shnar Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) I've been looking at customizing the helmet with mics to amplify the external sound (following Mynock's excellent tutorial at http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/20304-helmet-upgrades-wireless-amp-external-sound-pickups-fan-padding-and-more/), as well as using a wireless mic and the iComm system (found at http://store.voicebooster.com/icomm-imperial-communication-system . All this in helmet stuff got me thinking... Has anyone made their Hovi Mic tips into analog volume controls for their helmet mic/speaker systems? I was thinking it would be cool to be able to twist the Hovi Mic to turn on the EAS (for example), and even adjust it's volume by twisting the Hovi a little. Same thing for your mic to whatever amp you have installed. For example, the left Hovi could turn on your ears and the right Hovi could turn on your voice. Being such an incredible novice at all this, A ) is this possible, B ) how difficult would it be to customize all this and C ) how would I go about doing any of it? And lastly, I stumbled across the Hovi Mic with speakers inside (see http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31168-hovi-mic-tips-with-speakers-interest-check/). Having all the electronics self contained in the helmet sounds very attractive. Too bad I already bought 2 iComm's w/wireless mics and amp. But either way, if a volume control hovi could be made, could you do it with the speakers inside like those? -shnar Edited May 5, 2015 by shnar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulldog44[TK] Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Sounds like a cool idea. My concern would be how strong the plastic walls are where the Hovi tips are installed. Maybe with some extra support backing it would be fine. It would be interesting to see this actually made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 The other issue is that the recess that the hovis sit in is not perfectly designed for the hovis to rotate. The innermost portion is not flat, the surrounding area is not even. This would need to be a much thought out project that would need to be applicable to any/all helmets. I'm sure it can be done, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansDC[TK] Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 I think this is a great idea!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesnarles Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 First thought is stereo system power/volume knobs. Might be able to find old analog but digital would probably be more compact. You want that click for on/off like a radio, not just turn the dial to 0, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Oh, I see 2 dozens of TKs fumbling with their mic tops on a parade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shnar Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 A little more research, this control is called a "potentiometer", and comes in all shapes/sizes. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to affix the hovi mic to one, what I don't know/understand is how to connect it to say an audio board (like the EAS board) to control the volume. Google, here I come! -shnar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 Resurrecting this thread... If you already have an amplifier board, it's possible to replace the volume knob or wheel with another potentiometer. Basic instructions: Use a multimeter to test the resistance of the three pins coming from the volume knob. The first one should be connected to ground, the middle one is attached to the rotating bit of the potentiometer (pot), and the last one is connected to the speaker (maybe through some other circuitry. What you're looking for is the resistance between the first and last pins. You'll want to buy a new pot that is really close to that value (they come usually in multiples of 100 ohms, like 100, 500, 1000, 5000, etc) Once you have a new one, you want to cut off the old one, and run wires from those three pins to the three pins on your new one. As long as you use decently sized wires, the extra resistance of the long wires should make no appreciable difference to the sound. If you don't remove the old pot when you add on the new one, you could end up with wonky sound when you turn one but not the other (wonky is a technical term)... So it's best to only have one volume knob on a single line. Drill a hole in the helmet where the hovi tip/volume knob will go that's just big enough for the shaft of the pot to fit through, glue the base of the pot to the inside of the helmet so it doesn't rotate when you rotate the shaft, then glue the shaft into the hovi tip (I guess where the screw used to go? You may have to widen/reinforce the base of the mic tip for that), run the wires to your amplifier, solder everything together, and twist your mic tip to raise and lower your volume! Good luck, and be sure to provide pictures! (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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