User avatar
By EnderWeggen
#4933735
Sorry for taking so long, So to bring the screen forward first you will have to build a edge for the screen to sit on or mount to, for this I just used some 2mm EVA Foam super glued to the side of the screen shade, but you get the idea if you can glue it and it will create a edge, Just make sure you give your screen a set back so it will sit into the PKE and not stick out.
{Below you can see how it looks}
ImageImage
#4934556
I Highly Recommend NOT Using the Rewiring the Arm LED's. From my Experience and others if you use even a small flat head screw driver you have a high chance of braking the small tabs that hold the pin's into the connector, or pulling the wire out of the connector pin.

Just My Two Cents, Other Wise The PDF is well done.
#4934560
I used a sewing needle and gently slid it under all of the tabs from the side of the connector and the pins came out very easily. Just remember to use tape to label all of the lights before removing.
EnderWeggen liked this
By h855
#4934603
Ectotainment wrote: May 9th, 2020, 10:56 am I used a sewing needle and gently slid it under all of the tabs from the side of the connector and the pins came out very easily. Just remember to use tape to label all of the lights before removing.
Just used this technique last night and it worked like a charm.
Also a tip, as you begin label each wire with tape by order. I went with what I believe is the GB1 sequence so this next suggestion only applies for that setup.

All you need to do is remove wires 1,2,3,5,7 (leave 4,6)
Once you have all the wires out it's easy moving from there, insert the numbered wires in this order:
Put wire one into hole 3
Put wire two into hole 5
Put wire three into hole 7
Wire 4 is already where it needs to be
Put wire five into hole 1
Wire 6 is already where it needs to be
Put wire 7 into hole 2

Another suggestion: As you finish inserting the wire, be sure it is seated all the way down, you shouldn't see any silver where the wire inserts, Also press the plastic clip back down to ensure it secures the wire. You don't want any wires sliding out due to a poor connection

Repeat

and you got your self a better looking if not more screen accurate LED sequence!



Took me about 15 minutes in total.
EnderWeggen liked this
By h855
#4934617
And another quick update, swapped the demo button to mod the motor to activate when pressed. Took about 10 minutes to detach and re solder. Great mod
If you have bought one of the PKEs from Walmart the circuitboard is slightly different than ones you see on the forums but they are pretty straightforward to figure out.
#4934619
h855 wrote: May 10th, 2020, 4:56 pm And another quick update, swapped the demo button to mod the motor to activate when pressed. Took about 10 minutes to detach and re solder. Great mod
Can you please explain this? I'm very interested. Thanks!
By h855
#4934626
Trying to use IMGURs video feature for the first time so am not sure if this will work. Here's a video of the mod in action:

https://i.imgur.com/H0LPkYT.mp4

And here is my best attempt to illustrate how I accomplished this.
Image

Here you can see where I've soldered the orange wire to the motor. This orange wire connects to the right side of the button and I believe is acting a a circuit when you click and hold down causing the motor to move on command.
Image

To give credit where it's due I got the idea from googling "PKE SPIRIT MODS" and came across a video posted by Bernhard Warg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_w3lCPj0-Q The pke in his video looked different and had blue wires. I'm guessing it was for a Spirit version which looks different from my WalMart version.
#4934649
I also found a way to get slightly more accurate sound by wiring in the circuit board from the Running Press brand mini PKE meter to the speaker. Basically I wired it to the power terminals on the board, then the button key to the negative wire of the LEDs since the trigger on the RP PKE is low, then soldered a DPDT switch to the speakers connecting both sources so I can toggle between the original sound and RP mini sounds. The sound is activated when the lights go on, but will only turn off by the bottom switch.
#4934677
Ectotainment wrote: May 11th, 2020, 7:54 am I also found a way to get slightly more accurate sound by wiring in the circuit board from the Running Press brand mini PKE meter to the speaker. Basically I wired it to the power terminals on the board, then the button key to the negative wire of the LEDs since the trigger on the RP PKE is low, then soldered a DPDT switch to the speakers connecting both sources so I can toggle between the original sound and RP mini sounds. The sound is activated when the lights go on, but will only turn off by the bottom switch.
Could you make a video of this and explaining how you did it?
#4934681
This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Actually, I'm planning on doing something better now. I ordered a programmable sound board from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Icstation-Record ... /B01M35VHY) and a 5V step up regulator (https://www.amazon.com/Mini-DC-Voltage- ... B01N6EKHZR ) so I can add my own sounds. The PKE runs on 3v and the sound board needs 5v, hence the step up regulator.

