[taneal1]

Neglecting motor noise,is there a consensus as to which is truer to the appearance in the series, motor spun or LED Bussards?

Thanks for any thoughts,

Tom

 

[Steve H]

I think it depends on scale and taste. I think someone has managed to put a motor and proper light sources in the 1/1000 scale Enterprise (yes, really.) but to me that seems more a novelty and proof of being a serious lighting meister.

LEDs in the 1/350 Enterprise are probably an easier solution compared to the motor deal, if only because it seems to me there's always a risk of a motor going bad for no reason. Stuff just happens. Mind, I think most of the folk doing motors have developed ways to be able to remove the domes and service the innards just like on the 11 foot filming miniature.

Like everything else in terms of judging appearance, in the end it all hinges on what looks good TO YOU. Myself, I'd go with motors on the 1/350 kit.

 

[taneal1]

LEDs in the 1/350 Enterprise are probably an easier solution compared to the motor deal, if only because it seems to me there's always a risk of a motor going bad for no reason. Stuff just happens. Mind, I think most of the folk doing motors have developed ways to be able to remove the domes and service the innards just like on the 11 foot filming miniature.

Like everything else in terms of judging appearance, in the end it all hinges on what looks good TO YOU. Myself, I'd go with motors on the 1/350 kit.

IMO, the motored Bussard effect appears to be a bit more accurate visually. TrekWorks has gotten them pretty quiet without too much work and his method allows access. The rotation rate should be slowed quite a bit for accuracy and that would reduce the noise level even more.

You could always claim that the "real" Enterprise Bussards were noisy. You just couldn't hear it due to the vacuum of space... :nerd:

 

[Daniel Kaiser]

I'm running mine off a 5-volt power source, with a noticeable drop in volume and the spin looks closer to scale.

 

[taneal1]

I'm running mine off a 5-volt power source, with a noticeable drop in volume and the spin looks closer to scale.

Thanks Daniel!

Do you think that your motors are a more accurate visual affect than the LED version?

TrekWorks mentioned that the LEDs have to be kept at 12 volts or they won't "twinkle." Did you reduce the motor feed lines using resistors or an alternate power source?

Tom

 

[Radiodugger]

I can't find it right now, but Mark Myers has a vid of his 1:350 running with motors, I believe. For a specific episode FX...and they look EPIC! His run the motors and the LEDs, if I remember correctly...

Doug

 

[RossW]

I've done both a LED-only circuit (The Waddell Warp Engine Board, available from DLM for the 22" cutaway) and a motor-driven one for the 1/350 kit and I have to say only the latter looks right to me in terms of replicating the original 11' miniature. There's just no comparison. With a motor-driven inner dome with opaque fan blades, you get the blinking coloured lights (mine has 10 LEDs (5 independent blink rates x2) plus 5 amber) **plus** the shutter effect as the fan blade passes over them. I've never seen any solid state solution which comes close.

I took my nacelle with a FaulHaber motor supported by rings of dense, noise-reducing foam (unless your ear is right against the nacelle, you cannot hear the motor at all) to WonderFest and showed Gary Kerr. He made some suggestions about some minor changes I could do to the lights and the diffusing of the domes. Very encouraging.

 

[taneal1]

I've done both a LED-only circuit (The Waddell Warp Engine Board, available from DLM for the 22" cutaway) and a motor-driven one for the 1/350 kit and I have to say only the latter looks right to me in terms of replicating the original 11' miniature. There's just no comparison. With a motor-driven inner dome with opaque fan blades, you get the blinking coloured lights (mine has 10 LEDs (5 independent blink rates x2) plus 5 amber) **plus** the shutter effect as the fan blade passes over them. I've never seen any solid state solution which comes close.

I took my nacelle with a FaulHaber motor supported by rings of dense, noise-reducing foam (unless your ear is right against the nacelle, you cannot hear the motor at all) to WonderFest and showed Gary Kerr. He made some suggestions about some minor changes I could do to the lights and the diffusing of the domes. Very encouraging.

Amazing!

I see a PCB next the Bussards - is that from a light kit? Did you purchase the 2 motors separately from the PCB?

Thanks for any info,

Tom

 

[RossW]

Amazing!

I see a PCB next the Bussards - is that from a light kit? Did you purchase the 2 motors separately from the PCB?

Thanks for any info,

Tom

That's my custom PCB board I created to drive the motors and control the steady-on amber LEDs (they fade up with the motor). It also provides power to the onboard PCB disc for the blinking lights.

I purchased the FaulHaber motors off eBay as surplus items.

Faulhaber Motor 1524E006 5123 Gear 15 5S 141 1 K832 Encoder Used Free SHIP | eBay

 

[Captain Han Solo]

I can't find it right now, but Mark Myers has a vid of his 1:350 running with motors, I believe. For a specific episode FX...and they look EPIC! His run the motors and the LEDs, if I remember correctly...

Doug

 

[taneal1]

That's my custom PCB board I created to drive the motors and control the steady-on amber LEDs (they fade up with the motor). It also provides power to the onboard PCB disc for the blinking lights.

I purchased the FaulHaber motors off eBay as surplus items.

Faulhaber Motor 1524E006 5123 Gear 15 5S 141 1 K832 Encoder Used Free SHIP | eBay

Thanks, Ross.

