Truly hovering Jedi Training Remote

Hey Gang,

I've been working on this for a while (gathering parts, pics and information), but I would finally like to introduce the first known, truly levitating, Jedi Training Remote. If there is another out there somewhere, I have never seen it.

Anyway, on to the pics:

First a pic of everfything as it first started out



Next, the hemisphere in mid construction

And finally, a test levitation




I still need to the shock ray emitters (need to get my hands on my father's drill press) then assmble and paint.

Let me know what you think.

-Fred

 

I think it is a fantastic and very creative idea. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

Very cool. Now you just need to make a floating landspeeder Awesome job and I can't wait to see it complete.

Richard

 

Excellent idea.

Next do the Death Star. B)

- k

 

Nice to see a scratch-builld.

 

Terrific idea of a project, Fred. It will make a striking display piece.

Looking forward to pics of the next step. :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

 

Hey Fred

Looking GREAT so far .....

Markus

 

That is splendiferous. Now, what globe is that and where can I get one from??

SAS

 

Cool idea, keep us updated

 

Sweet.

:thumbsup

 

Thanks, guys .

Glad everyone likes it, so far.

Before I forget (again), I'd like to thank the following people for making this happen:

Coinprop - for his super sharp casts of hard to find model parts
BrundelFly- for his insanely helpfull and detailed tutorial ( http://www.hobbymatrix.com/models/remote/build/build.html )
WackyChimp - For his wonderful pic hosting services

As for the globe, just put IFO 3000 in to a google earch and you'll get hundreds of results. Average retail is about $100. I happened to snag one on Ebay for $80. It's a pricey globe, but * is it worth it. Even if you never modify it, it's still a cool globe.

-Fred

 

Awesome display. :thumbsup :thumbsup

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(phase pistol @ May 3 2006, 02:34 AM) [snapback]1237291[/snapback]</div>

Y'know, if I could just get a second globe, it would be seriously easy. Just pull off the globe graphics, fashion up a laser dish and paint the other details on.

I may have to look in to that.

-Fred

 

Astounding. I love it. Can't wait for the final paint and assembly.

KD

 

Question there Gig,

By looking at the photos of your buildup I couldn't tell for sure, but does the unit require one or two magnets inside of the sphere to operate properly?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Aegis159 @ May 3 2006, 02:25 PM) [snapback]1237549[/snapback]</div>

There's just the one magnet in there. If you look at the fourth pic, you can sort of see it in the northern hemi (right side).

I wish I could figure out how to determine the strength of the magnet needed to keep it levitated. Right now, I can see the base working overtime to keep the remote in the field. If the magnet were a hair stronger, it wouldn't be a problem.

The thing is, the remote is much heavier than the original globe. So while it is a really cool display, I may not keep it going all the time, just for safety reasons. Perhaps if I add a second, smaller magnet it would work, but what I know about magnetic field theory, couldn't fill a thimble.

-Fred

 

I can't believe this hasn't been thought of before... what a simple but BRILLIANT idea.

I can't wait to see the final pictures.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gigatron @ May 3 2006, 09:36 AM) [snapback]1237558[/snapback]</div>

Safety reasons? It might fly off the base or something?

 

Thanks, WebChief . I think until recently, the technology really just wasn't there. There were the 4" globes and 8" globes, but most of them had a magnetic gap of 1/4" - 1/2". This new one has a gap of 1 1/2". That's a heck of a difference and actually makes it look as though the thing is hovering under it's own power.

I try to think of this as the remote's docking station - like where it would've been kept when not in use. I would like to eventually dress up the base so that it looks like it fits in the star wars universe. But I'm not sure how to do that quite yet.

Clutch, when I was talking about safety I was more reffering to the safety of the remote as opposed to people suffering from personal harm :lol. If the remote falls out of the magnetic field for one reason or another, it could go crashing to the floor. I only want to have to build this sucker once.

Nice thing about this base though is a built in safety feature. When you unplug it, the magnet reacts and automatically increases the field and sticks the globe to the top, so you don't have to woory about having to catch it in a power failure.

-Fred

 

(in my best Fry voice) That's the best thing I ever saw.
:thumbsup :thumbsup

 

Looking great Fred. And I'm glad You like the cast pieces.
It's kind of cool to see Youre project.....before I sold You the sphere and pieces....this was my plan to do what You are doing now
So I'm really happy to see that the pieces and parts are being used for what they where made for..

Good luck, and I will follow this project with great expectation.

 

Thanks :thumbsup

It looks like these parts are just following their destiny :lol

I hope to have most of the major construction finished by this weekend and completely finished by next weekend.

-Fred

 

I've been thinking about a BTTF2 hoverboard down with a similar magnetic trick. Still on the drawing board though.

Great idea you have there.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jimbo890 @ May 3 2006, 07:00 PM) [snapback]1237740[/snapback]</div>

Now that would be cool and probably not so hard as long as it were just a display piece. If you're looking to hold up a person, that may be a bit harder.

-Fred

 

JTR: Looking GREAT already. That's a great idea.

Hoverboard: Well, if you had REALLY big magnets, and place em below the board, and then have a huge metal floor, with also magnetic power, you *should* be able to float on it

I've had that planned with a LEGO Landspeeder, but didn't had enough magnets.

 

Yeppers, make a lightweight hoverboard from PVC Foamboard, add some canibalized magnets from some old hard drives [strongest magnets I've seen. BTW] and some sort of display with counter pole magnets on the bottom. If all goes well, a hoverboard.

Stay tuned. Now I need to make one of these training remotes.

