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Post by Outer Rim Armory on Oct 25, 2007 2:06:41 GMT -5
[glow=teal,9,300]ULTRASOUND (S.T.E.V.E.)[/glow] [glow=teal,9,300]DIY FAQ AND TROUBLESHOOTING[/glow]
This topic will be for questions and troubleshooting of your UltraSound boards. If you are having technical issues, this is the place to seek your answers. This thread will also be a work in progress for newer versions of the board as they become available. I will be keeping in contact with Ultra regarding the subject matter, because I want everyone to get the answers directly from the people responsible for the board's creation.
You will probably recognize some of the quotes in this FAQ/Tutorial from other threads. The reason for this is to streamline and condense the important information that has been supplied by Alex into one place for easier perusal.
Once again we ask that members please refrain from off topic posting in this thread. As any off topic posts will be deleted!
Thanks!
MTFBWY
The Jedi Archives Team
Q: What is this S.T.E.V.E. I keep seeing all over the FX-Sabers Forums? A: S.T.E.V.E. is an acronym that was given to the UltraSound as a project name by Ultra and Master Yoda here on the forums. The name comes from the CG animated movie: "Over The Hedge" Ultra was joking around about a name for the board, and Master Yoda took the ball and ran with it. 
It was Yoda that dubbed the board Sound Transferring Electronic Velocity Effects System. The name stuck, and people are STILL calling it S.T.E.V.E. 8)Thank you! ;D Have you decided on a name to call it yet Let's call it "Steve"! It's a pretty name ;D Ahhh Yes! a Sound Transfering Electronic Velocity Effects system Now I know I've been awake to long 
Q: What does the board do? A: The board, as the name implies, is a sound module for a saber. It senses motion and directional changes of the saber and plays the appropriate sounds for the actions taken. It is also a voltage/current regulator that drives four different types of Luxeon LEDS at optimal levels. It can drive the following LEDS:Luxeon III (White, Blue, Royal Blue, Cyan, Green) Luxeon III (Red and Amber...These have different current and voltage requirements than standard Luxeon III LEDS) Luxeon V (White, Blue, Royal Blue, Cyan, Green) Luxeon K2 (Green, Blue, Cyan, Royal Blue and White high-current 1500 mah)
Q: What does the board look like? A: Refer to the pictures below! 8)This is the board itself     Images Copyright ®2007 Ultra Sabers. All rights reserved.
Q: Is there a wiring diagram available for the Ultrasound? A: Yes and no. Ultrasabers has provided instructions for the board that includes a map of what wires go where on the board. It can be seen in the provided picture and PDF file below. The reason that no diagrams are drawn, is that each saber will have it's own specific needs for wiring harness solutions. It's up to the end user of the DIY board to run the wiring in their hilt. That's half the fun! Ultra also offers pre-wired DIY kits.This is the mapped picture designating wire placement for specific components Copyright ®2007 Ultra Sabers. All rights reserved.Ultrasound instructions (PDF format)www.ultrasabers.com/ultrasound.pdf
If you have any further questions regarding setup or installation of an Ultrasound board, please ask them here! |
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Kit Fisto
Administrator  
}}Force Power{-15}
This worlds a twited maze,but I got the swiftest blades My swords they slice & dice percise ways
Posts: 9,556
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Post by Kit Fisto on Oct 25, 2007 19:55:07 GMT -5
Great thread.
I didn`t know Master Yoda (Meridian) names it the STEVE.
I must say I own a steve and it is the greatest thing even.
The saber flicker effect is to die for.
Great sound,and great motion detection.
I love the blaster fire effect too.
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Cadeus
Jedi Master
 }}Force Power{194}
GIMP Lightsaber effect master
Posts: 771
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Post by Cadeus on Oct 25, 2007 20:11:28 GMT -5
steve oh brother... Those ARE cool
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chase
Jedi Master
Posts: 340
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Post by chase on Oct 26, 2007 7:27:48 GMT -5
Are there any more being made anytime soon? Any alternative besides a Corbin board? I have a 5w so I would burn it out.
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Post by Outer Rim Armory on Oct 27, 2007 1:53:12 GMT -5
Actually Yes there is. The V2 Ultrasound is in development now. So far what is being discussed for it is: Adjustable Blade flicker Adjustable Clash Sensitivity Option for Endor Star Trilux (under development) This is in addition to the original features. I'll have more updates as I get them from Ultra.  |
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Post by Skywalker85 on Oct 27, 2007 14:55:33 GMT -5
Im a little new on the S.T.E.V.E topic and i have a few questions.
1. Does the system come equipped with the saber lock option?
2. Can every M.R. FFX hilt be upgraded to the Ultrasound (S.T.E.V.E.)?
3. The Endor Star TriLux is the chip that has 3 seperate LEDs , able to make any color for the blade right?
Thank you in advance.
