The Aliens Legacy
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Tracker Screen (the easy way)
http://forum.alienslegacy.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19299		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  TS826 [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:11 am ]
Post subject:  Tracker Screen (the easy way)
https://youtu.be/wgQk_kIFuPw

Easy solution.
Next step is adding a speaker.
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 11:09 am ]
Post subject: 
What parts did you use? It looks great.
Author:  SulacoBoy [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re:
retrogarde wrote:
What parts did you use? It looks great.

This!
Author:  TS826 [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
The Viewer itself an actual Hama B101/3642, with the proper Vivitar pieces.
Built using the Hyperdyne guide.
Had trouble finding the large 1/4" stereo jack shown in the guide (since Radio Shack is pretty much non existent these days)
But the very same jack can be found as "Switchcraft 1/4" 6.5mm Right Angle Plug".

* Inside the Kango body, instead of the boxy female jack shown on the Hyper-Guide, I used a "NEUTRIK NYS2202"
Attachment:
NEUTRIK_NYS2202.jpg
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Less cutting, takes up less space, and is a little "fancier" on the outside.

The video screen is one of these:
"Craig 4GB MP3 Plus Video Player"

Attachment:
Craig01.jpg
Craig01.jpg [ 128.3 KiB | Viewed 5898 times ]


It has a touch screen, accepts MP3, JPG and AVI video files.
Comes with a mini CD to install the program that converts videos to .Avi that it can accept.
Can be found on the bay for under $20

Drops right in place inside the Hama viewer. No trimming, No cutting, No gluing.
Snap the lid back on the viewer and it locks in place.
Can be left as is, but if deciding to do a little trimming, the player can be moved closer to the lens and appear larger.

I used the video on this page as a first try.
https://www.hollywood-collectibles.com/ ... ctid=16589

The player automatically loops the video, so it just keeps going.

It has a mini headphone jack, so that is where the speaker is going to come into play.
I believe if the wires were stripped on a pair of mini headphones, you could even use the 1/4" jack as a connection.
Headphone jack in the Viewer... Speaker in the Kango.
Author:  SulacoBoy [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thank you!
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
Excellent! Thank you.
Author:  septic [ Tue Dec 22, 2020 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
TS826 wrote:
"Craig 4GB MP3 Plus Video Player"
... accepts MP3, JPG and AVI video files.
Comes with a mini CD to install the program that converts videos to .Avi that it can accept.

Very nice.

Some questions, please
- Any idea if it'll accept /run the animations for gif files too? Would you be able to test it?
- is there a d/load link for the software as well, some of us don't have CD players any more?
Author:  TS826 [ Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
I tried adding a Gif animation file and although it shows on screen as an available file, it doesn't seem to want to play it.
I also tried converting a MP4 to an Avi using VLC Media player, and when trying to playback, it gave an error as an incompatible file.

( VLC has a lot of sub-settings during conversion, so I may have just clicked the wrong ones )

It is sold by CRAIG Electronics.
craigelectronics.com
I'm guessing an email to them will determine if the converter is available online.

The conversion program which is included is called - "CMP648F AVI Converter".
But after installing, it then calls itself - "Nano AVIConverter 1.1.6"

With a little searching around, I am believing this video player is a knock-off of the iPod Nano 6th Gen.
Not sure if the overall dimensions between the Craig and the Ipod are exactly the same between the two, but if so, that may be another route to go.
Author:  septic [ Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:48 am ]
Post subject: 
Perfect! Cheers very much for the info!
Author:  seven [ Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:28 am ]
Post subject: 
you gotta be kidding me, that looks awesome, I love the depth of it.
I'm guilty of forgetting to actually be creative in my hunt for solutions to creative problems.
This is the type of thread that causes me to bang around in the shed until 4am like a mad scientist.
Author:  retrogarde [ Sat Dec 26, 2020 6:06 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ordered! Be careful though, they sell some rectangular ones in very similar packaging.
I wonder if a speaker could be fit behind it in the slide viewer (with some trimming to the player housing). I would love to have everything self contained right there, instead of opening my drill body back up. We'll see...
Author:  TS826 [ Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
Here is a video I pieced together using various clips and sounds scoured from the net.
* Aspect ratio altered to take up the full area, and a few seconds of beginning delay to allow the play/pause buttons to fade from the video player screen.

