Helvetica 'Foofers' Bold ([info]foofers) wrote in [info]rarsuit,
@ 2008-10-27 17:32:00
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Rar Box is Go!
In response to the occasional request for a “rar box” that can be installed in a costume or mask and provide sound effects:

I’ve had the parts for this for months but shelved it when I couldn’t get the damn thing working. Returned to it with a fresh perspective a couple days ago and got it sorted out.

This is not a voice changer; it can only play back prerecorded sounds. These are stored as WAV files on an SD or MMC card. In the example here I've got a different animal sound attached to each button on a keypad…but it’s very flexible in that regard, you could use magnetic switches in a glove to trigger different sounds, or pressure sensors in the feet to make stompy noises, things like that. Some limitations are that it can play only one sound at a time (it won't mix two or more sounds playing simultaneously) and the audio fidelity is not especially great (but not horrid either - see the demo, I think it’s more than adequate for rarsuit purposes).

It’s based on the Arduino microcontroller platform and the Adafruit Industries Wave Shield for audio playback, plus a few odds and ends. Not including the speakers, maybe about $65 worth of parts in total. The Wave Shield comes only as a DIY kit and requires soldering…nothing too heinous, anyone who knows which end of a soldering iron to hold could finish the task in an hour or so. If there’s sufficient interest I could assemble a batch of these for folks (with a suitable enclosure and whatnot) but would have to charge a fair bit extra for my time. Otherwise I’ll write up some directions and a bill of materials and folks could set about making their own.




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[info]majy_the_dragon
2008-10-28 01:21 am UTC (link)
id like a tutorial on this and links to get parts :3

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[info]missmonstermel
2008-10-28 01:46 am UTC (link)
Holy crap, i wish i wasn't so intimidated by electronics...awesome, awesome.

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[info]foofers
2008-10-28 05:14 am UTC (link)
*poke* People can help, y'know. Rar!

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[info]diadexxus
2008-10-28 05:28 am UTC (link)
I Recognize those speakers! hahahah the same ones I used for Vortex! They really do work great, huh?

WOW!! What you made is fantastic sounding !!

-J

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[info]blackberrypie
2008-10-28 06:53 am UTC (link)
This is awesome! I'd love to have something like this once I make my pied crow. :o Then I could creepy crow giggle all the time. XD

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[info]panzier
2008-10-28 10:47 am UTC (link)
hmmm, swap Foofers SD card when he's not looking.. meow sounds to stomping and maybe some chicken noises! :)

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[info]phar
2008-10-28 01:52 pm UTC (link)
Damn, dragons are sure tech savvy.

Awesome, and yet very hilarious. For some reason the Apple boot up noise from the soundbox made me laugh. You need to give the camera a thumbs-up at the very end, with a 'The more you know' commercial screenshot and some nice tinkerbell twinkling on the fade to black.

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[info]aazhie
2008-10-28 08:45 pm UTC (link)
hey foofers, I'd be interested in an estimate. I'd need to find good sounds though, that might take a while... aazhie@gmail.com

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[info]takumori
2008-11-03 06:49 am UTC (link)
DROOLS!!

gotta make one of those!!

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