Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I was thinking about this too and came up with solar powered LED yard lights. The little accent lights have a panel (kinda large unfortunately) and 2-AA batteries which charge during the day. If a person could switch the panel for a smaller one, (or put it on the base), it should work. A model that...

A while back I had a calculator that was powered by a solar panel and I was wondering if any one has ever powered the lights in a model with solar panels. I'm planning too build a ship that will have a couple of panels and was thinking that since they will be there anyway I could make them function...

What I said. Who here has experience with mold putties? Like this mold putty ? I haven't used this brand, but I've used other two part Polyvinyl Siloxane putties. They're the types used by dentists to make impressions ( not alginate). They work great - easy (and forgiving) 1:1 mix and they really m...

Tony, try Acetone - although in full strength it may attack the plastic. Maybe try using a diluted version (ie, "nail polish remover with acetone").

Frank

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the gate must be negative. Given that the output of the 7557 is positive, what do I need to put in between to get the signal to the gate to be negative? Looking through the CMOS Cookbook I see the 4066 might work. What do you think Frank? Or maybe my setup on the board ...

If I go with resin, is it going to creep up on the sides and be lower in the middle? I know that the Smooth On clear resin is preferred for these applications, but I'd like to avoid having to buy that large of a quantity of resin. Devin, most resins will form a meniscus, unless you put something fl...

This seems to be a much higher quality product than reg. embossing powder. I didn't know of it's existence, at all. Same here. It all started when someone (I think it was Dan, actually) posted a link about a new wax for figures, etc. I got some, then needed a safe way of melting it. Went to Mr. Art...

Tanya,
How about Clear embossing enamel? This is a powder that melts at 300F+; it probably stays pretty solid at mere hot mug temperatures.

Frank

Tanya, If the coasters aren't too big or too deep, you could use drug store acrylic nail repair acrylic. It's stinky and fairly expensive stuff, but won't be affected by mug temperatures. Alumilite sells a clear resin (also 1:1). the results are hard and also fairly temperature resistant. Unfortunat...

Thanks macfrank. That explains a lot. One more thing, what's the best material to use for buffing ? I'm assuming some type of cloth rag ? Do you recommend using a buffing compound ? I wouldn't use any buffing compound on the metalizer; it's probably not strong enough. I've used a soft wool cloth (l...

I've used the non-buffing metalizers and would appreciate if someone could tell me the differences between buffing and non-buffing. Is there any advantage to using one over the other ? The buffing goes on flat-ish, and you have to take a cloth to it to get it to shine. The non-buffing metalizer goe...

I've sealed both the buffable and non-buffable (which are far more durable) versions of the Testors Metallizers with Future.


Future adds a sheen that takes away a little of the metallic look, but you can minimize it with very thin coats of Future.

This Ki-201 has an overcoat of Future.

Frank

James - if the gate is connected to the output pin of the PIC, what is the base/emitter connected to? One of the circuit diagrams posted by macfrank has '1/2/3' nomenclature, but that still doesn't tell me which is which. FETs are not bipolar transistors, so there's no emitter or collector. They ha...

One question Frank: Remember the freeware schematic program that comes up with a printout of a board design? What was that? It's the Eagle light edition from CADsoft. It's a little clunky, but it works well and the price is hard to beat! As for the MOSFET drive circuit, this page has an example, dr...

I hate mechanical relays, so I've replaced all the mechanical relays with solid state relays in our equipment at work. They're rugged, easy to drive and last forever . They tend to be expensive, though. For what you're trying to do, why not use a transistor or a MOSFET to drive the LED from the outp...

2keyla wrote: Where can I get some of the Watch Crystal glue?

It's in the reply I posted above:

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.as ... t&ID=80343

Elmers may dry clear, but it may also yellow with time.

Watch crystal glue won't yellow and will hold the parts together well. It's expensive, but great stuff.

I don't think you'll be able to completely eliminate the appearance of the crack, though.

will something like this CanadianTire with a moisture trap and regulator work ok? Can't tell, because it's asking for a Canadian postal code to show the city. A water trap isn't a necessity for acrylics, but it does help, and it's vital for any other paint type. Compressor noise is an issue, too.

Most acrylics can be thinned with isolpropyl, denatured alcohol or the cheapest - windshield wiper fluid. You can also use denatured alcohol to clean the brush and remove acrylics, even after they've dried. Isopropyl alcohol will do the same, but denatured alcohol is much, much quicker. You'll want ...

I'm in need of a wire wrapping tool, and maybe some resistors and LED's just to round out an online order. What's the recommendation for a quick shipping online source? I just visited three local Radio Shacks and asked about wire wrapping tools and they looked at me like I was speaking Latin. Thank...

Poking around the insides of a switching power supplies can be deadly (or at least extremely painful) even if you know what you're doing. I think it would be better if you step back, calculate your power requirements, increase it by 25% then go buy a wall wart or other self contained power supply th...

One AM wrote:Oh, well, that's fine, then. Was it a 5 or a 10 gallon tank?

It was a 5 gallon tank, just like the Harbor Freight one, only red. I had to jury rig an adapter to my airbrush fitting, but that's what teflon tape is for.

Assuming I'm brushing at 15-20 PSI how long would a tank filled to 60-ish PSI last if I were to brush continuously until it dipped under proper pressure? You would need the flow rate coming out of the airbrush to calculate that. But when I used an air tank, a gas station fill (and later, from a com...

Actually, I do have a gas station just next door. I also will be without a car, and I'd rather not carry that CO2 tank several miles to get it refilled, then back again. They also seem to be about twice as expensive as an air tank. I model at a very slow pace and won't have too much time each day f...

One of those low pressure air tanks are going to be an exercise in frustration, unless you live next door to a gas station and they have free air, or unless you have a compressor to fill it up for say, every 15 minutes (or less) of use. Either get a compressor/water trap and ideally a holding tank o...

Don't servos have stepper motors and need a pulsed current. Nope. A servo is just a DC motor (and gearing) driven by a frequency to voltage circuit. Depending on the frequency you send to the servo, you get either no motion, or deflection in one direction or the other. You can use a 555, but there ...

From bitter experience, CA will damage the fiber. In my case, it was for a target masked used in an MRI machine. The sharp edge of the cured CA would cut into the fiber and just cause it to snap off. I reglued all of the fibers with epoxy (not the 5 minute kind) and it's worked well for the last 5 y...

hows about a place to get decal paper? The local hobby shop dosnt carry it on a regular basis. For laser printer or ALPS compatible decal paper, the best by far is the stuff sold by Tango Papa Decals . His decal material is very thin, but also very strong, so it'll conform nicely to almost any surf...

First of all, don't use Exacto blades; they're dull even when new. Use Excel blades. I have one of these that'll resharpen blades.

A long time ago, TI (Texas Instruments) used to sell a LCD wristwatch with two tritium based backlight cells. The watches were cheap, so I took out the tritium lights; they made dim, but usable, night lights.