Plug your speaker into the stereo port on the MP3 Trigger board and not the Shadow board.
--- ### MDFly Sound Board This is the simpler of the two options that I have tried so far since the Shadow board makes it as simple as "plug and play" with the included header that perfectly fits the MDFly sound board. The Arduino Sketch for SHADOW comes pre-configured for this board so no changes are necessary.**Author Note**: This is my current setup
#### Requirements - 1 x SD Card (not micro) with enough space and formatted as FAT32. I am using a really old 1 GB Sandisk I had laying around. #### Installation With the Shadow board in front of you with the stereo jack pointing to the right, insert the MDFly board with the SDCard port (bottom) facing the Stereo jack (as below). [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2024-01/1000021657.jpg) #### Setting up the sound files Similar to the Sparkfun board, we'll need to rename the files for the MDFly to play the correct sounds for us. Rename your file to be 3-digits and the extension instead of a prefix based system like the Sparkfun. **Example** - 001.mp3 - 002.mp3 - ... - 199.mp3 This board supports from 1 to 199 files total but it is severely unlikely you'll need that many. I'd suggest setting up 7 to 14 files, more is overkill and not possible to trigger properly with one controller. #### Update the Arduino SketchNone, the SHADOW sketch is configured for the MDFly sound board by default!
--- ### Button Mapping The default button mapping for the sound files for SHADOW are as below, remember, prefix your filename with the appropriate number. - D-pad Up - Sound 001 - D-pad Right - Sound 002 - D-pad Down - Sound 003 - D-pad Left - Random Sound 001-015 - Circle/L2 + D-pad Up - Sound 004 - Cross/L2 + D-pad Right - Sound 005 - Not Available/L2 + D-pad Down - Sound 006 - Not Available/L2 + D-pad Left - Sound 015 - L1 + D-pad Up - Volume Up - L1 + D-pad Right - Sound 019 - L1 + D-pad Down - Volume Down - L1 + D-pad Left - Sound 018 --- ### Troubleshooting ##### No Sound 1. **Common Problems** 1. Did you load the sound files to an SD Card 2. Did you name the files with the appropriate prefixes or names based on the board you are using 3. Does your speaker have it's own volume control or Mute 4. Is your PS3 move controller paired and connected with your Shadow system. 2. **Sparkfun** 1. Make sure you plug the speaker into the MP3 Trigger board and not the Shadow Master board. 2. Did you flip the power switch on the board from "EXT" to "USB" 3. Did you comment out the MDFly code block shown above. 3. **MDFly** 1. Did you name the files appropriately ? 2. Is the board installed backwards ? #### Hissing noises ##### Common Ground Interference A common problem with electronics like this is "common ground interference", since so many other components are connected to the same ground in the system any of them can add some feedback into the ground which subsequently gets fed into your audio. The simple solution is to use an Audio Isolator like this. ( [Example](https://a.co/d/i25ZJ7d) ) [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2024-01/common-ground-audio-isolator.jpg)External Interference # Control Map This page describes the default button mapping for the the SHADOW MSE edition system. ### Default (L2 Throttle) Config Pressing these buttons or pointing the stick in the direction noted without pressing other buttons will trigger the simple action as described on the following cards. [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/Cs5shadow-ctrl-card1.png) [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/shadow-ctrl-card2.png)| #### Button | #### Action | #### Note |
| **L1 ( Trigger 1 )** | Engage Reverse | Hold L1 and then L2 when the droid is stopped to move in reverse |
| **L2 ( Trigger 2 )** | Throttle Up | This is your "gas" pedal |
| **L3 ( Press Stick )** | Random Sound | Plays a random sound file between 1 and 15 |
| **Joystick Left** | Steer Left | |
| **Joystick Right** | Steer Right | |
| **Joystick Up** | --Reserved-- | \*\* JS Up & Down can be used for throttle after changing the Shadow sketch \*\* |
| **Joystick Down** | --Reserved-- | |
| **X (cross)** | Sound 005 | |
| **O (circle)** | Sound 006 | |
| **D-Pad Up** | Sound 001 | |
| **D-Pad Right** | Sound 002 | |
| **D-Pad Down** | Sound 003 | |
| **D-Pad Left** | Sound 004 | |
| **PS ( Playstation )** | Power / Pair |
Soldering is usually required.
