tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-138618912024-03-13T12:46:38.781-07:00Victor's R2D2 Building DiaryThis weblog documents my (mis)adventures in attempting to build my own R2D2.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.comBlogger1956125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-40987302968569078982023-12-15T19:36:00.000-08:002023-12-18T15:56:32.867-08:00KABC-TV Spark of Love Toy Drive - 2023Today R2 participated in KABC-TV's Spark of Love toy drive. We were there for the 3rd shift of the day at the Los Cerritos Center mall, from a little before 3pm until a little after 6pm. (The first shift started before 5am!)
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R2 and I were joined by Walter Marconi and R2-LB, along with several members of the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion and Mandalorian Mercs.
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Families in the area bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate, and they get to interact and take pictures with the Star Wars characters. During the newscast, there are regular reports from the event that showcase the Star Wars characters and other volunteers, including companies that donate a lot of toys, and local fire and police department representatives.
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Some evidence:
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53406956743_52e3be0915.jpg"/>
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R2 checked in on the progress. So far, so good!
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The event ended up filling 11 buses with toys. There were a few other identical events prior to this one, so lots of kids will be getting gifts.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53405854797_d651ac95d3.jpg"/>
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Toward the end of the event, all of the volunteers gathered for a group shot for the final live report of the evening. Walter was capturing the live feed to the station from the TV truck, and our KABC-TV cameraman/friend/501st member Edgar made sure to the turn the camera to the support team as he walked by. I'm usually not this blurry in real life.
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This is one of my favorite events because it helps bring some holiday happiness to those who might not otherwise get a gift, and it has immediate feedback to those watching the newscast, as they can come meet R2 and all the other characters. I hope to be back next year.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-81779506151285336742023-11-26T22:43:00.000-08:002023-12-18T16:03:00.707-08:00Hollywood Christmas Parade - 2023Tonight R2 and I participated in the 2023 Hollywood Christmas Parade, in Hollywood, CA.
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We were joined by Michael and Kyle McMaster with their droid, LX-R5 (from Jedi Temple Challenge on starwars.com), Gordon Tarpley as C-3PO, and William Miyamoto, who was driving his Transformers Bumblebee car in the parade.
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I arrived a little before 1pm (they close the streets early) for the 6pm parade. I quickly met up with the others, and we joined William at his car.
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We also checked out a number of cool cars. There would be dozens of Star Cars participating, including this cool Mach 5 (not to mention the Lamborghini adjacent to it).
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While wandering Hollywood Boulevard, I found my star on the Walk of Fame.
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I also passed our starting line.
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We then walked over to Johnny Rockets for lunch at Hollywood Ovation, and then went back to check in with the other Star Wars clubs (501st Legion, Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs and more), to figure out our lineup within the Star Wars character groups. After a few discussions, we ended up deciding that the droids would be leading the Star Wars clubs(!). That was a first for us. We left the discussion as the characters were getting ready in the parking structure.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53363323934_425142a2cf.jpg"/>
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Meanwhile, William returned to his car to get ready, while we returned to our vehicles around 5pm to start unloading the droids, and Gordon started suiting up as C-3PO.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53363211518_d6815af312.jpg"/>
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Finally, Michael, Gordon and I made our way to the front edge of the red carpet, where we stood by for the Star Wars clubs to arrive. The clubs were 18th in line, although I think we might have gotten moved up a few spots. My former coworker Xin, and Mark Chu-Lin took a couple of photos of us.
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In the meantime, we watched the parade get started. That meant we got to see William drive by.
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About 10 minutes later, right behind Might Mouse we saw the Rebel Legion, which was our cue to get ready to jump in.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53363451590_9bdc9e40db.jpg"/>
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Once the Rebel Legion advanced to the red carpet, we lined up right in front of them. A parade official gave us the go-ahead, and off we went. I was able to snag a couple of photos online (thank you to those photographers).
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We managed to get through the parade in one piece, with no mishaps. LX-R5 has a slower gear ratio, so he trailed us a bit, but the important thing is that we all got through it successfully. We exited the parade as planned, at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, and then we made our way to the gross alley that leads back to the parking structure. On our way, we encountered some delighted tourists that got some photos.
