Seventh Doctor's Dalek Jammer - Part ID'd!

[RobWolf]

The Seventh Doctor's Dalek Jammer, from Remembrance of the Daleks. It's always been a bit of a mystery in terms of exactly what it was built from. There seems to be nothing out there on its build, no behind the scenes photos, the original prop doesn't appear to have survived, and the only reference material we have is screengrabs from the episode, which aren't as clear or sharp as you'd want for decent reference.

The front dish part is a vintage electric heater. That's fairly obvious actually from what you can see in the episode, and Ben Aaronovich makes a point of it in the novelisation (in a scene that's not in the episode where Alison and Mike are looking for the parts the Doctor has asked for). I picked up the correct model fifteen years ago, minus the triangular protruding wire for hanging the heater up, and I'm hoping it's still in my Gran's garage and hasn't been thrown out!

Now, after fifteen years of searching, I believe I have ID'd and obtained the core section of the Dalek Jammer, the bit onto which all the other gubbins are stuck to. I've always suspected it was a rheostat (or variable resistor) by the metal strip and slider visible on the top of the prop, and what I believe to be the correct model (it's a Zenith) has finally fallen into my lap. The prop has the protective covers removed from the slider, and the end plates have been removed too. The 'teeth' as I call them have either been painted or the existing black paint was stripped and they were rusty underneath.

Photos enclosed for your evaluation!

 

[RobWolf]

UPDATE

I took the rheostat apart last night and pretty quickly figured out how it was modified for the prop. They removed the upper support bar and the plastic/Bakelite (?) slider grip piece (RED). Then they removed the slider rod and the slider with the contacts (TEAL] and fitted it where the upper support bar was, but upside-down so the contacts are sticking upwards! It's an aesthetic mod which would actually render the rheostat useless, functionally speaking.

That's about all there is to say and do with this piece, so I guess I'll see you all again in another 15 years' time when I've managed to figure out another bit of the prop!

 

[the DOCTOR]

Good work, as you say, not much info out there, I will follow his thread with interest!