[xwingband]

The problem as always is sensitivity. For some people there may be no even ground, I found it hard to get the swing to activate at first but once I lowered it it was about right.

Having multiple levels, while I assume is feasible, in practice it may not be as easy. You may get incorrect assignments.

[LordArgyll]

Still trying to find that sweet spot for mine. That's probably one of the most awesome things about this board, the ability to fine-tune it to your own style.

[Firebird21]

The Secret Society of the Buttered Toast.


I love it!


This message will self destruct in 35 seconds.

[LordArgyll]

http://darkside.sandwich.net/images/random/toast.gif

[Ryma Mara]

LMAO! Best pic ever!

[Firebird21]

http://darkside.sandwich.net/images/random/toast.gif


That is awsome! lol

Now we just need to put that on a ring or something.

[Jonitus]

T-SHIRT!

Who's in?

[Firebird21]

T-SHIRT!

Who's in?


Now what kind of secret society is that? lol

[Jonitus]

Camo t-shirt...that way they'll be invisible and the society will still be secret.

DUH! :lol:

[xwingband]

Well shoot... I know all but one of the total that got theirs in the US.

I would totally buy that t-shirt. I'd say cafeexpress dealie, but I know they're too small. I want to get funny looks from people with that shirt.

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

What I meant was where he has this

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u228/Luke_SkyMarcher/diagram.jpg

Why not have this

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u228/Luke_SkyMarcher/Copyofdiagram.jpg

Where the zones touch, it wouldn't matter if it played the wrong sound; it would still be a swing or clash, and in general, a harder swing would produce a harder swing sound. Just a thought.

-Luke

[Firebird21]

I see what you're saying Luke, and I think it could be doable, however; I won't speak for erv. But this doesn't seem beond his capability.

There's 8 swing FX's, make 4 of them "Slow" and 4 of them "Fast" and add the extra parameters. hmmm...

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

exactly! for example, if you download his saber sound mixer, you could use swings one and six as the fast swings,(purple section) two and seven as small, slow swings (dark blue section) and the rest in the middle. Looking at it though, I don't really think you would need more than one section for clash.

[Novastar]

Excellent idea.

[erv]

Hi Folks !
First : my appologies, dunno if I got some email problems, but I haven't been notified of replies here, and... i've been busy as well :D
This pic of the buttered toast secret society is... fantastic, awesome, terrific !!! (that's most of my vocab for this) Do I have the "right" to get this pic and really make some tshirts ? I'm running on a budget right now to get more products to my shop, but who know, in a near future ?
you guys have the sens of humor, I love it !

now about techi thingies :
there are 21 sound slots you can edit in CFSC, blaster (1 slot) and blade lockup (1 slot) included
I'm considering as well the possibility to alter the pitch depending on the maximum of the curve (for the swings). For now, I've created my sound font pitching myself the sound to get a plurality of sounds, but it could be directly related to the max amplitude of the found gesture (for the swing, not really interesting for the clash).
Right now, the "gravity" and "shifting" parameters are acting on all the sounds, which is not my favorite, I'd prefer altering only the hum and go back to normal pitch for the other sounds (except for altering the pitch of the swing regarding the amplitude of the gesture as I've just said).
Not complicated at all, easy to implement. Just a question of time, I'd say I'd need 2 hours to do it. Written on my TODO list.

Future : I'm proud to say that I'm getting really close to the 50 sabers made with buttered toast, including mines, but also many fan made sabers, all over europe and USA ! Time to work on version 2, I've already started !

Future goodies :
- simplified designed, less parts, easier to assemble, faster manufacturing/assembling (still by me), but same spirit, SD card erc. Less parts and smaller board could mean a bit cheaper, or same price but with tons of news features
- better output amp. The chip I'm using is not satifying. Ok for now, but I've found a simple and cheap and smaller solution.
- 16 bit sounds ! Yes, you've heard this !
- Multiple sound banks on one sd card.
- default sound bank selected at startup as a param of the SD card
- navigation at boot (using the aux button) to select an alternate sound bank among let's say 4 banks
- audio navigation : while browsing the sound banks, the saber says "bank one" "bank 2" etc... no need of a display, or led, or counting how many times you pressed the button.
- Therefore no more need to remove the SD card once you've setup all the banks (except if you really want more).
- dynamic pitch shifiting for the swings if it sounds well
- anythings you would required if it's doable :lol:

what about a GOLD or signature edition... featuring Joe Satriani samples or something ? :wink:

oh... last thing : in the aim to better serve the customer, I've spent the last 2 weeks building as "real" e-shop storefront, it's being tested right now. Fully FR+GB languages, multi currency, articles and reviews etc. Should be there very soon (I know some of you have been puzzled by french mixed with english)

Erv'

[neophyl]

Your current board is amazing so Im really really looking forward to mk2.

