[Lab] Is Bucko still on the list?

[Chris B TBP]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the lovely message! I am still on the list though a very  
quiet lurker these days.

Here's some answers to your questions:

1) My chair's state is slightly different than last year. There's a  
new ventilator mounted on the back of it (not a fan of the new
vent, but the space saving is nice).

I've got two music gear set ups:

a) Mobile Soundsystem: A plexiglass shelf gets mounted to my  
footrests. It holds a 400 watt Pyle portable amp. There's velcro
on it to attach USB battery packs (to power iPhone) and a lithium ion  
battery to power LED strip. iPhone that has a mount of its
own gets plugged into amp, 5m strip of LED lights wraps around chair.  
That's how I busked the previous two summers.
Haven't busked at all this year, as I'm no longer living downtown.  
#suburbssuck

b) PA set up: iPhone mounted on chair patched into PA, LED lights  
wrapped around, powered by lithium ion battery.
I've tried to DJ with the iPhone using Traktor Audio 2 interface for  
headphone monitoring but came across power problems.
Some sort of grounding issue while trying to connect to a PA.

The apps I use on my iPhone are Figure for music making and Traktor or  
iDJ for DJing.

2) My LEDs aren't programmable ones. They're a basic 5m strip set to a  
slow fade pattern going through multiple colours. The
only time I ever had Arduino or Teensy driven LEDs is during Nuit  
Blanche and Chinatown Remixed Festival. For Nuit Blanche,
Henri Kuschkowitz was gracious to mount and program a strip of LEDs.  
They were doing a chase effect if I remember correctly.
I could change the speed of them. We talked about using proximity  
sensors to trigger the lights but I don't think we did.
For Chinatown Remixed, I had a frankenstein panel of programmable LEDs  
powered by Teensy and connected to a laptop.
These lights had a pattern triggered by the sounds I created. iPhone  
audio was patched through the laptop and then out to
the portable amp. Haven't used that set up again.

3) I have no idea how much power my set up is drawing! I don't use an  
inverter. Just 10,000 mAh lithium USB packs for the
iPhone. For the lights the lithium battery is maybe 9,800 mAh if I  
remember correctly. The 5m LED strip can last up to two hours
before a fully charged battery is drained. I've been told that I  
shouldn't be using these batteries as their meant for a slow discharge
for a security camera.. but they've worked for me so far.


I'd like to re-do my Mobile Soundsystem setup as the plexiglass shelf  
and amp extend the front of my chair. With the added length
I'm unable to take accessible taxis and it is very tricky maneuvering  
on OC Transpo. That's one of the reasons I've stopped busking.

Thanks for the interest in my set up, Jason. It's not a super maker  
type rig, no arduino's or complex power systems. The simpler
set up has worked though since I don't have a dedicated tech for  
performance! ;)

It would be fun to do more elaborate set ups for specific performances  
and also have more interesting LEDs that are easy to
take on and off the chair.

Best wishes,

Chris / Bucko




On 6-Aug-15, at 11:01 AM, Jason Cobill wrote:

>
>    Hey Bucko - if you're reading this:
>    I missed you at Tangled but I saw the videos on your facebook  
> page - your music is rad and the chair is looking flippin' amazing.
>
>    1) What state's your chair in these days? What's your music gear  
> setup look like? It looks like you're using an iPad or something as  
> your music interface? Are you carrying speakers or patching into the  
> audio board at the club?
>
>    2) It looks like you're driving a bunch of programmable LED  
> cables - how are you cycling the colour? The way you have them  
> looped from the front to back reminds me of the new LED "Tubulum"  
> backpacks that the Blue Man Group wear - every time they hit a Midi  
> pad a light "runs" down the tube. (I can't find any good videos of  
> their new packs. The effect is really cool!)
>
>    3) How much power are you drawing with your setup, and where's it  
> coming from? Are you running it off a second battery with an  
> inverter? What's your battery life like?
>
>    Can you do a show & tell on the mailing list? :) I'd love to see  
> where things are at.
>
>    -Jason Cobill
>
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