# Cheap Talking Skull hack



## Chuck

A friend of mine asked me to create a talking skull for his radio show called Atemi-Cast. I had posted the completed talking skull that I hacked from a Gemmy talking skull in the showrrom forum. A couple people had asked for a tutorial.

This is basically my first tutorial so bear with me. I would say this is a skill level of 2. (Basic soldering skill required)

You will need a few things to make this skull

1. Cheap talking skull similar to this one.Talking Skull
2. Single chanel color organ kit. I got mine here. Single Channel Color Organ
3. Red LED's
4. 1/8 (3.5mm) Mono Jack. These come in a 3 pack. (you will need 2 of them)
5. 5v 500ma wall wart. The smaller the better. It has to fit inside the skull.
6. Prop Eyes. I used this style. Merlins Easy Prop Eyes

Start by building your color organ kit. *DO NOT SOLDER THE 120V POWER ONTO THE BOARD YET*. You will see why later. Now set it off to the side, we have to do some skull prep before we can install the kit.

Go ahead and open the skull by removing the 4 screws from the back. Now gut that thing of everything except for the jaw bracket, motor, and the leads going to the motor. The existing LED eyes just need to be pushed out from the outside of the skull to be removed.

On the back half of the skull you should see an area where the speaker was. It just so happens that this little alcove is the perfect size for the potentiometer on the organ kit. Place the poteniomater inside the alcove and see where the knob should poke through to the back of the skull. Now remove the potentiometer and drill a 1/4 inch hole there.

Do the same thing on the back of the skull for the input jack and speaker jack. See this image for placement.









Note: When I first built the skull I was going to use a headphone splitter, so I placed the input jack in the middle. It wasn't until later that I thought it would be better to have mostly everything inside the skull. So I put another jack for speaker. That is why the speaker output is off center. Now back to our regulary scheduled program.

Remember when I said not to solder the 120v power onto the board yet. Here is why. Notice in the picture above how the white wire is coming out of the back of the skull. If you had soldered that wire onto the board, you will not be able to feed it through the skull. My skull had a hole that I just used to feed the wire through. Once fed, I soldered it to the board. Be sure to tie a knot in the wire from inside the skull, so that you don't accidentally pull the leads from the board later on.

This picture shows you how I wired the 2 jacks together and how the potentiometer fits in the alcove area. (like it was meant to go there)









You will notice that the threads of the potentiometer and the jacks are not not long enough to go through and still have threads for the nut to go on. I solved this by breaking out the dremel and a flat top grinding bit. Like this one Grind it just enough that you don't go completely though, but that you you can now thread the nuts on. These tend to melt the plastic and cover the hole you just drilled. If this happens, just drill it out again.

We are pretty much done with the back part of the skull for now.

On the front part of the skull we are going to do a little bit of wiring for the motor and LED eyes.

Since I didn't like the green LED's that were in the skull I went ahead and created new ones. You will need to drill the eye holes out on the skull a little bit so that the led's will slide completely through. I just used cross connect wire to make longer leads on my led's. Since I was using a 5v wall wart, I used a 150ohm resistor. The wall wart must fit inside the skull, so do your best to find a really small one. Now just wire the postive and negative of the LED's and motor to the 5v wall wart.

Here is a look at mine.









Now just plug the walwart into the outlet on the color organ kit and do your best to fit everything back into the skull without interfering with the jaw bracket and motor.

Put the skull back together and test out your hard work.

If everything works, take the eyes that you built from Merlin's tutorial and drill a 3/16 hole in the back of the eye. Your new leds should fit tightly in that hole.

Here is my finished product. (repainted of course)









And here is the video, You can adjust the jaws reaction by adjusting the potentiomater on the back. Very minor adjustments go a long way.


----------



## hedg12

Great little how-to! I love those Gemmy skulls - I try to buy a couple every year, 'cause you never know when they'll quit selling them. Besides, you can't have too many skulls...


----------



## ouizul1

Sweet. This is going toward the top of the build list for next year. Thanks!!


----------



## RoxyBlue

Good how to, and you picked a great voice track for the skull


----------



## Otaku

Way cool, Chuck! I'm checking out a LED color organ this week, pricing is similar to the one you used. It may require some mods, but nothing too drastic.

Quick question - your color organ needs 110VAC to operate the board, but a line level signal (MP3 player) switches the 5VDC wart (motor power), correct? Are both power sources needed to operate the skull? Usually these types of color organs need a more powerful signal to trip the SCR, like the speaker output from a large amp. That's the reason I went with the LED board.
Oh, and if anyone finds a source for Gemmy skulls, give me a holler. I can't find any in my area.


