How tall is the Time rotor?
Looking at Scarfwarer's plans http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=1107.0
It says that it is 29" tall at it's height - but I think I heard someone on the forum suggest it was 33" tall if you count the part of the column that is hidden under the console.

from Images it looks like the inner plastic structure stops maybe an inch from the roof of the column.

So we know that there are 11 levels of the plastic. If the column were 30" and the plastic structure inside were 29" - 29 divided by 11 is 2.63" - so the height between each level would be just over two and a half inches.

however if the column were 33" tall - the plastic interior structure might be 32" tall - 32 divided by 11 is 2.9" - nearly three inches between each level.

Does anyone have the height of the Mike Kelt column?

Quote from: Theta Sigma on Jun 07, 2012, 11:00 pm
The 60W bulbs are 19.69 inches (50.0126 cm) in length and 1.25 inches (3.175 cm) in diameter.

The 35W bulbs are 11.75 inches (29.854 cm) in length and 1.25 inches (3.175 cm) in diameter.

I would be very interested to know if these measurements match up to what's been extrapolated so far.

Quote from: Theta Sigma on Jun 07, 2012, 11:07 pm
There are 150W versions that are 39.38 inches (100.0252 cm) in length and 1.25 inches (3.175 cm) in diameter, but I think these are too long to have been used in this time rotor.

Quote from: Theta Sigma on Jun 07, 2012, 11:29 pm
Hmmmmm....the more I look at the pictures, the more I could convince myself that (2) of the bulbs were the longer 150W versions, and then (2) more 60W.  Then the (4) 35W red ones.  This also assumes that this time rotor is slightly taller than the 30 in. high Pertwee/Baker time rotor.  I have taken the liberty of updating the drawing to show the placement of the different wattage bulbs.  I hope this helps.

Sometime it's a good idea to review what others have said ..... to tell the truth I had forgotten this gem of information.

if the Console is 30" tall then I just need to make sure the height from the top of the structure is in fact 1" or is it more?

I don't think we ever came to a consensus on whether the 150W bulbs were used or not.  I know there were some concerns that the 150W versions would be too bright, but you have to think about the fact that 150W is spread out over 39+ inches.  So if you look at it as a Watt/inch ratio, then you realize that it's about the same for each bulb, and therefore should be a fairly consistent brightness.  Especially when you consider the efficiency of a really long filament is probably lower than it's shorter counterparts.

150W bulb = 3.81 Watts/inch
60W bulb = 3.05 Watts/inch
35W bulb = 2.98 Watts/inch

What really worries me now is the availability of these bulbs.  Now that high wattage incandescent bulbs have basically been outlawed in the US, how will this affect the availability of these bulbs on this side of the pond?   

I have quite a bit of experience with the LED lightsaber blades, and I'm sure I could construct an LED version of these bulbs that would come close.

I think you might be right, Theta Sigma. One good way of telling would be to take a look episode 1 of Warriors of the Deep when the TARDIS is 'out of control' and the console room is dimly lit. Alternatively, the Five Doctors when the TARDIS is on the way to Gallifrey. These two scenes were very good points of reference for me when I was 'eyeballing' it all those years ago.

Dude where the hell did you appear from.   It's been ages.  Welcome back

Quote from: karsthotep on Oct 15, 2020, 10:11 amDude where the hell did you appear from.   It's been ages.  Welcome back

Well the TARDIS was...I don't know!

Hi all,

I got the following screen grab from "Attack of the Cybermen"

and it seems to show the higher bulb stretches from just above the top tier and ends just about level with the 8th tier down.

Compare with a view of the rotor from my Sketch-up version made using the plans provided by Lespaceplie and a 500mm bulb starting at the same point ends nearer the 9th tier. This could be that the tier heights are wrong (more likely my error than Lespaceplies, but i'll check later) or maybe there was a 450mm bulb produced as this would end near the 8th tier.


Now as this is a topic called "The Difinitive Davison/C.Baker/McCoy Time Rotor Plans" I think it worth mentioning something I have only recently discovered which blew my mind.

