Jedi / Light Side A "working" Jedi Comlink

Hi !
among the different project started this summer, here is a funny one. I got the idea as soon as I started my first comlink, an "almost-replica" of obiwan's one. Made of a Gilette shaver for women, as most of you know.
Just a little additionnal note : I've searched on the forum for a topic about a comlink, but did not find a real one, however, I hope I'm not overriding an existing thread. If so, please move it to the right place.

Some readings about jedi comlinks (classic sources, however, it's a forum, a bit of shared knowledge does not hurt) :

Parts of SW
http://www.partsofsw.com/Ep_1/quicom.htm

Padawan's guide
http://www.padawansguide.com/communicator.shtml

My First Comlink :
[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/images/gallery/ComlinkErv007.jpg]
[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/images/gallery/ComlinkErv008.jpg]


Little history of this prop idea : 2 years ago, I bought a logitech wireless bluetooth headset so that I could skype without plugging anything to my laptop. Unfortunatly, the embedded bluetooth adapter did not work with that headset. Then the laptop got stolen in my car, I got a new one at work... The headset worked with it but... it also had an embedded webcam + mike... No more needs for that thing. No big deal, I got it with a huge discount from a friend of mine working at logitech.
Time for me to put that in a new comlink !!!

Here is the headset :
[image=http://www.logitech.com/repository/217/jpg/1372.1.0.jpg]

Unmounting the headset was not easy, since it's almost water/wind proof. The dremel was the way to go.
[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/WorkingComlink/WorkingComlink001.jpg]

I had to remove / change place of a few parts inside.
- the activation button
- the bicolor LED (call, BT connexion, low batt, various blinking indications) - 3 wires
- the charging plug (4 wires)
- the charing LED (2 wires)

I replaced the LEDs by some bigger ones, 2x 3 mm ones for the red+blue, and replaced the orange charging one by another blue smd one. I also had to change a few resistors on the board to adapt the current on the new LEDs and get a nice illumination. I used ultra thin tweezer to change them, since those resistors were in 410 smd foot print (.4 mm wide x 1 mm long).

[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/WorkingComlink/WorkingComlink002.jpg]

From the DK visual dictionnary, the brass top cylinder between the 2 antennas (which are BtW the exact same as in the movies) is supposed to be the microphone of the comlink. So be it ! I machined the brass part, and drilled it to guide the sound to the microphone (6mm OD electret one) laying inside the comlink. The back of the mike was acousticly isolated from the rest with some blu-tack since the speaker is not far away, and I wanted to stay away from larsen.

The grip was the most complicated thing to deal with. This is a shaver like the old ones (a re-edition, though) with a silicone rubber grip. Once you remove all the plastic of the skeleton, it's not staying in place. Silicone can't be painted in a regular way, even with a primer. I therefore used resin to stabilise the grip. Once the grooves have been partially filled, I used my electric file to thinner the grip. Then I used some fiber glass mat and resin to continue stabilising the thing.
One groove has been remove to leave the sound from the speaker coming out. 2 additionnal layers of resin, primer, and paint.


[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/WorkingComlink/WorkingComlink003.jpg]
With my cell phone, that has some lightsaber sounds when I slide it ! The screen saver has some SW stuff inside too, of course.
The blue LED blink, the comlink is connected to the phone.


[image=http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/WorkingComlink/WorkingComlink006.jpg]
Back side



I even successfully saved the little transparent plastic insert that guides the light of the charging LED. Inserted in the side of the gilette shaver, with my little SMD blue LED behing, here is the coml

 

cool Erv, amazing you got all that in there and working. similar ideas have been thought up using a bluetooth setup in the star trek communcators to make them really work.

 

That's awesome! Good job.

 

I suppose the startreck communicator leaves more space to insert something inside. However, I've been using some stamp size (20x10 mm) BT units that can transmit voice and make nice walkie-talkies (but I've prefered a retrofit of something existing on that project).
Any link about the startrek communicator using BT ? I'll be glad to read about it !
Erv'

 

Wow... that'd be fun to carry around at a Con.

