@jellis359,
The latch is one item which a prototype will tell a lot. The nylon is very strong, and flexible when compared to other plastics. I have beefed up all the material as much as possible in that area. The latch type is called an over-draw latch. What it means is once latched, any pulling pressure horizontally on the latch actually makes the latch hold tighter. Only pulling the lever past a certain point will release the latch. One of the nylon arms acts as spring, which has to be overcome for it to release.
In addition to the latch, there are six mating magnets which hold the Pip-Boy closed temporarily while the latch is engages. You comments however did give me an idea, maybe I can figure out a good place to attach a threaded insert for a screw. This could be used as an anchor for a security cable.
@Voltaire Surge,
The current speaker I have shown is CUI, CDS-13138-SMT. I selected it because it is tiny, and PCB surface mount. (No cable).
It is only 0.7W, which is tiny. But if driven correctly the spec says it can output 87dB. The frequency response is tweaked for voice, so you won't be pumping any bass from it. I am assuming that most of the radio in Fallout will still be tweaked to sound like old A/M radio. This type of sound should work well with this speaker. At this time I have decided to ditch the real FM radio. A real FM radio chip adds quite a bit of cost, not just in the FM chip, but the fact that I would have to add audio mixer. On top of that they require a 3-ft long antenna, which I won't have. So instead the radio tuner knob will tune through sounds pre-stored in the Android. Perhaps the companion app will even have FM radio, who knows.
The small potentiometers I am using are: Bourns 3310 series. They are some of the smallest POTs I could find. The rotary encoders are TT Electronics EN12 series.
The LEDs I am using have a color temperature of 2700K. That means they have a warm yellow glow instead of cold blue. I source my parts from Digikey and Mouser.com It isn't the cheapest way to develop a project, but I am not designing this for the mass market, I am designing it for myself.
To a certain degree, being a sticker to details is that makes someone an engineer. 90% of what I know is self-taught. I went to school to be an electrical engineer, and self-taught myself mechanical engineering. (A decade designing products didn't hurt either) I do have to say that figuring out all the various moving components in this design took many hours of research. None of it is easy. It is all possible with enough time and thought thrown at it. Even then a good CAD design only is half of it, getting it made into a real thing can be just as hard, and require even more changes.
The latch is one item which a prototype will tell a lot. The nylon is very strong, and flexible when compared to other plastics. I have beefed up all the material as much as possible in that area. The latch type is called an over-draw latch. What it means is once latched, any pulling pressure horizontally on the latch actually makes the latch hold tighter. Only pulling the lever past a certain point will release the latch. One of the nylon arms acts as spring, which has to be overcome for it to release.
In addition to the latch, there are six mating magnets which hold the Pip-Boy closed temporarily while the latch is engages. You comments however did give me an idea, maybe I can figure out a good place to attach a threaded insert for a screw. This could be used as an anchor for a security cable.
@Voltaire Surge,
The current speaker I have shown is CUI, CDS-13138-SMT. I selected it because it is tiny, and PCB surface mount. (No cable).
It is only 0.7W, which is tiny. But if driven correctly the spec says it can output 87dB. The frequency response is tweaked for voice, so you won't be pumping any bass from it. I am assuming that most of the radio in Fallout will still be tweaked to sound like old A/M radio. This type of sound should work well with this speaker. At this time I have decided to ditch the real FM radio. A real FM radio chip adds quite a bit of cost, not just in the FM chip, but the fact that I would have to add audio mixer. On top of that they require a 3-ft long antenna, which I won't have. So instead the radio tuner knob will tune through sounds pre-stored in the Android. Perhaps the companion app will even have FM radio, who knows.
The small potentiometers I am using are: Bourns 3310 series. They are some of the smallest POTs I could find. The rotary encoders are TT Electronics EN12 series.
The LEDs I am using have a color temperature of 2700K. That means they have a warm yellow glow instead of cold blue. I source my parts from Digikey and Mouser.com It isn't the cheapest way to develop a project, but I am not designing this for the mass market, I am designing it for myself.
To a certain degree, being a sticker to details is that makes someone an engineer. 90% of what I know is self-taught. I went to school to be an electrical engineer, and self-taught myself mechanical engineering. (A decade designing products didn't hurt either) I do have to say that figuring out all the various moving components in this design took many hours of research. None of it is easy. It is all possible with enough time and thought thrown at it. Even then a good CAD design only is half of it, getting it made into a real thing can be just as hard, and require even more changes.
