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Post by scotttucker on Mar 23, 2024 5:14:22 GMT -7
Some of you may have spotted that a chap on the FB page was selling some planetarium bits and pieces recently. I purchased 3 auxiliary projectors from him (I thought that he asked a really fair price for them but as Sir Gare mentioned recently, shipping costs are very high at the moment otherwise I would have bought more of his treasure trove).
They all needed a good clean up (as expected) - I will put some pictures of them here.
They were made by Talent Incorporated of Sparks Nevada - I assume that company has long gone as I can't seem to find any references to them on the internet.
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 23, 2024 5:18:11 GMT -7
The first is a lunar eclipse projector - it is all very solidly made - the front tube is bakelite or some similar material holding the projection lens in a brass threaded holder. The rear tube which holds the condenser lenses and bulb is metal (presumably to aid heat dissipation).   |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 23, 2024 5:22:37 GMT -7
The synchro motor slowly drives a little slide via an arm (disconnected in this photo). The slide moves a little red transparent gel over the moon to produce the effect. A notch in the drive wheel cuts out the projector after one full sequence (when this first happened I thought it had blown).   |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 23, 2024 5:25:35 GMT -7
It is a bit hard to see but the central hole contains a lovely little moon transparency (the other holes are just to hold the front and rear tubes in place). Here is a photo of the slide in place .  |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 23, 2024 5:32:13 GMT -7
The seller said they came from Joe Hopkins engineering stock so could not pin down exactly where they were used. The inventory number is stuck on the tube and right at the edge appears to read 'property of B.P.I' and 'CO.FLA' - any ideas what institution this is referring to?  |
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Post by mrgare5050 on Mar 23, 2024 7:02:42 GMT -7
Way cool Duke!
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Post by Ron Walker on Mar 23, 2024 10:08:56 GMT -7
Always great to find these gems. Where did you find him....  ? |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 24, 2024 1:38:51 GMT -7
Always great to find these gems. Where did you find him.... ? He posted on James Hick's planetarium builders and enthusiasts Facebook page on Feb 25th. There was quite a lot of stuff -I would love to have bought more but shipping to UK is pricey. Looks like there was some viewlex (minolta?) stuff there. |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 25, 2024 9:56:49 GMT -7
The second projector is a meteor shower. It has a motor which drives a disc with a curved slot in it above another stationary disc with thin slots in it all radiating from roughly the same spot.  |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 25, 2024 9:59:39 GMT -7
A couple of shots with the front part of the tube removed. I really like this little projector. The drive belt was missing but a thin elastic band seems to work perfectly well.   |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 26, 2024 10:41:43 GMT -7
The third and final one is an evolution of a star model. It is not complete - the motor is missing and I believe a colour wheel rotates at the front of the projection lens. Lee Hoover put a video of a cepheid variable projector on facebook a while back which seemed to be pretty much the same. If it was complete an arm from the motor would open and close the internal iris.   |
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Post by scotttucker on Mar 26, 2024 10:42:53 GMT -7
A close up of the condensers and the internal iris   |
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