I haven't been up to a lot of modeling lately due to a few broken and badly bruised fingers. I've mostly recovered from the injury, at least enough to use tools and make progress on modeling and layout projects.
The first project was to construct my own static grass applicator, shown in the photo below...
I cannot take any credit for the design... There's instructions to build these devices all over the Internet, which helped me greatly in the construction of mine. I started with a 12VDC to 9.5Kv negative ion generator that was purchased on eBay along with a 110VAC to 12VDC converter. I could have gone for a battery powered unit, but I wanted to take full advantage of the higher output of the ion generator that I purchased.I also wanted something a little fancier than PVC pipe and a butter tub. A trip to Radio Shack netted me a $2 D-cell flashlight, an SPST switch, male/female plugs, and a 12V indicator light. The canister is a 2.5" x 3" plastic jar purchased at a local art supply store. I had plenty of 20 and 18 gauge wire lying around, and I highly recommend using at least 20 gauge wire. The 18 gauge is too big and stiff.
The remainder of the parts were laser cut, which unfortunately puts what I've done out of reach of most people. However, you can build a unit without a laser, and many have successfully done so. I used the laser at work to cut a ring from 0.020" brass, that fits between the screen and the top of the canister once the lid is screwed on. This ring is wired to the output of the negative ion generator, and helps to evenly distribute the electrical charge over the aluminum screen that was used. There is a 2mm thick aluminum disk in the cap of the flashlight, this closes off the interior of the flashlight to the fibers, and it also acts as a charging plate. The remaining laser cut pieces are brass soldering tabs for soldering wires in place.
As I said, you don't need these laser cut parts to build a successful static grass applicator. Many have done so before me, without all the fancy parts, so don't let it stop you!
Most of the work involves drilling holes, and removing parts of the jar so that it can be mounted on the flashlight body. The bottom of the jar must be removed for this, and it is fussy work as you want it to be a good fit over the end of the flashlight. The cap for the jar has to be have a large disk removed from it for the screen. I did both jobs using my Dremel tool with a cutting bit for removal and a sanding drum for cleaning things up.
Holes were drilled in the flashlight body for the switch, indicator light, grounding wire and the power cord plug. Once that is done, the various components were installed or glued into their respective holes.
To fit the negative ion generator into the flashlight body, I had to remove a lip of material off the body of the generator module. It serves no purpose, but care had to be taken to avoid nicking or cutting the wires that stick out of what looks like an epoxy filler. I also removed the mounting lugs, both operations were done with a milling cutter in the Dremel, finished up with a sanding drum to clean things up.
Wiring is pretty easy, but fussy work. All I can say is take your time. On the ion generator, the output wire goes to the aluminum plate in the cap of the flashlight, and from there a wire transfers the energy to the brass ring under the screen. The red wire goes to one terminal on the SPST switch. The black wire is the ground, which goes to both the ground lead from the power plug and to the ground wire that is connected to a pin that goes in the scenery. I also wired the 12V indicator lamp in parallel to the ion generator.
If that description makes no sense, there's schematics/wiring diagrams all over the Internet. Follow these, take your time, and you will be rewarded with a working unit.
Luckily, this time around, I fired up the applicator once I was done building it and it worked the first time. It has more power than the static grass applicator (gun) from Noch that I purchased a few years ago. This was my primary reason for building my own. I've always felt the Noch gun was underpowered. After building and testing my own, I think that the Noch tool, wasn't so much underpowered as it isn't built to fully take advantage of the power it outputs.
By this I mean that it can be modified to be made better... I think that if you remove the nylon screen material, replace it with metal screen that has been connected to the charging wire on the bottom of the canister, it will be a much better tool. It's important to get the static electric charge as close to the fibers as possible, and you don't get any closer than the screen!
Just remember when using the device... When you are done, ground the screen to the grounding pin or wire, or you risk getting a heck of shock.
That's it for now... Until next time.
Jeff

































