the story so far: searching for a DIY pad solution

Antonym wrote:weird.

velostat is also used in aluminum foil helmet type thought protectors:



http://www.stopabductions.com/main.htm

no joke

LMAO!!!!!!!

.... wow ....... you are on a serious mission bro.... hofully u can find somthing that works

honestly i've already found something that works, which is tin foil, but it's not velocity sensitive.

compression is the name of the game, need something that lowers the resistance when it is compressed ala the original black squares. just need larger squares for maximum coverage so it won't get worn out.

however, we still want akai to upgrade the whole pad structure because the current setup (scanning system instead of interlink FSRs) will never be as good as other mpc models (all of which use FSRs, i think even the 500).

meanwhile, i'm trying to maximize what we have instead of relying on the original POS design.

but yeah how funny is it that the matl that i've been searching for (staying up til 3 on my laptop browsing and browsing the internet, stoned out of my gourd at some times) turns out to be used in ALIEN DEFLECTION DEVICES (ADD). i will brag and say the same stuff's in my mpc. that's wacky

hey thats what the teachers said I had back in grade 5 A.D.D. .......

Only two failures from standard thought screen helmets have been reported since 1998. A third failure in 2005 was from a cloth helmet with a smaller square area of Velostat and a Velcro strap which was easily removed by an alien hybrid.


i thought velcro was nasa type space steez. apparently we left some on the moon and the space creatures have mastered its complexities.

http://www.sensyr.com/store/index.php?a ... roductId=5

velostat used in propellant actuated device, interestingly connecting to an 8th inch jack.

Product Information

This sensor changes resistance as force is applied (0 to 100 grams). The sensor element is comprised of 3M Velostat™ plastic film and can be made in many sizes and shapes; normally this antistatic conductive film is sandwiched between sheets of copper foil to which electrode wires are soldered.

[/quote]

great work nym!

a suggestion: if you go to an automotive trim shop, they should have some sticky backed vinyl. then you could cut out two large squares of it with 16 smaller squares cut out of each of those, and then peel one off it's backing, and lay the graphite/velostat/whatever squares over the holes, then lay the other vinyl sheet over that lot glue side down, so you have a flexible sheet holding the conductive squares.

here's a pic:

that's ideal, modnar. brilliant. offhand, i don't know any stores like that, but i'll most definitely look it up immediately, as the "Sandwich" method you detailed would work way better than any other adhesive method. i might even leave the upper layer of vinyl uncut, so that from the top it'd appear as if there was no velostat at all - i'll have to experiment.

fyi, the mpd pads have the copper tracks/graphite/airgap all in one unit as it were, just one big sandwich, there is no fibreglass pcb gubbins.

also, out of interest, do you have a multimeter? if so, could you try measuring the resistance across one of the squares of graphite from the original pads, and see if the resistance changes when pressure is applied? thanks.

i don't have said multimeter, but i have learned from experimentation, tons of internet googling, and an email from jj that the rubber does indeed change resistance.

actually, you are right and wrong about the mpd. the mpd is all in one, and it's indeed one big sandwhich. there isn't any fiberglass, individual pad frame bs. the mpd and other mpcs have the same type of pads. they utilize either interlink sensors or something exactly similar. interlink sensors will always function better than what we are using, because our current hardware SCANS rather than senses immediate resistivity drops (pressure).




if i disappear one day, it's because i know too much

because our current hardware SCANS rather than senses immediate resistivity drops (pressure).

please explain. both should be scanned. all mpcs are computers of sorts, and hence have to take samples of data with each clock pulse. there's no such thing as an analog computer. if however you mean that the 1k has a scan matrix and others have each pad scanned individually, then i could understand your reasoning. however, depending on the scan frequency, there will be no detectable difference in latency between the two types.

if however you mean that the 1k has a scan matrix and others have each pad scanned individually, then i could understand your reasoning.

from what i understand, this is the issue. on the mpc1000 pad circuit board, the 8 lower pads are scanned by 1 gadget, the other 8 by another. i BELIEVE the interlink models don't have this grouped scan type thing.

my theory is that they do not, and since they don't, that style of pad will always be better than what we have. whether or not we will notice this, or care, is another matter. when my mpc1000 pads function happily, i am plenty pleased with them and wouldn't need anything better (even though i'm making something better, but that's besides the point).

there will be no detectable difference in latency between the two types.

this is what i'm banking on when i release my performance pad kit. no matter what, FSRs without moving parts are gonna be btter than fsrs WITH moving parts, simply because of wear and tear. fortunately, that won't be the case with what i'm doing since the added support of the vinyl ala your idea as well as the silicon/vinyl sleeve spacer that goes in between the velostat and the sensor will give it significantly better hold. not to mention, the velostat squares will be bigger than those provided by akai.

Antonym wrote:i might even leave the upper layer of vinyl uncut, so that from the top it'd appear as if there was no velostat at all - i'll have to experiment.

forgot to mention. i'd do this so that there'd be even more adhesion to the vinyl, making sure that the velostat wouldn't slide over time. it'd have nowhere to go, esp if i added a little stitch in the vinyl right around the edge of the goddamn velostat

so excited about this.