In case you missed it, (I don’t see how you could have, but apparently some people who are very interested in RGB stuff managed to!) for the past three weeks I’ve been building an RGB style PKE meter I planned to put up for auction, and have been posting updates in the For Sale forum,here:
The PKE was to be a mashup of these concept sketches from the cartoon:
And the one seen in the game, sitting on a desk in the firehouse basement:
It was also to be built from basswood, pvc, stainless steel, and aluminum, and feature both lights and sound.
Anyway, I wanted to post the pics here since they will eventually dissapear from the For Sale forum, so here’s the finished product!
(Right click → View Image for high res)
And some videos of it in action:
And, should you be interested in potentially owning this item, here is a link to the auction itself, which ends Saturday!
Awesome build man! Very clean and professional looking. Two questions I have:
What IC did you use for the cascade effect? I’m assuming it’s a decade counter of some type.
How is the front and back of the body shell held together? Is it press-fit, magnets, hidden screws or glued together? If it’s glued how do you change the battery?
The circuit uses a 555 timer and a 4017 decade counter.
The front and back are held together with screws. I tried velcro and double sided sticky tape, but neither would hold it shut with all the wires in there, and obviously I didn’t want to glue it shut, so I glued four tabs into the top half that extend down about an inch, and the two screws next to the handle, and on either side of the base of the antenna attach to those.
I’ve got to ask - what the devil did you use to make that antenna? The metal support strut? This has got me considering putting one of these bad boys together. :oD
2 bic pens with logos sanded off. (They fit the lenses and have tapered ends.)
2 short lengths of 8/32 threaded rod fitted into ends of bic pens. (If I do it again, I’ll probably buy extra long set screws instead, since the rod is a bitch to cut by hand.)
2 7/32 shaft collars with 8/32 set screw holes to screw the bic pens into.
I saw this puppy on eBay and I was very tempted to bid on it. My funds were rather depleted at the time though. Are you going to be making any more of these? It is a shame you didn’t make a mold of the PKE to then make resin kits out of. I bet you could make a mint selling kits of this meter! I know I would buy one.
I was offering them in the for sale forum shortly after this one sold on ebay. I thought there was going to be a lot of interest since 10-15 people indicated they wanted one, but in the end I only sold two and a half, in addition to the one I sold on ebay. (Those pke’s just getting finished up in time for halloween.)
As for resin, I wanted to go all out and do a resin body and have a machined antenna and professionally produced circuit boards and green acrylic for the display. But I’d have had to get at least 10 orders all at once to do that.
It’s a shame there wasn’t more interest. I was even working on a way to get the antennas to move, and eventually I might have been able to offer circuits for the movie accurate PKE’s as well, since I was already halfway there with the circuit I built.
Anyway, if you ever decide you want one after all, let me know. Maybe we can work something out. Not in time for halloween though.
It was for sale, and I did a run of them, building four in total. I would consider doing another run, but I’d need to get several people committed to it, as they’re a pain in the ass to do.
$2 transparency printed up at Staples, cut to size, and fitted behind the acrylic. Also, the LED’s on that model are mounted in a piece of black plastic, though that’s not really neccessary. Kinkos/Fedex can print them too, but the local one kept screwing it up.
The darker the color, the more opaque it will be. The dark green works quite well, though I had to double up the transparency on Ecto’s to get the rich bright colors. Oh, and his led’s are mounted in a copy of the display printed on photo paper.
I’d most definitely be interested in one of those PKE Meters if you do another run. I remember seeing this last year and almost jumped on it. Very upset that I didn’t have the money. How much would it be?
that thing just looks amazing simply amazing.
Are you going to be making any more of these? It is a shame you didn’t make a mold of the PKE to then make resin kits out of. I bet you could make a mint selling kits of this meter! I know I would buy one.