INTRO PAGE
(1) WHAT YOU'LL NEED
(2) DOWNLOAD PARTS SHEETS
(3) ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
(4) ABOUT YOUR MODEL
The Basement
View this stage of DSS construction.
The basement, or pedestal, of a 34m BWG DSS is a major structure. The undertaking requires much excavating,
building forms and reinforcements, pouring and curing concrete, and installing lots of equipment. The construction results in
a large cylindrical concrete structure with a circular, flat top. A steel track is mounted on its perimeter, and it has a hole in
the center of its "roof".
For this model, we'll skip all that!
(Of course, you may wish to design a scale basement pedestal for your model, especially if you're building it in connection with a professional display or science project. There are plenty of images and diagrams linked to this site that will help out. But you're on your own there. Click the image for more views of the basement.)
Obtain the base for the scale model. You'll want a flat surface at least as large as the AZIMUTH TRACK on Parts Sheet A, and smooth enough for spray glue to adhere.
From Parts Sheet A, cut out the circular AZIMUTH TRACK. Apply a light coating of spray glue to the non-printed side of the circle. Set the circle onto the base material, and burnish thoroughly.
From Parts Sheet A, cut out the small, rectangular AZIMUTH PINTLE. Curl it around a pencil so it will form a ring, on its own, about 1 cm in diameter.
COMPLETED BASE WITH AZIMUTH TRACK
AND AZIMUTH PINTLE
Apply white glue to the marked end of the AZIMUTH PINTLE. Curl it around on itself, up to the reference line near the end. Press together while aligning into a neat ring 1.2 cm in diameter. Adjust its shape to be very nearly circular.
Dip one end of the AZIMUTH PINTLE ring in white glue. Set it glue-side down onto the black circle in the middle of the AZIMUTH TRACK. Apply more glue as necessary. Let dry.
This completes the base structure for your DSS scale model.
The black circle in the center of the AZIMUTH TRACK represents a hole in the roof of the basement, or pedestal, of the DSS. Through this hole, microwave radio signals are exchanged with distant spacecraft via the DSS's massive reflectors and waveguides atop the basement.
The actual DSS's AZIMUTH PINTLE is a massive structural component responsible for serving as the center of rotation for the huge alidade structure, while its railroad-like AZIMUTH TRACK and steel wheels provide for motion in azimuth. It is fitted with a precision steel pintle bearing.
In the model, though, no distinction is made between the waveguide and the pintle. This arrangement is strong enough for the model, and it simplifies construction while it offers insight into how the real waveguide communicates with equipment in the basement room. It is hardly noticeable a compromise. But of course the actual DSS's waveguides are much too delicate, comparatively, to serve in this fashion.
Click below to build your 34m BWG DSS 1/250 Scale Model.
INTRO PAGE
(1) WHAT YOU'LL NEED
(2) DOWNLOAD PARTS SHEETS
(3) ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
(4) ABOUT YOUR MODEL