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We took one last picture before loading droids back in the car and helping Gordon get out of the suit.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53363451620_35683a7776.jpg"/>
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Afterwards, we grabbed some food at Mel's Diner across Highland Avenue while the parade continued. Since the streets would still be closed off, we weren't in much of a rush. After about an hour of hanging out, we were able to wrap up and head home.
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Another successful parade is in the books, and we all had a good time. The full photoset is <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB51PW">here</a>.
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Edit: And through the magic of post-dating, here are some pics from the broadcast on Friday, December 15, 2023 on the CW network.
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Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-70978203547144703982023-11-17T19:07:00.000-08:002023-11-19T19:24:42.368-08:00Finished Working on Replacing Dome Drive WheelToday I finished up installing the 110mm outer diameter dome drive wheel on droid #1.
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I decided to redrill the hole through the center of the wheel, as I was not satisfied with the hole I drilled yesterday.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53343396646_eb3a1982f2.jpg"/>
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I then pinned the wheel to the shaft adapter on the dome drive, and reinstalled the dome drive on the droid in preparation for testing. Note that I did not need to redrill the hole in the shaft adapter, I was able to use the existing hole.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53343721204_9ea6239844.jpg"/>
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And, I'm satisfied with how this worked out. The dome rotation is a bit faster, so I think I'm happy (for now).
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Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-41027499172923804322023-11-16T18:59:00.000-08:002023-11-19T19:06:34.001-08:00Started Working on Replacing Dome Drive WheelI've decided that I'd like to have droid #1's dome spin a little bit faster, so I am replacing the 88mm outer diameter inline skate wheel with a 110mm outer diameter wheel. In this way, each rotation of the motor shaft will spin the dome about 25% faster.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53343596138_332e0e6076.jpg"/>
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I removed the dome drive from the droid. I needed to use some needle nose pliers to pull the segment of rod that pins the wheel to the shaft adapter.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53343698009_bf1ec73768.jpg"/>
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Next, it was time to drill a hole in the new wheel for the segment of rod that will secure it to the shaft adapter.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53343697989_a609f6520a.jpg"/>
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Mmm... close, but it could be better.
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I ran out of time for today, but tomorrow I plan to try again and nail the center point of the wheel.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-20189577813990625582023-10-31T22:08:00.002-07:002023-10-31T22:08:45.683-07:00Halloween 2023Once again, tonight R2 joined me in the garage to hand out candy for Halloween trick-or-treaters.
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Lots of kids showed up, starting around 6:00pm.
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In all, I'd say I had about 60 trick-or-treaters come by, and I wrapped up around 8pm. There were still a few pieces of candy left in the bowl, but I can state with a high degree of confidence that they will find a good home.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53302093375_2071806c7b.jpg"/>
<br><br>Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-58458403433361443872023-09-22T17:17:00.000-07:002023-09-22T17:17:06.522-07:00End of Summer Visit to CHOC - 2023Today R2 joined members of the 501st at Childrens Hospital Orange County, for their childhood oncology "Fight Like a Jedi" day. (Ironically no Jedi were present.)
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53206462971_856174b7a7.jpg"/>
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Randy Boring (Vader), Eriberto Galvez (Biker Scount), Jackko Lo (TK Stormtrooper) and Briian Hazelrigg (wrangler) joined R2.
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As usual, we can't post pictures with the patients, but the staff certainly enjoyed the characters.
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There were a bunch of smiles, and the visit went very well. Hopefully we will be back soon.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-81520010471274456742023-06-16T21:27:00.002-07:002023-06-16T21:30:31.463-07:00Finished Installing PIC Flasher-based Rear Logics on Droid #2Today I wrapped up work on installing the PIC flasher-based rear logics on droid #2.
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I stacked a pair of LED patterns printed on a transparency, and taped them together. I trimmed the corners to avoid interfering the mounting screws.
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I then taped that to the aluminum rear logic surround.
