Mini Rotating Mars Light
I am working on gears, so this seems like a neat thing to try. I built a little gearbox into a pinball Mars light base. This first version uses a drill bit shaft and fingers for motive power. The next one will probably have a pager motor to drive it, as well as more robust gears and a better reflector. It will also support a 906 bulb, and be a shade thinner. The whole thing fits where a pinball Mars light fits today.
Control is another issue. Unlike a flasher, the light needs to stay on while the reflector rotates. But this is looking quite possible as an add-on toy. The standard covers may not work as they diffuse the light too much. I want sweeping beams!
Here's the gear chamber and gears. These parts sit in a three-layer sandwich.
Here's the assembly. Exact same footprint as a standard pinball Mars light, just a little thicker.
Here's the hand powered version - think of it as slow motion.
And here it is on a power drill.
Finally power drill pushing the speed a bit...
New version with Delrin gears and an independent motor
The little gear needs work. Too much heat!
Here's the tiny motor that runs it. A bit fast right now, but electronic speed control will fix that.
And the movie
Here are the YouTube videos: