Voice Modulator Update

     Voila!

     There you have it! This is a shot of my modulator in its current state. All of the soldered components are on the board. The next steps are heat sinks, fitting it into the project box and wiring it out to all of the peripheral components. Honestly it may be some time before I have everything in place to really test things out, but I am pleased with the progress so far. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all soldering this together. I was very careful concerning heat and static, but we'll see if I was careful enough before long. I do have spare ICs in case I ruined them somehow. (Those were inserted after this picture was taken, but they're in too.)
     I'm going to be shopping for the peripheral parts of the sound system in the coming days, but I now also look ahead to the next phase. As I mentioned briefly, I'd like to get the fender and base of the Dalek together, as it will power and support the rest of him. This will involve welding, which is a discipline I am hesitant to simply jump into, buy equipment for and have a go. Fortunately for me, I do have a good friend a short drive away who is going to be assisting me (yet again) in matters Dalek. He's got some welding chops, and a garage, which is perfect. I'll just show up with some wood and a Jazzy scooter, and off we'll go!
     I hope I'll pick up some welding skill or at least an introductory familiarity with it. Enough not to burn my, or anyone else's face off. That's what a large part of this project is about anyway. (Not burning my face off, but skill acquisition)
     A quick story about how this crazy project has already been validated for usefulness in the real world:
     At work this week, I was confronted with a problem. a $2500 ID Badge Printer had been damaged and was brought in for me to inspect. The USB connector on the back of the printer had been yanked and was broken. Quickly researching the parts, I found that the circuit board containing the damaged connector would cost the company $600. Better than a whole new printer, of course, but still not small change. So, I tried something else.
     We had an old laser printer collecting dust on my shelf. And yes, this laser printer used the same USB-B connection that the fancy ID printer used, so what did I do? I drove home and grabbed the electronics kit I've been assembling for the Dalek. I was able to desolder the component I needed from the laser as well as the broken one from the ID printer, and replace it. Cost? The price of a single Torx driver that I needed to get at the ID printer's board. So, just like that, $600 saved all because of a Dalek Voice Modulator.
     More to come on the Modulator, as well as the base. Stay tuned!

-Scionic