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Before going any further, I checked to make sure the LED patterns looked centered from the outside, and they did.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980441328_c9d6aa988d.jpg"/>
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Next I reinstalled the rear logic electronics.
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Finally, I powered up the dome and took a look.
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With video:
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Good enough for me, I'm calling this done. For now, at least.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-51263536118108457632023-06-15T21:09:00.002-07:002023-06-16T21:13:37.661-07:00Printed Transparencies for Rear Logics for Droid #2I had higher hopes for today, but all I ended up doing was printing and trimming the LED pattern for the rear logics, for the PIC flasher-based rear logics on droid #2.
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I printed several of them on one transparency, because, why not? And I cut two of them out because I will be doubling up on them to make the colors look a bit deeper when the LEDs are shining through them.
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I vow to get these installed tomorrow.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-41098253256597043162023-06-12T20:49:00.012-07:002023-06-16T21:07:27.165-07:00Prepped PIC Flasher Rear Logics on Droid #2 for Dome InstallationToday I worked on getting the PIC flasher circuit and LEDs ready for installation in the dome on droid #2.
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First, I 3D-printed some standoffs with a length of 28mm, an inner diameter of 3.1mm, and an outer diameter of 15mm. These are for use with 3mm diameter screws that are 35mm in length. I wanted even longer screws and standoffs to put some distance between the LEDs and the rear logic surround, but this length should be okay.
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The aluminum surround has six 3mm mounting holes, and I plan to use the four holes in the corners to mount the LED perfboard. I used the rear logic bezel from the JEDI logics as a template for where to measure and mark mounting holes.
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I took the work over to the drill press and drilled the holes for the four corners.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980330745_70d8e1d71c.jpg"/>
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I also need to mount the PIC flasher circuit itself to the perfboard. I am using #8 nylon screws, and I need to widen the mounting holes a little bit on the PIC flasher board.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980411118_12e58e313f.jpg"/>
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Then I drilled the perfboard to accept the #8 nylon screws.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980330860_ff56cb3a3e.jpg"/>
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The screw head encroaches on the components in the corners, so I trimmed a little material from them.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980411148_db364a7483.jpg"/>
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And the reverse side.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979348797_5408984feb.jpg"/>
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Time to install this mess in the dome! I used the 3mm screws to secure things down.
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Looks reasonably good.
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All that's left is to print and cut the transparencies to size and tape those onto the rear logic surround. It turns out I don't have any transparencies on hand, so I need to get those and then wrap this up.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-62144535256855942222023-06-10T20:31:00.022-07:002023-06-16T21:34:52.844-07:00Got LEDs on PIC Flasher Rear Logics Blinking for Droid #2Today I fixed a couple of issues on the PIC flasher-based rear logics that I am wrapping up for droid #2.
First, as I suspected, one LED was installed backward. As the "D" in LED stands for Diode, installing an LED backwards will prevent current from continuing on to the rest of the circuit. It just so happens that it was the last LED on the cathode bus, so that wasn't the only problem; had it been, I expect that only that single LED would not have illuminated. Instead, no LEDs were lit.
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I used a multimeter to ring-out the board, and I realized that I failed to supply voltage to the transistor array that feeds the LEDs their power. The power terminal on the PIC flasher board has two voltage inputs, one for 9-12v to power the PIC chip and associated electronics (this goes through a 5v regulator), and a 9-45v supply to power the LEDs. As 9 volts are sufficient to power the LEDs, I simply needed to bridge the pins on the solder-side of the connector.
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After fixing that and the LED issue, the circuit worked as expected.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979827099_2e9ccbd0f5.jpg"/>
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I still have a little more work to do to get this installed in the droid.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-30102587811365431952023-06-09T19:44:00.071-07:002023-06-16T21:08:06.336-07:00Attached LEDs to PIC Flasher for Droid #2 Rear LogicsAfter dragging my feet on the rear logics update for droid #2, I finally got around to working on attaching the LEDs to the PIC flasher circuit I'll be using.
