Sound, Lights - Smoke ! Ummmm

While l am working on the drawings (3D) for a cosplay project I wonder can i do the following :-

What I was hoping to do was this using a neopixel ring 8 leds ws2812b (one per Jet cone) to run a sequence of colours (fades say white to red ) etc that at the same time run a sound track (jet engine start up run then stop) DFplayer Mini MP3 Module I hope to also run a smoke generator (ex vape) I have made one before it worked ok just needed 12v supply.

At the same time if possible changing the run time of the vape my be difficult? I have ordered nothing as not sure is I need a UNO Nano etc..... this is a massive undertaking and I have NO experience with any of this.

The item is a The Mandalorian Jet pack for Hospital and charity troops our group attend etc (not so during the lockdown so we making new costumes while we can, though I need to get back to work as do many).... not essential addon but a nice add on may raise a few more smiles.
Space is OK to fit parts in as i am doing the drawing I can MOd when i know what to allow for ?

Fingers Crossed massively

Chris

(Leicester)

Owens Troopers :slight_smile:

Hello Chris,
Is there a question?

Have you read the forum guidelines?
General guidance and
How to use this forum

Without wishing to sound rude what you have posted reads, to me at least, like some vague ramblings with no clear purpose or question or request for help.

What is a 'Mandalorian Jet pack'?

At the same time if possible changing the run time of the vape my be difficult?

How do you expect anyone to have a clue when we have no idea what you have?

Thank you for the find words of encouragement for a new comer its heart warming thank you !!!
Yes you do sound roude.

To put it simpler if I can.......

A mandalorian Jet pack is the pack warn on the back of a star wars character and recently on the Disney PLus channel a character called The Mandalorian (my techno speak in a way - like you dont understand my field i don't yours that's why we both ask questions is it not? it just how we respond)

So

I can make the Jet Pack its 3d Printed (this i like a normal printer bu uses a plastic type fillament heated and extruded on 3 axes to produce a sold 3d object OK ?

To this jet pack I want to add the following effects

Sounds lights and smoke OK ?

For Sound I have a DFplayer Mini MP3 Module OK ?

For lights I have on order two 8 led ring of ws2812b (one per Jet cone) OK ?

Not idea what to use Nano or UNO ot a ??????? OK ?

THe Smoke Unit I have made in the past from a Vape and an air pump but how do i connect it in and time how long it runs fun no idea OK ?

So i a nutshell I have a pile of some bits no programming knowledge and I need some help to put it all together please OK ?

PS the smoke Unit was also for a star wars character Called R2D2 for a friend

I cant put in tech spec i an not technical.

Background I am part of a group of Volunteers who travel the country like football supporters do at our own cost but we visit hospitals, hospices etc... dressed as Star Wars characters we put smiles on faces for life threatened and seriously ill children
When no doing this we tin rattle to raise funds to help make there lives more bearable.

So if I sound like
"like some vague ramblings with no clear purpose or question or request for help."

I apologize I just want to make a project look more realistic for them if its no technical enough i also apologize but I have no clue I am asking for help to make this a reality.

Regards

Chris

PS i was told this would most probably be the response I could expect, but I felt people in this modern world would understand ???

Hello Chris,

That's much clearer, thank you.

Yes you do sound roude.

I was trying to be honest and straightforward, please suggest some different words I might have used instead. I am trying to help you, maybe you missed that bit.

I cant put in tech spec I an not technical.

Understood, but in order to be able to help you need to be clear about what you want from those of us who might help, your second post is MUCH clearer. You can't assume we all know the same references to popular culture that mean something to you.

What you are trying to do is reasonable and possible as far as I can tell from your description. Please now consider what you want to do and what help you want, I suggest you can:

Learn about Arduino and programming and electronics and build your project. There are lots of people here now and in the past who have started out with very little or no knowledge and built their project successfully, when they started they didn't have a clue but they learnt. This is rewarding if you are interested in doing it but will take time. If you want to do this the place to start is with the various tutorials on this web site, in the IDE and elsewhere, and ask questions when you get stuck.

