DanielD
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Everything posted by DanielD
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Good evening everyone, time for another update. Still working on the first planking layer, but working both sides equally to prevent hull warping. If you look closely, you can see the USB-C plug to get power on board for all the lighting and motor.
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Hi Keith, good to hear from you. I do plan to use the kit supplies second planking as the Amerigo Vespucci is a metal hulled ship so the quality of wood I use is not critical. I will have to fill in any imperfections and sand very smooth and paint with filler primer, sand again, paint again, then add the detail rivets and supports all before final paint. A slow process for sure. Daniel
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Good afternoon mates, thought I would make a quick update. I finally have all the lighting and associated wiring finished and secured. Today I started laying down the first layer of planking. So far, going as planned, but it sure is tedious slow work.
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VitusBering, that is a very good question and the answer is yes/no. Let me explain, (No) I am not planning on having any capability to replace a LED. But, (Yes) 1) I am taking steps to protect the LEDs by making sure they all are matched with resisters to protect from overloading the LED, 2) I am running less voltage and thus leas than the maximum current so LED is not likely to fail, and 3) I am using voltage regulators that relatively slowly go from zero to maximum set voltage so as to not shock the LED. Basically, I should get 30+ years or more out of the lighting based on how often I will actually have the display on. If a LED goes out, I can evaluate based on location if it’s even worth it to fix. For example, the night up lighting is important for the look of the ship (the green, white, red look of the Italian flag) and those are easy to access and replace. The LEDs inside the structures or in the hull, I doubt if anyone besides me will notice.
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Mike, at the time, I was talking about the bow anchors. Indeed the AV has 3 bow anchors, one on the port side and two on the starboard. In addition, the AV also has one anchor on either side of the stern for a total of five. Here are the pictures that I quickly found that show all of them.
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Good evening mates, it’s been awhile since my last post, not because I haven’t been working on the AV, but because what I’ve been working on is not visual progress. I’ve been working on the last major lighting project that I have planned for my Amerigo Vespucci, the port hole lighting. My goal is to attempt to light the lower decks similar to what occurs in real life, meaning, not all the lower deck lights will be on at the same time (see image below). My plan is to light two sets of port holes. I can have one set on, or the second set, or if I choose, both sets which will light all of the port holes. I am planning on some deck planks between each set of lights to prevent light bleeding from one level to the next…just not made it that far yet. Thanks for stopping by.
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I used the same number as in the real AV, but it was just yesterday I noticed that there is a red light at the top of each mast…not sure how I want to handle that 🤔
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Good evening everyone, thanks for stopping by. In this episode, I have finished or nearly finished the night green-white-red up-lighting the AV is famous for. Hard to see without any of the mast hardware, but I am getting light up to the top of each mast.
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Good evening mates, still working on the lighting…started the night display lighting the AV is famous for. It took a couple of irritations, but this is what I’m going with for the moment. Below is the foremast green lighting.
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I found that the OcCre plans are off a bit for where the stairs meet the deck. In my deck plan I moved the opening for the stairs about 15-20mm to hopefully make it all work in the end. Also I added the micro grid to the deck at the location of embarkation / disembarkation.
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Mike, in my last ship, the HMS Terror, I had a similar mishap. I routed the wires just under the deck, then later I drilled through the deck for some piece of equipment and severed a line. Had to remove a plank and perform micro soldering to fix. I don’t want a repeat of that so I have routed all my wires away from the deck and any walls. Good lesson for us all.
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Good evening everyone, this weekends update. I have the marker lights all wired up and working. The only thing missing from this circuit is the lantern on the mizzen mast. Not sure how to build a lantern or purchase one for the correct period style and in the right scale…More work to do on this front.
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Good evening mates, I finally took the plunge and organized the wires that make this ship work. I used some terminal blocks I had on hand to make the distribution bus, I know, a bit over kill but it’s the engineer in me. I purchased two usb-c terminal blocks, one for the ship that I will install along the keel which will be mostly hidden. The other usb-c terminal will be in the base. When this idea was first suggested, I was excited to finally have a clean solution to get the the power onboard. What I didn’t expect is that a standard high speed usb-c cable is not “straight through”, well, actually I expected the transmit and receive wires to be crossed, but the rest was unexpected. Not only is the cable wired differently if one swaps the ends, but also different when one flips one or both ends, making 6 different wiring combinations. Basically, I wired for only one of the six potential options, which means my cable will only work one way, if I swap the ends or flip one or both of the ends, it will not work. I will be marking which end of my cable goes to the ship and base respectively. With that done, my power cable is all working. Now to finish the lighting.