----------



## Terrormaster

@Otaku: Check Lowes, I saw a few on their end cap this year. Grab em while you still can.

@Chuck: Awesome! If I get around to getting Bob going this year this will be perfect. Like Hedg I pick up a couple or so every year for the exact same reason. Got a nice little collection going so far.


----------



## Otaku

Terrormaster, you rock! I'll hit Lowes at lunchtime tomorrow.


----------



## Chuck

Otaku said:


> Quick question - your color organ needs 110VAC to operate the board, but a line level signal (MP3 player) switches the 5VDC wart (motor power), correct? Are both power sources needed to operate the skull? Usually these types of color organs need a more powerful signal to trip the SCR, like the speaker output from a large amp. That's the reason I went with the LED board.


The color organ needs 110v. They provide a 6ft power cable for this. The board also has a receptacle on it. That is what you plug the wall wart into. The motor and Led's only need 5v. So yes, you need both.

I run this straight from an mp3 player. No amp needed.

@Terrormaster. Lowes is where I got mine last year also.


----------



## Monsterman

Hey,
I'm new here but I came across this topic and thought its time I also make one of these. I have always liked the scary terry skulls but could never justify paying the price they cost. Tonight I was going to order a Gemmy skull from a Halloween site and luckily I took a trip to Walmart before doing so. At Wally world they have a few different skulls (Gemmy rebrand for Walmart) there is a basic skull like the one in this topic and one that looks like a pirate. Both of them are $9.97 each. Also if you are looking for a little more of an effect they have a dropping skull. The dropping skull is just like those dropping spiders, only its eyes light and it talks. 2 styles: regular bone white and a frosted clear where the led's basically light up the whole thing. They are $15. Grab 'em while they got 'em!!! NOTE: your Walmart may not have them on the shelves yet. Mine was just starting to pack up the back to school stuff and put out the Halloween items.

Here is a link to the exact same pirate version walmart has if you want a look.
http://www.costumeshopper.com/Merch...ode=costumes&screen=PROD&product_code=fm20045

and here is the dropping skull *note the Walmart one does not have hair*
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/...t=For the Home&cm_pla=Holiday &cm_ite=H170710


----------



## mickkell

22 bux,yikes.I like wallys price a lot better,I'm up to 5 of them and its not even October yet.


----------



## monty1269

very cool...


----------



## anubis1369

*Cheap Skull Hack*

I reviewed the tutorial but still have a few questions as I am completely and hopelessly electrically challenged. I am attempting to utilize a Walmart talking skull and I am assuming all of the talking skulls are similar. How do I know which wires to attach to the walwart in order to run the jaw movement? I would hate to inadvertadly miswire something and burn down my house. Pretty sure the wife would get P.O.d about that. In addition, I assume I will no longer need the battery compartment that originally ran the skull, correct? Any other tips offered would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## Chuck

anubis1369 said:


> I reviewed the tutorial but still have a few questions as I am completely and hopelessly electrically challenged. I am attempting to utilize a Walmart talking skull and I am assuming all of the talking skulls are similar. How do I know which wires to attach to the walwart in order to run the jaw movement? I would hate to inadvertadly miswire something and burn down my house. Pretty sure the wife would get P.O.d about that. In addition, I assume I will no longer need the battery compartment that originally ran the skull, correct? Any other tips offered would be greatly appreciated!


There are 2 wires that come off the motor, those as well as the eyes get wired to the wall wart. 2 things to keep in mind. 1, you will probably need to put a resistor on the eyes, and 2, You will need to play with the polarity of the wires on the motor to see which one is positive and negative. The eyes will either work or not if the polarity is reversed. The wire colors on the motor have been different on every one that I have made.

Did that answer your questions?


----------



## monty1269

Chuck said:


> Did that answer your questions?


Got any for sale?? LOL... no..really: do you?


----------



## prestond

Hi,

Great thread! I wish this was around when I started hacking these gemmy skulls a few years back.

A couple of things to add or suggest...

1. Motor wire polarity can be determined when you first open the skull and looking at circuit board and follow the traces to battery compartment to the batteries +/- terminals. I found the green wires to be - and red to be + on this years models

2. Be careful on the wall wart current output it should be no more than 200 m A output or the color organ SCR may burn up

3. One thing to consider, if a an innocent tot or vandalous teen grabs the skull and tries to run off with it, they could have a 110 vac problem in their hand... Be sure to have it secured OR have the ac portion of the circuit in separate enclosure and run the DC to the skull. You wouldn't want to be liable even if they caused the problem due to their thievery. I just ran the dc to my skulls and used the try me jack as the dc source

Hope that adds to your hacking pleasure


----------



## jaege

I am going to have to try this. I have one of those gemmy skulls, but mine came with eyes that move when the skull speaks, so I will not be using the eye portion of your tutorial. I will see once I open it. Thanks for the tutorial.


