INTRO PAGE
(1) WHAT YOU'LL NEED
(2) DOWNLOAD PARTS SHEETS
(3) ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
(4) ABOUT YOUR MODEL
Connect the Main Reflector to the Alidade
View this stage of DSS construction.
This is the last of the difficult steps. Once you connect the main reflector to the alidade, the rest is an easy downhill ride. It might take some unusual contortions of the fingers on one or more of these steps. Just remember, it's paper, and it CAN be made to bend and temporarily distort. It'll spring back.
 MATING THE UPPER PERISCOPE |
Grasp the main reflector, holding it by the waveguide and OUTER section of the UPPER PERISCOPE. Don't hold it by the fragile reflector.
Read next step first (for planning), then do this: Fit the OUTER section (on the reflector) onto the INNER section (on the alidade) of the UPPER PERISCOPE. Twist back and forth if needed. It should be a tight fit.
The ELEVATION BEARING components on the reflector and on the alidade should now be pretty close to alignment. Arrange them as follows:
On the starboard side (recall "S" printed on alidade side) the REFLECTOR's ELEVATION BEARING part goes OUTBOARD that of the alidade.
On the port side, the REFLECTOR's ELEVATION BEARING part goes INBOARD that of the alidade.
This will help ensure the waveguides are held together, and it should relieve any disforming stresses on the reflector.
Check that the holes in the ELEVATION BEARING parts can align. Make adjustments as necessary.
ELEVATION PINTLECut a short piece of thick solder (about 3 mm thick, as described here), about a cm in length.
Using leveraged pliers, such as ViceGrips®, pinch the end of the solder flat. This makes an ELEVATION PINTLE.
Working on the PORT side of the DSS, and using long-nose pliers, insert the ELEVATION PINTLE through the holes in the aligned ELEVATION BEARING parts. Grasp the end of the pintle on the outboard side, and pinch it flat using your leveraged pliers.
The un-flattened middle of the pintle can be left relatively long, to allow a lot of play in the bearing. This will help avoid adding stresses to the reflector.
Repeat the pintle installation on the STARBOARD side. This is a little trickier because of the waveguides nearby. You may need to trim and shorten the flattened inboard end of the starboard elevation pintle.
ELEVATION PINTLES INSTALLEDCheck the reflector's movement. It should go from pointing at the horizon all the way up to pointing at the zenith (and a little beyond, or "behind" it).
While you're at it, mount the whole structure on your model base, by simply slipping the LOWER VERTICAL WAVEGUIDE #3 inside the AZIMUTH PINTLE on the base. This will permit your model to rotate realistically in azimuth and elevation.
Add the counterweight and subreflector, and you're done!
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