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Mike, I’m not sure what doors you are referring to. I’ve not seen any images or other information that suggests any other access to the ship other than the two sets of stairs on both sides that can be adjusted to accommodate the sea wall they dock against which then allows access from the sea wall to the deck. Once on board, there are many water tight hatches to stairs leading to lower decks, several water tight doors into the fire control room, and ornate doors leading to officers quarters and conference rooms that can have a waterproof hatch placed over them in the case of heavy seas. On the other hand, I have seen images where some (or possibly all) of the portholes open, but this would not be for human access. I’ll keep my eyes open other hatches along the hull.
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Good evening mates, another side marker update, both sides finished. Will get lighting working this weekend. Then on to the next lighting task.
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I’ll look and see, but as I recall I bought them from a store in California. I wanted a metal housing and when I called this place, the guy that answered the phone was very helpful, knew exactly the part I was talking about among the 100s of parts he had on his website, and answered my questions without hesitation. So I bought them from him and they arrived in a few days. They came with 12v bulbs, but not LED…but a clear 3mm LED fits nicely inside and looks amazing when lit. I looked at the RB Model link that VitusBering listed above, and it has the same ones I bought near the bottom, see image below. I bought the second one in the list as the inside diameter is slightly more then the 3mm LEDs I’m using.
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Good evening mates, here is the progress on the port marker and housing. I’m still not sure of the scale, but it seems close. Have to make a mirrored matching one for starboard side, prime and paint flat black…slow progress.
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Hello all, I have a couple of updates, one of which I could use a little help. First, the last, for now, update on the chart room. Paint and lighting all finished, but still have to complete the second level. Next, I’m struggling a bit with the scale of side marker lighting. In the same image as the chart room is my second attempt, this one made in brass. I think I have the shape close, see second image of the real AV port marker and housing, but I’m not sure about the scale. I have no measurements or drawings, just building by sight and this image I found on line. Clear images of the side marker lighting are very hard to find. I only have two and this is the better of them. What is your opinion? Side marker look okay or a bit too big?
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Good day mates, almost finished with the AV chart room for now, maybe tonight. Current state of affairs…this is the first time I have ever attempted to make moldings.
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Good evening everyone, another update on the AV chart room.
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VitusBering: somewhere in the above posts you made a comment something to the effect that any USC-C cable should work. After you came up with the idea about hiding a usb-c connector along the bottom of the false keel, I started to think that is what I would do, and will do. However, during my research, not all usb-c cables are the same. For example, if you get a power usb-c cable, it only contains 4 wires, the other potential pins on the plugs are not connected. Also, if you use a data cable, which you will need to use to have more then 4 wires, the cables are not connected straight through. For example, pin A2 (Tx1+) on one end will connect to B11 (Rx1+) on the other end of the cable, etc. For this reason, I will be using two circuit boards I listed above with a short data cable between them. Then I can map out, using a volt meter, a contact on one end to the correct pin on the other to make my entire system work. Using a usb-c connector on the base and at the bottom of the ship is a great idea! Just have to take a few things into consideration. Hope this helps.
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Good evening mates, I’ve been out of town for a few days so no progress…but this evening I did sit down and start the 3D rivet application to the chart house. These are 3D decals that are applied with decal set liquid and slid in place over top of the primed surface. Once the rivets are “stuck” and dried in place, a second application of fixer is applied. I’ll finish the other sides then air brush the entire structure in white followed by the AV yellow and then the trim. So much work for such a small structure.
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VitusBering, I found a possible USB-C mountable solution at Amazon that might be easily mounted easy solder connections, at least for the female side of things. https://www.amazon.com/Type-Female-Receptacle-Breakout-Board/dp/B07771CFFM/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_med_img_sccl_2/137-8656501-6613113?pd_rd_w=5YN1B&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=E6MH61KVDG3QVJ9DAMFM&pd_rd_wg=WIG8G&pd_rd_r=bda83ae7-cbce-462b-8ddb-cbc7ee577fbd&pd_rd_i=B07771CFFM&psc=1
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VitusBering, I think that will work for me just fine. Thank you for the info!
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VitusBering, well…to be honest, I’m still looking for something. I need 9 contacts for my lighting plan, so even an RJ45 is too small. I like your idea of the usb-c connector. If I’m not mistaken, that supports 24 contacts/wires. Where did you find both the male and female ends? Did you find the actual bare connectors or did you find a cable to splice in?
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