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Post by Outer Rim Armory on Oct 27, 2007 18:17:20 GMT -5
Im a little new on the S.T.E.V.E topic and i have a few questions. 1. Does the system come equipped with the saber lock option? 2. Can every M.R. FFX hilt be upgraded to the Ultrasound (S.T.E.V.E.)? 3. The Endor Star TriLux is the chip that has 3 seperate LEDs , able to make any color for the blade right? Thank you in advance. 1. Due to the compact size, and space limitations on the current board. There is no saber lock feature on the board. Ultra originally wanted to do something along those lines, but that would have increased the price of the board, changed the dimensions, and taken more time to develop. At the time that feature would have made the price rise to nearly the same price as a Crystal focus by Plecterlabs. Ultra figured that the Voice menu, and ability to select just about any Luxeon under the sun was a fair trade (you can do this on the fly BTW) 2. As long as you can supply enough voltage to the board for all types of Luxeon, yes! Some will be more complicated than others, but anything is possible with enough time and the proper tools for the job. It really depends on your imagination. Some sabers will require a new battery pack and speaker setup to accomodate the needs of the board, but just about any FX can be converted. 3. The Endor Star is indeed a single star emitter backplate with three Luxeon rebel LED's mounted on it. There are options of White, or RGB in differing amounts of brightness. More info Here: www.luxeonstar.com/sub_category.php?id=1430&link_str=1430A particularly interesting Endor star is this one: 7007-PWC-10-3 Luxeon Rebel Star - White Tri-Emitter, 540 Lumens @ 700mA  540 LUMENS!!! That is one exceptionally bright LED star! ;D |
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Post by dajoquim on Oct 27, 2007 19:39:35 GMT -5
8-)Hey Darth Morbius and I was wondering if the steve 2.0 will be several months away and if so does alex have any more steve boards for sale? ;D
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Post by Outer Rim Armory on Oct 28, 2007 1:10:26 GMT -5
8-)Hey Darth Morbius and I was wondering if the steve 2.0 will be several months away and if so does alex have any more steve boards for sale? ;D This is a very good question Master Dajoquim! Unfortunately, the current generation (V1.0) is out of stock, due to high popularity. However, I have seen posts on several forums of people willing to sell them. You may even see them on ebay if you're lucky enough. As for the lead time on the 2.0, Alex has not set a specific time frame for the US 2.0. Although, he had stated that he wanted to get them going before Christmas (approximated). As to whether this will happen is still speculative at this time. I would like to actually see a V1.1, or 1.2 with updates to the menu and perhaps a different sound set. It might be a good Idea so that some customers could get their hands on a S.T.E.V.E. To tide them over until V2.0 hits the market. That may be something to discuss with Alex in my Next email.... |
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Post by dajoquim on Oct 29, 2007 19:56:20 GMT -5
8-)Thanks for the info darth morbius and I can't hardly wait for the 2.0 myself. Now as for the steve 1.0 I really love mine!!It's cool for the money!!Here are the pros and cons of this board so maybe you can send this to alex in case he is wondering. Pros----- 1- love that on sound on that board and really love that off sound on it!!To me this sounds like the luke sounds from rotj!!It's great sounds to hear indeed!! 2.Love the blaster reflect sounds----great stuff. 3.Love the flicker mode.It could be a tad bit faster-but-I'll take it as is for now lol ;D ;D Cons--- 1-I found that the posts on the board are real close for comfort.If you are not careful on soldering it is easy to get to close and therefore you will short out something!! 2.I found the hum to be a tad bit lite for my hearing.It needs to be three shades deeper in sound like the movie. 3.You have to hit your saber with a baseball bat to get a clash sound .If it were like a masterreplicas sound board it would rock!! So as one could see the board still rocks for his first board and all!!I am looking forward to the next one !! |
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Post by Gendo on Oct 30, 2007 17:19:35 GMT -5
I put the STEVE into my Vader hilt [I'm Yukiel on FXSABERS BTW] and it was really, really hard trying to wire that thing up to get it right. For one second the board spewed smoke out and I thought it was fried, but it worked [morbius said it was probaly some left over resin] and now it works, even though the stock battery setup isn't supplying enough voltage.
BTW morbius I'm shipping the Vader and the Obi out sometime tommarow.
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Post by Outer Rim Armory on Nov 3, 2007 20:24:20 GMT -5
I put the STEVE into my Vader hilt [I'm Yukiel on FXSABERS BTW] and it was really, really hard trying to wire that thing up to get it right. For one second the board spewed smoke out and I thought it was fried, but it worked [morbius said it was probaly some left over resin] and now it works, even though the stock battery setup isn't supplying enough voltage.
BTW morbius I'm shipping the Vader and the Obi out sometime tommarow.Thanks Gendo! I am looking forward to getting those sabers of yours done! It's been a long time coming my friend! As Gendo stated, it IS nerve wracking to install the S.T.E.V.E. In an MR with the Stock battery back. There are a few reasons for this: 1. The Positive battery lead has to be shared with the positive speaker lead on most MR sabers. The exceptions being the Mace Windu, Luke ESB, and Luke ROTJ 2005, as they have separate pinouts for speaker and battery positive wiring on the interface pins. 2. When using the Stock interface and battery pack, there is a sizeable amount of resistance caused by the interface pins and sockets on the sound module interface, and the battery pack pin sockets. This causes a voltage and current drop that can make the sound stutter, and make the saber have quirky battery habits. As well as power fluctuation that can cause the LED to act up. 3. The stock MR speakers just don't have enough OOMPH in them to handle the cleaner sound of the Ultra board. SO they should be replaced with a higher quality 8ohm speaker. These reasons are why I recommend removing the stock interface, direct wiring the battery pack to the board with a quick disconnect, and running the speaker wires direct drive to the speaker withh a QD as well. It eliminates unwanted resistance, helps prolong battery life for more runtime, and promotes a more positive performance of your saber with less chance of damaging the circuitry on the board. Also, you free up a little space in the hilt by doing this, which means you now have room for a resonance chamber to make that badboy EXTRA loud, and project the sound from the higher output speaker. |
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Post by jediofsena on Oct 17, 2010 21:01:39 GMT -5
Its true that the sound of fx is not really strong  |
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