Recent content by macropod80

Not easy to photograph with my ancient SLR camera, but I did finally get a cheap plasma ball to fire up inside this thing: I'll get the thing finished some day. All good things..

I agree I've always felt those three round things don't look quite the same - they seem sharper-edged on top. But I think the lighting and angle make a big difference too. Still, I'm not throwing mine away and buying another, even if it does look ever-so-slightly more precisely the same. It's...

I think the 0.31" diameter looks better than the 0.38", but only the fatter ones come in lower than 1.5". I've guessed about 1 1/4", so yes, the taller one could be cut down. I reckon the bend is more like 1/2" radius, which isn't specified in the Hammond specs, but they look sharper. May have...

Thanks for that nkg. According to Google, apparently it doesn't exist anywhere on the Internet - no wonder I couldn't find it! Here's another intrigueing observation: Those two Getty photos of a different unit (both with inverted top-plate graphics) show that one seems to be missing the cover...

I think I may have the two cones on the back end a tad small, but I'm going to keep talking about the insides: when I took that plate off the side of the gyro,I was disappointed to find nothing underneath.I was expecting it to be covering a little vertical circuitboard as seen in the film: but...

Well clearly I'm not seeing the world as others see it, which I confess is not a novel experience. To my eyes, the aluminium bars along either side of the base have raised features on them. There are holes in the sides where you would expect them, but not just simple round ones. Taking fuzzy...

Just jumping forward a few months: One of many details I've been puzzling over on the inside is this 'something' where the cover screws onto the base: And I think I've just got it. Months ago while scouring the Net for gyros I saw one in Germany that had something odd left stuck on a corner...

Thanks to member abitofcredit, the pivotal AE-35 prop from 2001 has finally been identified as a reworked Sperry aircraft gyrocompass. So I'm finally able to build an AE-35. (And yes, that guy with the spacesuit website said he identified it years ago, but he didn't ever actually reveal the...

I just copied the original 48 on the Sperry, but they're only mock-ups till I settle on the final design. Something finer, like 60, may look better. I'm not surprised you haven't found anything modern - I think we need to be looking for vintage, maybe military/aviation gear like this kind of...

originals just appeared on evilbay for about 10Pounds or near offer: item #203449414036

Yep the handle and knobs are printed because I couldn't go out to buy anything. Tried a while ago to find handles in hardwares, but they only had metric ones. Needs another couple of mm for 4inch. Also most modern ones don't have such a nice smooth curve on the bend - tend to have an ugly kink...

Well it's arrived and looks just like the real thing. Still under lockdown so had to raid the back shed for whatever I could find to start a mockup for planning the final arrangement: Hoarding old screws in jars really does pay off eventually, and a 3D printer helps too. Looks like it will...

A relatively cheap option for the tumbler, sometimes still found in second-hand/thrift shops if not on evilbay, is an old illustrated or souvenir type. The 2001 originals were likely not actually blue plastic but clear, painted on the inside. Clear ones are quite common, with printed advertising...

Next problem is the knobs, clearly not the black plastic (Bakelite?) ones that come with the gyro. To me they look like this: (Drew one in CAD, printed it and slapped some silver Humbrol on it.) They look familiar, like audio/electrical things that were around in the 70s (well, obviously from...

No, as I said back in post#94, that was straining the bank balance just that bit too far. (And I suspect pulling the front off will be a lot easier than trying to put one back on, with all that fiddly stuff to juggle) Which is why I've been squinting at images so intently, trying to persuade...