Fright Ideas PicoBoo AC User manual

PicoBoo AC
OPERATING MANUAL
V1.1 (Sep 8, 2011)
6 Oakside Court
Barrie, Ontario L4N 5V5
Tel: [phone] or 905-803-9274
www.frightideas.com

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Getting Familiar with your PicoBoo

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Getting Set Up for Recording Audio
To begin recording you will need the following connected to the PicoBoo:
•A powered speaker or speakers connected to the PicoBoo’s Audio Line-Out.
•An audio source such as an iPod, Computer, or CD player connected to Audio Line-In.
•A stereo audio cable to connect your audio source to the PicoBoo’s Audio Line-In.
Once the above is connected, press play on the audio source and you should be able to hear the sound faintly
through the connected speaker. DO NOT turn up the source volume so your speakers are really loud! Use this
sound only as a guide so you know when to start and stop recording. Once the sound is recorded and the
PicoBoo plays it back, it will be much louder than it is now.
You will have to experiment with the volume of your sound source to see what gives you the best recorded
sound quality. If the source is too loud, the recording will sound distorted. If it’s too low you may not be able to
turn the sound up loud enough even with your speakers at full volume. Do a few test recordings. Keep
adjusting the source volume and then previewing the sound from the PicoBoo until you’re happy with the quality
and volume level.
Volume Levels for Common Sources
Source
Volume Level
Computer
20% to 70%
iPod or Portable CD Player
75%
Audio

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Recording the Audio
The ambient sound must always be recorded first. Once you are happy with how it sounds you can move on to
recording the scare sound. The scare sound can then be recorded and re-recorded as needed. If the ambient
sound is ever changed the scare sound will have to be re-recorded, even if it does not need to be changed.
Sound Length
Record as long an ambient sound as possible, as this sound will be looped while the PicoBoo waits to be
triggered. The looping point will be heard less often if the ambient sound is long. Make sure to leave enough
room for your scare sound, as you have 2 minutes total space for your sounds.
Recording and Previewing
To record the ambient sound hold “REC” and press “1”. Press “REC” again to stop recording. To record the
scare sound hold “REC” and press “2”. To preview the sound, make sure you stop the source if it is playing,
then press either “1” to preview the ambient sound, or “2” to preview the scare sound. Pressing “1” or “2” again
while the sound is playing will stop it.
Recording More Scare Sounds
Record your ambient and first scare sound as explained above. To record each additional scare sound, hold
both “1” and “2”, then press “REC”. Repeat this for up to 10 scare sounds, the total length must still remain
under 2 minutes. If you mess up you’ll have to start over at the first scare sound by holding “2” and pressing
“REC”. To preview your additional scare sounds, first tap “2” to listen to the first scare sound, then tap “1” and
“2” at the same time to listen to the additional sounds one at a time.
Turning Off Ambient Sound
To turn off the ambient sound, make sure that an audio source is connected to the Audio Line-In, hold “REC”
and press “1”. Then within 3 seconds, press “REC” again.
Using the Internal Amplifier
The PicoBoo has an internal 10 watt audio amplifier that can be used to drive standard speakers. Car speakers
or horn speakers are typical. Horn speakers are inexpensive and work well for screams and other mid to high
pitch sounds. Standard 4 or 8 ohm speakers are best if you are playing music or lower pitch sounds.
If you hear the audio cutting out as it plays, the internal power supply is likely overwhelmed. Gradually turn
down the volume until the cutting out stops.
Below are three popular configurations for connecting speakers to the PicoBoo.

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Connecting the Outputs
The outlet receptacle on the PicoBoo is split into two separate outputs. Turning on output 1 will turn on the left
side, while turning on output 2 will turn on the right. Pretty much anything that plugs into a standard 120 volt
wall plug can be controlled by the PicoBoo.
The PicoBoo is internally fused at 10 amps, so keep the total current draw below this value. Do not try to
control large motors, these have a very high start-up current that will almost certainly blow the fuse.
For certain applications it might be useful to turn an output off rather than on once the PicoBoo is triggered. For
example, you’d like to connect a light to the PicoBoo and you’d like it to be on while the ambient music is
playing. When the PicoBoo gets triggered you want the light to go off. You can do this to one or both of your
outputs by setting them to normally-closed. See the Settings section for more details.
Recording the Output Animation
1. Make sure there is no audio cable connected to the PicoBoo’s Audio Line-In.
2. Press “REC”. The red light will turn on and the scare sound will start playing.
3. Press the “1” and “2” output buttons to turn on the outputs as you want them to turn on. Synchronize
your actions with the sound. You can press each button as many times as you want.
4. Press “REC” again to stop recording. The scene is automatically saved. Press “2” or trigger the input to
preview the scene.
AC Outputs

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Wiring the Trigger
The PicoBoos are designed to work with low-voltage sensors or contact closures only. DO NOT use typical
outdoor motion sensors found at local hardware stores. The PicoBoo will trigger when the IN terminal is
connected to the GND terminal. As illustrated below, this can be accomplished in several ways.
Using PIR Motion Sensors
Some motion sensor’s outputs are normally-closed, meaning it connects the IN to GND when there’s no motion,
and disconnects it when there is. If this is the case, you must set the PicoBoo’s input to normally-closed. See
the Settings section on the next page for details on how to do this.
If you are unsure if your motion sensor is normally-open or normally-closed, connect it using the third diagram
above. Power up the PicoBoo, wait a few minutes for the motion sensor to warm up. Trip your sensor as you
watch the yellow input light on the PicoBoo. If the yellow light turns ON when the motion sensor activates, it’s
normally-open. If it turns off, it’s normally-closed. If it does nothing there is a wiring problem.
Trigger

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Setting the Input Type to Normally-Closed or Normally-Open
1. Power down the PicoBoo, wait 10 seconds.
2. Hold the “1” and “2” buttons to set the input to normally-closed, or just “1” to set it to normally-open.
3. Power up the PicoBoo while holding the button(s).
4. When the red light flashes a few times, you can let go of the buttons. The setting is now changed.
Setting Outputs to Normally-Closed
1. Power down the PicoBoo, wait 10 seconds.
2. Hold “REC” and the button(s) of the output(s) you want to set to normally-closed.
3. Power up the PicoBoo while holding the buttons
4. When the red light flashes a few times you can let go of the buttons. The setting is now changed.
To set the outputs back to normally-open, simply repeat the above holding just “REC”.
Write-Protecting Your Audio and Animation
Once the PicoBoo is programmed to your liking you can write-protect it to make sure the “REC” button is not
accidentally pressed, changing or deleting your program. The write-protect setting can be toggled on or off
using the following steps:
1. Power down the PicoBoo
2. Hold the “2” button and power up the PicoBoo.
3. When the red light flashes a few times the write-protect has been toggled.
TROUBLESHOOTING TABLE
Problem
Solution
“REC” light keeps flashing or the
motion sensor won’t trigger scare
- The motion sensor is warming up, wait 2 minutes, or
- Input is set to normally-closed when it should be normally-
open (see Trigger section for more details).
Can’t record animation
- PicoBoo is write-protected, disable write-protection (see
Settings section for more details), or
- Audio source is still connected to Audio Line-In, disconnect.
Sound cuts out when output
turns on or off
- Put diodes or capacitors on your solenoids (see Relay
Outputs section for more details).
Sound cuts out when using the
internal amplifier
- The internal power supply may be overwhelmed. Try
reducing the volume.
Settings
Troubleshooting

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SPECIFICATIONS TABLE
Audio
Capacity
120 seconds
Quality
8kHz sample rate, mono (roughly equivalent to AM radio)
Storage Type
Internal Analog Flash
Physical
Length
5. 75”
Width
3.25” enclosure only, 4.25” including connectors
Height
2.5”
Weight
1.3 Lbs (0.59Kg) including power cable
Electrical
Operating Voltage
120 VAC
Power Consumption
10 amps max. (1200 watts)
Power Cable
6 feet long
AC Outputs
10 amps max. each. 10 amps total
Internal Fuse
10 amp Fast Blow 5x20mm
Specifications