I especially like the idea of the multiple sound banks. If I may make a couple of suggestions though. Have the sabre remember the last sound bank it used. Also dont go to the sound bank selection routine unless the aux button is pressed when the sabre is powered on. That way you still have an 'instantly' ready sabre with all sound banks but can still change them if you want to.

[LordArgyll]

If you want, I can send you a hi-res JPG or EPS of the Buttered Toast logo.

And, just when I thought I couldn't upgrade my saber anymore, you're talking about Buttered Toast v2. Curses! :lol: My wife is going to want to murder me.

[Marsupial]

Erv, how long can we expect the version 2 to come out... I'm not rushing you or anything, but I think its better to know what to expect when making a decision...

Let say one is "almost ready" to convert a saber to buttered toast, should he buy the buttered toast or would it be wise to wait for the butter and jam version?

Because I am thinking I can wait a little furthermore - been on the wait for "the perfect board" for 2 years already, what's a few extra months??

[Firebird21]

...butter and jam version...




"French Toast" lol

[Lord Maul]

french toast, buttered and jam, it's all the same thing.
totally SWEET :D

personally, i like french toast better

[Ryma Mara]

Ya know its alwase bugged me. But why are french frys called french frys when there real name is fredom frys.

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

Sounds great erv! So I'm thinking by the time I've bought the rest of the peices for my saber and have the money for this driver, v2 should be out! When it comes to realism in lightsabers, I say the more the merrier! :D

[Marsupial]

Ya know its alwase bugged me. But why are french frys called french frys when there real name is fredom frys.

because the real name is not 'freedom fries' - you guys invented it when France wouldn't want to join your stupid iraqi war, thinking it would upset them. The real name is "fried potatoes". It has been invented in belgium. Americans can't make the difference between a frenchmen and a belgian. That's why its called "french fries". You must understand that in french its simply called "fries". In anycase, "French Toast" is called "Pain Doré" (word to word translation: "golden bread" or "goldenised bread"). English-speaking people always seamed to feel the need to add "french" to anything that isn't french.

By the way FB: version 1 is already made in France, I fail to see why the buttered toast V2 should be "french toast", its not like its made any place different then the V1. Anyway its most likely going to be called "Crystal Focus Saber V2" but a friendly name could be made to furthermore the idea of buttered toast... it makes everything and butters your toasts, plus add something sweet.



Luke, I am thinking the same thing. I've been delaying my purchasing of the board already for the sake of completing the saber to get it, and waiting for that type of all-in-one solution for quite a while (well, since I started to make luxeon sabers... erm... long ago... I dunno 2 years?) so I'm thinking my "ultimate luxeon saber" can wait a little more.

[xwingband]

Buttered toast gets me fat and happy.

V2 will sate my sweet tooth with a little honey on my bread. :wink:

[erv]

No idea about the delay... the only thing is that I'll stop selling V1 when I'll be out of PCB's, I'm not going to store v1 and v2. Then I'll need a break for designing and prototyping... except that I'm travelling in the US in april to teach a workshop, so I'll be away for 10 days... I'd say first results by the end of april, first board out.... mid-end of may.

I love the french toast... yeah, butter AND jam is what I take for breakfast during the WE. And about fries... you know, they are from belgium marsu is right ! ;-)
remembers me this instrument that no one wants : english people call it the french horn and french call it english horn (cor anglais) :-)

Erv'


Erv, how long can we expect the version 2 to come out... I'm not rushing you or anything, but I think its better to know what to expect when making a decision...

Let say one is "almost ready" to convert a saber to buttered toast, should he buy the buttered toast or would it be wise to wait for the butter and jam version?

Because I am thinking I can wait a little furthermore - been on the wait for "the perfect board" for 2 years already, what's a few extra months??

[Barmic Rin]

I'm days away from putting your board in my saber, and there's gonna be a version2!!!!!!!!!

D'oh!!!!!

Looks like i'll be handing out more cash your way Erv!!! (Though just as much to Tim!) *Slides down in his chair abit, hoping Tim isn't too angry...*

Lets set the record straight, marsupial was right about 'Freedom' Fries thing, except they should be called chips, CRISPS is the right name for your chips, I really like french toast, and as for the French/ English horn, WHO CARES!??!!!! It's a horrible instrument anyway!!!!!