Or, ask someone else to do it for you. Mostly that will involve payment, although, given what it is for maybe someone will like what you are doing enough to do it for free, the only way to find out is to ask. If you want to try this route click on 'report to moderator' and ask them to move this to gigs and collaborations.

If you still think I am being rude please say so and I will take that as an indication that I am not the right person to help you.

Good luck, I think what you are doing is worthwhile.

All of the things you describe sound like they are probably possible and almost any Arduino could probably manage them. Unfortunately that's the sort of answer you get when you give little detail e.g. your first post didn't even say how many LED rings you wanted (I expect most people here will have no idea how many "jet cones" a "mandalorian Jet pack" has).

A Nano could certainly handle 2 x Neopixel rings and 1 x DF Mini Player. You may need an amplifier too because you don't get a lot of volume out of a Mini Player.

But I have no idea what a smoke unit made from a vape is or looks like or how it is controlled or powered. If it just needs to be switched on and off then the Nano could control the timing of that too but you'll almost certainly need a MOSFET or similar to switch it because probably the voltage and/or current will be too great for the Nano to switch directly.

And I guess it needs to be battery powered. The Arduino/LEDs/MiniPlayer all need 5V. Dunno about the smoke thingy. But almost anything is possible.

Steve

PerryBebbington:
What is a 'Mandalorian Jet pack'?

OK Boomer.

SteveMann:
OK Boomer.

Well I didn't have the faintest idea either, nor any clue what the OP was looking for. That's why I skipped the thread. Looks like Perry did his best to help but it wasn't appreciated.

People will still bite the hands that could feed them!

"PS i was told this would most probably be the response I could expect, but I felt people in this modern world would understand "

Perhaps those people know you better than you know yourself?

It would be fairly straightforward to make a jet pack as you describe. You have plenty of room for a battery pack and if time allows you could add a small turbine fan to blow the smoke and make the jet noise at the same time.

I was looking at using a vape to make a small smoke generator for a Halloween gag, but time got in the way and I wound up using a noisy fog generator. This year we are thinking of a no-contact vending machine type of candy dispenser. (I am working on the video projector now). But that's a different topic.

Any Arduino board would work, but my go-to board would be the Wemos D1 Mini or Node MCU because they have WiFi built in. If your projects are anything like mine, you are never finished. Having WiFi on the board means I can use Arduino OTA to upload a new program to the board without taking my project apart. Plus, using MQTT I can send and receive data from a browser on a phone, tablet, etc.

My advice is to get a couple of boards. You may kill one and then your project stops while waiting for a replacement, and you will think of another project so nothing is wasted. Use the example sketches in the Arduino IDE and learn to use the IDE and learn something about programming.

As you design your circuit, remember that any board- Arduino or ESP (Wemos and NodeMCU) is very limited on how much current it can provide. You can safely control motors, fans, servos, and a vape heater using
Mosfets.

(Of course, the center of gravity of the Mandelorian wearing the jet pack would have the bounty hunter taking off like a pinwheel. But Star Wars was never one for accurate physics).

as not sure is I need a UNO Nano etc.....

Choose an Uno if you have a "shield" in mind that you want to plug into the Uno. It doesn't sound like you have, so Nano is the way to go. Just a Nano 3, not one of the fancy new Nanos like 33, IOT etc.

The DFplayer can be quite loud if given the right speaker which is mounted rigidly in a suitable enclosure. So play around with that first to see if it's loud enough.

Try your vapor generator at different voltages and measure the current it draws. Then we can advise on power supply. Your led rings could draw up to 400~500mA @5V.

PerryBebbington:
What is a 'Mandalorian Jet pack'?

The bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars movies was a Mandalorian, although I have no idea if the current costuming is even remotely similar.

david_2018:
The bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars movies was a Mandalorian, although I have no idea if the current costuming is even remotely similar.

