EMD F7 in SCALE

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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

makinsmoke wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:50 pmVery, very nice!
Thanks!
I keep circling back to Nelson Reidel’s Shay and heisler loco build pages...Nelson used the Maglite flashlight to make Head lamps for his locos.
I wonder if Tony Maglica (inventor of the Maglite) ever envisioned all the strange ways his products would be used.

A friend who is a retired police officer once described how a suspect attacked him as he was being cuffed and how he (the cop) used his big Maglite to clock the dirtbag and subdue him. That was where I got the term "suspect beater" to describe the flashlight. BTW, he told me the flashlight still worked after he used it to defend himself. He had to clean off some blood, though. :D
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Andrew Pugh
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Andrew Pugh »

Headlight looks great BDD!

AP
rkcarguy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by rkcarguy »

I like the headlight too, BDD. The incandescent mag lite reflector and bulb actually replicate some headlights very well. I was looking awfully hard at my big 4D mag lite as well, but ended up making a dual light bezel insert for mine with a smaller pair of reflectors designed to fit over LED's.

Do you have any plans for the lower one on your F7? I have seen a few lit, most often not, some with nothing in them, and some with two smaller lights or even a mars light.
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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

Andrew Pugh wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:02 amHeadlight looks great BDD!
Thanks! Your compliment...er...brightened my day. <Groan> :D
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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

rkcarguy wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:54 pmDo you have any plans for the lower one on your F7? I have seen a few lit, most often not, some with nothing in them, and some with two smaller lights or even a mars light.
The lower light is functional, although I didn't power it at the time because the regulator I was using (78S05) can't support the electrical load of two headlights, and I didn't have a second 78S05 in my parts pile.

Ultimately, I've got visions of replacing the upper headlight with a Mars light, which is where they were usually mounted on F-units. As space is rather confined in that area, a Mars light may prove to be impractical.

In any case, I'm not satisfied with how I rigged up the lower headlight—also made from Maglite parts—and will be re-visiting the design. See below.

headlight_lower_mtg01.jpg
headlights_mtg01.jpg
headlights_outside02.jpg
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rkcarguy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by rkcarguy »

Someone sells a mars light for 1.5/1.6" scale don't they? I swear I've seen one somewhere...
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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

rkcarguy wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 11:24 amSomeone sells a mars light for 1.5/1.6" scale don't they? I swear I've seen one somewhere...
I recall seeing something like that on Discover Live Steam's advertising page. It was an expensive little devil, well over $300, if I recall.
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rkcarguy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by rkcarguy »

I found it, it's $395!
I think you have the skills to make one, pickup a little low rpm gear motor from Amazon or Surplus Center, slip the light body through a large plastic spherical bearing clamped in your aluminum holder you already made, and you're home free.
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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

rkcarguy wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:42 pmI found it, it's $395!
Such a deal! I'll take two so I have a spare. :D
I think you have the skills to make one, pickup a little low rpm gear motor from Amazon or Surplus Center, slip the light body through a large plastic spherical bearing clamped in your aluminum holder you already made, and you're home free.
Well, it is a little more complicated than that. :roll: The Lissajous beam pattern requires motion in two axes: horizontal oscillation at a rate X, and vertical oscillation at a rate of Y, in which Y is some multiple of X. Most commonly, Y = 2X in the Mars lights that were fitted to F-units. Y could be faster if desired, but once you get to 4X it starts to look as though the locomotive is having a epileptic seizure. :D

Whatever the X-to-Y ratio, doing it with a single motor means a two-motion mechanism in which, assuming Y = 2X the Y motion crosses through center three times for a single X transition. It's not a hard thing to design, except I will be cramped for space and working on real tiny mechanisms is not something that is easy for me anymore (Damned aging!!!).

I've given it some thought, but with so many things demanding my attention, designing a Mars light mechanism is relatively far down on the list. I still don't have the F-unit in paint. :shock: So I probably should get that done first just so I can say I finished the unit. :D
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kcameron
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by kcameron »

Given the power that a chip LED can output, could you put a number of these very close together in a pattern and then cycle them, dimming in and out, to give the illusion of the movement? It would take something like an Arduino to drive it. But from any distance back could you tell? A small circuit board with 7 LED's, a good reflector, and an Arduino would do it. No moving parts to wear out, easy dimming to just the center LED if wanted, could even add a pair of red LED's for the stopped indicator, the two bracketing the center one vertically. Just some morning thoughts.
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Steggy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by Steggy »

kcameron wrote: Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:18 amGiven the power that a chip LED can output, could you put a number of these very close together in a pattern and then cycle them, dimming in and out, to give the illusion of the movement? It would take something like an Arduino to drive it. But from any distance back could you tell? A small circuit board with 7 LED's, a good reflector, and an Arduino would do it. No moving parts to wear out, easy dimming to just the center LED if wanted, could even add a pair of red LED's for the stopped indicator, the two bracketing the center one vertically. Just some morning thoughts.

You must not have read my earlier post about not wanting the LED look in my headlights. :D

Just so you know, there is a review of a locomotive on U-Toobe in which the builder did exactly what you described, although I don't know if an Arduino was involved. Frankly, it looks like junk. What I see are a bunch of LEDs being lit in sequence, not the focused and sweeping beam of a real Mars light.

BTW, Arduinos are used by people who are too lazy to roll their own control circuits. :D
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rkcarguy
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Re: EMD F7 in SCALE

Post by rkcarguy »

The pattern I saw on an F7 with mars light on Youtube, appeared to be an oval pattern about as tall as the train and maybe 2-3x the width.
I'm thinking you just make a ball bearing follower connected to an oval shape "cam" with a spring on it, and then use a slotted arm on a motor to turn it about 30rpm?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB0_yt-mIE4

Regarding an electronic version, there is already some offerings in O-gauge that could probably have larger LED's or reflectors fitted to use it for 1.5" scale if you wanted to go that route. I'm not sure how real that would look though.

Last thought, you could just shade part of the bulb and have it simply rotate, but would have to give up that oval pattern.
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