Andor - Aldhani Rebel Cell Old Navigation Tool identified - Spoiler Alert
- Thread starter the.rebel.agent
- Start date
Darthikari
New Member
Has there been any updates on these parts? I’ve had my camera base for a while, but I’m a bit concerned about not putting the details on correctly….
Yep, I am working with Padawan on this and will hopefully have the revised pieces all printed by the end of next week.
I did not think I could love you more after all your work on the bathroom buddy,...but now
even more,
Darthikari
New Member
Absolutely wonderful news! Looking forward to the update!!
Whelp most all of the parts modeled out to convert the Sonar over, but I have run into a bit of a snag.
The entire upper exterior of the Sonar upper was replaced on the original camera, including it's rear cover. In hindsight it makes sense to me now, but the whole front unit was a new construction, and I don't think they even kept any of the original interior framing/electronics either. I prototyped several replacement covers that look good, but in the end they are a little oversized and proportioned differently, because all the junk underneath is in the way.
I'm going to remove the whole front unit and just replace it all so it looks correct to the prop as well. The good news with doing it this way is that the entire original Sonar and button mechanics come off in one unit, held by 4 screws. If you want to save that original unit, a bit more disassembly and some de-soldering of a control ribbon needs to be done, but those parts can still be usable/resellable if you are careful.
But then the bad news.... Polaroid decided to use their own special screws on those parts (and a few other parts), a 1mm x 1mm square bit. This is not a Robertson bit, but something Polaroid did custom all on their own. Short of buying a Polaroid-made screwdriver (just saw one for $130), you have to either find or make your own 1mm x 1mm bit to get those four screws out. I guess they really didn't want other people working on their stuff?
I don't want to monkey with filing down my own bit from a small flathead screwdriver as some have recommended, so I'm going to go and find some 1mm square metal stock and see if I can get that to work. I could drill them out as well, but they are at an unusual angle and I also don't want to tear up those pieces at all if I can avoid that.
In the mean time, if anyone has other suggestions, I am all ears! I am expecting to have to try 1mm square brass stock, not my first choice but I don't have a lot of options. Those fasteners are used other places on the camera that would be nice to access (especially if electronics are being added), so I was hoping for better than a one-and-done solution.
The entire upper exterior of the Sonar upper was replaced on the original camera, including it's rear cover. In hindsight it makes sense to me now, but the whole front unit was a new construction, and I don't think they even kept any of the original interior framing/electronics either. I prototyped several replacement covers that look good, but in the end they are a little oversized and proportioned differently, because all the junk underneath is in the way.
I'm going to remove the whole front unit and just replace it all so it looks correct to the prop as well. The good news with doing it this way is that the entire original Sonar and button mechanics come off in one unit, held by 4 screws. If you want to save that original unit, a bit more disassembly and some de-soldering of a control ribbon needs to be done, but those parts can still be usable/resellable if you are careful.
But then the bad news.... Polaroid decided to use their own special screws on those parts (and a few other parts), a 1mm x 1mm square bit. This is not a Robertson bit, but something Polaroid did custom all on their own. Short of buying a Polaroid-made screwdriver (just saw one for $130), you have to either find or make your own 1mm x 1mm bit to get those four screws out. I guess they really didn't want other people working on their stuff?
I don't want to monkey with filing down my own bit from a small flathead screwdriver as some have recommended, so I'm going to go and find some 1mm square metal stock and see if I can get that to work. I could drill them out as well, but they are at an unusual angle and I also don't want to tear up those pieces at all if I can avoid that.
In the mean time, if anyone has other suggestions, I am all ears! I am expecting to have to try 1mm square brass stock, not my first choice but I don't have a lot of options. Those fasteners are used other places on the camera that would be nice to access (especially if electronics are being added), so I was hoping for better than a one-and-done solution.
almar bouwman
Sr Member
Ugh I hate when that happens
Darthikari
New Member
That’s annoying, but I’m going to check through some of my old bits to see if I can find something that works. I’ll share if I find a solution.
