SyncSix Prop Controllers

Easy, Open-source, Affordable Prop Control

Triggerable prop controllers are commonplace in any haunted house or escape room environment. From controlling audio, lights, motors and pneumatics, if you make any animatronic device you will have to use some sort of controller.

As a kid making Halloween animatronics for my home haunt, I often found the cost of prop controllers available on the market to be prohibitively expensive. Fast forward a couple of years and I am still wondering why a more affordable and flexible prop controller does not exist. So I decided to make one.

The SyncSix prop controller is an Arduino-based open-source prop controller and is available in two versions that differ by their output types. The SyncSix DC is equipped with six 5-24V (4A max continuous) outputs while the SyncSix AC uses six 120-240VAC (10A max) relays to switch wall power. Both also feature:

     -Stereo MP3 digital audio (32GB class 10 micro SD card included) with ambient track option.

     -Barrel plug, screw terminal, and USB mini power connections

     -One standard 5v trigger input.

     -One ultrasonic sensor trigger input.

A Note On Triggers

Pressure sensing stepmats and pushbuttons are an easy way to trigger prop controllers and have been commonly used in the industry for many years. Despite this, I have found (using a first principals approach and through real-world use) that ultrasonic distance sensors are a much better sensor solution for the application at hand. Ultrasonic sensors are small, lightweight, unaffected by extreme noise/lighting environments, inherently directional, can be set to trigger at various distances (2in-5ft), and are very inexpensive. 

So why aren’t ultrasonic sensors widely used as triggers? I suspect it’s due to the lack of support for ultrasonic sensors from the main manufacturers and the relative complexity of programming one from scratch. This is why all SyncSix controllers have built-in support for ultrasonic sensors! Just connect the 4 sensor wires to the controller and set the triggering distance with the onboard potentiometer. 

A Note On Power Supplies

SyncSix controllers do not come with power supplies included. Why? Power supplies are a heavy, ubiquitous product. Because of this, it is likely that you will be able to locally source power supplies for much cheaper than I ever could provide (especially when accounting for shipping expenses). Also, as haunters, I’m assuming most people who purchase these controllers will have more spare power supplies than they know what to do with.

Power supplies are available for purchase for your convenience, however, please note that you can find cheaper power supplies from local retailers (military surplus stores, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc.)

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SETUP INSTRUCTIONS

All controllers come with the current factory default code (SyncSix_V1.ino) uploaded and fully tested for easy operation. Visit the SyncSix Github page for additional code and other resources.

Uploading Audio

MP3 audio files can be stored on the included SD card for playback. Copy the audio files you want to be played directly onto the SD card (not in any folders). The order you copy the MP3 files is important. The first MP3 file you copy to the SD card will be the playback track (the track played when the controller is triggered). The second MP3 file that is copied will be the ambient audio track.

Connecting A Trigger

SyncSix controllers can be triggered by traditional triggers and/or an ultrasonic sensor. For traditional switch style triggers (pushbuttons/stepmats) connect the two wires to the “TRIG” screw terminal. To connect an ultrasonic sensor, wire the 4 pins on the ultrasonic sensor (Gnd, Echo, Trig, Vcc) to the corresponding screw terminals on the controller. The controller will always play the full sequence before accepting another trigger.

Programming The Controller

Programming and configuration is done via the 8 buttons at the bottom of the controller. The lower LED on the Arduino is used for feedback when programming the controller. When you first power on the controller the LED will quickly flash six times to indicate a successful startup.

The SHIFT button is used to access many of the functions of the controller. The secondary button label (the label that comes after ‘/‘) indicates the function of the button while SHIFT is pressed.

REC (record new sequence)

Press the CH1/REC button while holding down the SHIFT button to record a new sequence. The indicator LED will blink 3 times as a countdown before playing the playback audio file and recording your sequence. Use the CH1 thru CH6 buttons to program your sequence. Once you are done recording your sequence press the SHIFT button to stop recording. The indicator LED will quickly strobe to show your sequence has been recorded and saved. You can now press the TRIG button to playback your recorded sequence. The indicator LED will stay lit while playing a sequence.

LAYER (record sequence on top of existing sequence)

Press the CH2/LAYER button while holding down SHIFT to record over top of the existing sequence. This is very helpful when using many outputs as each channel can be individually sequenced one at a time. The indicator LED will blink 3 times as a countdown before beginning to record. The controller will playback the entire existing sequence while recording new data and will automatically stop recording when it has reached the end of the sequence. The indicator LED will quickly strobe to show your sequence has been recorded and saved.

The LAYER button can also be used to keep a specific channel on while the controller is in standby mode (not triggered). To do this, make sure the specified channel is on (button is held down) when the controller reaches the end of the sequence and stops recording. The controller will keep the last state of the outputs and thus the output will remain on.

Audio Settings

The volume can be adjusted using the CH4/VOL- and CH5/VOL+ buttons while the SHIFT button is held. The indicator LED will flash each volume change up/down.

The background ambient track can be enabled/disabled by pressing the CH6/AMBIENT button while SHIFT is held. The indicator LED will flash slowly if the ambient track has been disabled and fast if it has been enabled.

Ultrasonic Sensor Settings

The Ultrasonic sensor trigger input can be enabled/disabled by pressing the TRIG button while holding SHIFT. The indicator LED will flash slowly if it has been disabled and fast if it has been enabled. If you do not have an ultrasonic sensor connected to the controller it is recommended to disable it.

The range/sensitivity of the ultrasonic sensor can be set using the blue trimmer potentiometer labelled DISTANCE. The triggering distance can be set anywhere from 2 inches to 5 feet.

Warnings:

1. Take appropriate safety precautions when working with electricity! These devices use voltages that can cause serious damage.
2. Double-check power supply polarity before powering up the board. Feeding the controller reversed voltage will destroy it.
3. Powering the SyncSix AC with anything higher than a 5v power supply will destroy it. 
4. The DC version of the controller can output 4A continuously on any channel, however, you will reach the current limit of the power connectors if running many channels at high currents. The maximum board current consumption is rated at 24A peak, 16A continuous.
5. If you are using a motion sensor to trigger the controller, please ensure its output is 5V.
6. The 5V solder bridge on SyncSix DC is intended for use only when the board is powered with 5V. Shorting this solder bridge will bypass the onboard voltage regulator for the internal 5V electronics. This helps reduce the power consumption of the board when powered with a 5v battery source. 
7. Be careful when recording your sequence as accidentally pressing REC instead of LAYER will erase all previously recorded data to record a new blank sequence.

Need Something More?

SyncSix controllers have been designed with expandability and customizability in mind. Special code can be downloaded from our Github and uploaded to SyncSix controllers for special use cases. For example, ‘SyncSix_Master.ino’ and ‘SyncSix_Remote.ino’ sketches can be used together to trigger multiple controllers at the same time for controlling more than 6 channels at once. You’ll need to download the Arduino IDE in order to upload new sketches to SyncSix controllers. Official drivers for communicating with the controllers are available here if they do not auto-install.

Thanks to the open-source, Arduino-based design it is possible to reprogram a controller to accomplish anything you want. From dimming the SyncSix DCs outputs to controlling special peripherals such as WS2811/12 RGB LED pixels or servo motors, anything an Arduino microcontroller can do, a SyncSix controller can do!

Support

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please message us on Facebook or reach out at kurtcontrollers@gmail.com.