----------



## Bitsandpieces

*Wally World Issue*

First post, but always lurking...I am trying the tut on one of the Walmart skullies and experiencing an issue. I've tried several wall warts, but can only get the motor to flinch (jaw doesn't open). If I hook the motor power wires to the battery pack I can get full motion from the jaw. I've tried 4.5v-300Ma, 5v-1000Ma, and 4.5-1000Ma versions of wall warts. The motor just moves a hair and will set there and repeats that motion if you leave the power wires connected. An added note, if I connect the wart to just the eyes (has a 150 ohm resistor in circuit) the eyes work fine. If I connect the eyes AND the motor to the wart, the eyes do not light, motor does nothing and the power led on the wart will go out too. I'm puzzled. The warts test out to be putting out correct voltages. It's like the warts do not have enough oomph to push the motor to start. Ideas anyone?


----------



## Chuck

Bitsandpieces said:


> First post, but always lurking...I am trying the tut on one of the Walmart skullies and experiencing an issue. I've tried several wall warts, but can only get the motor to flinch (jaw doesn't open). If I hook the motor power wires to the battery pack I can get full motion from the jaw. I've tried 4.5v-300Ma, 5v-1000Ma, and 4.5-1000Ma versions of wall warts. The motor just moves a hair and will set there and repeats that motion if you leave the power wires connected. An added note, if I connect the wart to just the eyes (has a 150 ohm resistor in circuit) the eyes work fine. If I connect the eyes AND the motor to the wart, the eyes do not light, motor does nothing and the power led on the wart will go out too. I'm puzzled. The warts test out to be putting out correct voltages. It's like the warts do not have enough oomph to push the motor to start. Ideas anyone?


Are you just plugging the wall wart into the wall to see that it works or through the light organ?


----------



## tcass01

Buy costumes has two different talkers for under $20 each and you can get it before Halloween for free shipping.

http://www.buycostumes.com/Dropping...LFr1vtOsMBV0GKuWD1ohGBJI+Yz64z6_SnH8BrJRk5A==

http://www.buycostumes.com/Animated-Skull-with-Light-and-Sound/801579/ProductDetail.aspx


----------



## Bitsandpieces

*Wally World Issue*

Chuck, Right now I have just plugged the wall wart into the wall and tested the results. Would that make a difference? Isn't the color organ just going to send the same 5v to the motor (by triggering the wart), just at different durations? I just puzzled as to why the battery pack would activate the motor correctly and the wart would not. I'm no expert by a long shot so please correct me if I'm thinking incorrectly. Thanks for your help.


----------



## Monsterman

i think when i made mine i used a 5v 500ma wart (maybe it was 6v). i also tried a smaller wart and it didn't have the power to do much. If you can find like a cell phone wall wart that should be 5v 500ma or one from a powered usb hub.


----------



## Otaku

Bitsandpieces,
You've probably already done this, but have you tried adjusting the pot on the light organ? If it's turned to high resistance, it won't allow the wart to send full power to the motor.


----------



## Chuck

Bitsandpieces said:


> Chuck, Right now I have just plugged the wall wart into the wall and tested the results. Would that make a difference? Isn't the color organ just going to send the same 5v to the motor (by triggering the wart), just at different durations? I just puzzled as to why the battery pack would activate the motor correctly and the wart would not. I'm no expert by a long shot so please correct me if I'm thinking incorrectly. Thanks for your help.


And you are using just the leads from the motor, not running it through the circuit board in the skull or the Light organ? This shouldn't matter, but have you swapped the polarity on the motor leads to see if that makes a difference?


----------



## Bitsandpieces

Otaku, I'm not going through the organ at all, just plugging and unplugging the wart to watch the motor, and all I get is a slight flinch from the motor, not enough to wind the string at all.

Chuck, yes, the leads are connected directly and I have tried both polarities. I'm using a 5v 1000ma wart (ordered 500ma and was sent 1000ma - go figure), the closest one to that is I have a 4.5v 300ma that I have tried also. I know the motor works correctly when I touch the same leads to the original battery (3 AA) pack, it winds up fine. Do you think the 5v wart is not putting out enough current (ma)? I have several others (1000ma) I can try.