Oh, one more thing: A-L-U-M-I-N-I-U-M!!!
THERE'S AN 'I' IN THERE FOR A REASON!!!!!!!

[Marsupial]

May is good... just in time for the tax refunds!

Unless I have yet another unplanned event before that, I guess I'll try and wait. Particularly if you're putting multiple config in a single card. That will really vamp up the whole concept.

[erv]

I'm hesitating putting several configs. Several banks of sounds in different folder, that quite logical, but I think I'll keep a unique configuration file. Cause then if you want to load the config file stored in the sound bank folder, you'll have a specific sensitivity of the saber associated with certain sounds... while you might like to be able to choose the config file AND the sound bank.... then you start needing a LCD on the saber (ok, you need one anyway, not only to monitor the available power on a XGA color bargraph, but also cause V2 will run linux and will require a sysop degree.... héhé just kidding).
mmmmm... I'm just considering as well that you might like to change the light/luxeon param for different sounds....
ex : one "clear" saber, little energy flicker effect
one "dark" saber, more flikering + pitch shifting activated
etc...
mmmmm....
maybe I put one config file per soundbank, after all it's pretty usefull ! It's really going to be a all-in-one saber... plus if you have a quick LED changing system, you can play the beauty AND the beast with the same saber, not only changing color, but sounds as well...

Erv'


May is good... just in time for the tax refunds!

Unless I have yet another unplanned event before that, I guess I'll try and wait. Particularly if you're putting multiple config in a single card. That will really vamp up the whole concept.

[WeirdoTransvestite]

English-speaking people always seamed to feel the need to add "french" to anything that isn't french.

That's because French toast was named after the guy who invented it, Joseph French.

This correction to a "Color or Colour" rant is brought to you by WeirdoTransvestite.

[Marsupial]

Hey, sounds good. I didn't know that. now I wonder why in french it has a different name.

[xwingband]

Besides the already stated here are my thoughts. I'd like to hear other opinions. It is quite difficult to think of what's left to make it anymore realistic.

I spoke to Erv of this. For the auxiliary button: one click blaster block, hold for blade lockup, and double click for force push.

The final thing left I could think of would be variable extension/retraction. We see this in the movies especially in the OT where the saber will snap out but have a very slow retraction and vice versa!

This is somewhat of a problem just in my limited "I don't know how it'd be programmed" mindset. I'm thinking of it as a function of the switch. I'm not sure whether it'd be a hold for slow extension/retraction or it could actually be a function of the length that you hold the button. Alternately perhaps the auxiliary switch could be like a "shift" button to modify the on/off. I'd be happy with the first though.

The limits I see is programming feasibility, the hold seems okay but I'm not sure what Erv had in mind for the alternate sound menus. Also... this would have to be a momentary switch feature. In fact I'm not sure how the alternate sound selection would work otherwise...

[neophyl]

How it works is up to Erv at the end of the day but having done similar embedded micro programming for other electronics you only have so many choices with the dual input buttons.

For me I dont want to have to go through selecting the sound bank each time the sabre is powered up. So for me this means using either the auxilary button or even the main on/off slide switch as a 'mode' select.
So if you power it up normally it just goes to whatever the last settings you used were. But if you had a button active (either the aux or the on/off) when you applied power then it goes to the menu setup.

If each 'bank' has its own sounds with associated config file you can have some control of the extension/retraction by tweaking the settings for each bank. Putting it on a switch function seems a little cumbersome. The other point is that normally you would want the extension/retraction to match the sounds used so it makes sense to have them set in the config file. I did just that on my current Toast as I found the extension curve for a K2 needed altering to match the sound.

On the deflect, lockup, force push thing you mentioned Im not fussed about having a force push sound. Also programming it, while possible (in fact fairly easy) the practical use of it would be problematic. At the moment the software essentially detects the button press, if its released before a certain time period then it goes to the deflect routine, if not it goes to the lockup routine and stays there until released.

Now if you add in a double button press you have to change the logic quite a bit. Not hard to do but what your adding in is a delay. It cant play the deflect or lockup sounds until its waited suffcient time for a second button press to have occurred. This is complicated by the fact that there has to be some form of software button debouncing built in.