Did you use the Round 2 lighting kit for the rest of the ship?

Tom

 

[RossW]

Thanks, Ross.

Did you use the Round 2 lighting kit for the rest of the ship?

Tom

No, I'm doing my own lighting circuit for the whole model.

 

[taneal1]

No, I'm doing my own lighting circuit for the whole model.

That's what I'm thinking of doing, also. Of course it's time consuming, but that's the ONLY way to get it exactly the way you want it.

I'm about to go back and re-read any reviews of the Round 2 Lighting Kit to see if it provides ALL the necessary lighting. I don't think it does, and I don't want to combine expensive lighting kits.

Tom

 

[Radiodugger]

Wow! Mark! See? That's breathtaking! What exactly comes with the model? Included in the box? Look, I don't want to copy Mark exactly, or anyone else. But that last vid with the music brought tears to my eyes!

See, I understand why Star Trek: The New Voyages would contact Mark Myers III to do the SPFX work. Mark would be the first person I'd call! Mark's photography, lighting and build of the Jupiter 2 is unmatched as well!

But RossW has the Bussards looking perfect too! That IS the way to go...the motors.

Doug

 

[RossW]

That's what I'm thinking of doing, also. Of course it's time consuming, but that's the ONLY way to get it exactly the way you want it.

I'm about to go back and re-read any reviews of the Round 2 Lighting Kit to see if it provides ALL the necessary lighting. I don't think it does, and I don't want to combine expensive lighting kits.

Tom

The PL light kit does indeed have everything you need to light your model, but the flash rates for the primary hull running lights are wrong, and they use the same rate for the secondary hull strobes (also wrong). Otherwise, a fantastic kit.

 

[taneal1]

The PL light kit does indeed have everything you need to light your model, but the flash rates for the primary hull running lights are wrong, and they use the same rate for the secondary hull strobes (also wrong). Otherwise, a fantastic kit.

Everything? That's a nice surprise.

Do you think that the flash rates could be modified by changing the RC circuit, or would it be easier to construct a separate circuit(s)?

Tom

 

[RossW]

Everything? That's a nice surprise.

Do you think that the flash rates could be modified by changing the RC circuit, or would it be easier to construct a separate circuit(s)?

Tom

It doesn't use RC, it uses a programmable PIC microchip. If you want accurate flash rates, you need to use something else. I made a plug-in supplemental PCB which lets you choose what flash rate you want for the primary hull running lights (a few different rates were found from analyzing various episodes) as well as the strobe.

(The beige PCBs next to my green board are from the PL kit)

Unfortunately, the friend I was making this for to sell has dropped out of producing kits and I haven't found anyone else who would be willing to market these.

 

[taneal1]

It doesn't use RC, it uses a programmable PIC microchip. If you want accurate flash rates, you need to use something else. I made a plug-in supplemental PCB which lets you choose what flash rate you want for the primary hull running lights (a few different rates were found from analyzing various episodes) as well as the strobe.

(The beige PCBs next to my green board are from the PL kit)

Unfortunately, the friend I was making this for to sell has dropped out of producing kits and I haven't found anyone else who would be willing to market these.

That is a COOL solution!

Presumably, this PCB could be used for any kit that requires flashers/strobes? Can the board handle more than 1 pair of flashers/strobes?

Are you looking for someone to assemble the boards, and provide a site for selling them, or you would assemble the boards yourself, and you want someone to advertise, handle the sales transactions the book keeping, etc.?

I know an electronics guy who is recently retired and might be interested...

Tom

 

[RossW]

That is a COOL solution!

Presumably, this PCB could be used for any kit that requires flashers/strobes? Can the board handle more than 1 pair of flashers/strobes?

Are you looking for someone to assemble the boards, and provide a site for selling them, or you would assemble the boards yourself, and you want someone to advertise, handle the sales transactions the book keeping, etc.?

I know an electronics guy who is recently retired and might be interested...

Tom

There's a transistor onboard so you could hook up quite a few LEDs to the 2 output jacks; I haven't tested to see how much it can take.

As the board was originally designed for the primary hull running lights, it only sets one flash rate; I didn't notice that the secondary hull PCB from the PL kit had the same code on their PIC microchip and hence flashed at the same rate until later. So, you would need 2 boards to get the flashing lights right on your 1/350 TOS E kit. Or, I'd have to modify my board to do 2 flash rates; not impossible but my focus now is on my own warp engine effect board.

I've been reluctant to pursue getting this to market as so many other people offer their own lighting solutions; I haven't had time to see if there is a demand for mine. A few people bought some off me as my PCB manufacturer sends an order to my in multiples of 10, but they're all gone now.

 

[taneal1]

As the board was originally designed for the primary hull running lights, it only sets one flash rate; I didn't notice that the secondary hull PCB from the PL kit had the same code on their PIC microchip and hence flashed at the same rate until later. So, you would need 2 boards to get the flashing lights right on your 1/350 TOS E kit.

I'm not sure if the following is correct:
STEADY Small Red+Green Nav Lights (on top of saucer; outboard of large Flashing Nav Lights)

STROBE on both sides of Hangar Deck

If so, are there only TWO pairs of flashing lights on the entire ship?

A few people bought some off me as my PCB manufacturer sends an order to my in multiples of 10, but they're all gone now.

If you ever decide to do another batch, you can count me in.

Tom