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The LEDs will be placed on some perfboard. I marked it up so that the 16 LEDs will be centered on it. I plan to use the exact same LED location and flashing pattern as on droid #1.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979826559_a74020d533.jpg"/>
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As was the case with droid #1's rear logics, I am using some scavenged PATA cable to wire the LEDs to the PIC flasher board.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979076612_3fe42e32cc.jpg"/>
<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979826679_901fcc814b.jpg"/>
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I actually used my droid building notebook that I started <a href="https://vfranco.blogspot.com/2005/05/skins-dome-ordered-notebook.html">back in 2005</a>!!
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980056020_7b7989b730.jpg"/>
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In it, I noted the cross-stitch pattern I used, based on/copied from Mike Senna's original rear logics.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980056060_aac6a6c3bd.jpg"/>
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I pulled 9 strands of wire from the ribbon cable, and wired one strand for each pair of LEDs that will be powered by the eight circuit outputs. The ninth connection in pink is for the common connection that all the LEDs' cathodes will share.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980136663_b61dc15871.jpg"/>
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Next up, 16 LEDs from my bag-o-white-LEDs.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980056255_686fd7e0ba.jpg"/>
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I placed them in the offset pattern that I used on droid #1.
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I then cut down the LED legs.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980056415_12c3486c03.jpg"/>
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Next, I solder-stitched all the LED cathodes together, utilizing the LED legs for the connections, and a short segment of wire for the U-turn on the right.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52980137043_32c0a8f11e.jpg"/>
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Next, I soldered all the data lines to the anodes of the top row of LEDs, and connected the common ground connection to the cathode bus that I created.
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I then had to cross-stitch the top row of LEDs to the bottom row of LEDs, using the pattern from my notebook. Since I'm controlling 16 LEDs using only 8 outputs from the PIC flasher circuit, LEDs need to be paired up, but in such a way that it's not obvious that they are paired up.
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Time to test! I applied power, and... nothing. No blinky.
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I probably wired an LED backward. Well, maybe. Depending on which LED, I'd expect some LEDs to illuminate, until it reaches the backward LED. We'll see... tomorrow.
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Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-60299514442968629052023-05-27T23:52:00.010-07:002023-05-29T23:47:41.627-07:00R2LA XVIIToday was R2LA 17, the first time in four years that we've been able to get together at Mike and Amy Senna's house, and it was a blast.
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I arrived a little before 10am with donuts, to start the day off right.
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Several of us made short work of setup. By 10:20am all the tables and chairs had been set up, and we were ready for business.
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Around 11am the event officially kicked off, and people lined up to get their name tags.
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Over 60 droids were in attendance! We had an area for Disney+ screen-used droids, and my mouse droid squeaked in (pun barely intended), since it was in an episode of Kenobi.
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Matt Hobbs brought out his surprise project, a mash up of WALL•E and an R2 unit that was pretty awesome.
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Chris Lee brought his animatronic C-3PO.
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Around 1pm lunch was served (Panda Express) and folks sat down to eat.
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A look at some more droids that were in attendance.
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I brought my droid #1 as R5-D4. To my surprise, it was the only R5-D4 there.
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Around 2:30pm all the builders gathered outside for a group picture. There were something like 150+ in attendance, although not everyone was there for the (first) group picture.
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We also had several people from the Disney+ productions in attendance, including Vivian Blair, who played young Princess Leia in the Kenobi series, and Robert Smith, who is in the show that Mike and I worked on, the upcoming series Skeleton Crew.
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Leilani Shiu, who most often portrays a Jawa but has also performed several other rolls in the Disney+ Star Wars shows, was also in attendance.
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Others from behind the scenes included our Skeleton Crew 1st AD Eric Lasko, our Key 2nd AD Franny Stafford, our Security team Michael Sullivan and Zachary Quemore, Kenobi Prop Master Brad Elliot and Kenobi Art Department Artist Bethany Barton. It was great seeing them, as I wondered if I would ever see them again after we wrapped shooting earlier this year.
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Shortly after the human group photo, we took the droid group photo.
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After that, it was time for the mouse droid races/demolition derby/death match.
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Leilani Shiu didn't make it in the first group photo, so she requested we take another that included her, and we gladly obliged.
