Search found 75 matches

by Paulbo
Sat Feb 20, 2016 4:27 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Switching from AAA to AA batteries
Replies: 6
Views: 11003

Go with C or D cells! You'll have plenty of life then. :-)
by Paulbo
Sat Feb 20, 2016 4:26 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Photo luminescent panels
Replies: 13
Views: 18976

Somewhere I read that the stuff from Miller Engineering ( www.microstru.com ) has around a 400 hour half-life. Useless IMHO.

As noted earlier, add pots to your LEDs to reduce the brightness. If that's still not enough, you can put a filter between the LEDs and the surface.
by Paulbo
Thu May 07, 2015 2:32 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: clear window material?
Replies: 11
Views: 20447

To the susceptible to water damage notation, you could say the same for decals ... and you solve the "problem" the same way:

Coat your model with a clear sealant when you're done. You're going to do it anyway, so there's really no problem.
by Paulbo
Sun May 03, 2015 10:44 am
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Tips for cutting/snipping FO clean and flush?
Replies: 4
Views: 9845

I used to have a pair of cuticle scissors that had flush-cut jaws. They worked great ... until the brtittle casting snapped.
by Paulbo
Mon Dec 08, 2014 2:43 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: clear window material?
Replies: 11
Views: 20447

Ditto Micro Kristal Klear. (Testors Clear Parts Adhesive and Window maker if your LHS can get the Microscale material.)
by Paulbo
Thu Oct 16, 2014 3:09 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: sources for fiber optics?
Replies: 7
Views: 13237

The British equivalent of a dollar store.

Of course, does anyone remember "5 and dimes"?
by Paulbo
Wed Oct 15, 2014 4:26 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: sources for fiber optics?
Replies: 7
Views: 13237

http://www.thefiberopticstore.com/ is another good option. ...are there anything thinner than .25mm? I'd be surprised if there weren't (for some bizarre technical application), but think about the size for a moment and try to figure out how to drill a hole small enough to fit that small a fiber and ...
by Paulbo
Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:03 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Led strips
Replies: 5
Views: 11090

The 3M adhesive they all have should be fine. If you want to reinforce it 5 minute epoxy should do the trick.
by Paulbo
Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:57 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Led light strips, cool or warm
Replies: 7
Views: 12304

I think he gets that cool white don't run any cooler temperature-wise.

Personally I think that warm white work better for windows. They're similar to incandescent bulbs, which are what you're used to seeing in a window.
by Paulbo
Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:53 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Diffusing led strips
Replies: 10
Views: 16913

I've heard of people cutting white plastic straws in half, but haven't seen the results. Might be worth a try.
by Paulbo
Sat Nov 30, 2013 3:01 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: en.ofweek.com products
Replies: 3
Views: 7264

Just noticed... you signed up for a whole new forum just to kvetch about a slightly high (in your opnion) shipping cost?!
by Paulbo
Fri Nov 29, 2013 10:54 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: en.ofweek.com products
Replies: 3
Views: 7264

You agreed believing that they would ship it first class, then complain BECAUSE they shipped first class. The $0.63 you mention is for a LETTER not a PACKAGE which can't go through the automatic sorters. 2 oz is for the LEDs. Packaging will typically more than double that, so at least $2.24+. A box ...
by Paulbo
Thu Jul 11, 2013 8:59 pm
Forum: Scratchbuilding
Topic: Masterpeice Project. Mastering Mediums and Techniques
Replies: 22
Views: 47032

I think this answers all of your questions: http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... p?t=105731
by Paulbo
Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:32 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: How to make an LED flicker
Replies: 4
Views: 9769

Starlighting Projects has some cool flickering LED effects for their torches. Perhaps they'd be up for selling just the flickering LEDs without the torch thing. I'm not sure it'd be applicable to what you're doing.

http://www.starlightingprojects.com/
by Paulbo
Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:37 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Electronic Circuits Help
Replies: 33
Views: 140098

I would try to avoid it purely because the paint will a (very minor) amount of thermal resistance to make the resistor run warmer. However, if you paint the part that it's connected to and mask off most of the resistor you should be fine. It may be overkill, but it's in the better safe than sorry sc...
by Paulbo
Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:57 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: help with lighting 1/350 Enterprise
Replies: 11
Views: 22934

