kiyotei

sorry but I find this instruction from you very funny, you may need to be a bit clearer in what you mean..."While waiting shake your can..." I can only imagine the funny videos we will start submitting of the painting process:))

I use ROM/FX without the random voice bytes. I am very happy with it. I found to get better volume though I had to get rid of the speakers that were installed inside the Hovis and go with a some what larger speaker mounted inside the helmet. I have a thread in here on that subject if you want to know more. Makes a big difference in volume.

I decided to mod my drop boxes so that I could safely carry small items such as $$$, trading cards, etc. I have AP armor. I have a bunch of velcro friendly neoprene which means that you can stick velcro to it. Very handy stuff. So I cut out one piece of neoprene and added velcro to the two inner sides of the drop boxes and the inner bottom as well. The velcro holds the neoprene in place. I then cut a two slots near the top on opposite sides so I could fold a flap of neoprene to make to put in or take items. Here are some pics, please note there are a couple pics of my Biker Scout drop boxes as well, please ignore those pics. ----

congrats man.

Do you sell them without the speakers installed? My setup here in this thread needs the hovi without speakers. I'm not actually looking to buy any right now but ask for those who read this thread and want a pair without speakers.

Here's a link to the speaker I used...FYI, the photos does not show this, but the speaker comes pre-wired. -----------

I run a cable down my arm to my hand.

I cut right thru my decals. I then pealed them off and hand painted the area. I found that you don't need to paint the cut areas black because they will appear black to the casual onlooker. I still love my setup. Works great. REgarding batteries, its not the voltage that matters, its the milliamp hours (mah) rating on the battery. Most 9 volt batteries are rated I think under 600 which means they will run maybe 2 hours at best. AAA batteries can be found with much higher mAh ratings letting you run your fans upwards of 6 hours or more. They do make long lasting 9 volt batteries for smoke detectors which have really high mAh ratings BUT they cost a ton of money. Also 9 volt batteries will run the fans at a slower speed which may or may not be desirable.

I did a push to talk setup in my TK a while back but I got tired of always having to press the button. It seemed like such a simple concept but if you are holding a blaster with two hands then you have adjust your hands so you can press the button. Also, having to run a wire down my arm got tiring to do. Maybe I'm lazy. I found that the stupid 2.5mm to 3mm adapters I had to use so the jack would fit in my app would sometimes work loose and then no one could hear me. I tried taping them together but sometimes they just managed to work loose. Anyone ever find a throat mic that by default has a simple 3mm jack on it? The ones I've found all have a double prong jack that you have to use an adapter with or are by default 2.5mm and wired differently than the amps we use.

I feel stupid saying this but I don't remember. All I can say is that they are made from aluminum. Anyone know who makes those? I would think any hovi will work though. If get hovi's from Stomper, ask him to not install the speakers and the back side of them. You want them completely hollow. Not sure who else makes them these days. The PVC nipples I used were thick enough that they allowed room for grinding down to fit into the hovi.

Not exactly. The PVC nipple goes in first. Glue the speaker to the inside of the PVC cap. The speaker should not touch the PVC nipple at all. Make sure there is a slight gap between them when you install the cap. The Hovi refers to the entire black cone and screen. I recommend glueing that on last so that you can see thru the PVC nipple while installing the cap/speaker assembly. FYI the pVC nipple has a smaller diameter than the speaker so the speaker cannot fit inside it.

Yes.

I got tired of how little volume the tiny Hovi speakers have. So I decided to take a fellow garrison's member's setup that he used in his TD helmet and modify it for mine. I had to mod what he did to better suite my AP helmet vs. his TE helmet. I put a 1" Radio Shack speaker inside a PVC plumbing end cap. The cap is installed inside the helmet over the Hovi dome. I had to drill a big hole in the helmet so the sound can pass thru the helmet and then thru the hollow Hovis. The larger speaker mounted inside the helmet provides a lot more volume. One warning if you decide to do this, make sure you can still fit your helmet on after adding this speaker setup before drilling holes etc. Just do a test fit with empty caps which you've trimmed down to fit. Here are pics of what I did. I'm working on detailed instructions for these photos and will post on FISD when done. --------------- Some notes: My garrison mate used plastic caps found on spray cans. I found that the plastic is way too thin. The PVC plumbing end cap is much thicker which reduces any sound bleed into the helmet. I do not have any feedback issues. I'm also using a ROMFX amp.

