Found an Inexpensive Light Effect for my Tombstone Southwest Layout

thanks, that's pretty cool.  I'll have to see if the still have one laying around.

- walt

Walt. They also had them at Rite-Aide. If you need any help with the wiring let me know. The have a tricky device to keep the lights on while the body spins.

thanks Al for pointing me to Rite-Aid.  I'm right next store right now.

Al,

I got lucky and found one at CVS.  I think it's what you had even though the top part itself doesn't spin like you said that your rabbit does.  The spinning, lited piece is INSIDE the plastic outer decorative shell.  I'll include some pictures which may help us communicate better with each other.

After examining the way that it activates the light part, I'm guessing that you kept the motor/battery housing component in place???  I say that because I noticed that the button activates the spinning action, as evidenced by the fact that when I removed the motor and spinning part from the case it did spin.  BUT the lites didn't come on.  That's because when the button is depressed a piece on it makes contact with a copper piece on the shaft of the motor and that's what makes the lights come on.  Having the motor and spinning device outside of the base would mean finding a way to someone make contact with that copper piece (which, since it's part of the shaft and spins with it, would be tricky I think).

If you didn't keep the base in tact, then YES I need a lot of help on this!!!   Even if you did keep it in tact, how did you power it (voltage, AC or DC, etc)

thanks - walt

(I have a video of it but when I uploaded it it wouldn't play)

Hi, Walt.  Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.  You are doing ok.  I fiddled with the internals like you are doing and decided it was not necessary to dismantle the shaft, so I left it all together, but I took the plastic rabbit off the top and scrapped the external decoration off.  I probably could have worked out the contacts eventually, but this was easier.  I was able to drill a hole in the roof of my saloon and then insert the shaft.  Since it was going to be a display for the saloon at night it was ok.  The device is powered by three disk batteries, but I wanted to break the contact with a  toggle switch I could attach to a board some distance away, so I took the batteries out and soldered two wires, one to each end where the batteries would make contact.  The only thing I had available was one of those radio shack two battery packs which uses double A batteries -- more power than necessary I'm sure, but it worked when I attached the toggle and the battery connections.  I should have taken pictures while I was assembling, but forgot to and can't take the saloon apart now without messing up something.  I've attached some pics which might help understand what I'm talking about.

You are correct.  The clear plastic rabbit doesn't spin, only the light paddle inside.   After I reassembled the shaft with the wire jutting out the bottom, I taped around it to make it fit snuggly into the roof hole.  My toggle was going to handle the off/on so I took a small piece of wood and taped it tightly over the button so it would hold it in.  Now when I use the toggle the device goes on or off.  Hope this helps.  When you get it finished post some photos and maybe a video if you can.

Hi Walt and Al!

Was intrigued by your post, Walt, so I picked up two of these for $4 total from my local Rite Aid, both a working pink one and a nonworking blue one,( but haven't yet checked why the blue one doesn't work.) Anyway,  I plan using one on the roof of a diner and if I get the other one working I'll place it either on the roof of my 1950's used card dealer ship beside the rooftop mounted Miller Engineering Used Car sign already there or at the entrance of a drive in theater in conjunction with a Miller Engineering Drive In movie marque. If I use it for the Drive In then I'll leave the motor and mechanism in the barrel they're already in and add to the length of the barrel making it resemble a tall pillar with the spinning light affixed atop it high off the ground' Then paint the entire unit, use dry transfer letters to put the Drive In Theater name on the flat sides of the light paddle, and super glue the button switch permanently down in the on position. My main considerations for this paddle as well as the other though are two fold. First, how can I power it using the accessories power from either a Z4000 or a CW-80 transformer instead of batteries since a transformer gives a much higher voltage than batteries do and I don't want to overload the light's circuit, and also what can be done to quiet down the loud whirring noise the spinning paddle's motor makes? Any suggestions?

Also, because of the flat roof of both the diner and car dealership buildings how can the working mechanism be removed from the barrel it's currently in and placed on the roof of either building without it extending so far below the flat roof and into the visible portion of either building? That will be challenging! Again, any suggestions from anyone on how to best accomplish that?

The only thing I have to offer is that if you decide to remove the works from the shaft you will have to make some accommodation for the little connector that operates the lights while the paddle is spinning. I also found the battery an easier option, but I'll be interested to see how you develop your ideas.  I didn't look inside the shaft that connects to the paddle maybe there is a little piece of plastic that makes the noise. Something like what we use to do as kid when we put a card between the spokes of a bicycle wheel.

ogaugeguy: you might be interested in what I'm posting here:

Thanks Al for the details: it's actually what I was already thinking as the only fairly easy solution.  But I was thinking that maybe you found a way to get around issues.  The ONLY big issue to me is how to have the swipe piece on the button that contacts the copper shaft (for the lights) replaced with "wires" somehow.  If that copper piece didn't spin with the shaft it would be easy, but since it does.....

Yesterday, since I had 2 of the toys, I tried to do exactly what your solution was.  I landed up burning  out the lites but don't really know why that happened.  A used  small 'N' scale trannie, the DC side.  I BARELY turned on the power it started spinning and almost right away the lights quit coming on.

I tried reversing the wires knowing that DC operated things are often polarity sensitive, but no matter what I did I could not get the lites to come on.

I re-inserted the batteries and it did spin, but again, no lights.  So I think somehow I damaged it.

I can't believe that I applied too much voltage.  3 of those button batteries amounts to 4.5V and I don't think I applied that much.  I have 3 Miller power supplies that each puts out 4.5V for his signs, so one of those SHOULD work I would think.  I also have a 3v supply (for the window signs) so maybe I'll try that one first.

- walt

Thanks, Walt, for the info on the use of that N transformer. Hope using the Miller Engineering power mod will work. I hope so. Maybe you can still pick up another spin rabbit at a CVS if you need two of them.

I'm giving up!

I have tried unsuccessfully to use: an 'N' scale trannie; a 3v wall-wort; a 4.5v wall-wort (I use both for my Miller signs); a 3 battery AAA holder with the wires attached like Al did (but no solder).  I have 3 of the toys and in all 3 cases, the devices tried will spin the motor but not light the lights    The ONLY way that I get it to spin AND have the lights work is to use the 3 included button batteries.

I don't have a 2 slot AA holder to try like Al did.  At this point, as much as I like Al's idea, it's just not worth the frustration to me.

thanks for the idea Al even though I didn't have any luck.

- walt