The common USB-A host shield available for purchase right now (as of 2023) requires varying levels of soldering before it will work. The intent is to allow the end-user to decide some settings based on the specific use-case they are building for. In practice though, nearly everyone have the same settings requirements.Save yourself time and buy this board instead ( [buy here](https://tinkersphere.com/shields/731-usb-host-shield-for-arduino.html#/pre_soldered_jumpers-yes_5v_3_3v_and_vbus_jumpers/chip-74ahc125d) )
### Identifying your board Ok, so you want to know if the USB-A shield you have requires soldering, it probably does. But what if your really uncertain or want to make absolutely sure ? Fine, is your board laid out like the one below ?The color of the shield doesn't matter, it's the layout of the items on the shield that matters ! Common Board Colors: Blue, White
[](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/710ojxwgbdl-ac-sl1500.jpg) ### Configuring the Board This board provides several power settings between 3.3 and 5 volts. For S.H.A.D.O.W. For our purpose, we will enable both 3.3V and 5V input but only set the 5V VBUS power control.If it smells like chicken cooking, get your fingers off the hot end
Where do i put the solder if not my hand ? I'll show you! You'll want to "bridge" the two little separate bars within the 3.3V and 5V ground on the left side and ONLY the 5V pads for VBUS power. When you are done your board should look like below.Be careful! Only bridge the two pads within the boxes that are circled in RED below!
#### Solder Steps - [ ] Bridge 3.3V Input - [ ] Bridge 5V Input - [ ] Bridge 5V VBUS PWR [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/2Vousb-shield-what-to-solder.png) At this point you should be able to boot your Arduino with the USB shield installed and not get the dreaded 'OSC did not start' error message. ### Common Manufacturing Error There is a mistake that hit nearly all boards on the market at this time (2023). On the board there are two chips that look identical. One on the bottom (when the USB port is pointed up) and one on the right side. On the board itself these are labeled "AHC" and "HC" respectively. So, what's the problem ? They are actually identical chips when they are supposed to be two different versions of similar chips. - The bottom chip should read **74AHC125D** - The right chip should read **74HC125D** The problem comes when BOTH chips are **74HC125D** instead of one each as above. The HC chip is designed to handle 3.3V while the AHC is designed to handle 5V so any USB devices that are not LE will not work until you replace the "bottom" chip marked "AHC" on the board. Unfortunately this means everything we need for Shadow will not work until this is fixed. #### How to fix this You will need to replace the **bottom** chip with an appropriate **74AHC125D** chip. Example 74AHC125D replacement ( [Mouser 1](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/SN74AHC125D?qs=DXdcjUGny5PZGf5fkOVytw%3D%3D) or [Mouser 2](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/771-AHC125D118) ) A good de-soldering braid and pump will very helpful for this delicate procedure. De-solder and solder the new chip onto the board and the shield should start working properly. Or, contact the seller and try to get them to send you a correct board. Most likely ? You'll end up going through one or two exchanges and have to make the replacement of the chip yourself. [Example Video by Steve @ Imperial Light and Magic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVjqSA3u26k) #### Correct Chip Example If your board has the correct chip it will look like this, notice it says "74AHC.." and not "74HC.." [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/pxl-20231223-172757570.jpg) ### Troubleshooting - ##### OSC did not start - If you are seeing this, did you follow the instructions above ? Probably not. - Double check that all pins for the USB Shield are properly seated into the Arduino board, sometimes a pin will "escape" and not sit in a header so you'll also get these failures. - ##### Library starts but USB devices don't connect when plugged in - Triple check that the 3.3V and 5V inputs and 5V VBUS are soldered properly - Have you checked the 2 bigger chips on your board to see if you are a victim of the **Common Manufacturing Error** ? - ##### Bluetooth Adapter has a flashing blue light - So, you have a USB shield with the proper 74ACH125D chip, reset, and now the adapter is