very nice job. I did this over a year ago and love it. Cutting the holes in the back is a great improvement and are barely noticeable when you wear the helmet. I would recommend switching to squirrel cage fans. I use them because the suck the air in and blow it around the sides of your head. I think you get more air circulation with them. Also, I would recommend switching to 8 AA batteries. I use 2 four battery packs to hold them. You can get them at radio shack. The 8 AA batteries (rechargeable) will give you a lot longer battery life, plus you save money by using rechargeable batteries. 9 volts give you a very short life. I find about 2 hours max.

You need to route the POS terminal to the switch and then to the AMPs POS terminal. Route the NEG AMP terminal to the battery pack's NEG terminal. Just remember it is like putting batteries in a flash light. Each battery's POS terminal is connect to the next battery's NEG terminal. In your diagram you are routing the NEG terminal to the AMP. Grab a 9v battery and look at its terminals. Here is the wiring diagram: ----------

I get hot in my helmet and I live in Seattle so I would hate to think of Florida. I'll be at C5 this year so will get my chance. OK, here's what I did. I actually cut out the black stripes on the back of the helmet and mounted squirrel cage fans over the openings. they suck in fresh air and blow it around the side of the helmet towards the front. It really helps me keep coo. Second, create an air damn around the mouth area of the helmet. This air damn should touch your face and divert your breath downward away from the lens. thirdly, I have one other idea for keeping cool but have not tried it yet. I have reusable ice packs which go in a cool vest. You could get a pack and stick in in the top of the helmet in place of padding. That will help keep the head cool for about 2 hours. I have a thread on here some where showing photos of what I've done to my helmet. I'll see if I can find them and link em.

That surprises me. Most events for us in Seattle are non-cannon. All the Cons we do are non-cannon events. Though there are a number of troops we do that the femme trooper would not be appropriate for, like food drives, charity stuff in general.

Funny I never thought about the need for cut-off underarmor top for femme trooper armor. Great pics, looks like it was a blast.

Thanks Daetrin, I owe it all do you cause you convinced me to go with AP (never regretted it). Don't worry I won't be trooping as an officer I'm gonna use it for social occasions such as hanging out at Dragon Con. I may use it as a travel to a troop outfit as well.

Thanks guys. Good to see you on here as well Panda.

dude great tatoo!

Hey Guys, Its been a while since I've been on here and posted but that does not mean I'm not trooping. I just spend most of my time lately on my local garrison boards. I've been busy with costumes though. I am finishing up a biker scout kit right now and I'm also putting together an imperial officer uniform which is almost ready. I'm just waiting on the boots (arrive tomorrow) and my hat. I'm gonna make the belt this weekend. Anyhow just thought I'd say hi since its been a while on here. I did get to meet some of you last year at Dragon Con and I'm planning on attending it again this year. I'm also expecting to attend C5 this year.

I own one just for display. To me the big fixes are the teeth and the seams (joints) above the mouth. I think the teeth are way too small and look funny. The big seams are also unattractive and stand out to the eye of any trooper. But to each his own.

Here is a link to my photos showing how I have my battery packs installed. You can also see my ROMFX and fans. A note on the fans. I cut slots in the back of my helmet which the fans sit over. They draw in cool air and blow the air towards the front. I'm using 2 squirel cage fans. They work really well. I have comments under each photo explaining what you are seeing. ----------

Is the MRCE a "simpler" helmet to mod??? There are enough mods you have to make to the MRCE to make it acceptable that I think you should also consider the other helmets. I think a lot of guys get the MRCE helmet because they have big heads and it fits better. It looks much better than the old FX lid which was the other alternative for big headed guys. I'm an AP guy and I think its well worth the cost and time to assemble but it is smaller in size.