Now remember how annoyed we were, well some of us including myself, when we saw glorious hi res images of the console at the Doctor Who Experience and wondered why they had made such an awful attempt at recreating the rotor lights?

Well it appears they have been like that for over 30 years and more importantly are screen accurate. Let me show you. This is the rotor as it currently is

and this is the rotor as it appeared in "Time and the Rani"


Unless my eyes are playing tricks it would appear that these two images show the exact same bulb arrangement except for the missing red lighting filter.

In this configuration both the lower red bulbs are illuminated when the rotor is in motion but the two higher position white bulbs alternate giving the illusion of the same lighting configuration as the original set up.

This set up certainly fooled me into thinking it was the same set up all the way through from "The Five Doctors" to its final appearance.

I have no idea why it would have been changed, but using the type of bulb holders pictured, it appears there simply was not enough space to fit four white ones and four red ones like the old set up had.

As always any thoughts or opinions greatly appreciated.

The following screen grabs are from "Timelash" which I have darkened to try and make seeing the lit tubes a little easier.

The first picture gives the illusion that the tube stretches from top to bottom again whilst the next which is at a slightly lower angle, shows the tube finishing between the 8th and 9th tier down.



Interestingly if you compare the second image with the one I uploaded in the last post of the SketchUp rotor, the bulbs all line up perfectly which means the measurements Lespaceplies posted are indeed spot on.

Seems like the angle of the shot combined with all that perspex can produce all manner of confusion when trying to figure out what's going on in there.

Quote from: warmcanofcoke on Jan 18, 2014, 03:22 am

Quote from: Kingpin on Jun 05, 2012, 08:27 pmThis new version features the solid and hollow tubing present around the base, as well as the triangular prisms that the newest photos have revealed.  I'm fairly confident on the shapes of the stars, but the rods are going to be trickier to place.  It looks like that between the lowest level, and the top few, the remaining levels are comprised of triangular prisms, with a set of eight circular rods closest to the centre.

looking on ebay I noticed individual prisms ran about $5-7 USD each and were only about 2" in length - I was a little bummed as there are well over 96 prisms on Kingpin's diagram. and then I found a product that made it much less expensive a prospect. (Acrylic Equilateral Triangle Rod 1" x 6ft Long - Clear Extruded) Triangular acrylic rods. As they are Acrylic they can be cut with the same saw blades I use to cut the rest of my plastic.

Did we ever confirm that the rods and prisms in the structure were approximately 1 inch in diameter and 1 inch sides respectively?

I purchased the triangular rods. But that was 8 years ago... And I believe based on Kingpin's insight from 10 years ago. I am happy with the rods but haven't turned them into a time column yet.....

Afraid I don't really have anything to add as I'm not a physical prop/model builder, but I'm loving the detailed discussion and breakdown of what is IMHO the best time rotor the TARDIS ever had 😎

Hi guys,

It's been ages, but recently I've been looking to rebuild my time rotor to make it much more accurate. When I originally built it back in early 2000s, I had very few reference pics and DVDs etc to work from. Now, thanks to everyone's hard work on this, I reckon I'm going to give it another bash - especially with the likes of laser cutters becoming easier to get one's hands on.

One of the puzzling things about this time rotor is the lamp configuration. After studying this for some time recently, I found out that the S14S Linestra lamps were only ever available in 300mm, 500mm or 1000mm. As the time rotor is well under 1000mm high, that got me thinking that there must be (or must've been) a size between the 500mm and 1000mm. So, after some digging around on the internet, I found out that there were a series of lamps manufactured by Crompton which included all three sizes above plus a 75w 610mm lamp. The difference with these lamps compared to the Linestra/philinea lamps is that they have a 'peg base'. A quick Google search for "peg base architectural globes" brought me to an eBay listing...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/DbcAAOSw7Bda6FeE/s-l1600.jpg

Anyway, I'm keen to hear what you all think. Is it 'mystery solved'

Cheers,

Jarrod