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Things slowly wound down over the hours, and by 10:30pm we started folding up the tables and stacking the chairs. We chit-chatted a little longer, and a little after 11pm I loaded the droid and headed home.
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Everyone had a fantastic time. Between the fact that it had been 4 years since the last R2LA and the shear number of people and droids in attendance, it was a really enjoyable event. As always, I look forward to the next one.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-24722956238885697862023-05-04T22:50:00.005-07:002023-05-05T10:59:13.626-07:00May the 4th be with You at CHOCChildrens Hospital Orange County was marking Star Wars Day with their May the 4th be with You event, and R2 was there to help celebrate.
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R2 was joined by Count Dooku, Darth Vader, and Kylo Ren. While we were outnumbered 3 to 1, it is R2 we're talking about, so he was able to hold his own. The kids were remarkably unworried as they lined up for photos, although as usual, I don't have photos with the kids.
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They had activity books and other things for the kids to do while they visited the second floor.
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The staff also enjoyed the characters.
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After about an hour on the second floor having the kids come to us, we split up and were escorted by the staff to do room-to-room visits for another hour. R2 visited patients in the pediatric oncology floor, and they were happy to see him. No pictures of that portion of the visit.
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I hope to be back at CHOC with R2 in the not too distant future.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-39187762210229649332023-05-03T17:51:00.004-07:002023-05-03T17:52:25.069-07:00Kindergarten VisitToday R2 met some kindergarten students at Todd Elementary School. The children had been learning a little bit about Star Wars and R2 this week, and R2 was a special guest. I checked in at the office and the staff was excited to meet R2.
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R2 hung out in the teachers lounge in between classroom visits.
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We spent time with two kindergarten classes, interacting with each class and answering questions. Every student was able to get an individual photo with R2, and we also got group pictures of each entire classes together. I didn't want to take a picture of the students, but I was able to get a shot of R2 in front of the classroom.
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Needless to say, the students and staff enjoyed the visit very much, as did R2 and I.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-55972167550010981912023-05-02T23:05:00.087-07:002023-05-03T17:42:06.620-07:00Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium - 2023Tonight was Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium, and R2 did not want to miss out.
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I arrived at the stadium with my former roommate from years ago Manny a little before the 4:10pm call time and unloaded the droid.
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Once we were inside, I took a panorama of the beautiful ballpark, where I've been coming since I was a child, and where I once had season tickets.
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Employees and others arriving early got pictures with R2, including this evening's military honoree.
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Around 5pm we started to make our way out to where we'd do the photo ops for arriving fans.
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Initially we just did ad hoc photos, but as I warned them, it was quickly apparent we would need to form a formal line, and we did. R2 was paired with Din Djarin and Grogu.
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A couple of times they stopped the line for character appearances on the pregame show. (In the picture below, R2 may look like he's facing the wrong way, but his dome is pointing at the camera. I couldn't move the body because Baby Yoda/Grogu was near the feet, and I certainly didn't want to knock him over on camera.)
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Around 6:45 the escorted three of us through the center field gate and onto the warning track, where made our way to the home plate area. My buddy Manny wasn't allowed to go with us, which was a major bummer, but he was able to take pictures from a distance.
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I've done this drive the last couple of years without problem, but this time the warning track dirt was reminiscent of riverbank sand, and there were a few times R2 spun his wheels in the wet and thick warning track dirt, so I had to give him an assist by lifting him up by the skirt to help with traction. The drivetrain itself was fine, it was just a lack of traction in the deep wet dirt that was the problem. Regardless, we made it to the home plate area safe and sound.
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Once there, folks on the field got pictures with R2 and the characters.
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The Mandalorian season 3 show runner and director Rick Famuyiwa was throwing out the first pitch. I was able to chat with him for a moment and he was happy to take a selfie with me. He was very friendly.
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Meanwhile, Manny relocated and was able to get a picture from the stands. R2 is near the middle of the photo and I'm just above the 76 circle.
