Farnsworth Discussion

Hi friends, great fun to see people still working on Farnsworths after so long! I was just having a look at the Wheatley website & noticed there's lots of fly boxes, specifically these ones? I made my farnsworth nearly 10 years ago so I don't really remember what happened r.e: Wheatley beyond they stopped making the same boxes used in WH13.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the original, authentic ones & their new ones?
I have no idea. I got this
and don‘t see any difference to the original boxes
 
Pretty happy with the screen, looks better than on the video. I matted it at 73mm diameter and only see the edge on top, on the sides the lens hides the extra millimeter.

Space for HDMI and power plugs is limited. The barebones HDMI plug is about 15mm high with ribbon cable folded. With my 1,5mm faceplate it leaves 0,5mm to the Wheatley box edge, the absolut minimum so the box can still close. Thinking about filing off half a mm from plug and faceplate so it is more recessed on the top like the original.

Boot time on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 is like 10sec, 5 to splash screen. The small battery I got for testing is sufficient for 2h incl. screen playing video. More than enough.

If it wasn‘t for all the shipping for small (wrong) parts, it would be a rather affordable project. To upgrade an existing Farnsworth, maybe $150-200 in parts.

 
With the TFT being rather slim I went for a less cramped component layout.

Just got the new lens (the one I posted earlier) which set me back nearly 100.00€ but also have a 15.00€ alternative in the post. Maybe even one of the 80mm watch glasses will do, will check that too. The cheap magnifier lens doesn't work for final version because of two side curvature. I now matte the screen at 71mm, which is all but perfect.

Still waiting for the Davies knob which now has a 9/13 date :( Also still waiting for a front plate, now water cut and CNC drilled.

Changed to rotary switches with 3 and 8 positions from Lorlin with a very small footprint (will be hard enough to compile 8 quality videos anyway). And the smaller switches fit the 0.2" holes, which most front plates have.

Again, sorry for the monologue, but maybe some day someone will decide to upgrade his version, which is quite feasible/affordable without the prototyping.

TFT: 60.00€ incl. shipping
Raspberry Pi Zero 2: 15,00€ (list price, but paid 30,00€)
HDMI Plugs an cables: 15,00€
Lens: 100.00€ (15.00€ alternative available)
LiPo battery: 6.00€
LiPo board: 18.00€
Sound board/speaker: 10.00€
Laser-cut matte for display: 8.00€ incl. shipping
Two rotary switches: 15.00€ incl. shipping
Cables/plugs: about 10.00€


fw_case.jpg
 
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Zombie Killer,
I gave him links to parts he could actually order and buy, that *do* look like the ones used.
You gave him no switch;
a link to 25 different knobs without specifying which one (the 1910cs), from a site you can't even order from, you have to request a quote;
and not a light, but a lens *only*, where the minimum quantity to buy is 100.

I was attempting to be more helpful than the dead/unhelpful links and admonitions to 'google it' were.

But you have inspired me to be more thorough, so here's my updated link list for maxhebus:

Knob: https://www.alliedelec.com/product/davies-molding/1910cs/70097791/


Side Jacks: https://www.unicornelex.com/DC_Power_Jack_1_1mm_3_5mm_Chassis_Mount_Connector_p/23-4700.htm


Lamp: https://www.digikey.com/short/p1pjn1


Case: https://flyfishusa.com/wheatley-aluminum-box-shell


'Camera' lens: https://allstarco.com/en/clear-cabochons/7036-round-clear-acrylic-cabochons-flat-back-15mm.html
I just wanted to chime in that that is the wrong red lamp indicator, it is much too small. $30 wasted.
 

If anyone wants to give me new links for some parts i can update the second post on page 1.
Perfect red lens cap lookalike for Germany and Europe: Scale Abdeckkappe D=16mm Rund Kopf Rund innen geriffelt wahlw. rot/grün/klar

Wheatley Box from UK (as the US link is dead): Flat Foam Boxes
 
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Yes, I've built one:-
Kenney sent me a big box of leftover WH13 parts when he was cleaning out his workshop. It included an unfinished but completed box (only two boxes existed) for the Tesla and some stands and radio tubes. The whole lot went missing in the post. Sigh.
 

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