BTTF Time Machine Build Questions - Ask Me Anything

[minispeedstar]

Non had illumination fitted as standard as far as I know. I fit warm LED's in mine.

[Mark D]

Bit of a side note here, I came across a cool website that has a ton of old car literature and I found a few examples showing applications where the nuclear reactor hub cab was used (67-69 Dodge Polara, Charger, and Dodge Trucks).

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

[Timebender]

Non had illumination fitted as standard as far as I know. I fit warm LED's in mine.

Yes I was looking at them closer and no lights, which is odd, given they might be used in a room where lighting isn't the best.

[Timebender]

Bit of a side note here, I came across a cool website that has a ton of old car literature and I found a few examples showing applications where the nuclear reactor hub cab was used (67-69 Dodge Polara, Charger, and Dodge Trucks).

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

I love old car ads. They're so hip compared to now.

[Timebender]

Question:
What was used for the power levels behind the driver's seat? Looks like it was one of those VU spectrum meters from the 80's that had all the LED's for each band of sound (bass, mid, treble, and all the ones in between).

[Timebender]

Question:
What was used for the power levels behind the driver's seat? Looks like it was one of those VU spectrum meters from the 80's that had all the LED's for each band of sound (bass, mid, treble, and all the ones in between).

Edit: Audio spectrum meters...

[Mark D]

The array of lights behind the driver's seat referred to as the "Status Indicator Display" or SID for short, was a completely scratch built part. The front plate is 1/8" 6061 aluminum sheet with 200 individually hand drilled holes. There are aluminum standoffs bolted to the plate and welded to the L channels that makes up the two side brackets. Behind the plate is a rats nest of wiring connecting all of the LEDs that fed into a special effects controller box off camera. The wiring was set up so that someone off camera would turn a dial and the display could be 'turned up' to make the array light from the bottom up. Each light was not controlled individually, but rather in predetermined larger banks of 10-20 LED's. The intent was to show all the various systems that support time travel coming online and then finally pegging in the red as the car hit 88MPH.

The clear lenses are manufactured by cliplite and are still readily available, qty 200 are required. Here's one source of supply, but pretty much every major electronics supply store carries them so search for the PN to figure out who is currently selling them at the best price.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/sto...10001_14277_-1


For the A car restoration SID each LED can be controlled independently of one another but the same larger banks of lights were programmed to light up in the same sequence as seen on screen to replicate the original effect. The static display of the restored A car (for display purposes) cycles through the various levels. It can also be controlled via the digital speedo to light up in the same sequence as the speed increases and approaches 88MPH.
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Other versions of the SID have also been created by replica builders using sound to trigger the array of LED's. It works (as you described in your last post) as an audio frequency analyzer so that the individual vertical columns represent varying frequency wavelengths. I've got a replica SID that functions this way and it's pretty cool to see it operate by playing music or just by people talking. Operating in a car also works pretty well and the light increase along with changes in volume of engine RPM and road noise.

If you want to see the frequency analyzer version of the SID in operation you can check out this video from the 2010 Scream Awards. This is the Temporal FX "Flagship" DeLorean Time Machine that was also at this year's Oscars. In the clip you can see David Spade's voice controlling the levels on the SID as he talks. (Pardon the tacky cocaine joke)

https://youtu.be/5jzpFBo-N-o?t=1m13s

["What The Flux?"]

Hey Mark, thank you for sharing such awesome and useful information. It is very kind of you to share your knowledge and experience of the screen-used parts, I think your help to the community is invaluable and most likely the only truly accurate and authentic source.

I guess I have got a little ahead of myself, as I think one of the best places to start is with the main engine cover. The base that everything will essentially mount to. I hope my constant questions aren't of annoyance or inconvenience for you, but if you are able to; I was wondering if you could provide some basic info of the engine cover on its own please? Perhaps some of the main dimensions and locations of some of the main holes? I don't think it would be fair to ask you to provide details of every screw hole considering that there are so many of them (especially for the reactor core light bulb mountings). I'm sure if I go through enough reference, I can probably work a lot of that stuff out.

Thanks as always Mark! Grateful for all of your help.

Hi Mark, apologies if I am being a pain, but just in case you missed my earlier question...

Many thanks!

[minispeedstar]

The array of lights behind the driver's seat referred to as the "Status Indicator Display" or SID for short, was a completely scratch built part. The front plate is 1/8" 6061 aluminum sheet with 200 individually hand drilled holes. There are aluminum standoffs bolted to the plate and welded to the L channels that makes up the two side brackets. Behind the plate is a rats nest of wiring connecting all of the LEDs that fed into a special effects controller box off camera. The wiring was set up so that someone off camera would turn a dial and the display could be 'turned up' to make the array light from the bottom up. Each light was not controlled individually, but rather in predetermined larger banks of 10-20 LED's. The intent was to show all the various systems that support time travel coming online and then finally pegging in the red as the

If you want to see the frequency analyzer version of the SID in operation you can check out this video from the 2010 Scream Awards. This is the Temporal FX "Flagship" DeLorean Time Machine that was also at this year's Oscars. In the clip you can see David Spade's voice controlling the levels on the SID as he talks. (Pardon the tacky cocaine joke)

https://youtu.be/5jzpFBo-N-o?t=1m13s

I thought the car from the Scream awards was the car that now resides in the U.K.?...

[Mark D]

I thought the car from the Scream awards was the car that now resides in the U.K.?...

Wow, I'm really starting to lose my memory. Yeah that was Sean Bishop & J Ryan's car at the Scream Awards. The SID was built by TFX and I think it was removed from the car and replaced with some other replica prior to it getting sold.