LNERGE Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I don't know I haven't read them yet! I'll take them to work tonight. I don't suppose you have any drawings of the fitting that allows the case to sit on top of the post do you? Even good photos would help, as I will have to make the fitting. Should the hood be steel BTW? Andy G (Did you enjoy your emails?) Enjoying the emails immensely. I've only found the sintered Alcomax 3 still available. The two other firms mentioned for components are long gone. Photo's of a complete searchlight are on order and should get taken Thursday. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted June 23, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 23, 2015 Brillant, can you include the inside of the case of the searchlight please? The locking catch thingy is broken, so I need to manufacture a new stop inside the case.... ;-} Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'll check the head i'm going to wreck to see if it has one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted June 23, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 23, 2015 Any spares going would be greatfully accepted! ;-) Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted June 26, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2015 Had a bit of time today, so gathered up various power units to see what I could get to work. I wired the line coils to a length of flex which was plugged into a 110v site transformer. The local coil was wired to the ac side of an old Hornby controller. I did also wire the bulb up to the dc side of the Hornby controller, but it appears to be too much for the old girl. So time to turn it all on. Its certainly buzzy! But then again I'm guessing with all that AC kicking around it will be. To allow me to test, I left the leads to the AC side of the controller loose, so that I could swap them over to change the aspect. Did it work? You Bet! Heres the yellow aspect: And the green one: All done by elastictrickery! I also liked that by changing the polarity of the 12v AC side the aspect changed, I much prefer switching the low voltage side. Mind you the 12v coil is reading 1 ohm, which gives an amp on that coil, the 110v coil reads 254 ohms, giving just under half and amp on that coil... I also did some video (the first time I've ever done this so excuse them!) and uploaded them to you-tube: https://youtu.be/bZP4UNGvrjM https://youtu.be/rMrCkOG8cLw I hope you enjoy! Andy G 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Cor blimey if i'd known it worked i'd have charged double! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted June 26, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2015 It would have been a high price then ;-) I suppose there was no reason that it shouldn't work, the coils are all ok. My only slight worry is will it give the right beam of light? I know some searchlights have a plain lens on the mech (like the GRS one) with the focusing and beam work done by the case lens. Others have two lenses to focus the beam up, one on the mech and the other on the case. Do I have a combination that will work together I wonder? Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 It would have been a high price then ;-) I suppose there was no reason that it shouldn't work, the coils are all ok. My only slight worry is will it give the right beam of light? I know some searchlights have a plain lens on the mech (like the GRS one) with the focusing and beam work done by the case lens. Others have two lenses to focus the beam up, one on the mech and the other on the case. Do I have a combination that will work together I wonder? Andy G I think you'll get something usable out of it. I had a MetVGRS much in an SGE head at the Arlesey Light Railway with very good results. I've found some lamps you may be able to use too. Do you Know what MetVGRS stands for? Metropolitan Vickers Garden Railway Signal. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted June 27, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 27, 2015 Yesterday I was beaming like a cheshire cat after seeing the movement work, it really was a cool moment (Yes I'm easily pleased!), and now I've just burst out laughing, which has almost given the game away to the Mrs! I'll have to wait to get the casing back together to see what the result is like, but hopefully it will be a good enough beam to cut through fog..... Andy G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted June 27, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 27, 2015 Hi Andy, only just found this thread, but looking forward to following it, fascinating stuff. On the theme of replacement lenses, I agree with an earlier poster that you may be able to find a vintage theatre lantern with a suitable lens. The ones I have experience with were Strand pattern 23 and Pattern 44 "Pebble Convex" spot lights, whose front lens were a plain convex glass similar to the one shown, with no fresnel rings. Ive found this, which although branded Furse, is a Strand pattern 44, and has an 8" PC lens: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Furse-Theatre-Light-/161726284504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item25a7a342d8 Don't know if it's any use, but thought I'd mention it. Cheers, Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 A few tips for removing stubborn screws, soak them in WD40 first; get an impact screwdriver, one that had a metal bit going right through so you can hit it with a hammer; hold errant item firmly in a vice, insert impact screwdriver tip in the screw head, firmly grip the screwdriver handle in one hand and turn it clockwise while hitting the top of the handle with the hammer. This should loosen the screw, then twist the screwdriver anti-clockwise, gently tapping the top with the hammer. If that fails, gentle heat from a blowlamp usually works. I have to use these principles frequently when restoring old buses! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 15, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 15, 2015 I've got the sighting board and its brackets painted now. I took that back to bare metal and primed, undercoated and top coated (twice). They are no-where near perfect, but are better than I would have expected the BR painters to have done them! There is slight pitting here and there, but thats probably to do with the hedge that it was sat under..... One of the brackets is a bit worse for wear, having wasted down to about half its thickness in the middle, so at this rate it should last another 50 years before its all the way through.... This is the sighting bracket from the top of the case: The case is at the blasters as we speak, hopefully due back the end of next week. That will require a few repairs, but nothing major I hope. Andy G 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottiedog80 Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Can't wait to see this working..... Looking good so far... Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 18, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2015 There's a bit of a way to go yet. I'm expecting the case back at the end of this week, but then I'm tied up for the summer school holidays, so I'm not sure how much time I'll get to play. I've got some new 5.5 inch steel tube for the post, but will need to make a collar to mount it on so it looks like this one that LNERGE looks after (and I hope he forgives me for copying his photo from another searchlight thread on here, to show what I want mine to look like!): Photo by LNERGE. You can see the big collar just at the top of the post, I will make it by taking a slice of the 5.5inch tube and opening it out and welding in a sliver to make it fit over the outside of the post. Then drill and tap three holes for the pinch bolts. I'm presuming that the top of the collar has a roof that goes over the top of the post, which allows the head to bolt to it. I'm not going to bother with the ladder, as I think it will be only 6 foot off the ground, and I can use a step of steps to get the mech into it. Mind you lifting the case up that far will be fun! Now if I could just get hold of a cast iron foot like that and swap my hood for one like that one I'd be dead chuffed. Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Cast iron boots always in stock at your favourite signal equipment supplier. I have one flame cut just above the casting somewhere. Prop it upside down over a bonfire and the tube should just fall out once the lead melts. Put in new tube and ladle in some new molten lead and the jobs a goodun. I might even still have the shuttering for the LNER concrete base.. (as long as i'm not mentioned in divorce proceedings) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 18, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2015 I'll certainly have a boot off you, please sir. (I'm liking cleaning up all these castings!) I'm guessing that the foundation for these at full height are quite sizeable. As I intend to have it down between my sheds and therefore quite sheltered I hope to be able to get away with quite a small base. Also the fact that when you dig down about 2 foot water suddenly inundates the hole, making it quite difficult to dig much deeper.... The water? Run off the cess pit, which makes digging the hole even nicer..... Divorce? I would have thought a murder case would be more likely..... Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The concrete base is somewhat cosmetic. Although the angled sides give the impression of something larger it really isn't. I've put an under sticker on it. Do not use a Sainsbury's or Tesco's shopping trolley when you collect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 18, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2015 The base I was envisaging would give a small upstand to mount the boot on, and then just a solid mass of about 2 cubic feet of concrete, maybe more depending how deep I can dig. It will be hard up to the shed flags, so will go out underneath them to get a bigger area. Mind you I don't see me digging it anything soon, unless the boot is on the back of your van on the way back from the Mad Norfolk...... Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 It'll be a miracle if the van moves with what i've thrown in it for the commissioning with thinking of that to boot <g> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 18, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2015 Well I had to ask.... Sometime over the holidays We'll have to pop over there to do some swaps... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 What awesome "project" ile be following this now... cheers neil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 18, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2015 I'm not sure the Mrs will be as enthusiatic about it when its in the garden. I'd like to have it in place before winter, as I'd like to see the beam penitrating fog. But if I can install it in my alley between the sheds, and it is done neatly, I can't see her complaining too much about it. Blimey, shes getting the rest of the garden how she wants it, and lets face it, lots of people have 'garden art' (from concrete pigs, to nasty tin birds, to rusty bikes.) it's just that ours will be quality, long lasting, preservational, and interesting! Do you think I'll get away with that line? I suppose if all else fails I can show here a picture of LNERGE's garden, and point out that I'm not intentending any other signal to turn up (well there is the semaphore that I'm doing for Dad, which one day will appear at the bottom of the garden, and then theres the lever frame to operate them, but thats all!), unlike poor spoilt Mrs LNERGE who is lucky enough to have a whole garden full of them! Andy G Andy G 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Blimey, shes getting the rest of the garden how she wants it, and lets face it, lots of people have 'garden art' (from concrete pigs, to nasty tin birds, to rusty bikes.) it's just that ours will be quality, long lasting, preservational, and interesting! Do you think I'll get away with that line? Andy G I think that line may help explain to the doctor in A&E how a searchlight signal became embedded so deeply where it did? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted August 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 21, 2015 I have one scanned but the file size is too big for here at present. I will edit later and post if anyone is interested. Found the original document. Sorry if the quality is a bit low, as the limit for attachments won't take a better resolution. WBS_Searchlight.pdf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted October 19, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 19, 2015 Its been a long time since I had anything to update here with, as the summers been a wash-out as the Mrs got a bug on holiday in Norway, which came very close to killing her. Shes now finally almost back to 'normal' so I might be able to proceed a bit with this again. Anyway one bit of news is that I've had a donation of this: Its the right diameter and looks the business, I just need to sort out the case now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now