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Omaha Theater #5 - Page 11

post #301 of 321
11/28/12 at 3:03pm
Thread Starter 
So I've been pretty happy with the automation all being run by the apps on the tablet. The one caveat is the Behringer amps, since they have physical rocker switches for power I have to go and turn them on and off manually if we want to watch a movie. I've been searching for all kinds of high tech solutions to this; zwave sockets, insteon, RF, other stuff.

I found a solution that is working and is so low tech!



A power strip that has some switched outlets, controlled by one main outlet. I have the Onkyo receiver as the switcher and the amps are in the switched sockets. When I hit the power macro on the tablet and it turns on the receiver, this outlet strip supplies power to the behringers. As long as I leave the rocker switches in the 'ON' position, they are now controlled via the tablet! Simple and cheap solution as long as it holds up over time.
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post #302 of 321
11/28/12 at 3:47pm
That looks like a pretty cool solution! Where'd you find that?
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post #303 of 321
11/29/12 at 3:51am
Nice solution! I had a similar solution myself with "remote controlled sockets". Just watch out if you add more Behringers - when turned on they draw full power in a short amount of time. I had 5 and when they were turned on simultaneously, the sockets couldn't handle it and stopped working. I then got Crown amps - no problems smile.gif
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post #304 of 321
12/5/12 at 7:35am
I had a chance to go back over to nebrunner's last night to take some measurements and change the EQ settings in the DCX2496. After I was there last time, he changed a setting on the receiver (I can't remember what it was) that messed things up. We took a measurement of what we were starting with. Then we disconnected the speaker and measured the DTS-10 and the Growler separately by muting outputs on the DCX2496. The crossovers were set and the distance settings between DTS-10, Growler, and mains were adjusted for the best integration. We ended up with 14.5 ft for the mains and entered another 9 ms for the DTS-10 and 11.64 ms for the Growler. I added some filters to output 1 & 2 and remeasured. This smoothed things out quite a bit, but the crossover region of both subs still needed some EQ. I then added a few more filters on Input A which provided EQ to the combined output of both subs. Finally we had a nice looking frequency response with some extra room gain on the bottom end. I pulled down below 20 Hz by adding a low shelf filter at 20 Hz of -2.5 dB and a 12 dB/octave roll off. Here are graphs of what we started with and where we ended up.





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post #305 of 321
12/5/12 at 8:13am
Hi, i would not recommend the auto switched power strip since it isn't likely to handle the amp current surge over time. At least I'd carefully check the rating. I ended up designing and building my own (I realize this solution isn't for everyone). Then someone pointed out some relays from Furman in this post.

Cheers
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post #306 of 321
12/5/12 at 8:32am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the link Moggie, those look like a nice product. Furman sound must be very proud of those as it looks like it would take me two of them at a cost of over $700 to do what my $35 power strip is doing now. Moggie when you say it wont be able to handle it over time, what will eventually happen?
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post #307 of 321
12/5/12 at 9:11pm
I didn't realize the Furman was so expensive!
I have one of the first generation smart switches at work and once had a couple of large printer/copier machines attached. On turn on the relay made quite a popping sound almost like it was undersized. I read the manual for the device you posted and they claim it is now in its second generation and can handle 15A switched loads. Therefore if you are just connecting a single amp you should be ok.
(My home made unit uses quality 30A relays and just this part is close to the cost of the whole smart switch which makes me a little skeptical.)
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post #308 of 321
12/6/12 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Moggie you talked me into it, I ordered a set. I called Furman, they said that the powerport won't do what I need by itself, it takes a separate relay to trigger it so I ordered one of those as well. I didn't order the rack mount kit...yet.
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post #309 of 321
12/6/12 at 5:01pm
Ok, so you are going high end wink.gif ... and doing the job right. The good news is that the Furman will last a lifetime and you can relax about it rather than worrying whether the smart strip is going to burn out.
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post #310 of 321
1/23/13 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
Moggie the Furman works like a charm. Yeah it was expensive but you are right, nice to have a reliable commercial quality piece of hardware in there. We have been enjoying the theater and the new addition to our family (already 6 months old!) a lot lately. Good times.

Over the weekend I started on my next project. It isn't theater related, it's for the gameroom, but I figured some people on here might be interested in this sort of thing:

Cabinet emptied and cleaned. Still need to fill holes, sand, primer:



Software set up and configured, loaded in a few different tables to test out. It works and looks great! Much better looking in person, sorry for the poor quality cel phone pictures:







This is some other guys finished cabinet, gives an idea of the look that I am going for:

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post #311 of 321
1/23/13 at 8:43am

I love the new project!  Do you have any other pins?  I have around a dozen machines right now, but have been considering building a virtual pin.  I am curious to see what you think once it is done.

 

Nick

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post #312 of 321
1/23/13 at 8:31pm
Nebrunner, Just finished reading through your build thread. Fantastic results. Its almost surprising to see how many people from the Omaha area have builds on this site. I too am living in Omaha and just got started on my basement too.

Cheers,
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post #313 of 321
1/24/13 at 2:14pm
Chris

If you want to use my 18V airless paint gun to paint your cabinet it will put a pretty slick paint job on it.
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post #314 of 321
1/29/13 at 6:28am
Hey, nebrunner, I had a question about getting OC703 locally in Omaha (I asked in the Omaha GTG thread but haven't got a response yet). I see that you used it in your theater (2" thick?) and was wondering if you bought it locally or had it shipped in. Some years back I had found some at Mid-Plains insulation but I haven't called them yet to see if they still carry it. Shipping costs for the stuff seems a bit steep so I was hoping to get some from a local supplier.

