USB Time Circuits + second time machine

[Starglider]

As far as the wormhole emitter, and I saw your use of lasers, why not go one step further and have one shoot out the front creating a circular fan pattern- which would actually look like you're creating a wormhole?

I avoided designing it that way because any laser bright enough to create scintillation visible in daylight is going to be a blinding hazard if the source beam is exposed.
However I suppose a secondary diode with a ring lens for night-time only use could be included (would work with foggers in the rear vents).

Note that these are still speculative, the only prop I am definitely making is the time circuit display, but still I think individual variations on a time machine are an interesting topic. You can imagine bootleg photocopies of Doc's notes being passed around at west coast electronics club meets in the late 80s, and people trying to reproduce the original as best they could with incomplete plans and whatever parts they had.

[nullset]

Let me know if you'd like to collaborate on parts of the board design.

I'm putting together the schematics for my board soon. If I can get a working set of time circuits, I'll most likely open source the design and sell kits, or fully assembled ones for more money.

--buddy

[Starglider]

Let me know if you'd like to collaborate on parts of the board design.

I would but I don't think there will be anything in common between a PC-driven USB design and a dedicated multiple microprocessor design.

[Starglider]

Ok, these bits are on order from Videobob for this conversion;

Torr Relay Replica x 5
Flux Relay Acrylic Block x 5
TFC Drive Switch
Flux Box Kit (cast boxes, plates, plugs etc)
Flux Band Brackets x 18
Cooling Grids x 2
Elbow Connectors x 6
Emergency Light x 2
Torin Blower Kit x 2
T195 Vent Casting x 2
Bulova Copper Alarm Clock

Will be combing, modifying and repurposing these for the build. The idea is that Doc has some parts left over from the first time machine but the new design may use them in a different way (e.g. blowers may end up on the engine deck).

First bit to be constructed out of these parts will be the flux capacitor, I'm planning to use some prismatic plastic over the dark grey background sheet (instead of the original powdercoated finish), warm white LEDs with as many channels as possible (e.g. 16) for a smooth pulse rather than flashing light look, and some additional low-contrast detailing around the main parts (e.g. dark grey wires, inductors, spark gaps). Enclosure similar to original but slightly larger is on order from Stahlin.

[Starglider]

These parts probably look familiar, but why are there five instead of three? Because screen accuracy is not just out the window, it is plummeting thirty stories to a grisly death on the pavement below.

[Nicholas R]

These parts probably look familiar, but why are there five instead of three? Because screen accuracy is not just out the window, it is plummeting thirty stories to a grisly death on the pavement below.

Lol, you are going to have one wild car. Keep pictures coming!!

[Starglider]

An update on this, numerous moulded parts have arrived from Bob Mosley; flux boxes, vents, angles, flux capacitor parts etc. A couple had bits crack off in shipping but nothing too serious, can superglue them back together. The exception is the wormhole emitter, which was broken into three pieces, but fortunately that's the one part I don't need (I'll be building it from scratch based on the sketch earlier in the thread). As expected these are raw moulded parts in various colours of resin with a bit of flashing and surface voids, but that's ok, I'll be heavily modifying them before spraypainting anyway. Just a few parts left to arrive from Bob : haven't had time to make any more myself recently but hope to in the spring.

[videobob]

Sorry to hear about your shipping mishaps.
It seems that no matter how many "FRAGILE" stickers and bubble wrap I put on these packages the various post offices figure out how to break it.
I am getting your other items ready and will make sure they are well protected!!!

[Starglider]

The final set of parts from Bob has arrived. Since I found an alarm clock locally, I switched that part of the order to a casting of the HV power supply, which came with all the detail bits (nonfunctional, but I'll be modifying it anyway so that's fine). Flux capacitor bits are also decent quality and Bob threw in the radio heatsink; don't have a radio on my build but will use it somewhere else in the interior. Bobs resin castings are very heavy as supplied and I'm hollowing them out a bit with the drill to make them easier to mount & handle.

The time circuit control box, specifically the Dayton drum switch does have a couple of problems;

a) The clear plastic cover doesn't quite fit, there's 3mm gap at the back between the plastic and the metal. My solution was to cut a thin strip of aluminium, the same width as the lip at the front of the switch; will spray it gray and glue it over the gap. That should look better than the original anyway, since the design will be visually balanced (matching lips at each end).

b) The spring makes a loud and annoying twang when the drum rotates. This isn't Bob's fault; I don't know if it's just that the spring is very new or that the supplier changed the design since the BTTF replica I saw was built. I'll probably glue some foam around the spring to muffle it a bit.

I will be disassembling the box under the switch at a later date and redesigning it into something like the concept above.

Amp for the external speakers is wired into the car, marine speakers themselves aren't mounted yet but will be 4 front, 4 rear. I'm about to fit a Gilderfluke SD-10 audio player for the door opening and engine start sound effects; I plan to use a cheap shift light kit set to just below idle (tapping the RPM gauge line from the distributor) to trigger the start-up noise. The controller is only two channel so I'll need a couple of interruptor reed relays to convert the door switch signals into pulses (otherwise opening the second door wouldn't trigger a sound when one door is already open). All other sound effects will be generated by the car computer.

[maragni1985]

This is really goling to be breathtaking! awesome!