That may well be the case, I do not know. Star Wars is something I enjoy, but not my favourite franchise and I have no idea of details like this.

Personally I think Chris would be better off using a Bambleweeny 57 Submeson Brain, but what do I know?

PerryBebbington:
That may well be the case, I do not know. Star Wars is something I enjoy, but not my favourite franchise and I have no idea of details like this.

Personally I think Chris would be better off using a Bambleweeny 57 Submeson Brain, but what do I know?

Now I DO know what that is!

OK firstly I was and am not out to bite the hand that offered to feeds me. I have asked around folks I know who have tried electronics and they said these type of forums generaly are not helpful for total newbies, I however felt it worth a go so if they now me better than i know me pass....

MY main intent is to help those less well off and with shortened life expectancy.
You may ask why bother well when you go to an event like Feel The force" with children who are blind / disabled have never seen a film or ever will being able to touch a film accurate costume etc hold a blaster feel the movements etc trust me I wept .. watch your next film with you eyes shut and try and understand.

Its not just Star Wars virtually every type is covered. So if i can achieve this ace if not I will carry on with some leds on a battery and an mp3 to a switch. I just put a hand out for help I have have not done it perfectly but it out there now :frowning:

I fully understand we don't understand each other's areas of interest and i was wrong to assume for that I apologize.

I can use a soldering Iron as o have done simple led lights to a battery pack.

I an happy t o build whatever or at least have a go some terms like "shields" have a very different meaning in my area sorry to seem dim.

This is most likely going to be a one off so any coding help monkey see etcs it appreciate.

I mentioned the reason its for just to explain I am happy to fund as needed if this is the route I have to take I am just lost

A jet pack has two jets by the way the smoke unity would be similar to this idea is what i am thinking about trying....

or

but open to suggestions

SO if I have upset or offended etc I can only apologize but after 5 or 6 years of doing this you get jumpy as 95% of the time your ridiculed ignored or told to grow up because its Star Wars...... my best friend's son died at 8yrs old last year I just want to help them wer we can. There is no financial gain to any off use my last consume cost ££££ but we do it to help others we are not rich and have given up a lot like holidays etc to do this
so yes i were my heart on my sleeve and shoot from the hip.

If anyone feels its worth a go i will do my best with what i understand which is limited sorry

MY main intent is to help those less well off and with shortened life expectancy.
You may ask why bother

I don't ask 'why bother?', I totally get it, I think what you are doing is brilliant and wish you well with it.

SO if I have upset or offended etc I can only apologize but after 5 or 6 years of doing this you get jumpy as 95% of the time your ridiculed ignored or told to grow up because its Star Wars.

I for one am not inclined to ridicule you for that, quite the opposite as above. I am 59 and still enjoy things like Star Wars (not my favourite, but still enjoyable). Mostly all folk here are bothered about is helping with the project, not whether it is 'childish' or whatever, I don't think anyone cares about that. However, to help we need a clear description of what you are doing, which was my frustration in my first reply.

You are in Leicester, is that correct? I am just north of Nottingham (M1 J26) and I might be interested in the electronics and software side of what you are doing because, really, I think it is a good thing you are doing.

You've had some good advice already from others.

I am not knocking the advice i have had in any way, As i say i am very happy to get the parts solder and fit as need etc its the coding i just well i cant..... I am more than happy to meet up once i have the bits if i need any other bits then i will get as i say I have some bits waiting on others you kindly mentioned an amp ? I need and UNo or nano whichever it better i will get ?

Thank You

Chris

Uno or Nano are equally capable. Nano is smaller though, so probably better for a costume.

How many individual LEDs in your neopixels do you plan on altogether?

Uno is fine a a learning tool but the connectors make it a poor choice for a finished project. A Nano is better for that reason.

I think I'm happy to help but want to know more about what you have; by which I mean see it, at least some photos.

Promini is even better. Plug on an FTDI Basic for programming, remove when done to conserve battery life.