Looking forward to seeing how the other pieces work out!
Looking forward to seeing how the other pieces work out!
AxeKando
New Member
Kobalt makes a set that has that bit included. The square size 0 is what you’re looking for.
I have those bits actually. An SQ0 is way too big at about 1.8mm, as is a SQ00 at 1.3mm. Polaroid created their own proprietary just so we couldn't use typical square bits lol... The off-brand screwdriver on Ebay is $75.
Mocked up some more parts for Padawan311 's Sonar.... Still a lot of revising to do so consider a lot of this 3d printed (and low quality at that) place setters for final parts, but it's getting there.
Regarding that specialized bit I was looking for to disassemble the Sonar, would there be any interest in picking up a custom screwdriver like that for your own project? I'm not planning on a project run lol, but it may be more cost effective for me to have maybe a half dozen or so tools made in steel (with 3d printed handles) than just getting one manufactured on an industrial machine. Full disclosure as well on two things, I believe the majority of the Sonars use this square-head fastener, but some were assembled with a torx equivalent as well; it would be worth checking (I'll add a pic where one of the fasteners is visible). Second, I did consider 3d printing bits, but between old stuck fasteners, the adhesive glue that can be covering those fasteners making them harder to come out, and just the lack of tool durability, I just think I'd be wasting my time at 1mmx1mm.
Here are two of the four fasteners that hold the front units on:
..And just some mock-up pics
Regarding that specialized bit I was looking for to disassemble the Sonar, would there be any interest in picking up a custom screwdriver like that for your own project? I'm not planning on a project run lol, but it may be more cost effective for me to have maybe a half dozen or so tools made in steel (with 3d printed handles) than just getting one manufactured on an industrial machine. Full disclosure as well on two things, I believe the majority of the Sonars use this square-head fastener, but some were assembled with a torx equivalent as well; it would be worth checking (I'll add a pic where one of the fasteners is visible). Second, I did consider 3d printing bits, but between old stuck fasteners, the adhesive glue that can be covering those fasteners making them harder to come out, and just the lack of tool durability, I just think I'd be wasting my time at 1mmx1mm.
Here are two of the four fasteners that hold the front units on:
..And just some mock-up pics
I think we are stuck drll-drill-drilling if I want to get this done in a fairly short amount of time. When I get the stubbies on the front out, I'll figure out the size/thread of the microscrews and replacements can be found in standard torx.
The really annoying part is that drilling those 4 uppers out is relatively easy, but if you want to desolder the connector ribbons to that portion, you need to remove the bottom panel of the camera (4 more screws that are buried under hardened adhesive and have to be taken all the way down).
It's not a deal breaker and is actually a lot easier just to cut the ribbons if people don't care about the parts, but it'd be great to salvage that whole front as a unit. Anyways, we'll see what happens and if I dig myself a deeper hole . Should be fine
The really annoying part is that drilling those 4 uppers out is relatively easy, but if you want to desolder the connector ribbons to that portion, you need to remove the bottom panel of the camera (4 more screws that are buried under hardened adhesive and have to be taken all the way down).
It's not a deal breaker and is actually a lot easier just to cut the ribbons if people don't care about the parts, but it'd be great to salvage that whole front as a unit. Anyways, we'll see what happens and if I dig myself a deeper hole . Should be fine
What an absolute pain in the ass. But success! A $10 Craftsman jewelry screwdriver set I picked up today had a small straight blade that fit the diagonal (that's about 1.4mm) of the square slots. That was good for exactly THREE screws (one in the bottom to test, two front ones) before it was stripped out and worthless. FYI it stripped not because of loose fit or bad angles, it's just a way-under 1mm thick slab of metal trying to unfreeze a 45+ year old screw, and then do it at least 3 more times. Glad it worked for to of the important ones.