If you dont know about 'button debouncing' its when you actually press a button they usually dont just trigger once. They occillate. For most normal applications you wont notice this fact, but for a micro that can register thousands of button presses every second you have to compensate for this effect by ignoring multiple triggers for a certain period after the first is detected. It all just makes the timing of such a system more tricky. Im really happy with it as is with the almost instant response to deflect as well as lockup. I also like the fatc that I can trigger successive deflection effects quickly one affter the other. You wouldnt be able to do that with the double press system.

Of course on one of the sound banks you could replace the deflect noise with a force push noise and you would then have push/lockup instead of defelct/lockup.

[xwingband]

Okay, I see what you mean. That's the kind of talk I think is productive.

How about this then: Previously it was an SD choice on whether you wanted the lockup or blaster block. How about now it's blaster block or force push and the holding remains as the lockup.

I kind of like that or some variation of it. With various configs that could mean one that is for "conventional" opponents and one that is for those of the jedi/sith kind. :twisted:

I also understand the syncing problem with my other idea. Maybe varying it as a function of the amount of time it's pressed is a crack dream...

However, couldn't it be treated just like the auxiliary button? This would be like I stated with an alternate slow version.

If that turns out to be not feasible... well poo poo. I don't know what's left to make this board anymore realistic! :D

[erv]

just a quick note to say I agree with neophyl. Double click is not a bad idea per se, it's just that it's not praticle, and it's not compatible with holding the button down for blade lockup. It's called "control modality" in HCI.
The problem is (well, the problemS ARE) :
- button is bouncing
- double click is ok when you hold a mouse, not when fencing
- button is recessed in my case, the finger tab is pressing the button, it's soft, which create a proproceptive delay when pressing (the tab is pressed first, then at a certain point the force will activate the switch)
- making the difference between simple click and double click requires an additionnal software delay : is the current click "single", or is another one will follow ? just like the double click speed settings in windows config panel.
- additionnal delay for the blade lockup. It leads finally to a really long response time for the blade lockup thing, time needed to make sure previous clicks or bounces were not simple or double click.
Just like on macintosh, single mouse button. Handles simple and double click, while "right click menu" is activated by the same button, but after holding down the button for 1.5 or 2 secs. Unaceptable for a blade lockup, I've set it up to 200 ms to get it really responsive.

my thoughts are :
- holding aux button at boot (ie when general power switch is activated, or when safety key is removed from the recharge port) : sound bank config, browsing etc
- when finished, hold the aux button for 5 sec : saves the parameters, selected sound bank in the nonvolatile memory of the board.
- one config file per sound bank

for the force push, what I'd like to achieve is detecting it as a movement, not with a button. It will suppress the problem of double click etc.
Or it can be either blaster or force push selected in the config file. I'll see what's doable.

xwing : could you re explain me the power up / blade ignition things, I could not understand it, got some vocab problems. Do you mean making the blade ignition slower in certain configurations ? Sorry to ask that.


okay, I have the solution for force push, took me 2 minutes, waiting for the coffee to reach my neurones...
Holding the aux button and shake the saber hard (equivalent to a clash) triggers a force push. With proper delay config, I think it works.



Erv'

[xwingband]

Erv, I was suggesting some way to alter the ingnition/retraction speed when we desire it. I'm thinking now that it may be as simple as holding the main button to engage the alternate speed and sound.

I was throwing out a lot of ideas, many of which were probably just me dreaming. :)

[erv]

okay, that what I had understood. What you have to know is that ignition sequence is synched to the sound playback (virtually sample accurate), I can't really change that. However, there are 2 simple ways to alter the ignition sequence / speed : use different sounds, longer or shorter. Or simply adjust the playback speed on the SD (will change a bit the pitch of the sound).
Got my tshirt & logo items store frontend working in 2 hours this morning, I'm ready for the "secret society". I'm just waiting to receive an hires jpeg file and the tshirt will be available !
Back to work,
Erv'

[Firebird21]

... I'm ready for the "secret society". ...
Erv'



Sweet...


That's some funny stuff right there!

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

Okay, from what I heard, this is what I like.
The way erv explained the multple sound banks sounds good.


my thoughts are :
- holding aux button at boot (ie when general power switch is activated, or when safety key is removed from the recharge port) : sound bank config, browsing etc
- when finished, hold the aux button for 5 sec : saves the parameters, selected sound bank in the nonvolatile memory of the board.
- one config file per sound bank

When it comes to the auxillary button, just hitting it quickly for blaster block and holding it down for lock sounds fine. Just don't make it too complicated!

Those things combined with sounds matching how hard you swing is about the best I can think for the most realistic type soundboard.

