RADIO TOWERS
Richmond Controls sells several versions of the beautiful
Showcase Miniatures radio towers shown on page 42 of the August 2000 Model
Railroader. The most popular versions have been:
-
Antenna only: $25.00
-
Bag of parts for lighting kit, without antenna: $100.00
-
Bag of parts for lighting kit, with antenna : $125.00
-
Bag of parts for lighting kit, with two antennas : $150.00
-
Complete, tested, and ready to use (single-height, 11"):
$295.00
-
Complete, tested, and ready to use (double-height, 22"):
$395.00
Many other “customer specified” combinations of lights
are possible, and several of these have been shipped as well. In addition
to the fact that various combinations of lights can be supplied, the towers
can also be supplied in various stages of completion. In all cases, the
end result for a “standard” model with lights is a Showcase Miniatures
radio tower painted in the alternating red and white scheme with photocell-controlled
lights at four levels. Please refer to the
Photo
Gallery.
Customers have applied the same lighting systems
to tall buildings like skyscrapers and grain elevators, as well as to the
Nansen Z Scale water tower and the Walthers HO Scale chimneys.
The “STANDARD” lighting kit provides the following:
-
Top: white strobe in daytime, "winking-out" red warning
light at night,
-
3/4 Point: band of 3 tiny red lights (steady) at night,
-
1/2 Point: Same as Top,
-
1/4 Point: Same as 3/4 Point.
On the ground there is a deLuxe Innovations 20 foot
container (N Scale) that houses the controller board. For other scales,
the controller board will easily fit into a small model of a shed or 20’
container. The model runs on any DC voltage between 8 VDC and 30 VDC. A
single-height version of the antenna is about 11 inches tall. It is designed
to be easily removed from a modular layout.
Assembling the "bag-of-parts" kit takes a lot of
time and various skills, including painting and delicate soldering. The
circuit board assembly for the controller is complete and tested. There
is an 8 page instruction sheet for assembly, including instructions for
making two assembly jigs. The jigs can be borrowed, if a $25.00 deposit
is made. Shipping is $6.00 per shipment, regardless of how much or how
little is included in the shipment.
To order, it is best to describe your desired end
result.