vacotton
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Nirvana reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by Force9 - Revell - PLASTIC - Revisiting the classic 1/96 kit
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CaptainSteve reacted to a post in a topic:
Fiber optic Lanterns ca. 1845, 1/96
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Good morning Dave, I dealt with the "side-firing" following your lead as I put each fiber in but as you can see I have touch up work to do on some of them. What I am really concerned with is the leaking from the sides of the concentrator. I see why you used a pipe fitting. It looks like the most important factor is centering the light on the ends of the strands. But I am afraid if they are brought too close to the array, they will melt. I haven't a clue how to find a lens of the right focal length to work properly. So about all I can do is keep making lanterns and sconces and then bundle up the whole shebang and stuff the cable into the hole and see how it looks. I will be anxiously waiting to see how you make out on finding a lens. As for the sconces, I will get back to you on that as soon as I figure out a proposed solution. I can see that all of this might be a tad ambitious for me (Mr. Thumbs) at 1:96. I wished I had Evan's "carpentry" skills. Have a great week and make people well. Verne
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I placed 10 lights into the forward gun deck. Unfortunately, I had to split the gun deck in sections to clear the lights without breaking the fiber optics. Shouldn't be a big problem to rejoin them. I will say this project is not for the faint of heart. I may go back to the pyramid as it is smaller than the funnel and brings the strands in closer to the LED array. A big problem is the amount of light that gets leaked through transmission. Of course, the lanterns are not historically accurate for 1812 but I have engaged this fiction to light up the gun deck so that the fixtures will be visible. I just could not see creating all of this detail and then not being able to show it off. I am trying to design sconces for the after cabin, state rooms, and the captain's great cabin. I probably will use some brass foil and then run FO through the brass. The tip of the strand would be the end of the candle. Evan, I am still wrestling with some ideas for the manger as well.
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by Force9 - Revell - PLASTIC - Revisiting the classic 1/96 kit
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Good to see you back, Evan! That is really clean work and all in styrene too. I will be rebuilding my pumps. The ones now are out of scale and will not clear the spar deck. No matter, as I progress, I learn new skills and then I am dissatisfied with my former efforts. You really set the standard for excellence in craftsmanship, sir.
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That is good stuff to know. So the resistor would reduce the voltage but not the amps. So I got off on a tangent and was searching for 1/96 wood gratings. I am not thrilled with what was molded onto the decks after looking at pictures of actual gratings. They aren't sunk in but are actually flush with the frames in the real world and have a nice sheen. I wonder if window screening would work. Verne
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever
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Dave, I decided to discard the pyramid for now. Instead I borrowed my wife's Tupperware 3 3/4" funnel. I am not sure that it has any concentrating effects but it is a perfect fit and will work well to keep the bundle together and organized over the light. As to whether it will focus the light on the ends of the strands, I don't really know. It seems like there is a lot of light leaking through the plastic. I got the 2 amp power supply yesterday and subbed it in for the 1.25 amp unit. Right away the wires into the array started heating up. So went back to the 1.25 unit for now. I will probably have to find heavier gauge wire or just stay with 1.25 amp power supply. Verne
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So here is what I came up with to concentrate the light on the Fiber Optic bundle. I cut 4 identical sides from .040 styrene sheet and then created a pyramid with a hole in the top 6mm on a side for the bundle to pass through. I put the pyramid up on blocks to allow air to pass underneath. Air will pass through the heatsink vanes as well. I will route the 12V wires under the pyramid to the array. Of course, heat is my main concern about this solution. Should be getting the 2 amp driver on Tuesday. Verne
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Okay. Got rid of the offender and ordered a 2 amp wall unit as well as some female connectors (only need 1 but they come in 10 lots). Replaced my multitester. So now I am back to square one. To answer your question Dave, here are the specs on that array: Now-- How to make a cone (or a pyramid) to concentrate the light on a focal point. Brass is out because it conducts and too risky for a short to happen. Maybe cardboard or styrene sheet properly ventilated to avoid melting? Verne
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever
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I probably just got a bad driver unit although I would like to understand what blew out both testers. You would have thought that kind of power would have jolted me as well but it didn't. These units are quite common. Amazon sells them under 5 or 6 different brands although now I am afraid of them. I think I like the wall unit idea with the plug in built into a black box that contains the array/heatsink and light cone. Do you guys think that this unit would do? http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Adapter-Power-Supply-12VDC/dp/B006GEPUYA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380946044&sr=8-3&keywords=wall+wart+adapter
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever
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Well I went out and bought a cheap analog voltmeter and hooked it up to a 9 v battery and it worked. Then I hooked it up to the power supply and got a 10 v reading and then apparently the power supply unit burned out the analog. I am wondering if the flashing is coming from too much current coming from the power supply such that the LED is turning off under load and then recycling. So it looks like this power supply has burned out two of my meters. Never heard of that happening. Verne
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Okay guys, I found my Radio Shack 22-812 but the damned thing doesn't work and they don't sell them anymore. Only used it a couple of times. I will get a cheapo special from Home Depot today. Dave: as for the cycling, I would say it flashes on and off in about 1 second intervals. So I suppose that would be 1Hz wouldn't it. This thing is supposed to be a DC power supply. Really frustrated. But they don't call me the "bulldog" for nothing. Grrrr. Verne
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever
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vacotton reacted to a post in a topic:
USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever
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Dave, I do have a voltmeter somewhere. Haven't used it for a while. As for the frequency of the flash, it is precisely 60Hz. I think it is junk and I am sending it back. I need to get a driver that works for 10W. Verne
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Well, I got my array and heatsink in from China and carefully assembled the array onto the sink with silver grease. Then soldered the LED driver on to the appropriate terminals by polarity. To make sure that there were no errors, I painted the negative side screws with blue and the positive side screws with brown paint. This matches the polarity of the output wires from the driver. Unfortunately, when I plugged the rig in to the wall, I got a bright FLASHING light. Not what I wanted. To make sure that nothing was amiss with the unit, I then drove it with a 9V DC battery and got a SOLID light just as I originally expected. So I RMA'd the 30W DC driver and have to find one that works. Please see illustrations: Anybody have any ideas? Thanks, Verne
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Hi Dave, Well I tend to self diagnose and my wife get furious with me. She says I should let real doctors do that. Anyway I feel better now. I am a great believer in flu shots. We haven't missed in years. I too am absorbed with the tedium of machining all of those lanterns and wooden stanchions. Now that I have learned how to use my Dremel, I am revisiting a lot of old work. Verne
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I had to lay off for a few days with the flu. Better now. I got tired of seeing my Constitution heaved over on the table and so designed a simple but secure stand that will allow passage of the optical fibers through the keel. Here it is: And here is a crude drawing of the plan. I will mount the stand on a 2x4 and probably stain the whole shebang and then put a nameplate on the crossbar. The nameplate will sort of hide the fiber optics that will pass behind it into the heatsink/array unit. Still waiting for that stuff to arrive from China. Thanks for reading, Verne
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Hi John, I have bitten off a lot with this project. If you do it, be prepared to work with a magnifying glass at close quarters. A lot of precision involved. I can only do a few of these at a time and then my eyes feel like they are going to fall out. This has elevated my standards and set a new personal bar for quality. Dave (lmbsbk) has provided a brilliant tutorial to follow without which I wouldn't know where to begin. Right now, I am "building" the lamps out of 1/8' square acrylic per Dave's specs. I doubt you will see much on the log for a while, though, because of the repetitive nature of the current work. I appreciate your words of encouragement, John. Thanks for looking in. Verne
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