Blueshift Helium & copper speaker systems User manual

owner's manual:
Helium & copper speaker systems
v1.0
May 1, 2014
www.blueshi tPDX.com
(571) FLUX-CAP

Thanks for purchasing a Blueshift speaker system!
Your speaker is ready to use. All you need to do is plug it in (Copper) or plug it in and wait for
it to charge up (Helium).
IMPORTANT: When fully ischarge (initial use or following a long perio without
charging) your Helium speaker will take two to three minutes of charging to o
anything.
It will just sit there with no lights on. This is normal, after about two minutes the charge
in icator lights will start to illuminate, beginning with the lowest light.
Warning!
Electronics can be dangerous. Inside your speaker bo , there are e posed conductors
charged at up to 30V DC. Additionally, the Helium speakers contain supercapacitors charged
at up to 24V, which are capable of discharging completely in a few seconds. This could cause
a severe burn or shock, other injury, and/or death. It could also start a fire.
The acoustical port in every cabinet allows direct access to the electronics. DO NOT ALLOW
CHILDREN TO PLAY WITH BLUESHIFT SPEAKER SYSTEMS! DO NOT INSERT ANY
BODY PART OR OTHER OBJECT INSIDE THE SPEAKER! Do not allow water or other
liquids to contact the device or charging cable, and do not use this device around flammable
materials that could be ignited by an electrical spark.
MAINTENANCE SHOULD ONLY BE PERFORMED BY A QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN! Blueshift, LLC is not responsible for any modifications
or repairs to your speaker systems, the consequences of any such modifications or repairs, or any injury or damage resulting from accessing
the inside of the cabinet in any way, be it through the acoustical port, the speaker mounting hole(s), or the control panel.
Your use of this product implies your acknowledgment of and compliance with these terms.

Controls & Operation:
power
The power switch turns the audio amplifier(s) on/off.
The Helium will continue to charge if plugged in, independent of the power switch. Charge
time is between five and si minutes. The supercapacitors in the Helium can stay fully
charged indefinitely without damage – they are rated for 10 years at full charge. So, you can
leave your system plugge in whenever you want. Additionally, the longer the system
remains fully charged before operating on stored power, the longer it will hold a charge.
Supercapacitors self-discharge over time, but holding them at a steady voltage will decrease
their self-discharge rate for up to 72 hours.
Helium is pre-configured to charge at 2.5A current, so it needs an adapter that can source
that amount of power. Using a low-voltage source, the Helium will charge up to that voltage
level, whatever it may be – you will not get a full charge, but may be able to operate your
system. The Helium Mono's capacitor bank is limited to 15.3V, Helium Stereo is limited to
22.5V, even if a higher voltage adapter is used.
The blue LED charge indicator shows how much of the usable range of the speaker is
available, between 7V an full charge. It will light multiple LEDs when plugged into a valid
adapter, and a single LED when running on capacitor power (to conserve energy).
When all the indicator lights are off, your speaker may continue to operate for some time. It's
like that e tra 30-40 miles you can drive after your car's fuel gauge hits E.
The Helium contains a 4A fuse, which limits input current. The Helium Stereo contains a
second 4A fuse, which limits current to/from the capacitor bank. If your speaker suddenly
quits working, it may have blown a fuse, which is an easy fi .
If you plug in a center-negative DC source, the fuse will blow, hopefully protecting the rest of
the circuitry from damage. ONLY USE THE PROVIDED ADAPTER TO PREVENT THIS
PROBLEM!

audio
All Blueshift speakers include a 3.5mm stereo audio input. Mono speakers mi that input
down, so both channels are represented even on the Mono speakers.
The mono input is always on, even if Bluetooth is on.
All controls for playback (volume, track, etc.) are the controls on your phone or other device.
There are no such controls on Blueshift products.
It may be possible to turn your device up loud enough that it starts to distort. This can
amage the river(s) an /or the amplifier(s). If it starts to sound crunchy and bad, turn it
down! Blueshift is not responsible for blown drivers.
The hole in one end of your speaker is a tuning port ('bass port'). It tunes the enclosure to
105-110 Hz, increasing the loudness around that frequency. On Mono speakers, there is a
tube to increase the length of this port. On Stereo speakers, the thickness of the bamboo is
the correct length for the port and there is no tube.
Inside the cabinet, there is white acoustical damping material (stuffing). This is a part of your
speaker system and should not be removed.
The grills that cover the drivers may be removed:
1. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the four mounting screws.
2. Remove grill and spacers
3. Re-install mounting screws BY HAND just until the driver is held flush to the cabinet,
being careful not to overtighten. If you do strip a screw hole, you can fill it with wood
glue to regain some holding power.
Your speaker uses one or more Foste FE126En 4” full-range drivers. These are replaceable
in the event of damage.

bluetooth
Helium speakers include a Bluetooth audio input, which is controlled by the lower of the two
switches on the control panel.
Copper speakers include a dummy switch in the same position, but this switch does nothing.
The Bluetooth module will automatically select the best quality CODEC available.
When watching video, there may be a noticeable delay between the picture and Bluetooth
audio – this is best resolved by using the 3.5mm wired input when watching video.
To connect your evice the first time:
1. Charge the speaker up until one or more indicator lights are on.
2. Confirm both the Bluetooth & power switches are in the 'ON' position.
3. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone, computer, etc. The Helium's Bluetooth input will
show up as 'Blueshift' on other devices.
4. Select 'CONNECT' or similar option on your device.
To reconnect:
1. Turn off the Helium's power switch.
2. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone or other device
3. Turn Helium's power and Bluetooth switches. It will automatically find and connect to
the most recent connection from a list of up to 10 previously paired devices.
Troubleshooting
Connecting a second device to the Helium for the first time works less consistently, because
the Helium is searching for previously paired devices. The best method is to turn on your
device, follow the instructions above for first-time connections, and wait up to two minutes for
your device to 'see' the Helium. After two minutes, if connection is not successful, turn the
Helium fully off and repeat. This has always worked in at most 3-4 attempts.

open source
Source files are available at:
www.blueshiftPDX.com/open-source
and/or
www.github.com/blueshiftPDX
As of May 1, 2014, Helium speakers are released under the terms of the GNU General Public
License V3. The design may be reused or used as the basis of new products as long as the
resulting products & designs remain open source.
Cabinet
The cabinets are CNC cut just south of Portland. They have a nice lacquer finish, which
should be pretty durable – doesn't need any maintenance at all.
Each order includes some optional sticky felt feet, which are probably a good idea to protect
both your furniture and your speaker.

Problems?
This is a new product! And you are an early customer. Which is great, but one or more of
these will stop working over the ne t few months. When that happens, please get in touch!
We want to know how and why these products fail, so we can fi them both in the immediate
and long-term senses of the word.
You can reach us (ok, probably me, ha) via:
phone: 571-FLUX CAP
email: [email protected]
or through our website: www.blueshiftPDX.com
thank you!
Thanks for supporting new technology, a new business, and me! Could not have done it
without all of your orders & donations, plus all the time and effort that MANY people have put
in, mostly as volunteers. So much help in designing the product, making the video, marketing
the crowdfunding campaign, and actually building these speakers, mostly by hand, here in the
back of a small shop in SE Portland. Thanks for everything! It's pretty crazy that this has
worked!
Sincerely,
Sam Beck
Founder, Blueshift