-Luke

[erv]

don't worry, I'll keep it simple ! But I need to find a way to implement force push, it's a really cool effect. I've been practicing for a few min yesterday to see how difficult it is to push the button and "force push" at the same time. Requires some practice, but still doable.
Ok, about the tshirt thing, I've just discover that spread shirt delivers only in europe... But if "seriously" some of you are interested in the "secret society" tshirt, I'll make a group order myself and reship that. Maybe I can do a single shipment and buyer can get their tshirt at C-4 ? anyway, plenty of possibilities.
Here is what the spreadshirt store is
http://www.spreadshirt.net/shop.php?sid=230465

the really cool thing is that I don't need to put a single cents in the manufacturing. They let me create the store front end free, as well as my items and they directly get paid when a customer buys something (and I get a mini-micro something for each sold item).


I continue my work on the next generation of crystal focus. So far, it's going well. I've tried many strategies to get a simpler amp, trying something as simple as what MR does, but the result is too ugly to my ears, and also the output is not protected against short circuit (I got one MR board on which the output transistor was burnt). So I'm sticking to my 1W amp, which is not bad at all with the appropriate resonant chamber ! (works so well that when testing the stamina of the batteries on my last customer saber, I had to put the hilt under a pillow cause I could hear it fom the other room :lol: )

[Firebird21]

I'd be interested in one of those shirts, but with the job change money is just about non-existent. :evil:

In other words… My wife would neuter me. http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_dogtail.gif

[Jonitus]

I'm good for one of the T-shirts if they get made. Heck, make that two.

[erv]

okay, since I'm not an admin, I cannot edit/delete posts here, not easy for a tshirt list. Could you post your wishes on my forum, please ?

http://www.plecterlabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101

Erv'

[Lord Maul]

erv, i can't seem to get past the box thing on the registration. i can't read what it wants me to do :(

[Jonitus]

erv, i can't seem to get past the box thing on the registration. i can't read what it wants me to do :(

Te no habla Francais, da?

(this joke not funny unless you have a working knowledge of Russian, Spanish and French)

[Marsupial]

erv, i can't seem to get past the box thing on the registration. i can't read what it wants me to do :(

Te no habla Francais, da?

(this joke not funny unless you have a working knowledge of Russian, Spanish and French)

Glad you clarified it, 'cause I was about to tell you about mixing russian, spanish and french, thinking you might have not known the mistake :(

[Dregan]

Thatt's odd, I understood it...

[Ryma Mara]

you no speak french ya?

I may not know other languages but I can get a general idea if I take it slow.

[erv]

gosh, I apologize for that... I really have to install a MOD on the forum so that you can choose the forum language, especially during registration.
I've been spammed by BOT for some months, and recently I've decided to install a very efficient mod called anti bot question. Complex question and answer almost impossible to solve by a computer, but very easy for a human being... if using the proper language.
I'll try to solve that asap, so that people can post on the tshirt list.

(amigos, me parece que tenemos un poquito problema de idioma aqui, lo siento). Ruski ? niet... Deutch ? nien ! Nihon-go ? Genki !

Erv' - multilanguage pack on the way

[Lord Maul]

thanks erv
i might be getting a T shirt, but i'm not sure.
need to convince my mom :lol:

[Firebird21]

thanks erv
i might be getting a T shirt, but i'm not sure.
need to convince my mom :lol:


I don't think your mother's going to agree to the cost of it... :wink:

[Lord Maul]

too bad, i haven't gotten a shirt in over 6 months FB :shock: :shock:
and even when i do, they are normally hand me downs from my brothers :(

[erv]

I'll try too keep this tshirt cost low, I'm not going to handle it with spread shirt shop, I'll make a special quantity order from them, worth even for 10 tshirt...

ok folks, I'm NEVER out of RESSOURCES to be as "multi language" as possible... Got a language selection pack installed in the train, as well a a photo gallery for the forums (not yet activated for users, just for me right now, I'm hosted on a small server).
So, please register if you want to be in for the tshirt list, choose english language from the main page (well, it detects your browser language, so you should automatically get there in english, then the anti bot question is in english too, no special difficulty).

Crystal Focus new PCB was eched yesterday, I hope to find some time to solder part, I've already started working on the code.

ah : extra question (specially for Lord Argyll, the logo designer) : which color for the tshirt ? black with the square logo printed with no transparency (white background, logo in red) ? white tshirt ? black tshirt with the background of the logo filled with black ?
second question : logo on the front of the tshirt, or on the back ?
(too many questions to make a poll on the forums ?).


