[Mercifull]

Has anyone here heard of Frutto Technology before? Looks like they've been around a little while selling Star Wars related electronics kits but they claim to have developed a new plug-n-play always on mod (similar to Patrick Conlon's DIY solution and Noah Voiding/Playdays_TNG Groundhog) but for less than £15!!!

Frutto Technology is a limited company in the UK and fully registered at Companies House established in September 2022. Not posting website/social links because I wasn't sure about the rules as they are not a member here and therefor no Supporters membership, but a quick Google will find their website or Facebook page. On that note: What are the rules about third party services when they aren't members here?

They are a UK company but claim to have a partner in Germany (for mainland European sales) and also someone in America for sales over there for maximum availability.

The developer claims that the custom board operates at a lower voltage than the one made with off-the-shelf parts or the mysterious relay-in-a-shot-glass-filled-with-resin solution offered by others, and so isn't quite as finicky and should be more stable.

They are currently taking pre-orders which are expected to start shipping at the end of March. What a bargain if true!

Video


Pics

[deadderek]

Ooh. This would be a good one to share on the Facebook Haslab Modders page...

[Mercifull]

Ooh. This would be a good one to share on the Facebook Haslab Modders page...

It's been shared in Spengler's Workshop but I dont know if its in any other Haslabs modders groups (theres about a dozen of them haha)

[deadderek]

Ooh. This would be a good one to share on the Facebook Haslab Modders page...

It's been shared in Spengler's Workshop but I dont know if its in any other Haslabs modders groups (theres about a dozen of them haha)

This is the main one:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haslabp ... ckmodders/

I'd share myself but I'm Zucc'd atm for describing my trash bags wrong.

[Mercifull]

I've spoken to the creator and they are sending me one of the test ones before they go on sale properly. I'll update the thread when I've installed it.

[Mercifull]

What ARE the rules about posting links to 3rd party sites. I appreciate there's a request that when posting advertisements you should have a 'Supporters' membership but there's obviously loopholes there. For example when linking to suppliers who sell components or individual items like WireCare for TechFlex etc. Frutto Technology does not have an account here and therefor no Supporters membership is possible.

[Mercifull]

Mod came today. It Arrived in a static protection bag inside a well padded jiffy bag. Would have preferred something a bit more solid to protect from bashes and bumps but the one I have is fully intact with no signs of damage.

Extremely lightweight and professionally made. Appears to me to be a similar concept to Noah Voiding’s Groundhog and Patrick Conlons DIY solution but in a custom PCB. Mod comes presoldered/wired and is “plug n play”. Instructions were emailed to me and are very clear. Basically you take the male purple jst connector out of the relevant female on the pack board, plug that into the female on the mod, then use the male connector on the mod and plug into female on pack board. Then you just simply slip the switch into the dummy switch compartment on the pack. Secure in place with hot glue.

Here are some “unboxing” pictures. But I won’t have time until this evening or tomorrow to actually try installing it.

[Mercifull]

I’m installed this mod today and it’s fantastic. The hardest part was unscrewing the bazillion screws on the motherboard.

I cocked up and put the switch into the compartment backwards though so the on position is the opposite way to the normal switch. Not a massive deal but it’s bugging me so I’ll change it tomorrow. I’ll also take some pictures as well.

[AGiantSlor]

Is there any discernible sound or anything when the timer “resets?”

[Mercifull]

First things first remove the bellows, bumper, and cyclotron "cake". Recommend also removing the ion arm so its easier to lie down to work on.


The hardest bit is removing all the bloody screws from the motherboard!


These two screws are a slightly different size so keep these safe separate


The two screws either side of the screwdriver are the ones holding the filler tubes in place and these will fall off when you unscrew. When you put back together you may need to hold them into place.



Carefully pry off the motherboard and then disconnect the power cable (yellow JST connector) so you don't accidentally yank it off.


Disconnect the male purple JST connector from the female on the pack board and insert it onto the mod circuit board. I used hot glue to secure mine into place.


Then take the male white JST connector on the mod and insert it into the purple female connector on the pack board.


Remove any washers or locknuts from the switch on the mod and slide it into place where the dummy switch is. The first time I did it I put it the wrong way around so be sure to put the dummy switch in the correct position so it's "off" the same direction as the normal red switch. I used hot glue again to secure into place. On mine the switch had to peek out about 1-2mm as when I pushed it fully in the dummy switch no longer had a satisfying click. The mod is "on" when the switch is pointing the direction of the empty pin.



Switches in "off" position

Then once its all back together you toggle the normal red switch to the left if you want the pack to run as normal (and it will turn off after a few minutes) but if you want to activate the mod the turn the black switch to the on position. And that's it!

Simple... Plug n play... and a fraction (less than £14 / $17) of other peoples mods. Tbh by the time you've ordered the individual parts for Patrick Conlon's DIY solution it might even be cheaper than that too!

Gallery link and video: https://imgur.com/a/OkikOUU

[Nighty80]

Thanks for the write up Mercifull, just pre-ordered one
(Worth noting there’s also a US seller on Etsy taking pre-orders for the same, but they’re £28.84 - I figure without overseas shipping from the UK might be cheaper for our US friends?)

[Mercifull]

Frutto have a US partner for North American orders and Germany for mainland EU. I expect those will be better options than trying to order direct and dealing with shipping/customs yourself. £28 is still a bargain .

[Mercifull]

I’m told the US and U.K. Etsy stores are now sold out. Still stock on eBay if you know where to look.

