Okie-dokie, folks. I've finally come through as promised and made progress on this thing. I apologize to you all for my silence... I had a brother-in-law pass very suddenly and have spent a lot of time out-of-town with the sister(s). Enough said.
Phase One - Self-Enclosed Light Source
While the following instructions are within code for the common homeowner, DO NOT work with electricity without understanding basic electrical safety!
Today I started with building a flourescent tube assembly that will fit within the rotating "gobo" tube to be built around it later. It was important to my design to create a light source that was long & tubular but not restrictive to building things around it, therefore I had to cannibalize a 4-ft. flourescent tube fixture and totally enclose one end while freeing-up the other. In escence, a lightsaber prop (NOT to be swung around as such!!!)
I went this direction to stay true to the home haunter's budget and skill. I looked into designing a bushing-driven assembly like you find in barber poles and dance lights, but that would have been both cost- and skill-prohibitive for the "target audience."
Eventually I'll have to build a duplicate, as my theory is based on a rotating gobo on each side of the walkway, but I'll expound on that later.
Let's begin with the parts. Seen below (pics 1 & 2) are the guts & ballast from inside a standard household 4-ft. flourescent lamp (Lowe's, $16... I saved the housing for later if needed), a 34w tube (elec. supply house, $1.50) and a protective tube shield with end enclosures (supply house, $1.50). Also on hand were some extra lengths of 14-guage ("AWG") wire and a dozen 16-to-14awg "end-to-end" bus wire connectors (together about $4). Tools at this point include a drill and 5/16" bit, wire cutters & crimpers, and electrical tape. All told $23 so far, besides tools. Not bad.
I drilled a hole 2 inches from each end of the shield tube (pic 3), then ran my spare pair of wire from that hole down the rest of the tube and out the other hole. I then inserted the lamp tube down through this, and pulled the wire taut so it followed down one edge (sandwiched between the lamp tube and the shield tube with a few inches of wire poking out of each hole). I then (pic 4) stripped the ends of the wire and crimped bus connectors onto their ends. NOTE: many of you may doubt the safety of this, but I have it from 2 Master Electricians that, while uncommon, is perfectly safe with no heat issues unless the wire itself is damaged. By the way, please use only 14 awg or larger as extension wires... DON'T use smaller wires as they WILL heat up.
I cut the "holder ears" off of the ends of the blue & red pairs of the ballast. I popped the end-cap onto one end and then, using some leftover red wire, I sripped & crimped them as jumpers (5 & 6) from the hole extension wires to the ends of the lamp itself. Yes, you can crimp blue 16/14 awg bus connectors right to the ends of the lamp, but be very careful not to squeeze too hard or pull the pins off!
After taping-off that end, I crimped the long red leads from the ballast to the other ends of my extender wires (the other ends sticking out of the other holes). I stuck the other end-cap on and crimped the remaining blue leads to that lamp-end (pic 7) and taped it securely together. All that was left was to sacrifice an extension cord end and wire-nut it to the black & white power hookups.
(8 & 9) As you can see, this gives us a very cheap light source with one end completely free and the terminal end very workable.
Time involved so far = 1 man-hour
I'll be updating you on the rotating gobo ASAP, as well as on the overall design of these units together with the walkway and hall.
__________________
"I'm not just going to hell...
I'm helping to build it."
-Self quote to brother-in-law
Last edited by DooBeeDooBeeDoo; 04-15-2008 at 06:15 PM.
P.S. - The pool table is for display only... DO NOT build or assemble things on your pool table!
P.P.S. - The blue and red sets of a standard ballast are interchangable... do not worry over "+" or "-" ends when it comes to reconnecting to the tube prongs.
Here's the breakdown again real quick:
4-ft. Flourescent light fixture - Lowe's = $16
4-ft. 34w flour. lamp - supply house = $1.50
4-ft. shield tube & ends - supply hs. = $1.50
Extra 14awg wire & 16/14awg bus connectors - Lowes/H.D./Hardware = $4
Total $23 plus tools / 1+ hour labor.
__________________
"I'm not just going to hell...
I'm helping to build it."
-Self quote to brother-in-law
Don't forget to be careful with the florescent light bulb as there is mercury in the tube.
YES! Even with the plastic shield tube, don't go swingin' this thing around willy-nilly. They're filled with mercury gas which, if inhaled in quantity, can be poisonous, not to mention the near-microscopic glass shards that ain't all that comfy either.
Use care as you would changing or disposing of any flourescent light.
__________________
"I'm not just going to hell...
I'm helping to build it."
-Self quote to brother-in-law
This effect can also be done with lengths of rope light the length of the tunnel, sequenced to looked like they are going around you.
Some vertigo, maybe, but it's easily overcome after the brain recognizes the predictable circular or spiral patern. An overwhelming effect could be done by coiling the ropelight tightly together, but if you can afford that much rope you had might as well buy a tunnel. Trust me, I considered this option early on, but wrote it off quickly. One could use sequenced Xmas lights just as well.
I am drilling the gobo tubes with random dots. Hard for the eyes to find a pattern. Think of the gobos as miniature versions of the tunnel itself, but instead the dots are projected on the walls instead of dots on a moving wall.
Think cheap and unique. I'm trying to be as cheesy as possible without appearing cheesy. Come to think of it, I am challenging myself to keep this under $200 and 20 man-hours.
__________________
"I'm not just going to hell...
I'm helping to build it."
-Self quote to brother-in-law
DBDBD
Please keep moving on this project. It's a VERY cool idea and I'd love to someone pull this off. Seems you're well on your way! Keep building!!!
You got it, bud! I'm waiting on a very important part... a cardboard carpet tube (Monday or Tuesday... a friend is having carpet installed then) to make the gobo. I've already devised a dirt-cheap suspension system and drive, so I'll keep you posted.
Thank you in return, Garage, for your GREAT information and craftsmanship.
__________________
"I'm not just going to hell...
I'm helping to build it."
-Self quote to brother-in-law
Stationary "Poor Man's" Vortex Tunnel
Linear Mode