I already edited some PKE noises from the the video game sound files which I synced with the lights on the Spirit PKE meter so as the lights go faster the sound speeds up and has a higher pitch. There is startup sound, then the movie "cricket" like sounds with some added chirps and detection noises laid over.

The same basic setup should work. I will solder the 5v regulator to switched power (the + terminal of the battery compartment and the terminal coming from the switch. This would be the same terminal as the wire that goes to from the switch to the main circuit board- not the one that goes to the battery.) Next, I'll solder power wires from the 5V regulator to the sound board. The sound board will accept a high or low trigger, so I can solder one wire from the trigger pin on the sound board to one of the LED pins, positive for high or negative for low. Lastly, I'll either use the speaker that comes with the soundboard or solder the leads on to the speaker in the PKE.

I'll try to get some pictures of the process and post a video on YouTube.
EnderWeggen, tobycj, Glenn Frederick and 1 others liked this
#4934850
As promised. Here is a demo video of the Spirit PKE with the sound module and 5v regulator added. I also added the intro song and GB theme song if you leave the PKE meter on for more than 1 minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTBbmHRyWG0

Here is an image of the installation:

Image

Here is an image of how I fit it inside the shell. I used double sided foam tape:

Image

The sound module had the option to remove a resistor and have it only play while the trigger is applied, so I did that option so when the lights go off so does the sound.
EnderWeggen, NickFame13 liked this
#4935217
Ectotainment wrote: May 15th, 2020, 3:27 pm As promised. Here is a demo video of the Spirit PKE with the sound module and 5v regulator added. I also added the intro song and GB theme song if you leave the PKE meter on for more than 1 minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTBbmHRyWG0

Here is an image of the installation:

Image

Here is an image of how I fit it inside the shell. I used double sided foam tape:

Image

The sound module had the option to remove a resistor and have it only play while the trigger is applied, so I did that option so when the lights go off so does the sound.
could you send another link to that sound module, and would you be willing to share the files you made for it so I could perhaps do the same? Awesome work.
Last edited by Kingpin on May 26th, 2020, 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.Reason: Fixed quote text
Lee liked this
#4937091
Actually I ended up using a programmable sound board (from Amazon) and mixing my own sounds from the downloaded sound files from the video game. I used Audacity, a free multi-track mixing program, to overlay the loop the sound files. I got the sound files from one of the posts on this forum, just search for them.
EnderWeggen, NotSabbat liked this
User avatar
By grimesp
#4945220
I just re-sequenced the LEDs in the correct order and that works!

But now when I activate the unit, the lights and sound work but the motor isn't opening the wings?
I don't see any disconnected wires. Any thoughts?
#4946225
It's likely because everything inside the meter is cheeeeeeeeeeap. I modded the existing screen to include a "grid" from a screen-door repair kit, and the "waterfall" stopped lighting in places.
User avatar
By JamesR2
#4957475
Ectotainment wrote: May 15th, 2020, 3:27 pm As promised. Here is a demo video of the Spirit PKE with the sound module and 5v regulator added. I also added the intro song and GB theme song if you leave the PKE meter on for more than 1 minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTBbmHRyWG0
The Video is no longer showing available. Also could you possibly post the audio files that you are using for your PKE meter?

JamesR2
User avatar
By kman
#4960065
So the latest Spirit PKE meters now have 3 AAA batteries instead of two, so they're running off 4.5v. Do you think the sound board can handle 4.5v, or does it still need a step up to 5?
User avatar
By Malus
#4970842
I know I'm suuuuuper late to the party, but has anyone made or is selling replacements for the back part of the shell? That's really all I wanted for mine since I can't stand the belt clip.
By tobycj
#4970857
Malus wrote: June 17th, 2022, 5:02 pm I know I'm suuuuuper late to the party, but has anyone made or is selling replacements for the back part of the shell? That's really all I wanted for mine since I can't stand the belt clip.
They've defo been available on etsy before, so check there

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