Crystal Focus TROUBLESHOOTING thread...

[Novastar]

Well, at least you're not without support. I cannot tell you all how many questions a day *I* get about CF (via e-mail... PM on TCSS... PM on FX-Sabers... PM on Y-tube, etc.)... and I answer about 97% of all the questions. Even stupid ones.

Just not the REALLY stupid ones.

This makes me wonder how many questions *ERV* must get... and why we don't charge $19.95 an hour like the corporations, hahahah... jk.

[Hootini]

You guys are indeed the best like many other members who really go the extra yard to help. I am amazed how much help I received and also very fast I might add. I can't thank you guys enough!

[rdricks]

When I ordered my CF last year I e-mailed Erv with a couple basic questions on the schematic. He answered promptly with additional suggestions. When I assembled the saber, I did sweat. But I love the result, and the CF really makes it stand out. Novastar's fonts help too - I keep 2 banks for dark (red) sabers and 2 for light (green k2) sabers, and end up going to Novastar's fonts for both.

Thanks to both of you for an excellent product!

[Novastar]

You're welcome, rdricks... I can also suggest a second or third SD card if you want to further "pimp" things out.

It takes 3 SD cards to hold all of the fonts on the Sound Compendium CD (less maybe two you don't like or need)... and therefore, no one TRULY has to "choose" if they don't wish to do so. You can have it all!

You can have yer cake and eats it too. Er, I mean toast...

[Hasid Lafre]

Ok I got one for ya.

Now I dont know what the major component differances were between versions but.

I have a 2.5 version and I have a resonance chamber and a premium speaker and I have to have the volume pot up all the way darn near just to get this thing louder than an MR.

Batteries are fully charged with a little bit of off and on messing around.

[eastern57]

The premium speaker isn't "louder", just more clear and better quality in general. If anything, the MR speakers are actually louder when powered the same - as far as sound quality, the MR boards aren't that great, so they don't need that extra umph... an MR board with the 1w 8ohm speaker sounds the same as with the lower quality speaker.

It's the CF that brings the quality, the 1w 8ohm speaker is better at displaying that quality.

[Hasid Lafre]

Ok then how come on my brothers saber when his speaker was at teh very botem like an mr was was louder than mine with a chamber?

I thought wiht a chamber it was susposed to help with the "volume".

[eastern57]

Ask him how he has his configured.

What a "resonator" does is assist with the reverberation or "re-vibration". In other words, it carries the sound waves through the hilt or it focuses them so that you get the optimal point of focused waves right at the end of the hilt.

There's a lot of factors to consider: length, material, position, fit... it's kind of like a lens for sound in that respect. Or it assists in carrying those sound waves to the whole hilt - more surface area, more sound.

Using an improperly configured "resonator" can actually hurt your sound - it's something that you have to play with... "fine-tune" if you will.

EDIT: resonator is in quotes, because that's how we've come th know it as... but it's been pointed out (by Novastar) that vocally speaking, this is actually adjusting the timbre - where is the sound coming from in your mouth - front of mouth, back of throat...

[Novastar]

I do not really see how this is a "Crystal Focus" troubleshooting thing, but... whatever!

Hasid, I think we've had this conversation before, and... although I believe you, I have no idea how you have both sabers set up. Video might help... photos maybe... and listening to the sound from both sabers would as well.

I can't honestly say a ton about the 28mm premium speakers (with CF) because I use 36mm ones, 45mm ones, or thes other weirdo heavy heavy magnet ones that are 32mm or something.

I've used the 28mm ones in several MR conversions that did not end up keeping the MR 3AA packs (and instead were powered by a single Li-Ion)... and I can't say that any one MR conversion I have is or was louder than the next. The timbre is different on most all of them, but... none of the "MR stock" speakers outshine the 28mm... and vice-versa. At least... neither do in a BIG way.

However, Eastern is right when he says that the speaker's quality is higher. That is proven in the specs--these speakers have a FAR better dynamic range for sound. Swapping out a "stock MR" speaker on CF when it used to have a 28mm premium has yielded poor results for me.

This is where it gets more complex: the MRs speakers (and sound) were made for one another. Yes, that's right, a match made in LFL heaven or whatever. That is to say--the sounds were contoured for the speakers best ranges, and vice-versa.

The sounds *I'VE* released... do not have any kind of dynamic range "bias" to them. They are full dynamic range (for the mostpart). If people want to throw all the sounds through a batch processing filter... take out some "wimpier" wavelengths that simply don't matter (or Hz sections that screw up the speaker they use)... well, voila... they'd have the perfect sound set for THAT speaker.

Why don't I just "do that". Well, everyone is going to use their OWN favorite speaker. Sure, one day I *MIGHT* get around to "dialing it in" for the 28mm, but... maybe by the time I do, ya never know. Maybe some OTHER speaker from manufacturer #2 will be like hot cakes.

Anyhow... sorry for the long story, but... friggin' sound is COMPLICATED. Moreso than I *EVER* hoped to get into (but crossed into that country when I started making the sound CD)... but... here we are today.

And don't feel bad. Yoda (from FX-sabers) and I have been over this kind of thing before regarding the new Ultrasound. It's a lot of questions, sound brings.

But... as GL might say to Ewan: "It's none of it real..." :P

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

I'm having a bit of trouble with a CF 3.1. When I first got it, it sounded great. I did a simple setup to test some resonation chambers. It has been put away for most of the summer, as I have been working on and off on the saber it will be going into. I finally got it back out this week to test a new resonation chamber, and it sounded horrible! (As in, the font "Novastar" sounded almost like a Hasbro!) This is what I have checked/tested thus far, to no avail:
1. solder connections
2. Speaker
3. potentiometer
4. SD card
Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
-Luke