Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I've Been Shopping...and building.

Okay, so I'm just horrible at keeping things updated on here but I will try and get things up-to-date. First off, I'm not sure if wiring up the slip ring should have been my introduction to soldering but I think I got the hang of it. Hearing Chris James in the back of my head saying "check as you go" helped things, along with the helping hands holder. each connection was checked, and cleaned up with heat shrink tubing. I ordered the slip ring through Ebay and got it fairly quickly. I also ordered the slip ring connection board from Scott and put that together at the same time.







With the wood frame there is not horizontal brace to mount the slip ring. I could have mounted it upside down on the dome ring but decided to add an aluminum brace at the top to be able to mount the slip ring.





Here I took the cover off of the d-sub connector so you can see the wiring from the slip ring. Not only did I use the heat shrink tubing, but I also bought a set of bright blue wire covers in different sizes that will be used in a variety of places to keep things cleaned up and add to R2's blue theme on the inside.

Next up on my list is the inner detail panel. This was not screen used but later seen published as the inside detail behind the door that receives the restraining bolt on R2. I just really liked the look of this panel and apparently I'm not the only one. A new addition to the the list of cool laser cut parts from A&A came out with this piece. So, I thought it would be a fun project to break up the larger parts of the build that can get overwhelming.


Here is the published photo that the A&A part was based on






and here is my version. It's not done yet and it's not exact..but hey, it doesn't have to be.


I have on order some flat top blue LED's that will go in the bottom left. I replaced what looks like red push buttons on the published version for red LED's, I think it just looked better with some catchy red lights. The top right LED's are just temporary. I'm going to tone down the white lights, I also have a blinking red LED in the 4th "window'. I hope to come back later and have some more automated movement with the LED's flashing. The top right little holes next to each "window" is also going to get a fiber optic to close it and still let the light shine nicely.
I'm also going to have to modify the frame a bit to get it to fit my wood frame. For the most part, I'm pretty happy with it and it will just add to the magic when that door panel opens up and reveals this. The whole thing will be on a switch with the door so as not to run all the time. This was a fun little project and not overwhelming at all, I'd recommend trying this out if your first starting out as you'll get some time working with styrene, painting techniques, weathering techniques, soldering/electrical, and then in the end...a pretty cool little detail that will not take you long to complete.

More purchases included getting in on the run for the aluminum battery boxes, aluminum center vents, I purchased my amplifier, speakers, Futaba radio/receiver, battery charger, AND my JEDI controller came in. I'm still waiting on the JEDI display and JAG foot drives that should be in soon. And I'm totally excited to get the 300mm dome towards the end of the year.
Unfortunately, with the holidays quickly approaching, along with the entire family celebrating our birthdays in the next two months and vacations, R2 is not going to see much more in purchases until after the holidays. There will althought be plenty to do with what I have. With the radio/receiver, JEDI controller and sound system, I hope to get started on that soon.
I am also looking forward to driving down to R2LA this next week with Chris James, it will great to visit with other R2 builders. Plus, a trip with no commitments, work, or obligations will be nice change.

1 comment:

  1. Hi !
    What did you use for the "black vertical connector" on the left ?
    It look like an ISA slot, but not sure ?
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete