wayouteast
Sr Member
Hi all,
Does anyone have any insight on the way the flip-up clear acrylic sight works on the phaser 1 from TOS?
I understand that as you rotate the knurled brass thumbwheel on the phaser a connecting rod inside the body causes a half-round acrylic rod to rotate and push up the silver textured 'plate' at the front of the phaser (as well as extending the emitter).
What I'm struggling to understand precisely is how the acrylic rod interacts with the flat plate as it pushes it up, and what the rectangle that can sometimes be seen at the rear of the sight plate is. Sometimes this rectangle appears to be raised and black like the phaser body, sometimes it appears to be a clear flat feature as if it's the flat surface of the acrylic rod prior to rotating, and sometimes it just isn't there at all.
If this rectangular feature ( when it's present) is the flat surface of the acrylic rod I'm puzzling how the rotating rod manages to push the plate upwards rather than simply hitting its edge and being blocked from rotating further. If the rectangular feature isn't the acrylic rod (and the rod simply rotates upwards underneath the plate with the edge of the rod's flat surface ending up just under the rear edge of the plate) then what is it?
The various photos of the prop (both original and replica) have left me none the wiser. And although I've done a reasonably extensive search of these forums I haven't found the answer yet.
Can anybody who's built or had access to a phaser with a working sight please advise?
Many thanks!
Does anyone have any insight on the way the flip-up clear acrylic sight works on the phaser 1 from TOS?
I understand that as you rotate the knurled brass thumbwheel on the phaser a connecting rod inside the body causes a half-round acrylic rod to rotate and push up the silver textured 'plate' at the front of the phaser (as well as extending the emitter).
What I'm struggling to understand precisely is how the acrylic rod interacts with the flat plate as it pushes it up, and what the rectangle that can sometimes be seen at the rear of the sight plate is. Sometimes this rectangle appears to be raised and black like the phaser body, sometimes it appears to be a clear flat feature as if it's the flat surface of the acrylic rod prior to rotating, and sometimes it just isn't there at all.
If this rectangular feature ( when it's present) is the flat surface of the acrylic rod I'm puzzling how the rotating rod manages to push the plate upwards rather than simply hitting its edge and being blocked from rotating further. If the rectangular feature isn't the acrylic rod (and the rod simply rotates upwards underneath the plate with the edge of the rod's flat surface ending up just under the rear edge of the plate) then what is it?
The various photos of the prop (both original and replica) have left me none the wiser. And although I've done a reasonably extensive search of these forums I haven't found the answer yet.
Can anybody who's built or had access to a phaser with a working sight please advise?
Many thanks!