Gotta start somewhere: Helmet fans!

[Techne[TK]]

I wanted to do something while I'm waiting for my armor and blaster kits to show up. I bought a lot of the random armor accessories, but didn't have anything to actually build. So I decided to make my helmet fans.

 

I checked around the site and found a lot of how-tos related to installing the fans in the helmet, but didn't see any that listed the exact components that people used (I'm sure they're out there, but I didn't see them). But eventually I found a video at CostumeBot that led me to All Electronics, and I picked out a fan, a toggle switch, and a battery case.

 

I should start by saying I am no electronics genius. I wasn't totally sure if this would work since the fan had 3 wires, the battery case had 2, and the switch had 3 prongs. But it worked out. The yellow wire on the fan, I believe, has to do with speed control, and isn't necessary, so I just let it hang loose. I had to fool around with wiring the switch prongs, but got it to work by hooking up the fan's red wire to an outside prong and the battery case's red wire to the center prong.

 

I actually got the wrong kind of switch; mine is a 3-position on-off-on switch, and I should have just gotten an on-off switch more like this. The on-off-on capability is why there's a third, unused prong. The way I've wired it, if it's turned to the right, it will turn on, and if it's straight up or to the left it's off, so two out of the three options are now "off." Which is fine. (I originally thought the on-off-on meant that it would be on whether I turned it left or right, but now I think the second "on" position is for turning on a second object.)

 

Anyway, I'm just glad I got it to work, and had a mostly-successful first project to cut my teeth on. Next up will be the blaster, I guess.

 

I guess I should have taken some in-process pictures, but it didn't occur to me until I was already done! Anyway, here is Step One in my journey of a thousand miles:

Edited November 19, 2012 by Techne

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congrats on your start, I remember starting collecting everything I would need for a build, my armor is now in the mail and while on the long wait kept busing with four blaster builds. Just one thing your battery packs are quite large so may be hard to fit in your lid, I used 2 9v rectangle batteries in mine which seems to work fine with my fans (not sure what voltage your fans use) you could wire the fans in sequence so they only draw 4.5v each, glued some velcro in the lid and used this to hold them in place. Good luck on your build journey

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Edited March 28, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[SWAMPTHING[TK]]

now you got to figure out how to and where to mount those big battery pods, the smaller enclosed 9 volt battery pods mount easier I think, but that is the fun of doing stuff, you figure it out on the fly.. and congrats on the start of your journey!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Thanks for posting this. These are just the fans I have been looking for! Best of luck with your helmet fan installation when you get your gear. Certainly update when you can. I am also in the waiting period and hope to put together a cooling fan setup. How did you connect the switches to the wires? Soldering? I am looking for a simple clip and connect method to the wiring so parts can be changed out if needed. I found a small set of wire connectors in the car audio section at a shop by me. Crimping or soldering, anyone know which method is best?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

S

Thanks for posting this. These are just the fans I have been looking for! Best of luck with your helmet fan installation when you get your gear. Certainly update when you can. I am also in the waiting period and hope to put together a cooling fan setup. How did you connect the switches to the wires? Soldering? I am looking for a simple clip and connect method to the wiring so parts can be changed out if needed. I found a small set of wire connectors in the car audio section at a shop by me. Crimping or soldering, anyone know which method is best?

I am using auto connectors on my wiring in case I want to swap anything later, crimping is ok but to make sure the wire doesn't pop out it is best to solder

[Techne[TK]]

On 11/20/2012 at 8:06 AM, TK3636 said:

now you got to figure out how to and where to mount those big battery pods, the smaller enclosed 9 volt battery pods mount easier I think, but that is the fun of doing stuff, you figure it out on the fly.. and congrats on the start of your journey!

Thanks guys. I feel like I've actually seen more people use the 4 double-A battery packs than 9-volts in the forums (having no real-world experience myself); they seem to feel that they last longer. But you're definitely right, they're fairly large and will make for a little problem-solving situation of their own. I guess I can always switch them out if I need to.

On 11/20/2012 at 9:03 AM, Bulldog44 said:

Thanks for posting this. These are just the fans I have been looking for! Best of luck with your helmet fan installation when you get your gear. Certainly update when you can. I am also in the waiting period and hope to put together a cooling fan setup. How did you connect the switches to the wires? Soldering? I am looking for a simple clip and connect method to the wiring so parts can be changed out if needed. I found a small set of wire connectors in the car audio section at a shop by me. Crimping or soldering, anyone know which method is best?

Glad to help! I just looped and twisted the wire through a small hole at the end of the switch's prongs. It seemed stable enough, especially with the electrical tape to keep them from moving around. But I'm sure soldering is more permanant. Actually, the second switch I linked to has screws on its prongs, so those should hold the wires on fairly well without soldering.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

I use the 4AA batteries because they (supposedly) last longer, and there are available rechargeables. Of course now there are 9V rechargeables and I'm sure they last longer.

 

I generally supply fan parts from All Electronics which is down the street from me... but I have not seen those exact fans. They also have 2x AA holders which are rounded and make it really easy to mount in the back of your neck bulge. I only use 1 fan; can't imagine putting 8 AA batteries (4 packs of 2x) in there! They'd fit but it would be heavy.

 

FYI I use velcro to mount inside the bucket. Easy to take in/out. I have some white electrical/pvc tape to tamp down the loose wires.

 

Good job slicing those together!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Thanks for the info everyone. I will try to solder the connections together after a few practice runs. How is the airflow coming out of these 5V fans? I tested one 12 V fan using the same 4 AA pack but the airflow was a bit weak.

 

 

 

 

 

[Techne[TK]]

I use the 4AA batteries because they (supposedly) last longer, and there are available rechargeables. Of course now there are 9V rechargeables and I'm sure they last longer.

 

I generally supply fan parts from All Electronics which is down the street from me... but I have not seen those exact fans. They also have 2x AA holders which are rounded and make it really easy to mount in the back of your neck bulge. I only use 1 fan; can't imagine putting 8 AA batteries (4 packs of 2x) in there! They'd fit but it would be heavy.

 

FYI I use velcro to mount inside the bucket. Easy to take in/out. I have some white electrical/pvc tape to tamp down the loose wires.

 

Good job slicing those together!

Thanks for all the added info...it would certainly be nice to live down the street from the actual store!

Thanks for the info everyone. I will try to solder the connections together after a few practice runs. How is the airflow coming out of these 5V fans? I tested one 12 V fan using the same 4 AA pack but the airflow was a bit weak.

The airflow seemed OK. Of course I don't have a sweaty helmet to give it a real-world test yet!