[RealGhostbusterJay]

Nice Mod, I already have a groundhog coming but this is a nice one too with les to affix due to the dixie cup umbilical.

[Mercifull]

Is there any discernible sound or anything when the timer “resets?”

No. It is a solid state solution with a chip on PCB and not a mechanical relay. I gather that the Groundhog mod DOES use a mechanical relay although you can't hear it because of the epoxy in the stainless steel pot. But don't quote me on that, that's just what I heard and I don't have one in which to dismantle and check myself.

[jonogunn]

What is the red wrapping around the toggle switch?

[virusxero]

I've heard of a few different mods now and I'm curious are they all the same? Are they all going about keeping the pack on the same way or are they doing different things? (ex- one does a full restart vs one uses enough power to trick the pack to thinking a button was pushed or what?)

[Mercifull]

What is the red wrapping around the toggle switch?

It’s just a plastic sheathing/cap. I took mine off as it fitted better.

[Mercifull]

I've heard of a few different mods now and I'm curious are they all the same? Are they all going about keeping the pack on the same way or are they doing different things? (ex- one does a full restart vs one uses enough power to trick the pack to thinking a button was pushed or what?)

I can’t speak for ALL the mods but certainly this, the Groundhog and Patrick Conlon’s timer relay DIY solution work the same way. It’s basically tricking the pack into thinking the want is being toggled or triggered in some way effectively resetting the timer over and over again. They all use different components though. Noah Voiding appears to be a mechanical relay (although it’s embedded within a Dixie cup full of epoxy), Conlon uses a solid state timer board, and this will be solid state also but on a custom PCB which is significantly smaller as it doesn’t need all the buttons and screen to be able to customise and setup the timer.

[Nighty80]

Thanks for the write up Mercifull, just pre-ordered one
(Worth noting there’s also a US seller on Etsy taking pre-orders for the same, but they’re £28.84 - I figure without overseas shipping from the UK might be cheaper for our US friends?)

Mine arrived the other day and it's great!
Really impressed with it - essentially plug and play and does exactly what you'd expect. No recycling or anything noticeable in terms of sound/light glitches, the pack runs smoothly for as long as it's enabled (or until your batteries run out lol).
I've mounted the switch inside the cubby for now (not a fan of the tactile feel of the crank gen switch, but it does work there perfectly; you just need to secure it).




I'm going to replace the switch with a DPDT and use the other pole for the ion arm/'main' switch, so I effectively have one switch [to rule them all!]. I'll locate the new DPDT on the motherboard, at the bottom - and eventually plan to make a charge plate to mount it to - it'll make it much easier to reach whilst wearing

[Nighty80]

I'm going to replace the switch with a DPDT and use the other pole for the ion arm/'main' switch, so I effectively have one switch [to rule them all!]. I'll locate the new DPDT on the motherboard, at the bottom - and eventually plan to make a charge plate to mount it to - it'll make it much easier to reach whilst wearing

Now completed - and works a treat! Much easier to get to and only one switch to worry about.
Also worth noting that although I've chosen to remove the Ion arm switch and reroute to the motherboard, below the ALICE frame, I did notice the stock switch holder could easily be modified (or a new insert 3d printed) to allow the wider DP switch to fit - so if anyone wanted to integrate keep-alive into one switch and still keep it stock looking/location, they could.

Removed keep-alive switch and replaced with JST socket:


Replacement DP switch and extension cable:

(The keep-alive plugs into the normal purple socket on the controller, the other plug replaces Ion arm switch into white (SW1) controller socket)

Cable routed behind n-filter for cable access/switch clearance:




Et voila; one switch to rule them all:


In time I'll install a chargeplate and relocate the switch; I'll open out the current switch hole for cable access.

[Mercifull]

I’ve been testing out the latest Frutto mod, an always-on mod for the Spengler wand.

Functions:
1. Stealth mode - keeps the wand alive for more than the ~30 seconds timeout. Sadly doesn’t keep the pack alive beyond 3 minutes but works fine on batteries.

2. Demo mode - cycles through the firing sequences. Ideal for when on display in a table or something.

3. Fire mode - fires off whoever mode you’re on every ~25 seconds to keep wand and pack alive.

Mode 1 works great when running off batteries but if you plug the wand into your pack then they’ll still both shut down after 3 minutes unless you also have a pack always-on mod. I’m told that they are hoping to “fix” this in the next hardware revision but it’s not a big deal to me as I have a pack mod anyway.



Be warned though this mod is not for the feint hearted and requires significant soldering. Firstly you need to solder 8 wires to the mod board as it doesn’t come pre-soldered (not sure if the details version will come soldered or not). Then you have to desolder three wires from the original circuit board and solder them to the mod. Lastly you solder those 8 mod wires to the back of the original circuit board. The instructions are clear, but it’s not easy and some of the contact point are very close together so you need to be very careful you don’t glob a load of solder between two separate connections. You also need to be careful you don’t accidentally desolder or pull off any of the other wires on the circuit board.


I don’t really have any other pictures it was such a fiddly and stressful job that taking photos wasn’t high on my priority list.

It works well though. I’ll try to upload a video of it in action later.

[Mercifull]

Stealth mode /normal mode is the default.

To switch to demo mode you press and hold the orange “hat” while turning it on. To switch to auto fire mode you press the intensify button while turning it on.

Flipping all switches to off resets back to normal mode.

[Mercifull]

You’ll have to trust me it stays on for longer than 3 minutes as it would be a pretty boring video if I filmed it all.