Another Farnsworth build

[Zombie Killer]

I have pretty much have all i need to start this project. I am going a slightly different route than others. The plan is to make 2 Farns. 1 with Arties image with antenna and 1 with both agents image but no antenna.

On to the build. First thing is a few experiments to determine if it is feasible. I need some lighting.

I am starting with an old Sony Hi8 camcorder display.

A bit of disassembly and we have some parts. All i want is the flouresant light and high voltage power supply board.

After going over the schematic to find voltage pins for the flouresant power supply we apply 4-5v and we get some light.

Ok, so now i have light. I need a screen. The original camcorder fresnal lens was way too small. I have this rear projection tv screen i gutted from my last tv and saved for projects. I have already cut a chunk out of the lenticular screen for my custom communicator. So i dremeled 2 chunks of the fresnal lens.

Also from the same TV i saved the projection lenses. After disassembly i found the middle lens has the same contour as the lens. Problem is the lens is too big. So one thing i need to do is find a way to grind the edges down to size so it will fit in the weatley. Not sure how to grind down glass yet. The lens adds some distortion so i will have to try it out to see what it looks like.

Here is the first test with just the fresnal. Lighting is not very uniform.

Second test with the lens. The lens evens out the light a bit even though it doesn't show well in this pic.

Here is the third test lighting using 1 piece of fresnal.

Here the last is with 2 pieces of fresnal stacked. Much more uniform lighting. It's still bright near the light source but i plan on putting the light further away from the viewscreen below it. I'm pretty happy. Now i need to get some images put on transparencys and stick them in between the lens and lightsoruce.

Yay! Hope you like.

 

[Zombie Killer]

It looks like a good old drum sander will grind a lens down. Unfortunatly once ground to fit it is about 1/8" too thick so the face doesn't go into the box deep enough. Next try was simpler. 3 pieces of semi thick plastic in place of the lens diffuses it pretty good. I did a test with an old slide to check brightness.

I sure was a happy camper christmas 1973. Anyone remember this GIJoe Chopper?

 

[boodha]

Wow! Zombie Killer, this is coming along nicely. Electronics, Fresnel and grinding of glass! Very inspiring. If only I could find the time to assemble my Farnsworth.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks Boohda.
Did a little more work on these today. I have decided on what i want it to do more or less and needed to change the left pot and the center pot i had put in.

The left knob is going to be used to turn the screen illumination on and off and dim the display. So i found one of these old on/off pots and cut it the shaft to size, then made a split shaft bushing so i can attach the knob. Pretty straight forward. I tried it out with my illumination setup and it works.

Next i wanted to change the center pot to a 12 pos switch. This will switch between different pre recorded actor phrases. The right button will play the phrase. I still need to find a sound board. I had this 12 position switch but it was multi layered and too long. So off comes 2 layers and i cut/ground/filed the shaft down. It was still too deep so i pulled out 2 spacers and replaced them with a couple washers. Still a little too deep so i replaced the nuts with smaller ones and ground them down as much as i could. It's tight but the face sits down about 3/32". I still have to get some thin tubing to make another split shaft bushing. The knob sits off side when tighened down right now. I also had to hog the inside of the knob so the nut recesses in little.

Here are the pair. The right one will have the antenna. I still need to mod the 2nd center switch but i will hold off until the first one works.

I guess i have to make a Claudia box too. Using a reg box i mocked up a Farns Farn with what parts i believe i see and have so far. Some parts are not exact still and are for checking only. The coils have the wrong wire too. Trying to get a feel for tube sizes and the size of all the parts. Heres the start. Ingore the side jacks. They are not on Claudias box.

 

[CJ 617]

Loving your work.....can't wait to see the next progress photos

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks Chris.

I finally bought some transparency, damn that stuffs expensive. Did a little test to see if and how well it worked. I think it's going to work just fine. I need to find a higher res printer and need to get better images. The ones i have look very washed out. I may need to try printing color pictures to get more toner down. So now it's a hunt for pics. One good one of Artie for his Farns and one of Pete and Myka for the Farns with the antenna. Here are some pics. I know it looks like crap but this was more of a proof of concept test to see how it looked and to see if i was wasting time.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Did a little more messing. I decided to layer 3 transparencies and print them at the darkest setting. I am pretty happy with the results. I wanted to darken the screen when it's off so i used some of this 3M monitor polarizing screen. It darkens it quite a bit when off and looked at head on and blackens it out completly when you look at it from the side.

