Old School Bat Radio

[marmaly]

I suggest a trip to the plumbing department of Home Depot to look at aerators. Like this:

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[rickrickrick]

You mean for the radio grille? I already have vacuformed a piece for that - the white circle in my photo. I will simply drill holes in it. But thanks for the suggestion.

RRR

[Mark Racop]

The Bat Radio definitely lit up during the show. I need to brush up on my episodes for exact instances, but I'm *thinking* that Robin inside the "sphinx"/jackal was one of them. Holy timetable! It's been too long since I've watched the show!

Great job on your radio, BTW. Keep on punching, Rick!

[rickrickrick]

The new antennae tops arrived yesterday, so I decided to try mounting them today. Had to cut threads for them on the brass rods, something I have never done before. I am happy to say that the thread die worked well - after I figured out how to use it - so the 3/8" brass balls are now mounted on the brass rod. The balls are a little too big - insert naughty joke here - but I couldn't find anything between 1/4", which was decidedly too small, and 3/8".

I also bought a AAA battery clip, and a small bulb and bulb mount to go inside. A small enough switch has eluded me so far.

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RRR

[Chuck Williams]

Nicely done!!!

Don't know if this helps but here's a little brass pushbutton...
http://www.parts-express.com/nte-54-660 ... h--060-904

and a super small one...
http://www.vetco.net/catalog/product_in ... s_id=11433

[rickrickrick]

Thanks, Chuck, For some reason, I always get an error message on that first link - which takes forever to load - and the second one is for a momentary switch, which I'd have to hold for the light to stay on.

I've done only a quick web search, but come up empty handed so far. Who knew a small push on/push off switch would be so hard to find?!

RRR

EDIT: Well, now the first link is working fine. I'm afraid that switch is too big. The depth of the radio is only 3/4", so the switch has to be itty bitty. I may have to make the "switch" on the front ornamental, as it appears the original was, and put a larger, more practical switch on the back.

[BatBob]

Fantastic work, Rick!!!

[Chuck Williams]

Good luck with the search!

[Mark Racop]

Rick,

Radio Shack makes a miniature push button switch that might fit the bill:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... cale=en_US

You can remove the button cap, carefully grind down the switch, and gently bend the connections to try to shorten it up if needed. Good luck!

[rickrickrick]

Ha ha! Great minds, Mark! Already got it on order! No local RS carried it in stock.

As you surmised, I think it may be too tall. We'll see...

RRR

PS - I DID find smaller switches online, but all were in China and took 3 weeks or more to ship!

[Batfanman]

This vendor may have what you need - their website is not the greatest but they do stock a large inventory. Speaking to someone may help further.

http://www.youdoitelectronics.com/

[Chuck Williams]

I don't know why but I always thought it was a 2x4 or a 2x6 that it was carved from.
No clue on the real size but it's academic anyway.
It's going to be an excellent piece when you're finished.

I've always wanted to learn how to wire props and models like this with lights and working buttons!
Really adds to the fun!

[rickrickrick]

Well, the body of my radio may be too thin. It looks like the original also may be tapered from top to bottom, so the bottom is slightly thicker. At least, that appears to be how Clint's is made, from the scant photographic evidence I've seen. So, I may be my own worst enemy, switch-wise!

I am a complete doofus as far as electricity goes. I am going to put a small AAA battery-powered flashlight bulb in this - with a switch if I ever get one! - and that's about as far as my skills go! Sad, really!

RRR

EDIT: PS - The body of mine was cut out of an old piece of 1" shelving I had lying around, since that's what looked proportionally correct to me - so it's only 3/4" thick.

[rickrickrick]

Well, crud - the switch arrived yesterday and is too tall. There's not enough "expendable" structure that can be dremeled away without rendering it non-functional - so, the search goes on!

RRR

[rickrickrick]

No, this project is not dead! It was on hiatus for a bit until I could get a suitable switch.

Unfortunately, my soldering iron is elsewhere, so the light is not wired yet, but everything else is put together.

So, here it is. I wanted it to look as hand made as the original prop looked to me, so everything is very much crafted by hand. I painted the body with a brush, and also the red around the plexi window. I covered the button on the switch with a custom one made of plumbers epoxy and spray painted gold. The grill is vacuformed plastic, with holes drilled out with a dremel, then sprayed gold with a very subtle patina of black acrylic washed over it. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out - I think it looks good without looking too slick, which was my goal.

RRR