Technical Specification...
There are now two different set-ups of ROM/FX to choose from, the 'Classic' and the 'Pro'. I now also have an 'Upload Kit' which allows you to change all of the sounds on your ROM/FX (all versions) from your PC.
Info Point: The 'Classic' kit can be upgraded to the 'Pro' kit for a fee. Please email me for more details.
Info Point: The ROM/FX circuit board is wrapped in clear heat shrink plastic which protects all of the components. For additional moisture protection I supply a PCB Balloon in the kit to put the whole circuit board in (photos coming soon). If you plan to mount the circuit board in your helmet or close to the body where heat and perspiration can build up, this is the ideal solution. You can purchase small ABS hobby boxes from electronics stores if you wish to mount the circuit board inside a box. A box is not supplied as standard to keep the costs down and also reduce the weight and the size of the kit. The heat shrink wrap is very robust and along with the PCB Balloon has proven to be perfect at protecting the board in all manner of situations.
Please read through the following details which explain all you need to know about the 'Classic, 'Pro' and 'Upload Kit' features...
The ROM/FX 'Classic' Sound Board, "Static Burst Voice Amp", features include:-
Voice amplifier.
On/Off switch.
Volume control.
Mode select button.
Feature UP button.
Feature DOWN button.
3.5mm jack socket - speaker output.
3.5mm jack socket - microphone input.
PP3 style battery snap connector with short-circuit protection.
8
different 'auto' static/click sounds pre-programmed in.
You also get a unidirectional microphone (a 12" lead with the mic on one end and a 3.5mm jack plug on the other) and an 8 watt speaker (a 2m lead with the cased speaker on one end and a 3.5mm jack plug on the other) with the kit.
The supplied microphone is covered in heat shrink. It has a stiff, bendable wire inside the heat shrink so when you mount it you can bend the microphone into the perfect position in front of your mouth.
The 9V battery connector will accept a standard PP3 9V battery, however you can use 8 1.5v AA batteries giving 12 volts in total which will give longer run times and more volume. I highly recommend using the 12v set-up, but please bear in mind that you must not go over 12 volts. The unit does have built in short circuit protection, so if you accidentally put the battery terminals around the wrong way it won't fry the board.
The ROM/FX board's built in amplifier kicks out 4 watts at 8 ohms from a 9v supply (1 x PP3) or 6 watts at 8 ohms from a 12v supply (8 x AA's). You get an 8 watt/8 ohm speaker supplied with the kit.
The different modes are selected with the Mode select button and are adjusted using the feature UP and DOWN buttons. Here is a description of the 5 modes on the board:-
Mode 1: Bandwidth Mode - Go from normal clear speech to 'Radio Chatter / Walkie Talkie' style speech on a sliding scale to create the Trooper voice effect.
Mode 2: Time Mode - Adjusts the amount of time you need to talk for before the static/click sound sample kicks in after you stop talking.
Mode 3: Delay Mode - Set how long or short the time is before the static/click sound sample is activated to play after you stop talking.
Mode 4: Level Mode - Set how loud you have to talk to activate the board. This allows you to set the volume at which you need to speak into the microphone so that the microphone and amplifier are not constantly on. This helps reduce feedback and stops the amplifier from accidental triggering if you cough or breath too heavily into the microphone.
Mode 5: Static Burst Mode - Toggle the sound static/click samples on or off.
Here is a more detailed Mode instruction sheet for the ROM/FX Sound Board:-
After switching on the ROM/FX Sound Board, and after the start-up sound has played, you can cycle through the five modes by pressing the Mode button.
When you have selected the mode you wish to adjust, use the Up and Down buttons to cycle through the scale of adjustment.
Here is a description of the five Modes:-
Bandwidth Mode: The higher the value, the clearer your voice will sound. The lower the value, the more your voice is transformed to create the Trooper effect.
Time mode: The higher the value, the longer talk time is required to trigger the clicks/static sounds.
Delay mode: The amount of silence before triggering of clicks/static sound occurs after you stop talking.
Level mode: The higher the value, the quieter you need to talk to trigger the board. The lower the value, the louder you need to talk to trigger the board . (This setting helps to reduce feedback and avoids heavy breathing or coughing setting off the amplifier and clicks/static sounds).
Static Burst mode: With this mode you can toggle the static burst sounds on or off for use with other characters such as Bounty Hunters, Scouts etc.
(Note: The Time Mode and Delay Mode intervals causes a difference of approximately 100ms.)
Dimensions:-
The ROM/FX 'Pro' Sound Board, "Static Burst Voice Amp":-
Along with all of the above, the ROM/FX 'Pro' also includes three extra buttons on long wires coming off the board which can be used to trigger one sound per button of your choice. Blaster sounds, bleeps, clicks, anything really. Let me know at the time of purchase and I will upload the 3 sound samples of your choice.
As an example, the buttons can be mounted at the edge of your helmet or you can feed them down to your hand or glove, basically anywhere you can press them discreetly to play the desired extra sounds. Of course the main part of the ROM/FX, the Trooper effect and auto-static burst still work without any button presses. These three buttons are great fun and add some neat extra sound effects to be played when you're in costume to really bring it to life! I can supply a list of .wav file examples for you to choose your 3 sounds from. Please email me for the list: john@romfx.com
The 'Pro' kit also includes the custom 3 x battery snap lead and 2 x 4AA Battery boxes (batteries not included) which gives you the ultimate 12 volt power supply which can be easily and evenly mounted and will give the longest run times and highest volume when compared to a standard single 9V PP3 battery (the ROM/FX board's built in amplifier kicks out 4 watts at 8 ohms from a 9v supply (1 x PP3) or 6 watts at 8 ohms from a 12v supply (8 x AA's). You get an 8 watt/8 ohm speaker supplied with the kit).
The new 'Upload Kit' comes with PC Software, a small circuit board which plugs into the Com 1 port of your Windows based PC and a lead which plugs into the ROM/FX and the circuit board. Simply copy the software from the supplied CD-ROM to your PC, connect the lead to the ROM/FX and circuit board and plug the circuit board into Com 1 on your PC, run the software and you're off!
The software allows you to select a WAV file for each of the 8 static/click sample slots and all 5 mode slots as well as the start-up sound and 3 extra sound effect button slots. Also supplied on the CDROM are the original sound samples, some extra sound samples, a freeware .wav editor allowing you to save your .wav files in the correct format for the ROM/FX, and a freeware text-to-speech program to create your TK ID phrase samples.
Info Point: The 'Upload Kit' is compatible with the older V1.0, V2.0 and V2.1 ROM/FX kits! (Some functions are not available on the older boards. Please email me for details: john@romfx.com)