A pulsed Smoke generator for > £56

[robsmorgan]

I've asked a lot of questions, here and elsewhere. Tried to buy a pretty cheap unit from MicroMark (USA) but they discontinued the item.... so I bought the cheapest smoke unit I could find which would fit into a Bachmann Annie (Hunters at under £40) added a twin fan 5v blower (£14) - mounted on a bit of bent-to-shape biscuit tin and timed the blower power supply from the bog standard Bachmann sound cam.

(circuit for info)

It works and doesn't appear to get hot enough to damage the 'boiler' case.
I converted a composite car to carry 10 x 3000mAh D cell batteries and ran the power supply under the tender through to the loco....... even on a very windy day the smoke looks rich and at slow speeds, matches with the chuff sound pretty well. What you think, worth the effort?
To avoid some confusion I have highlighted the link to the SMOKE footage from 11th April 2011.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZPjva_ugok&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL < Link To http://www.youtube.com/wa...u_in_order&list=UL

Regards
Rob

 

[MR SPOCK]

excellent footage Rob well built railway as well super bridges , look forward to seeing the smoke results​

 

[robsmorgan]

excellent footage Rob well built railway as well super bridges , look forward to seeing the smoke results​

Are you pulling my leg Pete???.... the link in the body of the post should connect you to the new smoking featurette

Regards
Rob

 

[railwayman198]

Looks good to me. Just as good as the commercial units costing £100 more I reckon. The breeze dilutes the separate chuff effect, which is probably why the demo clips on youtube of the commercial units are shot indoors.

 

[trammayo]

Well I'm impressed! Nice one.

 

[Madman]

Uh, er, was I supposed to see a smoke unit in action :impatient: You have a very nice railway though

 

[robsmorgan]

Uh, er, was I supposed to see a smoke unit in action :impatient: You have a very nice railway though

[style="color: #0000ff;"]Dear Dan from the US of A - I have emboldened the link to the 'smoke' footage as it might have not been obvious in the body of my earlier post - hope you can view it now.

[style="color: #008000;"]AND thanks to all who have liked it and posted comments!!!!

Regards
Rob

 

[Tony]

well i think it looks good

Tony

 

[daveyb]

im the same,,, chuff is a bit weak,, could be the local conditions,,, looks a tad breezy

smoke produced seems pretty good though all in all good effort as lets face it , decent smoke/sound costs a fortune and theres not many that have left me feeling ,,,,, i want one of those!!
how does it pulse inside,,,

 

[robsmorgan]

im the same,,, chuff is a bit weak,, could be the local conditions,,, looks a tad breezy

smoke produced seems pretty good though all in all good effort as lets face it , decent smoke/sound costs a fortune and theres not many that have left me feeling ,,,,, i want one of those!!
how does it pulse inside,,,

A trying-not-to-be-biased reply
With the bright LEDs fixed into the chimney and against a black background it looks pretty good at slow speed - however much less distinct as the speed is increased.... some experimenting going on, by a GSC friend at the moment, to see if a vortex in the chimney would improve the visual interval...... we will see!

Regards
Rob

 

[Steve]

Nice video Rob and very cleverly made smoke unit

 

[robsmorgan]

Nice video Rob and very cleverly made smoke unit

Thanks Steve the Mod

I did post the following pics on another thread recently but they might be useful for anyone who missed them there...

[style="color: #008000;"]The smoke unit from Hunter Systems & 5v blower (run at 9v) fixed onto a bent-to-fit piece of biscuit tin.

[style="color: #008000;"]The unit located into the 'Annie' boiler void

Regards

Rob