Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

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VO4454
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Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:12 am
Location: NorCal

Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by VO4454 »

The gear box took me a while to figure out. I wanted to keep it all self contained within the length of the tube, so that meant designing something with small gears. I started with the local hobby shop and bought a bunch of worms and worm wheels from Northwest Shortline, again from my days of repowering HO steam locomotives. The process was was going along slowly and I was not pleased with my results so it was back to the drawing board again. A friend at the HO club I belonged to was working on a Mars light for a diesel in 1.5 scale and showed me the motors he was using. It was a mini right angle drive motor and it looked like I could adapt it to my design. It already had the drive pin seen on the top of the white main drive gear so that was one hurdle cleared, and the throw was very close to what I had drawn up. I used a small drive pinion from an R/C car gear supplier that was half the tooth count of of the main drive gear. Now I had my 2 to 1 ratio. I built a platform and mounted everything . I made linkage and connected it using 2/56 swivel ball links.The light bulb socket was fabricated from brass and copper clad PC board. The bulb is a 6 volt Maglite Halogen bi pin unit. I dont know how the gear box will hold up in the heat, but we will find out. I bought plenty of spares.
Attachments
An exploded view of all the pieces
An exploded view of all the pieces
surplus motor from All Electronics in Los Angeles
surplus motor from All Electronics in Los Angeles
The motor platform. The pinion shaft is suppoRted on 2 flanged ball bearings
The motor platform. The pinion shaft is suppoRted on 2 flanged ball bearings
Begining assembly
Begining assembly
Close up of the gimbal and linkage
Close up of the gimbal and linkage
Top View
Top View
Side view
Side view
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VO4454
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Location: NorCal

Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by VO4454 »

The light housing tube in the smoke box was machined out of round tube. On the protoype the small rectangular box at the bottom of light tube with the notches, was for the entire light housing case to slide into the tube. This was all fabricated out of sheetmetal. I simulated this by notching the headlight door and machining three seperate pieces that will look look like the housing is in place when the assembly is bolted up. Thats it for the Mars light. I will try to post Video of it if Matt Can't. Thanks for looking.


Vic
Attachments
Notching the nose
Notching the nose
Door 002.JPG
Parts assembeled and tube pressed in place
Parts assembeled and tube pressed in place
The working hinge
The working hinge
Mars 001.jpg
Ready for service
Ready for service
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stenella
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by stenella »

That is extremely impressive work ...I can only say ...WOW !
Can't wait to see the video.

Cris
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JBodenmann
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by JBodenmann »

Hi Chris
Very cool mars light! Looks like a most delightful little puzzle. Years ago Dick Priest had a working mars light on his GS4. Keeping it working was a problem due to the high temperature. The motor kept getting cooked. Any sort of insulation to help keep things cool might help. Your workmanship and ingenuity is most excellent!.
Jack
kvom
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by kvom »

A video of the motor setup outside the housing would be great.
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VO4454
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Location: NorCal

Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by VO4454 »

Hello all, Will work on the video. Jack you are definetly right about the heat. I still need to make the cooling vent system. On the top of the light tube there is what resembles a cowl induction scoop from the old hot rod days and in the first photo I posted you can see the vents on the bottom of the headlight tube. Grant Carsen is going to get some measurements for me. I still need to model that, then open up the tubes top and bottom to get some circulation. It might be problem though trying to go a scale 79 MPH to get the air flowing.


Vic
Attachments
2794_1247371448.jpg
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Pennsy fan
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by Pennsy fan »

Hi Vic,

I rebuilt Dick's Daylight in the mid 90's and the heat problem that he had was very large tubes he put in as a test. So lots of heat got the motor. After I put in a new tube bundle the problem went a way. Now I would say any plastic will get soft as the heat will transfer over time. I would put a S.S. sheet with standoffs to help bounce the heat way, S.S. doesn't conduct heat well. Also change your gimbals to metal. On dick's his was just a disk with a slotted arm that wiggled the light. Not as nice as yours!
Can't wait to see it work!!!
David.
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VO4454
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by VO4454 »

Here are the first videos. It took my 2 kids to get me fixed up on youtube. Isn't technology amazing?

Vic


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mattmason
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by mattmason »

Vic, you win. I had to find your disk and last night was a party for my kids baseball.

I love how the videos show just how simple the motion is in a Mars light, one goes side-to-sode and the other just up and down. It's the figuring out how to get it done and in such a small space that makes your light so impressive. I just got in from working on my 0-4-0 and was feeling good, until I saw this again. :-)
Matt Mason
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Jim_Nolan
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by Jim_Nolan »

Chris,

Work of this quality always makes me wish I had stuck with making plastic airplanes.

Jim
www.northernsteam.com
timmy wheeler
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by timmy wheeler »

or in my case.....paper airplanes
illigitimi non carborundum
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VO4454
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Re: Daylight GS-4 Mars Light

Post by VO4454 »

Thanks everybody for the kind words . I assure you, none of this happened over night. This was a 4 month on again off again project. Lots of trial and error. One of my inspirations for doing this kind of stuff was about 25 years ago. I bought my first brass HO loco, a unpainted, non- lighted, open frame motored, Max Gray GS-4. for $200. It was small fortune for a 23 year old in 1986 and being newly married. Its still a small fortune today with 2 kids and one in college. I then talked to our club steam expert about paint, lettering, re-powering and lights and was told about 400.00 dollars. After some picking of his brain about how he does things I politely said thanks, I just cant afford that right now. He understood and even guided along the way as I did it myself. A month later I had my first painted, repowered and lit steam engine. The thing I learned from this, and even the big engine is. that its not really that hard if you really want to do it. It is definetly time consuming, and can at times be money consuming. Having good friends, read that as Ed Yungling, also helps immensely. I could not have under taken this project without his help and guidance. Some of you younger guys, like I used to be when I started this project, seek out some help from the veterans if you need it. Most are willing to give advice, you just got to ask and showing some genuine interest helps. I also learned way before this project that when asking for advise accept it, and use what works for you. Try not to give advice to the advice giver when asking for advice. Usaully when I am guilty of that, Ed will let me know. Jim your loco is looking very nice, good to see your motion parts. I have a soft spot in my head for all Northerns. By the way you should still play with plastic planes, I do. I built this one for Ed. He used to work on them in his USAF days.

Vic
Attachments
F-86D.JPG
F-86D -1.JPG
F86D -2.JPG
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