Federal Beacon Ray Model 176 Display (silent auction item)

[CrownVic97]

First off, big shout out to Jason (shibby1952), for donating this beacon. You are one awesome dude, dude .

I put together this display for a Support the Badge show & shine car show that's happening at the end of July in Bismarck. This came together in about 3 weeks. I must say it was one of the most fun projects to do in addition to the other 3 beacon display projects I finished after this one (see that thread here --->http://elightbars.org/forums/threads/working-beacon-displays.81982/)

Before resto:


Not bad, but it needed just a tad more help.....

What was fixed:

Correct 4416B added to bulb carriage

Purchased a reproduction 176 badge off eBay and removed the 174 Super Beacon Ray badge that was on the skirt. Those folks do collectors right by making these spot-on badges. Kudos to you! I'm guessing the original owners of this light hijacked a busted Super Beacon Ray's skirt or badge in place of the 176's. For anybody here that needs a nice original Super Beacon Ray badge, PM me if interested!

Re-cut the skirt so it was more level

Added longer lead wires

Dome wet-sanded and polished as best as it could get (not too bad if I say so myself)

Insides dusted and cleaned

Chrome and white base gasket cleaned

Base re-cut and new badge added:


Materials Added for Beacon Project:

Hoffmann electrical pull box (12"x12"x4"), painted gloss black to act as the base and enclosure for electronics and wiring.

Rubber feet on the bottom to prevent scratching on surfaces

15 Amp Power Supply off eBay that I had laying around (NIB)

Heavy duty ON/OFF toggle switch

20 Amp in-line fuse from switch to power supply

Install of innards:


Beacon mounted to cover and final connections made to power supply:


Complete!




Of course, video :

Yesterday, I delivered the 176 to the auto detail shop that is hosting the event and the owner was just thrilled! He said, "I gotta plug it in and see it, man." So, we did and he had a big smile on his face as he watched it run. I got a hunch that this is gonna start a good on-paper bidding war between some officers and car guys that want this in their home!

Facebook post from Automotive Addictions sharing the project on their page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/132...k/1377442305638905/?ref=1&action_history=null

The chief of the Fire Academy of North Dakota and I will be bringing two American LaFrance units to showcase at the emergency vehicle row of the event. We will also participate in judging emergency vehicles for that part of the car show. It's gonna be a fun time for sure!

Thanks for looking, all! Have an awesome one

 

[southpaw]

Very nicely done!!

 

[Scoot163]

I like it! Self contained and portable. Well done!

 

[jph2]

Ditto and ditto. And cool item for a charitable cause.

 

[Skulldigger]

Can you provide details on the 15 amp power supply. I need to build something like this for some portable displays.

 

[southpaw]

This looks like the power supply...http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-110V-220...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122053878519

 

[CrownVic97]

This looks like the power supply...http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-110V-220V-TO-DC-12V-Regulated-Transformer-Power-Supply-For-LED-Strip-Light/371117456686?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=45042&meid=112647952a5c4f86b405df206151aac5&pid=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122053878519

Correct. It is those types I found. Yeah, they are from the Chi-Coms, but the only US manufacturer of power supplies like that is MegaWatt out of California. Their lowest amp power supply is 30 amps. Great company though (check 'em out ----http://www.12voltpowersupplies.us/ )! I've gotten one for my Tripp Lite S-75 and one for a friend's project. They aren't crazy expensive, but if you know the total draw on your beacon, the overseas ones are fine too.

 

[CrownVic97]

Update!

Well, this past weekend was the Support the Badge car show and man was it awesome! I got to see the progress of the silent auction on the Model 176 display. I was blown away towards the end of it. The pics speak for themselves !

At the start:


The last 30 minutes of the auction. I laughed aloud when I saw this

You read that right. $300 . Bob Kupper is a well-known car dealership owner in the Bismarck-Mandan Area. He came by the car show that day and I guess when he saw this in the silent auction tent, he made sure that he was gonna grab this beacon over anyone else. The proceeds have gone towards the local area law enforcement, so I feel very glad that this was one of the big selling items that day .

BTW, I "baby-sat" this ALF ladder truck for the Fire Academy during the whole show. Other people helped get this rig to the show and set up for the event. All I knew how to do was fire up the truck, batteries, and make all the lights run. Sirens were not hooked up yet (still a work in progress). A lot people and kids liked the ALF!

 

[jph2]

Nice! Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.