AN/TVS-3 project

[nealitc]

For those interested...

Schematics. Look ma, no transistors! (IC, whats that?)

Heat exchanger, pump motor, pump. Like 5gpm though 3/8" orifices. 400Hz makes its small.

3 phase worth of full wave rectifiers, feed to the heat sinks (center) .

The long block is T102, carries 465A. Square block is T101, boost transformer.

White cylinder is the spark gap, a stack of ceramic and metal washers. Below the boost module is the shunt.

The control unit.

 

[Illum]

so all this was free and stored in an abandoned warehouse?

 

[nealitc]

Found more AN/TVS-3s at the Russell Military Museum, ~had~ to buy 2.
These NASA modified units were originally sold to the Border Patrol, who apparently didn't want to deal with the technical aspects and 400Hz power.
They still have one left, go for it!

 

[BravoKilo]

Nealitc,

If you are who I think you are I helped you out one year on the playa with an inverter for a project that had a couple of strobes. It was in 2003 - 2005 if I remember correctly - but who remembers correctly much out on the playa.

 

[nealitc]

Nealitc,
If you are who I think you are I helped you out one year on the playa with an inverter for a project that had a couple of strobes. It was in 2003 - 2005 if I remember correctly - but who remembers correctly much out on the playa.

Hmmm, wasn't me.
I will bring some of the TVS-3s out to the playa this year though.

 

[BVH]

Is "The Playa" you mention some type of event?

 

[IgNITEor]

The Playa, is where the Deathray goes to pull duty.
Black Rock City, Nevada.

 

[IgNITEor]

A TVS-3 out there would be the ultimate patrol light of choice!

 

[nealitc]

One of the applications we're working on is a GPS transponder, where the lights will follow from multiple points. Could be attached to a person, hang glider, parachute, balloon. Another is to put a few of the lights in the hills, pointing down into the playa.

 

[barryelkin]

My neighbor has a working AN/TVS-3 and we are searching for replacement lamps and maybe another complete unit.

 

[IgNITEor]

Nealitc, I have some evidence of your lights blazing very nicely at Black Rock City, at least I'm pretty certain they are
yours because I caught a glimpse of the military tread tires under one of the rigs in the video!

I couldn't make it down to the playa this year because of some difficult family matters.
A campmate who was there reported back to me that you set up shop with a pair of your lights on a trailer.

There is a vimeo viddy by Jason Tongen titled Project Flashlight. I don't have permission to link his viddy here,
but perhaps we can ask him? Or, better still, maybe you could tell us how it all went down?

If that was you, a big congrats to you and your crew for getting it out to the playa! Shine on brother!!

 

[nealitc]

Behind on updates by a long while...
Procured 8 former NASA AN/TVS-3s, 4 more generators (2 90KVA Hobart GPUs and 2 military MEP-816As). So now have 18 AN/TVS-3s: 10 good ones, 4 restorable but no bulbs, 4 scrap. (Anyone need or want a TVS-3? Or a dead 27" long short-arc bulb for a display?)

Did a lot of restoration: trying to clean pitted rhodium plated nickel mirrors, rebuilding spark gaps, formulating new inhibited dielectric coolant.
Designed and built motorization and computer control to 4 units: servo based on Chinese Razor scooter motors, RoboteQ motor controllers, and Raspberry Pi network interface and OSC protocol server. Now the lights can be controlled from a phone or tablet.
Had 2 flatbed trailers built, each holds one 72KVA generator and 2 searchlights.
Brought it to the playa and finished assembling and debugging the project in heat and dust.

Partial success, check out video of 2 units by someone who came by at https://vimeo.com/74260487

Next step is writing software to interface Wii remotes, so the searchlights will follow light sabers.

Planning on bringing them out to the playa again in 2014. Will be doing a kickstarter to raise additional funds.

5 lights last weekend, professional photographer happened to be taking photos on Treasure Island.

If you're in the San Francisco area and want to check out a few billion CP or help on the project, let me know!

 

[Fred S]

Have a look at coolant intended for GTAW (TIG) welding water coolers
Most of them are low conductivity, and have some inhibitors
http://store.cyberweld.com/lowconan.html

 

[BVH]

That's a beautiful photo of your great lights! It's great that you're keeping them alive despite them being very high maintenance.

 

[nealitc]

Have a look at coolant intended for GTAW (TIG) welding water coolers
Most of them are low conductivity, and have some inhibitors
http://store.cyberweld.com/lowconan.html

Thanks for that! One place we didn't look.
Believe we built a good formulation, now that its been in there a while need to analyze and see what ended up in it. One challenge of the TVS-3 is dissimilar metals in the system (steel, copper, brass and unfortunately a big aluminum heat exchanger) which want different pH.

 

[Onestep]

Any idea what pressures and temps you are running with that coolant?

As a heavy truck cooling system design release engineer we were using some of these products. (evanscooling)

 

[nealitc]

Any idea what pressures and temps you are running with that coolant?

As a heavy truck cooling system design release engineer we were using some of these products. (evanscooling)

2hp gear pump, spec is 150psi pushing 6gm through the fittings and 5/8 hoses. Operating coolant temps in the 160 range.
Coolant formulation is 30% EG in deionized water, buffer with triethanolamine for pH of 8, benzotrizole 100ppm, sodium molybdate 20ppm.
To flush the systems, we've used Fleetguard Restore Plus.

 

[Jeep1234]

WONDERFUL JOB!!!! I CONGRATULATE YOU for A JOB WELL DONE!! Hello I am a friend of Found objects of industry, and when I first saw the TVS lot that you eventually bought I certainly thought that they would end up as scrap. Already pirated, cables chopped through the sheathing for the copper, you have restored an icon. I am so glad someone has saved an era of history in these tow-able lamps. I hope your installation goes wonderful, Light is such a basic presence in art. I will be following it. Rasperri pi is good, but have you tried arduino uno ? Lol,,


I will point Leonard toward this thread and show him your successes, if he hasn't already learned. Thankyou.

 

[Optiforms_Todd]

That is a very large reflector indeed, the largest Parabolic mandrel we have is @24.82" CA. Are they Rhodium plated?

 

[electromage]

Great work bringing these old lights back, I wonder what the original creators would think of them being controlled wirelessly by touchscreen devices.