Arties pic really darkens when off.

Here is Arties lit. I tried it with my table lamp on and off.

Pete and Mika still show though a little.

Here is the Pete and Mika version lit and with my external light on and off.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

And here I thought I was done with mine! :love

 

[Zombie Killer]

And here I thought I was done with mine! :love

:lol

I have all my antenna parts roughed in. Everything is a little long right now. I also need to strip the variable inductor of it's copper and wind it with a more screen accurate size and color copper wire. I'll fine tune once i have the drink umbrella. I'm guessing the best way to do this is to mold the umbrella and cast it. That way it can be painted with some Metal Master copper and buffed.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Yay, finally got a chance to sneak in some clear into the color printer at work. Pics came out way sharper in color even when printed in b/w on the same printer and it looks better with just a hint of hue. I used 3 layers of transparency and that is enough to make the blacks black. Even the blue lamp behind Pete and Myka looks good.I am happy with that part of the box and will move on to the soundboard. Got to find one now.....

 

[Interceptor6]

Dude! You're amazing! Looks great!!

 

[CJ 617]

That looks fantastic, yeh the pics look a lot sharper now......great job

 

[Zombie Killer]

Got the box painted over the week. Thanks NakedMoleRat for recommending the expresso paint. It's pretty close. I did my paint a bit different. For those wanting details I used Krylon Fusion Satin Black #2421, Krylon outdoor satin Earth Tierra #2903 and Krylon Fusion Espresso Expreso#2340. I sprayed a mist of black all over it then misted the Earth Tierra until the black was just visible then mist the expreso until the Tierra was just visible. I did this 3-4 times over the coarse of a couple days then let it dry for a couple days. I went over it with fine steelwool until the bottom layers started showing though. If there was too much black i just sanded a little more. I then gave it a couple clear coats and another few days drying then a final steelwooling and wash. I am happy with it. Some of the screencaps of the Farns look like they have a mottled finish others look a little bit smoother . I went for the smoother finish. Here it is all lit up. I have not mounted any of the guts yet. I plan on somehow utilizing the brass tacks for this. I still have to get crystals, weather the face too and paint the center knob or find the right brown one.....and of coarse find and finish the soundboard. Still much to do.

 

[protokev DMD]

Great work so far! I was looking through the pictures and noticed the thing on the left side looks a lot like the center crystal. Any chance of more info on it? Ive never quite liked the look of the hobby 'jewels'. and would love an alternative

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks, thats a clear LED in one of those chrome washers for countersink screws. They use the washers alot on musical electronic equipment. I plan on stripping it of it's chrome to see if it's brass. If not i'll paint it to look like the part on Claudias black Farnsworth. I'll try to get a better pic of the washer/LED

 

[CJ 617]

Loving the paint job on your Farnsworth! Quick question with regards to painting the box. Did you use any primer first before applying the colours?

p.s thanks again for the electrics advice

 

[Zombie Killer]

No primer but i did go over the box really good with 600 grit wet sandpaper. I was really worried about the paint not sticking to the hard anodizing. I had a few spots that it still scratched off easily on the raised parts of the side and i had to add layers to fix it. Once the paint is really dry and it has it's clear coat, also dry, it doesn't seem as fragile now. I did do a few scuffs on purpose before clearing because the screen used does too and i didn't think it would be easy once the clear was on.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Here is a better representation of what it looks like. The other pics were taken inside and at night. I did not wool under the facplate for extra insulation but you can see the difference in color between wooled and nonwooled clear. When i first looked at the color it looked a bit redder than i wanted but once i wooled the clear it went to a nice brown.

 

[CJ 617]

Here is a better representation of what it looks like. The other pics were taken inside and at night. I did not wool under the facplate for extra insulation but you can see the difference in color between wooled and nonwooled clear. When i first looked at the color it looked a bit redder than i wanted but once i wooled the clear it went to a nice brown.

Fantastic....that looks great! Cheers for the painting tip Hopefully I'll have some updated pics of mine soon.

Keep up the great work

 

[gust242]

wow that's sweet !