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After the singing of the national anthem, it was time to head the short distance to the wheelchair elevator to get R2 below the field, where he egresses. I was able to get a picture of some of the Dodgers coaches, including manager Dave Roberts, and a picture of Rick and our characters coming off the field.
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As usual, R2 took the wheelchair escalator up the stairs.
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From there we hopped on the elevator and returned to the changing area on the club level, near the offices. More pictures!
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At that point I stowed R2 in the Droidmobile, and we finally had a chance to watch the game, from some excellent seats on the field level.
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The Dodgers ended up winning the game 13-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies, bringing R2's record with the Dodgers to 11-3. I hope we are able to come back next year.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-10720552764304238012023-04-27T19:33:00.031-07:002023-06-16T16:44:37.413-07:00PIC Flasher Kit for Droid #2 Rear LogicsI've come to the conclusion that without running power from the main batteries to the dome, the JEDI rear logics that I have in droid #2 won't be able to run on the meager six D-cell batteries that I have powering all the dome electronics. As beautiful as they are, the rear logics, power distribution board and controller board for these draw about 1 amp, which is asking too much of the D-cells. Thus, I will be replacing the rear logics with the same setup I have in droid #1, namely the PIC flasher kit that powers 16 LEDs and uses a transparency with the 108-LED pattern to cheat the full effect.
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I purchased a spare kit, just because.
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One of the first things I noticed is that the PIC chip has 18 pins (9 on each side), and the SIL sockets only have 16 pins. Not awesome.
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Luckily I happened to have a couple of spare 18-pin DIP sockets, so I sawed one in half and cut the lugs connecting the two sides, so I was able to proceed.
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The socket holding the PIC chip needs to be cut in half because a couple of capacitors and the 20MHz oscillator live underneath it.
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Before long, I had the whole thing soldered up.
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This is going to get put together in slow motion since I have a few other things going on, but it'll get done eventually.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-59077443550395280372023-04-22T21:05:00.002-07:002023-04-22T21:55:36.959-07:00Left Foot Shell Repair<a href="http://vfranco.blogspot.com/2023/04/star-wars-night-at-angel-stadium-2023.html">Last night</a>, R2's left foot shell took some damage, so I did a quick repair today.
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A little Oatey PVC glue is all I need to reattach the top of the foot shell door frame.
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I debated about whether to cut a new pivot stick that got bent last night when it got fed into the drivetrain, but in the end laziness won out again, and I bent it back straight (more or less) and reattached it into the door.
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Good enough for me, for now at least. Droid #2 has aluminum foot shells, and I think I need to seriously consider replacing the PVC foot shells with aluminum ones on droid #1 as well. It should be pretty evident this is not the first repair I've had to make over the last 16 years.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52838822560_7fb6f4286c.jpg"/>Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-7825438698799746132023-04-21T23:13:00.071-07:002023-04-23T18:22:46.481-07:00Star Wars Night at Angel Stadium - 2023Tonight was Star Wars Night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, and I brought R2 out to join other Star Wars characters to entertain the fans.
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I arrived around 3:20pm and unloaded onto my cart (with the Big A in the background), and then covered R2 up for the journey to our green room. I realize the BBQ smoker cover doesn't exactly conceal what's underneath, but it does help cut down on unscheduled stops for pictures.
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Brian Dodds also brought his R2, and the Angels did a good job of giving us each activities that were in separate parts of the stadium, so it worked out pretty well.
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First up for me was the rose garden area, where my friend/acquaintance from the Anaheim Ducks and CHOC, JoJo, was hosting as the DJ. It was nice seeing him again. Lots of people milled around and lined up for pictures with the characters.
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As game time approached, they had me hide my droid on the field level concourse, as Brian's droid made its way around the warning track during the t-shirt launch phase of the pregame activites. That's Brian's droid in the big screen.
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I got a little closer to the field to get better pictures. I think Brian and I took these two pictures at just about the exact same second. (I'm the dork in the second picture, just above the guy in the foreground with the hat on.)
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Once the characters had cleared the field, they had my droid take its position directly behind home plate on the field level concourse.
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At that point they had a couple of kids announce, "Play ball!" Then they immediately cut to my R2, and they dubbed in his beeps and I moved him around as he also said "Play ball!" as only he can.
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The "play ball" kids came over and got a picture with R2, and then we headed to our next stop, which was way upstairs to do more photos with fans.
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Our last scheduled activity for the evening was the 7th inning stretch. We made our way around the stadium to the tunnel near the right field foul pole and got a group photo of the characters that were present for that activity, before going out onto the warning track.
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Once the middle of the 7th inning arrived, they opened the gates and we made our way onto the warning track near the right field foul pole. I left R2 close to the gate so I would be able to make a quick egress when it was time to wrap up out there.
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So... just as I got R2 off the field, one of the characters inadvertently kicked R2's left foot shell very hard (I'm sure the character didn't see him), and the PVC foot shell broke. Worse, the left drive train was no longer turning.
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I collected the top of the foot shell frame that cracked off and the side door, and pulled the left side of R2 up by his shoulder and had him limp out of view. I wasn't sure why the left drivetrain was disabled, but luckily one of the Angels staffers (Jeff) quickly found a cart, so we loaded R2 up on it and carted him back to the green room.
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Once back in the green room, I discover the culprit. The right pivot stick of PVC that helps keep the door in place had been knocked off the inside of the left foot shell door, and got fed into the chain and then into one of the gears, jamming it up. A little unlucky, but at least it happened at the end of our appearance, and in the end, it wasn't a big deal.
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The Angels won 2-0 over the Kansas City Royals, in an astonishing 2 hours 4 minutes, by far the quickest game I've ever been to. This improves R2's record with the Angels to 2-5. Hopefully we can return next year and continue working our way up to .500.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-34075916585993775492023-04-17T15:57:00.009-07:002023-04-23T16:11:54.090-07:00Extra Weathering for R5 DomeIn The Mandalorian season 3, R5's "bad motivator" panel at the rear of the top of the dome shows grease and oil leaks, no doubt owing to the mishap from which he suffers in A New Hope. I decided to try to duplicate that look.
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It's hard to get a good picture of the screen, but here's what it looks like in season 3, episode 2.
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I used the same mix of paints and water that I <a href="http://vfranco.blogspot.com/2023/04/started-weathering-neck-r5-neck-ring.html">used the other day</a> for the neck ring panels.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52840987804_3df301cd4f.jpg"/>
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I applied the mixture with a spoon, to try to pour on the same pattern seen in the show. It's not a 100% match, but it's reasonably close.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52841207500_46a02ca661.jpg"/>
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I think I'm done messing around with R5's dome, for now at least.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-76843569241560224332023-04-16T15:51:00.002-07:002023-04-23T15:57:03.856-07:00Tape for R5 Dome AntennaPoor R5's dome antenna looks like it's been patched back together with electrical tape on The Mandalorian season 3, so I decided to do the same with mine.
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I don't want to put the electrical tape directly on the aluminum antenna, since it is so gummy. Instead, I'll lay down a layer of blue painters tape underneath.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52840785656_2300c091a6.jpg"/>
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Now it's ready for the electrical tape.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52840975449_c80782f731.jpg"/>
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Well, that was a quick day of "building."Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-11851822004789438172023-04-11T15:33:00.015-07:002023-04-23T15:42:24.107-07:00Finished Weathering R5 Neck Ring PanelsToday I wrapped up work on weathering the new neck ring panels for R5. It was the same process as <a href="http://vfranco.blogspot.com/2023/04/started-weathering-neck-r5-neck-ring.html"/>yesterday</a> so I won't repeat that here, but here is the final result.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52841191168_0121bf1bda.jpg"/>
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I went relatively light on the weathering, I mainly wanted it not to look too clean.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52840751521_3549074084.jpg"/>
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Looks good enough to me, but luckily my standards are low.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-86059113493488576842023-04-10T15:29:00.014-07:002023-04-23T15:34:17.867-07:00Started Weathering R5 Neck Ring PanelsHaving painted the neck ring panels for R5 silver, they looked a little too clean for my droid, so I decided to add a little weathering to them. I used mostly Carbon Black, with a little bit of Burnt Umber in the mix.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52841136585_ee086a0a9e.jpg"/>
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I added a little water and a drop of dish washing liquid and mixed it around.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52841166343_200e4063b5.jpg"/>
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I then applied a light coat of the soup to the panels.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52840917304_6b1c06a5dc.jpg"/>
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Eight down, and I'll do the other eight tomorrow.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-5336827852629209032023-04-06T23:02:00.002-07:002023-04-07T18:09:09.260-07:00Finished Painting R5 Dome Neck Ring Window FillersToday I finished painting the 3D-printed segments that are backed by card stock for the R5 dome's neck ring.