lighting up, but it's flashing slowly and you aren't seeing the appropriate output, now what do you do ? - Ask yourself this, did you, in your attempts to get your shield working upgrade the USB\_HOST\_SHIELD library by grabbing the 2.0 library from Github ? If your answer is "YES" or "Possibly", "I don't know", or, "I blanked out for 30 minutes and here we are" then you need to just delete that from the Arduino Libraries folder and re-install the USB\_HOST\_SHIELD library from the SHADOW folder. Shut down the IDE, restart it, then upload the sketch again. # TL:DR Checklist ### [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/ps3-navigation-ctl.jpg) ### Arduino + Controller Setup - [ ] Install the Arduino IDE (if not already installed) - [ ] Download the SHADOW Arduino sketch and libraries ( [link ](https://github.com/ChristopherEdwards/SHADOW/archive/refs/heads/master.zip)) - [ ] Extract the folder - [ ] Install libraries from the Shadow folder to the Arduino Libraries folder - [ ] For Windows, this will be under `Documents / Arduino / libraries` by default - [ ] Copy these folders - [ ] *MP3Trigger* ( Sparkfun MP3 Trigger board ) - [ ] *serMP3* ( MdFly MP3 board ) - [ ] *USB\_Host\_Shield* - [ ] Open the sketch in the IDE ( `Shadow / Shadow.ino` ) - [ ] Set up the USB Shield ( [see here](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/link/30#bkmrk-depending-on-the-usb) ) - [ ] Connect your USB Shield and Arduino - [ ] Connect your Arduino to your computer using a USB-A to USB-B cable - [ ] Upload the sketch using the Arduino IDE - [ ] Click on "Verify" - [ ] Click on "Upload" - [ ] Connect to the Arduino using the Serial Monitor - [ ] Tools -> Serial Monitor - [ ] Select 115200 Baud - [ ] Check the output - [ ] Unplug the Arduino - [ ] Plug in the Bluetooth USB adapter - [ ] Plug the Arduino back into the Computer - [ ] Check the Serial Monitor - [ ] Unplug the Bluetooth Adapter - [ ] Plug the PS3 Move controller into the shield using a USB-A to USB-Mini cable - [ ] Get the Bluetooth MAC address for the controller form the Monitor - [ ] With the controller unplugged, press the Playstation button to start pairing - [ ] Update the PS3MoveNavigatonPrimaryMAC variable in the Shadow sketch using the IDE with the MAC from the controller - [ ] Re-place the Bluetooth Adapter - [ ] Re-Upload the sketch after saving # Shell Construction This chapter covers trimming the raw ABS or Styrene pulled components, templating and cutting wheel wells, and mounting of the frame of the car to the shell. # Trimming [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/pxl-20231203-201439663.jpg) # Wheel Cutouts # Top and Side Racks # Side Panel PCBs [](https://holocron.legionsalliance.io/uploads/images/gallery/2023-12/pxl-20231225-235121742.jpg) # Side Panel Cooling Fins # Top Rack # Electronics Upgrades Beyond the initial SHADOW system I have several upgrades planned based on other MSE builds. * Convert to use 18v Ryobi rechargeable batteries * Upgraded sound system, from 5v amplifier (3 watt output) to 12v amplifier (50 watt output) # Glossary A - **Arduino** - A simple computer board usually used by electronics hobbyists. It has very little memory and low CPU speed so it is very good for simple use-cases. It is a precursor to the more powerful but more complex Raspberry Pi. There are many manufacturers that make "Arduino Compatible" or "Clone" boards that are valid. - **Arduino IDE** - A desktop "Integrated Development Environment" for editing code and uploading it to an Arduino compatible development board. --- B --- C --- D --- E - **Electronic Speed Controller** - **ESC** - This is the device that controls the speed of your RC car. The battery usually plugs into this unit and has big wires going to the Motor. There are 3 wires (Black, Red, White) that go from the Receiver to the ESC. --- F --- G --- H --- I --- J --- K --- L --- M --- N --- O --- P --- Q --- R - **Receiver** - The "little black box" that originally receives the Radio Control (RC) transmissions and makes the appropriate signals to the Steering Servo and the ESC. Note: This gets bypassed / cut-out when installing a SHADOW system. - **RC** - Remote Control --- S - **Small Handheld Arduino Droid Operating Wand** - **S.H.A.D.O.W.** - This is a replacement system for the standard Radio Control (RC) for driving your RC car. The standard controller is a "PSD Move Navigation" controller. Shadow will also support sound. --- T --- U --- V --- W --- X --- Y --- Z # Convert to Ryobi batteries