 

Very creative idea. Makes for a fresh look at a prop that has been around for awhile.

 

Wow. Really cool.

Is there any rotation or is it stationary? Either way, let us see the finished product.

 

Thank, guys

There is a switch in the back of the base that rotates the object in either direction and if it detects that it is slowing down, it speeds it back up so it maintains a constant rotation.

When everything is complete, I'll try and make a small movie of it hovering and rotating for you guys.

-Fred

 

Where did you get the rims??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Qui-Gonzalez @ May 4 2006, 12:33 PM) [snapback]1238136[/snapback]</div>

Came with the kit I purchased off of CoinProp

-Fred

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gigatron @ May 4 2006, 09:44 AM) [snapback]1238181[/snapback]</div>

Came with the kit I purchased off of CoinProp

-Fred
[/b][/quote]
I just need rims. Must....PM...CoinProp. Thanks for the info.

 

I have RIM castings....they are unplated.

CHROMETECH USA is where I used to send RIMS for Plating.

Email me if interested.








<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Qui-Gonzalez @ May 4 2006, 03:03 PM) [snapback]1238233[/snapback]</div>

Came with the kit I purchased off of CoinProp

-Fred
[/b][/quote]
I just need rims. Must....PM...CoinProp. Thanks for the info.
[/b][/quote]

 

I have some unplated ones, but was on the lookout for plated. I am lazy.

 

Gigatron, waaay cool project. :thumbsup Can't wait to see it finished.

Have you thought about creating a humming sound similar to the remote in the movie? It could be rather soft, and subtle, since the remote is in it's docking station. But a sound emanating from even just a little would not only be a cool effect that adds realism to the remote, but it would also subtley draw people's attention to it (without it being an annoying, loud hum). Just a thought.

Regardless of sound, you're gonna have a levitating remote in a fortnight, and that is super cool. :thumbsup

The Wook

 

Thanks Wook .

The sound is actually a pretty cool idea. I'd never be able to have it generated from the remote itself (severe weight issues), but I don't see why it couldn't be located in the base unit. Have it "hum" while it's plugged in. I'd just need to find a very small digital recorder with a continuous loop and a tiny speaker. It would only need like 3 or 4 seconds of recorded sound, 'cause who would nit pick that the hum is too repetitive.

I may have to look in to this, I just wouldn't know how to hook the recorder in to the base power.

-Fred

 

I'm wondering how hard it would be to crack open a MR remote and stick a magnet in it?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clutch @ May 4 2006, 06:42 PM) [snapback]1238369[/snapback]</div>

Even if it doesn't split, you could probably saw through it with a fine tooth saw, install the magnet and repair the cut. Just mask everything around the cut, glue, putty and re-paint. Might come out pretty decent if enough care is taken.

-Fred

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gigatron @ May 4 2006, 05:36 PM) [snapback]1238315[/snapback]</div>

No problem. And yeah, the base unit would be the place for the audio. Having a hum or buzz similar to the one in the film would add a whole dimension to the realism of the remote. Definitely look into it if you can.

The Wook

 

I wonder how or where I could get an audio file for that and what format it would have to be in in order to work with a digital recorder.

-Fred

 

Just a small update.

Still working on those dang zappers. They're a lot harder than I originally thought.

I don't have the 7/8 drill bit required to drill out the holes, so I'm going to have to use a tiny 5/64 bit and drill around the primeter until the piece comes out and then clean it up with a dremel sanding drum.

Also, making those goofy styrene bands around the emitters are a geometrical nightmare. First you've got to cut out circles and then go back and hand shape each one because of the shape of the dome - what pain in the rear :lol. If anyone has any in the propper size already finshed, I'd gladly buy them .

It may take a little longer than originally planned, but hopefully not much more.

-Fred

 

Just a test of the shock ray assembly to see how it looks all together





Thanks WC for hosting

-Fred

 

That looks .. like .. total great .. or so :love

(Just watched Pink Five ..like awesome)

 

Thanks, Kris .

Here's a new update, a quick little mock-up to see how things line up

Amazing what a quick coat of primer will do. Really brings it all together





Thanks to WC for hosting.

-Fred

 

haha. WOW that is FANTASTIC. i was playing around with one at wallgreens today thinking if there was a use for one. what a coincidence.
great creative idea.
-Scott

 

very nice and a cool Ideal

 

I watched Star Wars tonight. Turns out the remote doesn't make a steady humming/buzzing sound. That sound comes from the lightsaber. The remote only makes two sounds, neither of which are constant: one, is the sound of laser fire; and two, is the sound of the remote moving (it sounds kinda like "pssshhhhing").

I still think a low hummmm sound would be cool for your set-up, but it would not be screen-accurate. In fact, when Luke turns off his saber, there is no audible sound emanating from the remote as it continues to hover in front of him.

The Wook

 

I think a really good question would be how strong or how big are the magnets in all of these units? They sell these things as low as $20.00 for the floating VW Beetle, but are the magnets smaller?

If anyone buys one of the globes please post pics of the magnet inside the globe

-Ss

 

Thanks, gang .

Too bad about the sound. I guess we could come up with something.

On a more serious note, I may have some bad news; The remote may be too heavy to maintain it's levitation for more than a few seconds. It stays for a few seconds before the base starts shaking violently and then the remotes gets stuck to the top magnet.

If anyone has any suggestions or any knowledge of magnetic physics, please chime in.

-Fred

 

Wish I could help but, I'm just a prop collector and not very knowledgeable about such things.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gigatron @ May 7 2006, 08:51 AM) [snapback]1239890[/snapback]</div>