 

its over on the RPF, i can get the link to you after i get back home to the page its on.

 

Holy crap. you did it!!


I was wondering how to do that but never had the pas. Dude, if I cna find the parts, and send them to you, can ya make me one? I know a friend who's not evne thinking of using his bluetooth.

 

Erv, you never stop amazing me with your innovations.

Great work! Keep it up.

Can't wait to see the next little project that you get into your brain!

 

pritty damn sweet man.

 

Thanks to you all ! Actually I have a bunch of more or less big project that I'll soon present here, I think.

There is the blaster project I'm working on (a generic core for weapons). Presented here (the second blaster, the first being just a quick and silent prop)
http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=8681.0

My Leia Potatoe Holographic projector (such a fun to do)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWeAyDj6TZo

Erv'

 

Very nice!

I had a similiar project, but unfortunately the electronics failed, so I put the unfinished project aside.
I had found a mp3 player in a dumpster. The ear phone connector had broken off, though, and I thought that was the only fault. The idea was to use is with my Jedi costume, to act out mock conversations with another Jedi. I did not solder it together until I had installed it in the ladyshave, and only then did I find out that the sound circuits must be broken in some other way, because it is very low and sounds garbled.

I can show some pics of it in unfinished state, and maybe other builders could pick up on some of my ideas:
[image=http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b345/DarthLars/comlink-front.jpg]
I made an imprint of the silicone pad into a piece of Sculpey. Then made an imprint from that into some epoxy putty that I later epoxied directly onto one of the player's two circuit boards. The holes are where I intended to put a speaker. I made them by cutting vertically with a dremel cutting wheel from the inside.
The player had microswitches on the sides, and I intended to use the existing buttons of the LadyShave to push against these. Also make additional buttons in the same style.
I also relocated the ear-phone and line-out plugs, as you can see.
I planned to make the tri-wing greeblies out of plastic "propeller beads" that I found were about the same size as the real greeblie.
Not visible are two screws to hold it together. One in the bottom and one between the two plugs. Also not visible is the LCD display which covers the back side.
An AAA battery does not fit within the Ladyshave, I was planning on using two button cells.

 

ok Erv, heres 2 links to the RPF where they were talkin over the working Star Trek communcators


http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=20252

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=30858

 

I was thinking about something like this in the form of a walkie talkie.

But the smallest one of them i see are in them nextel phones and its part of the cell phone. no way to seperate the 2.

 

You sir are nuts.


Brilliant, but nuts.

 

I agree!! and same thing here. I want one so bad!!!!

 

Brilliant! Astonishingly clever!

 

Slap me if this is a stupid question, but do you have a tutorial of how you made it, with step by detailed step intructions of it??? My JA branch could relaly use this ti keep up with eachother at the cons!!!! LOL!

 

I appologize, I don't have the time right now for a real tutorial, but basically it's as simple as removing the plastic housing of the headset and shoving it inside the comlink. The rest is about cutting / gluing / painting !
Erv'

 

Hey, would it be possible to do this with an actual speaker? Like by switching the earpiece with the speaker by a bit of soldering? I'd like to perhaps build one of these, but not aiming to be movie accurate. Perhaps using metal mesh instead of the silicone stuff.

 

I dont see why you couldent try to fit a real speaker in there. but again you will have to try to fit it.

 

Well, I figured the fitting would work, but would the headset be able to be converted to using a speaker by just a bit of soldering?

 

Hi !
my appologies for not posting here ealier. If you look to the pictures, you'll see that what was in the ear piece IS a speaker, something like a20 mm OD one.
The main issue is the volume. it's power out of a li-ion coin cell of 3.6v, don't expect much from that voltage.
If you want more, you need an amp and an appropriate power supply, just like it's been done for the star trek communicators, easier cause there is more space in the case. The other option is to solder a mono mini jack female plug and use a mono earphone.
Erv'

 

Great to see you here Erv !

 

Awesome work!

- Bill