I'm assuming you're using the Polar Lights TOS lighting kit. If so, did you check that the LED strips are properly polarized? Typically the red wire should be connected to the + side of the strip and you want to make sure that it's connected to the + connector on the board (don't have the kit, so I'...
by Paulbo
Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:08 am
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: fibre cables question
Replies: 2
Views: 5861

The fibers are extended through the skin so the ends aren't painted over. Once you finish painting the kit, trim them off with a flush cutter (looks like a wire cutter).
by Paulbo
Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:27 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: solar leds
Replies: 3
Views: 4820

There you've stumped me. I will leave that to members smarter than I.
by Paulbo
Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:16 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: solar leds
Replies: 3
Views: 4820

There is no "switch" per se - when the solar panel stops generating electricity the battery runs power the other other direction. There's likely a diode to keep juice from running back through the solar panel (just as there's likely one to keep juice from running backwards through the LED ...
by Paulbo
Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:12 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Superbrightleds.com light strips
Replies: 5
Views: 5582

Those type of lights are quite good.

Starship Modeler carries them: blue red

They won't be good for the nav lights because they can only be cut in 3 LED sections.
by Paulbo
Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:24 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Clyde "En'til'Zog" Jones has passed away
Replies: 28
Views: 82813

Well, damn. That's a terrible shame.
by Paulbo
Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:46 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Left is Port and Right is Staboard...
Replies: 13
Views: 10119

Planes don't have top/bottom differentiation lights. Of course it's easy to tell whether you're above or below another plane in flight (look up and you're seeing the bottom, look down and you're seeing the top). OTOH - in the Trek universe (and in most every other SF universe) everyone flies oriente...
by Paulbo
Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:54 pm
Forum: Scratchbuilding
Topic: Cheap Styrene
Replies: 65
Views: 101928

High impact POLYstyrene is what you want. For those in the Northeast, Modern Plastics is a great supplier. I've bought 4x8 foot sheets and they don't charge for cutting unless you're looking for precision cuts - i.e. I tell them "about half at about 1 foot square and the rest at about 2 foot sq...
by Paulbo
Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:17 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: How to find a receptacle for a wall wart's plug?
Replies: 8
Views: 7353

I think Paul is referring to something like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/AC_adaptor_polarity.png This indicates whether the "pin" or the "sleeve" of the output coming from your AC adapter is positive or negative. Is there any chance you could post a p...
by Paulbo
Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:43 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: How to find a receptacle for a wall wart's plug?
Replies: 8
Views: 7353

There should be a wiring diagram on the back of the package. You want to make sure that you match + to + and - to - as shown on the little "circle with a dot and line" diagram that should be on your power supply. (The dot corresponds to the inside and the circle/C corresponds to the outsid...
by Paulbo
Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:08 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: How to find a receptacle for a wall wart's plug?
Replies: 8
Views: 7353

Your local Radio Shack will have the part you need, ready to be mounted onto your base. While you're there, pick up the matching plug so you can add it to your battery pack and then you swap power supplies in under 5 seconds.
by Paulbo
Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:04 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Cheep lighting kits
Replies: 4
Views: 4678

You could always try Easy LED - cut the strips, connect with solderless connectors, attach to a 9V battery terminal. Nothing easier.

Carried in the SSM store: http://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.c ... grafix.cfm
by Paulbo
Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:43 pm
Forum: Finishing
Topic: Has anyone used these on there voyager?
Replies: 9
Views: 8526

Hi Chiver, All of the window parts (except the cutting templates for the missing windows) mount from the inside. Please note: I made a mistake on some of the part numbers in the instructions. This was just brought to my attention last week - I have updated the instructions. Here's a link: http://www...
by Paulbo
Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:25 pm
Forum: Lighting & Electronics
Topic: Strip LED question
Replies: 4
Views: 4556

That's it. The 5050s are a shade brighter because they have 3 LED "filaments" in them instead of a single one. If the strips are like this then you can hook them straight to a battery. (Notice the resistor between the two right-hand LEDs in this picture .) Depending on the resistor used in...