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Earlier I had applied a gray base coat. Today I wanted to apply a light top coat of aluminum.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799194256_d191916392.jpg"/>
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I am going for a semi-weathered/industrial look, so I didn't want to completely obscure all the gray.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799636653_d8941e5d19.jpg"/>
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Once the paint had dried to the touch, I did a test-fit into one of the 16 neck ring slots to see how it looked. These segments will be friction-fit into place, and they will be removable.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799636693_347c5f78e2.jpg"/>
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Looks good enough to me. Soon I'll install all of them to see how the whole dome ring looks, but I think I'm done with the painting portion.Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-91024800916812571092023-04-04T22:33:00.010-07:002023-04-07T18:13:03.946-07:00Finished On/Off/Dimmer Switch for R5 Dome LEDsToday I was able to wrap up work on installing the On/Off/Dimmer switch for the LEDs in the R5 dome.
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I will use a spring to apply tension to the greeblie/knob on the outside of the dome that will screw onto the screw that I attached to the potentiometer yesterday. Without the spring, the knob would be able to be pulled out from the outside of the dome.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799616068_2d40d85d29.jpg"/>
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I should be able to find a suitable one in my box-o-springs.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799169581_0bfed289b1.jpg"/>
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I found one that will do, and test-fit it in the dome.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799612623_1e14ca4e24.jpg"/>
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I cut a small segment of flat PVC and hot-glued it in the dome, locating it against the PVC into which the potentiometer is mounted. This way, when I turn the knob on the outside of the dome, the potentiometer won't rotate with it.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799411099_1cde079805.jpg"/>
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I then desoldered the simple on/off slider switch I had been temporarily using, and wired up the potentiometer. The outside legs act as inputs, and the center leg is the output. I chose the right leg because it's the leg that starts with near-zero resistance when the potentiometer is clicked on.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799411069_00b1844e08.jpg"/>
<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799169426_dfc74afdd4.jpg"/>
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And... it works!
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cI6WjlOiZXo" width="500"></iframe><br/>
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Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13861891.post-57712818288198989872023-04-03T22:23:00.003-07:002023-04-07T18:14:12.915-07:00Started Work on On/Off/Dimmer Switch for R5 Dome LightsI recently purchased some 10Kohm potentiometers, and I started working on one of them to control the LEDs for the R5 dome lights I recently installed.<br><br>
The potentiometers come with a slot that accepts a screw driver or knob, but I had other plans. I want to have a screw fit in the slot, which means I need to modify the screw. The first step is cutting the head off of a 10-32 screw.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799600908_6945316a3f.jpg"/>
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Next, I put it in a vise so that I could use a Dremel cutoff wheel to trim material off in order for it to fit into the slot in the potentiometer.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799600823_37b5d0f8b9.jpg"/>
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Next, I slathered some JB Weld into the slot on the potentiometer.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799600793_e53f3fe5f0.jpg"/>
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I then pressed the screw into place in the potentiometer slot.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799550350_c5ceba41f7.jpg"/>
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Once the JB Weld had cured sufficiently, I used the potentiometer as a template for drilling a segment of PVC onto which I will mount the potentiometer in the dome.
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<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52798591037_55c9acf249.jpg"/>
<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52799399139_10538f5981.jpg"/>
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I'll work on getting this installed in the dome soon.
Victor Francohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161122557964474277noreply@blogger.com0