https://youtu.be/mn7QJIFK0Fw
(Fair warning... it includes a jump scare)

I would also suggest turning this (or any video you plan to use) sideways before loading into the player.
Doing so will allow you to point the headphone jack to the side, rather than the bottom, giving more room to work with.
I am also thinking, to minimize space, a right angle headphone plug will work better than a straight one.
Author:  nickblack423 [ Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thats a really excellent guide thanks for sharing
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:04 am ]
Post subject: 
I got my player and it has fully charged but it won't turn on. I'm still figuring it out...
Author:  bigbisont [ Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
Took a chance on this guy to try the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083F ... UTF8&psc=1

It cost a little more, but has a slightly larger screen at 1.8" and does fit in the housing without cutting. I haven't fired it up yet, but hopes are very high.

Also if you did want to cut some brackets, you could remove the lamp portion and the aperture/hole for the slide area is EXACTLY the same size as this screen, so you could mount it behind the slide mount area for a possibly larger final image? I still need to play around with it.
Author:  retrogarde [ Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:56 pm ]
Post subject: 
That is awesome Bigbisont. My player is a total bust.
Author:  TS826 [ Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
Retro.
It won't turn on?

I did notice the controls respond better when you slide (swipe) your finger a bit, rather than just straight up tapping the screen.

* Also, the instructions mention to charge it for about 10 hours, the first time.
Author:  retrogarde [ Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:20 pm ]
Post subject: 
I left it plugged in for a full day, but I can try charging it again. Good to know about the finger slide.
Author:  bigbisont [ Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
I finally played around with this, and it works great.

Converting the mp4 tracker video into an 'AMV/AVI' proved a pain in the butt. The linked model doesn't play MP4 or regular AVI. I went to the devices 'Jolike' website and downloaded pretty sketchy 90s style software to convert it into the desired AMV/AVI file. I tried to upload it to this post but I guess AMV files are not allowed.

The good news is it DOES work. It IS awesome and I am pretty happy. The volume is actually pretty loud even without a speaker. I'm not sure you can hear it in a crowded convention hall, but my living room is full of sound even without anything hooked up.

In any case, thanks again for the idea TS826.
Author:  retrogarde [ Wed Mar 10, 2021 3:48 am ]
Post subject: 
Attachment:
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Woo-hoo! Thanks guys!
Author:  gman666 [ Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
I have not been able to find one of these on ebay so I might have to go the Amazon route. This is great.

Thanks!

Greg
Author:  retrogarde [ Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:20 pm ]
Post subject: 
Greg, I couldn't get the eBay one to turn on, so I opted for the one Bigbisont found. That worked straight away so I am pretty chuffed.
It looks great in person and is really quite loud.
I have some thoughts on making a really accurate video to play on this. I will report back with progress!

TS826 thank you so much for kicking all this off, having video and audio for my Tracker has been a dream for years now!
Author:  bigbisont [ Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
On a whim I tried uploading this again. Did it work? Seems like the upload worked, but does the file work once downloaded from here?

Attachments:
motion_tracker (1).avi [4.77 MiB]
Downloaded 122 times
Author:  propmainiac [ Thu Apr 27, 2023 11:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
bought the same player as Bigbisont and this player keeps giving me a format error
Author:  knoxvilles_joker [ Fri Apr 28, 2023 2:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tracker Screen (the easy way)
propmainiac wrote:
bought the same player as Bigbisont and this player keeps giving me a format error


the internals may have changed since there might have been a production split...
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