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Mike Rush
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Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 184
Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is enough room - the unit is surprisingly deep there.

Due to its wedge shape, it's thin at the top where the key handle goes, but down at the bottom there's at least two inches of space... right where the 'works' need to be. Cool
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Mike

"We're not heroes - we're from Finchley"
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Mike Rush
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Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I found myself at a Boot Sale the other day, looking for old electrical appliances which might have some of the parts I need. Finally I saw one old radio - just the right kind of thing. I approached the stall, pointed at it and said "How much?"

The conversation which ensued was quite funny - especially if you're familiar with Monty Python's Life of Brian. Wink

Stallholder: "Thirty pounds."
Me: (surprised but ready to haggle) "Whoa."
Stallholder: "Too much? How about five."
Me: (confused) "Five?"
Stallholder: "How much were you thinking of?"
Me: (not sure if he's joking) "Well, I was thinking about offering you ten."
My wife: (sotto voce) "He said five, give him five!"
Stallholder: "All right, tell you what - couple of quid."
Me: "Two pounds? Are you sure?"
My wife: "Yes, he's sure. Give him the money."

I bought it, shook his hand and we left. On the way back to the car we both started laughing and said "What just happened?" Very Happy

So anyway, here is the beast:



And here's the innards:



Bound to be something useable in there, right? The good news is it did have vacuum tubes: not quite the right sockets I need, but not far off.



Some of the goodies from the dismantling process:



Sadly, not really anything I can use. But it was fun to try (and for two pounds you can't go wrong). Wink

I have no idea what some of this stuff even does:





Amazingly, I also did some work - not much, I admit - on my version of the box. Now that I have some buttons for it, I drilled six holes on the front panel.



I inserted the three buttons I have so far to see how they look.



And yes, I did spend a few seconds gleefully punching them on and off. Seriously, I was surprised at how sturdy the foamex is; I thought the panel might bend and need some reinforcement, but it's really rigid. Smile

Here's a view from the back:



As you can see, there's plenty of room for whatever wiring and batteries are required. (I got 9V bulbs, so with any luck I'll be able to run the whole thing off a PP3.)
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8th_Passenger
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009
Posts: 443
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike,

Looking good. Those switches look great. Three down three to go!

£££

Colin
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joberg
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Joined: 06 Oct 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking good Mike...whish you had all the buttons (so you can play with them all ).
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Mike Rush
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Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. Well, I took the plunge and ordered three more buttons, plus the red caps. So that should be it, yes?

No!

When I went to order the 'contact blocks' (without which the buttons don't do anything) they've been 'discontinued'! Shocked I fired off an email to Technical Support straight away. What am I supposed to use? There has to be an alternative.

And if it's cheaper than the old ones, I'll be very annoyed. Wink
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joberg
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aaah the beautiful world of propmaking...I feel your pain Mike; if they offer an alternative at a cheaper price, send them the ones you have and get a bargain at the same time Wink
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Gaff87
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Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1727
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike, this is looking seriously impressive!
Once it's finished it'll be a challenge not to keep playing with it I think Smile

Can't wait to see more.

Neil
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stephen210
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Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 196

PostPosted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

outstanding Mike!!
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Mike Rush
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Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 184
Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike Rush wrote:
When I went to order the 'contact blocks' (without which the buttons don't do anything) they've been 'discontinued'! Shocked I fired off an email to Technical Support straight away. What am I supposed to use? There has to be an alternative.

And if it's cheaper than the old ones, I'll be very annoyed. Wink


It's not cheaper. It's 60% more expensive. So by my own logic, I should be pleased - but I'm not. Evil or Very Mad

Their excuse: this one has 'more functionality'. Well excuse me, but the last one functioned just fine...
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joberg
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's is soooo marketing lingo Mike, it makes me laugh...NOT Evil or Very Mad .
Reminded me of the letter I received from my Electricity Company saying that my bill will be, for now on, 10 cents higher on every kilowat of usage...why? Because of better service Confused I reply by saying that : no, I'm satisfied with my current service, please don't augment my bill.
Alas, they didn't listened Evil or Very Mad
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Mike Rush
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Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was wondering what to do about the thumb pad. The lettering is too small for our vinyl cutter... I couldn't find the original Letraset for sale anywhere... finally I had the blindingly obvious idea to simply print the lettering onto the plastic! (Where I work we print onto all kinds of materials.)

I still haven't quite decided what the correct material is. I purchased some cheap Perspex in both white, and frosted clear. My heart wants to go with the frosted, but my head says it's probably the white. (Once it gets dirty it should look just like the photos...)

Anyway I printed the word THUMB within a rectangle onto each material, then sawed them out roughly and finished them on a disc sander. They now pop right in to the recess in the back of the 'console'. Smile



There will need to be some way to retain them, bearing in mind that (as my colleague pointed out) "You know people are going to be pressing it with their thumbs all the time". Well, he's right of course. Plus I need to build a small light-box back there, which comes on when the unit is powered up. (Where's the on/off switch going to go? In the film the switch is elsewhere, like a light-switch. I'll think of something.)

Also...

At last! I have all the parts needed for the six buttons in the right colours. Looking back, it was quite hard work and quite expensive!



So yes, a period of professional-looking but oddly relaxed pressing followed. With a mug in the other hand, obviously. Laughing
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Gaff87
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome Mike!
This is looking amazing.
Best prop I've seen in a long time.

Neil
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joberg
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent Mike...now for the mug: glass or Tupperware?
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sethb6025
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Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 248
Location: York, PA US

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking good! I think a well done prop like this will be well worth the wait.
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Mike Rush
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Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 184
Location: Hertfordshire, England

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just tacked together with tape for now, but here are most of the (external) parts in place.



Not in the picture are the screw-heads, the window... and the interior. Wink

But the main thing I wanted to test was that things lined up, and more importantly opened!



That's my 3D-printed hinge working nicely. In this last picture you can see all of the printed parts at once.


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Gaff87
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Simply awesome Mike!
Love it.

Neil
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nickdaring
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Joined: 16 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Beautiful work!

Nick
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8th_Passenger
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009
Posts: 443
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 3:30 pm    Post subject: mu th er key Reply with quote

Mike,

Looking great. All you need now is the key..!

Colin
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joberg
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 7:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sharp and clean mate! Cool
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wasili
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Joined: 02 Apr 2009
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wowser !! Nice work there Mike...
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