Stoplights and more on the WR&N IV

There's an awful lot going on in this one picture! For starters, the five-way intersection has a full compliment of completely functional stoplights, including a left-turn arrow and even walk/don't walk signs. The lights are all LEDs that are programmed by a simple "player piano" mechanical device, shown below, consisting of a motorized drum with raised strips that activate roller microswitches. Although it would have probably been simpler to use an electronic device, I really enjoy building such mechanisms.

The two police cars at the accident scene have working "ski racks" in addition to headlights, tail lights and parking lights. The flashing lights are controlled by chips removed from blinking buttons often sold at conventions. Many of them have only one or two lights but are capable of controlling up to five. Here, I have four microbulbs—two red and two white—driven by the blinker chips, all mounted within the car body. Head- and taillights were created with short bits of fiber optics coupled to microbulbs within the vehicles. Everything is powered via metal pins that extend down from the tires into connectors embedded in the street; not only does this improve appearance (no visible wires or fiber optics), but it also facilitates removal for cleaning and repair.

The dump truck (right) has four-way flashers. The rear flashers are axial-lead microbulbs mounted directly to the sides of the truck; after painting them black, I scratched away a small bit of the paint where the lamp would shine, and then applied translucent red paint (stained glass paint) over the openings.

The pole-mounted streetlights work, naturally. They are standard microbulbs with one lead encased in wire insulation stripped from fine wire to form the main curved arm; the other bare lead creates the more slender reinforcing bar on top, as seen on many real streetlights. The top half of the bulb was simply painted gray to simulate the lamp housing. The pole is brass tubing; the bare lamp lead is soldered to the pole, and the other connects to solenoid wire threaded down through the tube.

Finally, there are the crossing gates and flashers and the Mobil gas station.

Image specs: The main image is not a photograph but instead a frame grab from a Hi-8 camcorder tape, which is the reason for the smaller size and relatively poor quality. Since both the layout and the videotape no longer exist, this will have to. The inset photo of the stoplight programmer was taken with a Canon 20D digital SLR. The two detail images were extracted from a pinhole photograph.

See the police car in action! | Watch it on YouTube

Return to Lighting Effects Clinics Index

Copyright © 2006-2008 by David K. Smith. All Rights Reserved.
Nothing contained in this website may be reproduced in any form
without the express written consent of the copyright holder.