# A power shack?



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

As I mentioned in my Christmas road show thread, one of my usually reliable Crest 5400 power packs was giving us trouble. Well, today I fabricated a tri point screwdriver from a junk phillips, opened it up and found out why.... While it was in storage, moisture had gotten in. - Enough to cause a lot of corrosion (the white furry kind) on the back side of the circuit board. So I spent an hour gently cleaning it with white vinegar and a q-tip... hopefully that will take care of that problem.


While I had it apart, I had this crazy idea. A few weeks ago Kimmee had found this old New Blight shed that I had forgotten I even owned...









It had housed electronics for the NB set, so why not put something actually useful inside instead? It took about 3 minutes to remove the 5400 stuff from it's case









I measured the circuit board. It would just fit mounted to the underside of the roof. The big honking throttle knob will look funny, but maybe I can find a smaller one eventually.









Everything tucked inside the shanty with plenty more air space than it had before. room enough to maybe install a fan, even









First coat of AV colors. The green power-on diode leads had corroded and broken - So instead of fussing with that, I decided to go another route. The security light over the door has been hard wired to the accessory leads to perform that duty. I put a 470-ohm resistor in series with it to soften it, and extend the GoW bulb's life.









Kim pronounced it "cute". I'm thinking it won't be quite as obvious as the original case if it ends up in pictures, anyway. I'll probably put a barrel or something over the big hole where the New Bright wall pack connected


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Why not remove the big knob and add a chimney to cover the shaft?


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## Robert (Jan 2, 2008)

Great idea. My wife would really appreciate a solution like that for our tree display.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I considered a smokejack, but the idea of one sticking out at such a drunken angle offends my sense of aesthetics more than the knob. I also considered a squirrel, but one big enough to fit a 1/4" shaft in his belly would have to be squirrelzilla... A fat possum or raccoon might be a solution...


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

"A fat possum or raccoon might be a solution..." 

Or perhaps the PlayMobil buzzard. I've seen buzzards and vultures sun themselves on roofs until the sun was high enough for them fly away looking for thermals to ride. They are creepy looking, but that is, at least, "prototypical." 

Best, 
David Meashey


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

OK, put Santa on the roof (to cover the shaft) next to a chimney.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

That is a novel idea that turned out real nice 

JJ


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