Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

And make sure you are tapping the correct pins. This can cause erratic or improper operation. I've never heard of the 4060 having larger sensitivity to static to recently manufactured components (70's and early 80's CMOS chips were VERY static sensitive). I assembled several of these circuits in a h...

I use a 556 for a very convincing strobe...

Hey All, Looking to get into casting, mostly for lighting parts. I have read that you need to use pressure to get crystal clear parts. I'm looking to make light guides at first, so crystal is what I want. I found this at Michael's(a coraft store here in the US) and it does not require pressure. At ...

These are great, and the price is NICE: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34640 Problem is the website is showing your store is new and not open yet (but I'd double check): http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/retail_stores.taf?f=detail&Retail_Store_ID=322 Could g...

I looked all over the place, every craft store in sight plus a Target, and couldn't find a clear acrylic rod to try out my lighting idea. However, I, uh, borrowed (yeah, that's the ticket!) one of my wife's hot glue sticks, hollowed out one end, then stuck in a blue LED. The glow was nice and unifo...

I agree with the the idea of using a real regulated power supply. In theroy you can get at 10 or 20 amp power supply, the circuit will only draw the power it needs. But if wiring gets shorted or something burns out as a short circuit (unlikely but it can happen). Then the power supply will have the...

Does anyone remember the jacketed fiber optic cable that AMT used to sell with their Star Trek kits? (Such as the Enterprise-D and DS9). Can anyone suggest where to get equivalent fiber optic cable? There used to be a place called Todd's House of Fiber, but it doesn't seem to be around any more. I ...

On a side note...NEVER trust the output voltage of ANY power supply, ESPECIALLY wall warts!!! Always check their output voltage with a VOM or DMM before plugging in to your circuit! Otherwise, like Sparky said, sounds like a resistor wattage issue. With resistors, it's better to have a big honkin' 5...

I think this would do perfectly! http://www.eti-usa.com/consum/envtex/envlite.htm I get mine at Michaels. IIRC, I just bought a kit that'll make a half a quart of the stuff for just under $12. Bubbles really clear out fast, especially if you use a CO2 source around it....light breathing is perfect f...

Though I'm no expert, mouser.com had quick shipping and the ability to order single items, as well as in bulk when I ordered from them. Mouser is the only place I'd recommend. I've dealt with them all personally and professionally. Hell, I'd rather order from Mouser than go to the local suppliers. ...

-snip- Typical 9V batteries have a 500mA capacity with a typical drain of 15mA. Go much above that and the battery will start getting hot. On the flip side, AA's have a capacity of 2000mA and a drain of 50mA. I've found that 4, wired in series (which most battery packs are wired to) gives me MORE t...

That's what I was afraid of with the 9 volt. 15 MA lets you power one chain of white or blue LEDs (3 with one 9 volts, 6 with two 9 volts in series). Scott I'd like to create a thread about power sources and include your comment, its good practical, emperial testing done by a modeler for a modeler....

At 1/32", I'd drill with a pin vise.

Scottie

I ment to say 9v in series That would give you 18 volts and half the current of them in parrallel. I really hate 9V batteries for these applications. Typical 9V batteries have a 500mA capacity with a typical drain of 15mA. Go much above that and the battery will start getting hot. On the flip side,...

That Falcon is MOI impressive! But for something easier, I HIGHLY recommend FiberFill (if you want cheap and effective) http://www.airtex.com/product/prdFiberfill.asp You can get it at Wal Mart for about a buck...not convinced? Before: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/s_hasty/Lightstrip.jpg Stuf...

One AM wrote:
A thought just struck me. Might I be better off with a variety pack of resistors and a breadboard?

Bingo.....

Scottie

In the 30+ years I've tinkered and used LED's I've never had a problem with static. As far as pots, what style are you looking for, PC mount (horizontal or vertical), panel mount, power capacity, etc. Also, keep in mind, if you are mounting your pot inside your kit, you really should use a fixed res...

Hey Duck! How many LED's did you get in the 1/1000?!?!?! From what I gathered, it was over TEN?!?! I got five and it was TIGHT! The effect was quite super neato coooooool!! I'll have to get a DV of it, convert it and link a Quicktime or WMV so you guys can judge. But after this film contest, I'm EXH...

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Okay, then. I had assumed they were voltage regulators due to the large heat-sink on the top.

Easy mistake to make. Older transistors had to deal with a lot of current and heat build-up. triacs, SCR's, transistors, even audio amps look similar.

Scottie

Yeah awhile ago when I first starting using these they advertised them as having a 130 Deg viewing angle 130, WOW, that would've piqued my interest as well!! Pretty impressive! Scottie That's pretty much the normal angle for a LED without the "lens" enclosure. The different angles you get...

Yikes! I stand corrected! #-o Dude!! Sorry, seriously, if I came off as a hard a$$! I just hate to see someone cram miles of wire and electronics into a model to have it work till the weakest link fails. To give you an example, I'm working on a PL 1/1000 TOS E. In the saucer is 12 white LED's. All ...

Balok wrote:
Yeah awhile ago when I first starting using these they advertised them as having a 130 Deg viewing angle

130, WOW, that would've piqued my interest as well!! Pretty impressive!

Scottie

Actually it's best to wire the LEDs in parallel and wire your limiter in series to the power supply and LED's How you figure? If you put diodes of any kind in parallel you should have ballast resistors on each one to make them share the current. Otherwise you'll have small variations in diode volta...

Actually it's best to wire the LEDs in parallel and wire your limiter in series to the power supply and LED's

Scottie

Balok wrote:To some extent the acrylic may act as a heatsink.

Actually a good heatsink will be a moderate to good conductor of heat, like aluminum. Acrylic acts as the opposite and probably one of the reasons you are getting so hot, along with the aforementioned over-driving the current to LEDs.

Scottie

What Scott said about the Ultracal. If you are going to go that route, you can reinforce the mold by embedding strips of burlap into it. When it's set up and dried out, you can seal the cavity with parafin wax (I think, it's been a long time since I did an Ultracal mold) or clear acrylic spray pain...

Dern it!

What are you using to cast into the plaster? If it's any form of resin...you might want to read on... Unless you are using one of the Ultracals, FORGET plaster. Personally, I would say forget ALL plasters. Ultracal is the best, hardest, lowest shrinking plaster around. I use it in making molds for m...

Like this?

http://www.plastruct.com/Pages/OnlineCa ... hicKey=T-1

Scottie

A question that screams for other questions. How are the hooked up, series or parallel? Are you using a current limiting resistor? Technically, you could hook up bunches of them wired in parallel with a current limiting resistor, but on a 9V battery they wouldn't last too long (9V batteries are the ...