So I finished my Proton Pack a little while ago, and got everything working beautifully. Sound, lights, the whole 9 yards. I’m really excited about surprising a bunch of people at an event coming up with my completed outfit. But, today disaster struck. I decided to take some pictures of the finished product, showing off my handiwork to some of my co-workers (They have been bugging me for pics for weeks). I flip the master power switch and… no lights in the Pack. The gun lights and sound system work just fine, but no cyclotron and power lights!!! What the???
I’m using the kit from Hyperdyne Labs, and it was working prior to today just fine. I took apart my pack and tested the board with a stand-alone 9v battery. Nothing. I really don’t know what could have happened, but I get zippy from the board; not even a blink. Anyone have any idea what could be wrong? I’m at a loss, and my special event is coming up very soon and I have no pack lights!!! I’m about to flip out here, I can’t believe it would just go kaput for no reason, especially now!
Are you powering everything from a 12 volt battery, or do you have separate 12v for the sound and 9v for the light boards ?
If you’re using 12v for everything, you may have blown the voltage regulator transistor. When I first received the kits, I hooked up the Cyclotron/Bar Graph board to my 12v battery. It ran for about 30 seconds, then quit. Replacing the transistor fixed the board.
After that, I opted to power the light boards with 12v to 9v converters. This has performed flawlessly.
I’m using one 12v battery to power the lights for the pack, gun, and the sound amp. I’m using 3 AA batteries for the sound chip, but that is a separate circuit. Everything has worked fine for weeks, I have not had a single hiccup until now. My batteries are fine, they have a full charge so that isn’t it. The board just - stopped. I really can’t afford to buy another board, my pack funds are totally depleted. I don’t know what to do.. Sigh
I’m using one 12v battery to power the lights for the pack, gun, and the sound amp. I’m using 3 AA batteries for the sound chip, but that is a separate circuit. Everything has worked fine for weeks, I have not had a single hiccup until now. My batteries are fine, they have a full charge so that isn’t it. The board just - stopped. I really can’t afford to buy another board, my pack funds are totally depleted. I don’t know what to do.. Sigh
-Sol
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Sol - I’m not sure which Hyperdyne products you’re using, but here’s my set-up.
I installed the Cyclo/Bargraph light board, the Gun light board and the “Economy Plus” sound module. They wired up as follows:
Sound module and “Economy Plus” external circuit both required 12 volts.
The Gun and Cyclo/Bar Graph light boards both required only 9 volts.
I am confused by your (3) AA batteries - I have no idea why, or where, these are required in a Hyperdyne set-up.
If you are using 12 volts on the light boards, look for the voltage regulator on your Cyclo board - it’s probably blown. It’s a black rectangular chip with 3 leads off the bottom and a small metal tab with 1 hole out the top.
Replace this, and your board might work, but you must reduce your input voltage to 9 vdc !
This “fix” is based on my personal experience with the Hyperdyne Cyclo/Bargraph board. That’s why I installed (2) 12 volt-to-9 volt converters in my setup, all powered by a 12vdc 4.5 A/h battery, but supplying only 9 volts to the light boards !