Thanks for any help and I love the theater!
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post #315 of 321
2/2/13 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
Ngiovas - Wow 12 pinball machines! PM me over a link to a photo of them. I do not have any other pinball machines, I wish I had room for 12. My wife thinks that one pinball machine and one full size upright arcade game is MORE than enough.

Skip welcome to the forum. There are some amazing Omaha theaters on here. Check out Woolly's thread and HuskerOmaha, HO's thread is not in the dedicated theater area, you will have to search for it. There is in Elkhorn who has the most amazing sound system you can imagine, he showed it off to all of us back in October. I don't think he has a build thread on here though.

Woolly thanks, I bought an airbrush and I have been watching youtube videos on airbrushing each night before bed. I have never airbrushed in my life but I have myself fooled into thinking I can do it. I will tell you one thing, watching an hour long video of a guy painting a tower of flaming skulls, then heading straight to bed - guaranteed to give you some crazy dreams!!!

Angryht - I did buy a bunch, I wish I knew the name or the address of the place I bought it from. It was actually Anders who drove me over to pick it up in his truck, I think it was just down south of the hill from where that InPhase Car Audio place is off 144th'ish and L. Probably not much help for you though sorry frown.gif I do know it was a commercial insulation and maybe refrigeration place, not a retail store front. It was cheap, $6 a sheet.

New picture, I have been laying out all the parts on a sheet of wood the size of the pinball base, to make sure everything will fit. There is a lot of stuff that goes inside, solenoids, motors, amplifier, pc, extra power supply, etc.

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post #316 of 321
2/2/13 at 6:45pm

Nebrunner,

 

I will have to get some current photos, but if you scroll down in this link, you can see some of the machines:

 

PINBALLS

 

I also have a 14 foot big ball bowler, a 1969 helicopter game, a '70s Ambush machine gun game and a Bally Skill Roll.  I'm guessing that I will have to rotate them so that the room isn't too packed.  Luckily I built a pinball workshop in the basement where I have plenty of room to store some games.

 

I almost built a MAME cabinet, but I was worried my sons wouldn't play it since all of the modern video games are so amazing.

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post #317 of 321
2/3/13 at 5:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NGiovas View Post

Nebrunner,

I will have to get some current photos, but if you scroll down in this link, you can see some of the machines:

PINBALLS

I also have a 14 foot big ball bowler, a 1969 helicopter game, a '70s Ambush machine gun game and a Bally Skill Roll.  I'm guessing that I will have to rotate them so that the room isn't too packed.  Luckily I built a pinball workshop in the basement where I have plenty of room to store some games.

I almost built a MAME cabinet, but I was worried my sons wouldn't play it since all of the modern video games are so amazing.
Very niceset of machines Nick. Pins are going to be a casualty in my Home Theater quest. I sold a 1984 Willams Space Shuttle on Friday to buy a screen/projector deal. I just need to get a space to build in now. I am leaning towards a modest house addition for the theater. (I need to update my thread with that design). My Wife is actively fighting because she just doesn't see the need for a dedicated space. It is much easier for me to pull rank at work. I have positional power there...none at home. Back to Pins - I am down to a single machine, World Poker Tour.

Nebrunner - Those multi machines really interest me. I played one at the Southern Pinball Festival in late 2011. Even if you don't get comfortable with an air brush, I would think you could find several folks that paint for a living.... Like an auto body shop. A high gloss enamel would look great on there. I cannot imagine it is outrageously expensive. seems like there ate places that will paint a car for $200. I am also assuming that decals would be available for the cabinet and backbox. If you can swing it, a physical machine in the gameroom space would be cool. I think that would be a nice contrast to what you are trying to build. I have cycled through about 6 different machines over the last 9 years. I think I have pretty much kept my equity. Sometimes trading up, and sometimes trading down. So, you are not really locked in to one machine for ever. Keep us posted on the pinball progress.
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post #318 of 321
2/3/13 at 6:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nebrunner View Post

Angryht - I did buy a bunch, I wish I knew the name or the address of the place I bought it from. It was actually Anders who drove me over to pick it up in his truck, I think it was just down south of the hill from where that InPhase Car Audio place is off 144th'ish and L. Probably not much help for you though sorry frown.gif I do know it was a commercial insulation and maybe refrigeration place, not a retail store front. It was cheap, $6 a sheet.
Thanks, nebrunner. I wonder if it was the same place. I got mine Friday from Mid-Plains Insulation at 146th and just south of Industrial. They were 2' by 4' by 2" thick OC 703 for about $11 each. Thought it was a pretty good deal but not as good as $6 each. Love the pin machines, they look very cool!
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post #319 of 321
3/1/13 at 5:28pm
Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth-my wife has been taking camera classes so maybe I should drag her over to your theater to take pictures so I can play the arcade games...sound like a plan? wink.gif

Looking. Awesome.
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post #320 of 321
3/1/13 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah lets do that, we can wait till it warms up a bit. I'd like to say I had done more on the pinball cab but I need to do the stuff in the garage and it has been way too cold to get motivated for that kind of thing. I have been installing and configuring all the different pinball tables, which does take some time. Up to 75 or so now.
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post #321 of 321
5/16/13 at 1:30pm
Thread Starter 
With the weather warming up finally I've been able to get some new projects done. One thing that I have wanted for a while was a nice finished deck for the rear seats, to give them an extra inch of lift so you can see over any tall people that may be sitting in the front row.









Very simply made out of some left over scraps from the theater rear platform then covered with some cheap exterior carpeting from Menards.

And I also got a new toy in the mail yesterday, my work on the pinball machine is going to slow down for a while:

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