The other two I drilled, I worked up from a 1mm bit to 4mm, and they popped free when the heads loosed. After that, one of my 45 MILLION pairs of nail clippers from the Bathroom Buddy project worked perfect to grab the remaining nubs and back them out. There is also only one soldered ribbon attached, they desoldered pretty clean with my iron, about 8 contacts. I don't see why the whole sonar and lens unit assembly is not just as functional as it was before, so that's good. I'll spec the screws tomorrow and get new torx heads, I have to remodel and fit the new modified head, but I should be able to keep it installing with the same screw hardware to keep things simple
I've been staring at this for a couple of months working around that, so it's nice to have that piece separate and undamaged. It should be smooth sailing now, but an important point for anyone making a 'functioning' screen accurate prop... There are four of these screws under the leather bottom panel that hold the rear metal cover plate on, and those would need to be pulled to get into the rear of the camera for mods and electronics. You might be able to just dremel out the hole for the rear display panel, but i have no idea what is hidden behind it or how much space there is to work with. Removing the bottom panel would make mods a LOT easier I think, but now with the front stripped there should be lots of room up there. Put a switch/control there, string string leads back to illuminate the rear display, there you go.
Anyways, I'm done looking at it for the night. Whoever bought camera with the hex screws instead of square-bit, congratulations. THese proprietary bits make you want to smash stuff.
The other two I drilled, I worked up from a 1mm bit to 4mm, and they popped free when the heads loosed. After that, one of my 45 MILLION pairs of nail clippers from the Bathroom Buddy project worked perfect to grab the remaining nubs and back them out. There is also only one soldered ribbon attached, they desoldered pretty clean with my iron, about 8 contacts. I don't see why the whole sonar and lens unit assembly is not just as functional as it was before, so that's good. I'll spec the screws tomorrow and get new torx heads, I have to remodel and fit the new modified head, but I should be able to keep it installing with the same screw hardware to keep things simple
I've been staring at this for a couple of months working around that, so it's nice to have that piece separate and undamaged. It should be smooth sailing now, but an important point for anyone making a 'functioning' screen accurate prop... There are four of these screws under the leather bottom panel that hold the rear metal cover plate on, and those would need to be pulled to get into the rear of the camera for mods and electronics. You might be able to just dremel out the hole for the rear display panel, but i have no idea what is hidden behind it or how much space there is to work with. Removing the bottom panel would make mods a LOT easier I think, but now with the front stripped there should be lots of room up there. Put a switch/control there, string string leads back to illuminate the rear display, there you go.
Anyways, I'm done looking at it for the night. Whoever bought camera with the hex screws instead of square-bit, congratulations. THese proprietary bits make you want to smash stuff.
Thank you for all the hard work and time you are putting into this!
Really happy with that piece off....
So the plan is to now replace that ENTIRE unit to make it accurate, and then have it re-install using those same 4 screw hole mounts (with better fasteners lol). The front control box and sonar box will stay in two pieces and screw together so electronics and power can be installed up there, and then I think the rear display can just be dremel'd out of the camera without tearing the whole thing apart; That whole rear display/surround can then just be glued right in place to finish the rear. That whole rear plate also holds the dosimeter and sextant on with metal screws, so those additional rear parts can be removed later/upgraded/whatever if needed.
I forgot to update here, but from modeling the 'sextant' out (and I know this was probably already a given for you guys), but it's gotta be (at least partially) a found item. Those curved radius sections are only about 3mm thick, and there are a series of very small pins (smaller than most would be comfortable trying to print) that allow them to slide out over each other.... Anyways, I have the parts mapped out, but still no luck on finding the original piece that it was taken from. While nothing like it shape-wise, it makes me think of the sewing slide-rulers that my mom used to use when I was a kid; I think it uses the same kind of die-stamped thin stock, and then had rivet-style pins pressed in with the other parts. Anyways, food for thought.
Also, renders of the modifying parts for the SX70:
Also, renders of the modifying parts for the SX70:
