I’ve been working a few hours a day here and there. So far I have the motherboard, synchronous generator, cyclotron, ion arm, bumper, and a bunch of other little pieces complete.
If you want to see or follow the process, you can see the pics here: http://grabosky.net/ProtonPack/Fabrication.html
Once parts start being assembled permanently, I’ll post the pictures here. I’ll keep everyone updated as well.
Looks good so far. Here are a few things to think about:
That rebar looks thick and heavy. You may want to use something lighter or just make sure your ion arm is attached very well
What are you going to use to seal the foam before you paint it?
Yea, the rebar is heavy but at under $2 for that vs the $20 for a brass or other nice metal bar, it was worth it. I’ll just have to secure it well.
The foam is wrapped in metal tape, then bondo, then it will be primed and painted. On my test pieces, this turned out to a nice smooth finish without being eaten.
I just finished the schematic of my electronics and ordered the parts moments ago. When I fire test it, I’ll post the schematic and parts list (with part numbers) in case anyone wants it.
I used as a base a diagram I found here then modified it some. One major difference is that on my power cell I only have 10 lights. However I tied this into a 10 LED display on the gun. This works well to simply the circuitry while giving a good effect. Not 100% screen accurate, but its still nice to look at.
I also added speakers to tie into an MP3 player and some additional lights on the gun.
I also fixed a bug I found in the previous one.
I’m always amazed by the talent we have on the board here. Scratch building seems so much fun. I just wish I knew some of the stuff I’d need to make things look right. Good job so far, looks amazing. And, please let us know how your electronics come out.
Thanks for the kind words.
I really need to put up my newer pics. I finished fabrication and primed everyhing yesterday.
Today is reserved for football and starting the assembly of the electronic parts.
Hopefully tonight I can put up some pics of the electronics and the pack. I am also working on a visio diagram of the electronics complete with the part numbers I ordered from mouser.com
I added to the design to allow for a switch on the gun to control pack lights, one for sound, and one to change direction of the cyclotron lights.
Yes, please post some updated photos!
Really crappy camera phone pic to keep you guys updated:
The pic really doesn’t do it justice and the parts are just sitting in place, not fastened.
I have already primed and tonight is for painting because I misordered my electronic components and forgot wire wrap wire. Overnight shipping hopefully gets it here soon.
Here is a quick pack of my circuit board which controls all the lights. It supports 10 powercell lights which are tied to a 10 LED display on the gun so they move together. It also moves the 4 cyclotron lights with a switch to change direction of the lights (clockwise/counterclockwise).
Also here is a pic of the motherboard and part of the cyclotron. This was before the 3rd coat of paint which covered well and fixed the roller marks.
Ok, people thought I was nuts when I used a metal rod for the ion rod.. did you use a piece of Rebar?
my thoughts too! can you say overkill? lol
Overkill: Yes.
Cheap: Yes!
The steel rods we bough at lows were just 2 bucks, and we got more then enough for two packs from it…
PLUS they were lightweight.. 
I couldn’t find steel, only brass grounding rods which were $12 each. I had this chunk of reebar in the garage so it was the right approximate size and cheap.
And to paraphrase a quote from Crix, weight adds realism
Go to the toilet section. You can get short a short brass rod which is threaded on both ends for like $4. Cut it in half, and the threads will help keep it in place when you glue it into holes that you drill in the block they stick out of.
good idea. i used a plastic tube from a spray bottle..it’s really strong too, and I can pass thru a metal detector without setting it off. however------>one thing i like about the rebar is the groove pattern on it. unique.
My pack uses a cake pan and will have electronics in it. So I have bigger concerns.
Also, I don’t think any airport or any other place with a metal detector would let you through with a proton pack, whether you set the detector off or not. 
Also what about all the screws and L connectors you need even for a plastic pack to connect it to the motherboard? Also, are alice frames made 100% out of aluminum? My buckles seem to have quite a bit of heft to them.
I know it’s too late to change out the rebar, but you might find it almost covers the opening on your power supply. You might want to make that a bit wider to compensate for that.
Some people’s packs have weighed in at 50-55 pounds.. that was my concern bout the rebar.. odds are, that one rod weighs about 50% of the total weight of my pack and alice frame. (Our packs n frames weigh in at about 8 and a half pounds.)
You’d have to do a major rework at tis point to loose the rebar, so I’d just deal with it as it is. One tip: we used chrome brass paint on ours.. you can’t tell the difference between real brass, and our cheap steel rods at all. The brass rods were like $6 each, and the steel ones were a buck n change. BTW, ours were in a rod section in Lowe’s at the end of our frequently revisited screw n bolt aisle…
Yea, if i had more time i would change it and the way it is connected it can be changed in the future. my goal right now is to get it done, then evolve the pack over time.
The way the ion arm lines up with the power cell does not block the lights from most angles, luckily.
I did the math on the LEDs and decided to go with regular and not ultra bright. Boy and I glad because these are blinding if you look head on. I can’t imagine the ultra brights. I would have cleared a room!
Under 60 hours til I need to walk into a party wearing it so it is crunch time! Just final assembly, stickers, and finishing touches remain (got the electronics pretty much done last night).
EDIT: Forgot the weight issue. It is not as heavy as it looks. Almost all depth is thanks to foam except for the gear box and gun mount (gear box has two speakers in it, hence the hole in one pic that will have a grill over it to get sound out) and it weighs in at about 10 pounds all together. Not that bad.