Erv'

[vortextwist]

I'm thinkin black shirt with a large white logo on back and maybe something on the front left.

[LordArgyll]

I like the red on white, but you could go with black on black with the logo outlined in white. I'm not sure it would look right as a simple white-on-black. I can do up a version of the logo like that as well if you'd like, since I work in print and I'm familiar with the needs. Are you going to have them screen-printed instead of transfers, then?

[erv]

I stay on topic about the sound module, Lord Argyll, I've emailed you about vector files etc
New website is online !
Erv'

[Firebird21]

I'll try too keep this tshirt cost low,...



Well I think $150 for a t-shirt is a hard sell... :wink:

I'm going to go check out the new site now :D

[erv]

150$ for a tshirt ? not what I've put, even for the one on my spreadshirt shop... A simple black tshirt with a single logo on the back costs about 12 euros (15$). I hope to be able to stick to that price. Shipping a tshirt to the USA is about 4 euros or something.
Just curious, are you highlighting those "150$" from somewhere in particular (like a big mistake on my website or something ?)
Erv'

[erv]

Hey folks,
just thought you would like to know my board is REALLY buttered toast (+jam)... a feature I REALLY wanted to SHARE !
Ajusting the volume on a board for a customer, while the sound was off (I was about to turn on the sound module) I noticed a strange noise getting out of the amp/speaker... english voice... Could get it better by touching the screw driver and turning the volume pot...
Haha ! Et voila ! The buttered toast also has an old-school-manual-analog AM tuner and can receive the BBC ! (I'm just guessing it's this station, we don't have a lot of english radios station here, especially in AM).

well the explanation is simple, the output amp is just a power amp but with a huge gain (200), and creating feedback with your body and a screw driver, you get an inductance (coil) + capacitance + antenna, and that's how you can demodulate longwave AM stations.
Totally useless, absolute collectible, something you definitly need to own :wink:
Erv' - Goooooooood Morning Tatooooooiiiiiiiiiine !

[Ryma Mara]

Holy crap thats cool.

Am or not forget that mp3 player that looks like a graflex.

[erv]

lol, yeah I've seen that MP3 player on makezine or something like that !

[Lord Maul]

sweet 8) 8)
nothing like playing with your saber while it's playing AM radio :lol:

[Firebird21]

:Really cheery, upbeat, Robin Williams DJ voice:

"Gooooooooood morning Custom Saber Shop!!!

This is WCSS, KCSS for those of you out West... Today is a very special day as there will be a solar eclipse this afternoon as the Death Star moves into position to blast us all into oblivion! All because Vader can't control his kids. If it was my kid I would have just lopped of their had just to teach them a lesson...

So grab your Buttered Toast (so you can continue to listen to me), stick you're head between your legs and kiss your arse GOOD BYE!

But first!... Here's the ONLY song we EVER PLAY!!!"

PLAY (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/themesong.mp3)

[vortextwist]

lol, nice

[LordArgyll]

That's funny. I did notice a strange excess of loud static when I was turning the volume pot with an all-metal screwdriver... I was worried it was a short or something. I guess I'm just not on the right AM frequency. ;)

[Lord Maul]

LA send in a recording of it playing AM radio :D

FB, that is funny snitz right there :shock:

[Firebird21]

That's funny. I did notice a strange excess of loud static when I was turning the volume pot with an all-metal screwdriver...

I have not experienced this effect...


I guess the screwdriver’s not long enough to do that...


Story of my life... http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_sad2.gif


:mrgreen:

[erv]

you can get AM radio there if you're lucky :lol:
the noisy effect is due to the fact your body is electrically connected to the amp, makes the same effect as if you're touching the male jack on a guitar amp (when it's out of the guitar). You can also have reached the end of the pot : the wiper is not touching the track of the pot, only your body => loud loud noisy effect !

okay, some news ! Go the new prototype working with 16 bits sounds... so clear, no artifacts, much better representation of the sounds. Now comes the hard part, I'm using a new processor, and various different changes, so I have to turn the whole thing to the original behavior, without bug. Like any code port, you have some side effects, and for now hot removal of the sd card leads to strange behavior, I have to fix this. When it will be stable (milestone 1) I'll start adding new features. I'll start a new thread just like xwing suggested : "what would you like on buttered toast v2 ? Jam or Marmelade ?

Erv'




That's funny. I did notice a strange excess of loud static when I was turning the volume pot with an all-metal screwdriver... I was worried it was a short or something. I guess I'm just not on the right AM frequency. ;)