TARDIS Console Part in New Series of Primeval

Started by the doctor who2, Jan 03, 2011, 03:58 pm

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galacticprobe

Oct 30, 2017, 05:35 pm #75 Last Edit: Nov 02, 2017, 03:55 am by galacticprobe
They are very close. The only thing is these don't have any slots in their sides, also no little holes around the edges near the end, and no grooves along the arm. (I know in this photo the thing is a little worse for wear, with some of the bullet tips missing, and some skewed, but if still gives nice detail of the silver arms):

AtomAccelerator-SilverArms.jpg
It was difficult to find colors that stood out in a photo like this, but notice the arms' construction:
Red Arrow - narrow slot
Yellow Arrow - small holes (looks like 4 total, each at 90 degrees to each other)
Blue Arrow - wide groove (where the holes are)
Purple Arrow - narrow groove

All those features are in the same place on each arm, and they're also the same size. (I didn't point it out with an arrow, but you can see the flange on the arm where it meets with the ball, and that flange is the same diameter as the main part of the arm.) All these features keep me thinking these are part of some sort of cable connector housing, and judging from their size, a coaxial cable not much larger than what one would find coming into your house for the TV cable (RG-59 cable), or maybe going from a radio to an antenna/aerial (RG-58 cable).

Those cable numbers aren't intended to mean those are the cables these would-be connectors are used on; they're only for description purposes. Any cable of that type could be where these connectors are from (if they are connectors). But with the vast number of them on this thing - and the number of these "spiky balls" we've seen out there - those silver bits had to have come from something ready-made. It would take literally days to tool out those arms in that quantity. Granted, whoever mass-produced these back in 2005 would have had the machinery to do that, but considering the ready-made valve caps and ready-made camera ball used to make this, I don't see the maker taking the time (which is also money) to tool out that many arms to connect the valve caps to the balls.

Ready-made ball, ready-made valve caps: those have got to be some sort of ready-made connector shells (housings).

Dino.

EDIT: Adjusted the number of holes in the "arms".
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Cardinal Hordriss

Look at the bits where they join the ball. I'm getting close I know it.

23022320_10210211155331008_1030839161_n.png
I speak to you from the final days of Gallifrey. I am the past you have forgotten. You are the future I will not live to see...

Davros Skaro

Those are PL-259 coaxial plugs for RG213 coaxial antenna cable if that helps identify them. I use to use CB radio & UHF CB years ago.

Chris.
Chris.

galacticprobe

Oct 31, 2017, 04:07 am #78 Last Edit: Nov 02, 2017, 04:13 am by galacticprobe
Definitely getting closer, Chris! We used a mix of RG-213 and RG-58 for our HF comms antenna cabling on our ships (more of the 58 than the 213, but you'd find both as they're built for that all-important 50 Ohms impedance... just like a CB radio).

The holes look good on these, but you'd still need to add that extra little groove above the threaded area (and file away the threads to make that bit smooth), and then cut the slot. So we're definitely on the right track and these could be made to work... with some work; there are 18 of these "arms" on that ball after all. It's a lot of work, but it could be done. However I still have a feeling there are (or were) cable connectors out there that already look like this and didn't need modifications. Remember how many of these spiky balls were in use, so I'm sure the maker looked for something he didn't need to make too many mods to.

So I think we're getting warmer, but not bursting into flames yet. Will that stop us? I think not. ;D

EDIT: Just edited this after a fresh set of eyes looked closer at those arms again. There are only 4 holes in them, so the number on the connector Chris posted matches. I've adjusted my comments according to that, and also modified my post up-thread to reflect the hole number. (I was thrown a little by eddyc's magnificent replica, where he tooled just about every part, and it looks like he drilled either 6 or 8 holes in the arms he made. So my count was off based on that - sort of how your brain puts a missing word in a sentence you're writing; you see the word where you expect to as you read it, but then let someone else read it and they notice the missing word. Well, the wife looked at the ball again and said she could only see 4 holes in the arms at 90 degrees to each other. Frack me if she wasn't right!)

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"