----------



## Bitsandpieces

Thanks Monsterman! Turns out it was a crappy wart I was trying to use, even though it was putting out 5v, it wasn't putting out the amperage to kick the motor on (1000ma? I don't think so). Went through some old cell phone stuff and found a wart that worked. I had thrown all those in a drawer and forgot about them being available.

Thanks Chuck for all the responses and your tut!


----------



## Chuck

Glad you got it figured out.


----------



## Lunatic

Great info and tutorial Chuck. I bought one of those skulls a few years ago with intentions of hacking it. Thanks for taking the quess work out of it!


----------



## jaege

I have a question. Does it matter where the wires are placed when soldering to the jacks?


----------



## dudeamis

wow thanks for the link to the color organ!


----------



## Chuck

jaege said:


> I have a question. Does it matter where the wires are placed when soldering to the jacks?


Shouldn't matter. There is a pin hole in the jacks. I usually put the wire through that hole and then solder them.


----------



## MrCheerfull

*Great hack!*

I am atempting to duplicate the skull, although I can't see the images. They appear as an "x". Any help would be apreciated.


----------



## Lunatic

Thanks for resurrecting this thread! I have the same skull that I've been looking to hack for quite some time.


----------



## Chuck

MrCheerfull said:


> I am atempting to duplicate the skull, although I can't see the images. They appear as an "x". Any help would be apreciated.


Not sure why they are showing up as an X for you. If you still need help, PM me your email address and I will send you the pictures.


----------



## SuperCreep31

does anyone know will this walmart skull work for this hack? Just got it this year...


----------



## Casperlove28

First and foremost, thanks for posting the Gemmy Skull hack. I've been wanting to do this type of hack for years now.

I have a question though. When I connect the wall wart directly to the wall, the Jaw and Eyes are functional, but when I connect it to the Organ and play an audio track, nothing happens.  Also, the audio output is super low. Do you have any ideas as to what I may have done wrong?


----------



## Casperlove28

**Update:

I now get movement once I play the audio, but it is not synchronized. I've played around with the potentiometer, but nothing. What should I do?


----------



## Chuck

Casperlove28 said:


> **Update:
> 
> I now get movement once I play the audio, but it is not synchronized. I've played around with the potentiometer, but nothing. What should I do?


It could be the sound file. I may be wrong but the organ picks up the low frequency to activate the motor. If the sound file has too much ambient noise, it will throw it off. Try different sound files or record your own to see if it makes a difference.


----------



## Chuck

SuperCreep31 said:


> does anyone know will this walmart skull work for this hack? Just got it this year...


That should work


----------



## Casperlove28

K, I just tried a different sound file and nothing. I even tried the Haunted Mansion soundtrack like you did for the 'How-to' and nothing.

What's happening right now is something like what happened to Bitsandpieces earlier in this post. When I connect the wall-wart straight to the wall, the jaw and eyes work fine (Fully open/turn on), but when I connect the wall-wart to the organ and play a sound file, the motor simply flinches (jaw doesn't open). I'm going to try other wall warts as Bitsandpieces did to see if that solves the problem. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, thanks for your help thus far.


----------



## mroct31

Were you, the OP, able to use regular 1/8" mono/stereo audio jacks? If I plug the ones I have all the way in they don't work, but if I hold them out a bit they seem to make contact and I can hear the sound fine. Also, my color organ isn't powering the motor and eyes as it did the first time I plugged it in. I can plug the motor and eyes directly into the wall and get them to work but no sound file seems to activate them any more. I have another color organ that needs to be put together and I will use that test on this set up and see if maybe the color organ I have is bad? Now if I could just figure the audio jacks out!


----------



## SuperCreep31

Alright, thanks Chuck!


----------



## ryanlamprecht

*Can't find the single channel color organs*

Does anyone know where to get these single channel color organs? The company where Chuck got his no longer sells them?

I found this one: https://www.amazon.com/Velleman-MK1...F8&qid=1473975152&sr=1-1&keywords=light+organ

...but one of the people who left a review says it will not work with an MP3 play, that it requires an amplified audio source. I've looked everywhere, and can't one that will work with just an MP3 player as the audio source. Even the company where Chuck purchased his is telling me the ones they do sell now won't work for this project. Please do help as we're running out of time now.


----------



## Batbuddy

If you added a small amp before the light organ it would work. I could find you a circuit to build your own light organ, but that might not be a good solution for you given the time left this year. I would just hack and old set of computer speakers and plug the speakers into the light organ you posted the link for and then hook the output from one of the speakers to the light organ.


----------

