[AJ Quick]

I believe both lenses on the Ecto Goggles do come from Mirax / Laborec and are just specific adapters for microscopes and other scientific instruments. Someone has found the other lens, it's just not common so we don't know very much about it.


I am now leaning quite heavily back to my thoughts a few years ago that the motor may have been running a blower fan or even a small air conditioner unit / refrigerator. Maybe it was a small Panasonic window air conditioner unit?

I feel like if this was used in a piece of consumer electronic, they would have essentially been disposable and therefore no one would have any reason to keep the motor or replace the motor.

I've also been searching the part number (and many numbers above and below the part number) and have found other motors, and air conditioner parts for example. This motor from 1977 certainly interested me:



While the label bears no resemblance, it is a similar rated motor. The thing that stands out to me is that part number: 238875. While many manufacturers would have used a 6 digit part number, it is interesting to see something of that vintage with a part number in the 200k's. Matsushita is Panasonic / National as well.

Also, the Panasonic brand also used that square style logo, that may actually fit the overall shape a bit better than National:




EDIT: Going back to this image posted earlier, probably knocks out the idea of it being the National / Panasonic brand:

[910dohead]

First, I just want to post a picture. Then I want to go into how this all possibly fits together, what it has to do with the Ecto-1 and how I may finally be onto the cusp of finding this damn label. Here is the picture:

I will let you decide what to think of this.

It appears that Stephen Dane installed a mock coaxial Attenuator system on the outside/inside of the Ecto-1. Apparently, he was really into military tech and had good knowledge of some of these systems. It's obvious and apparent looking at the films props. So, this mock system involves both the original and post 1st restoration "Heatsinks", two mystery ecto-parts and rainbow cable with connectors.

First, here are the two mystery parts:


(Mystery dash part)


(Original heatsink and mystery part 2)

and connected to this rainbow cable that's no longer on the car.



Now, these parts are called attenuators. They come in all shapes and sizes and have variation names to them. Google waveguide attenuator, variable attenuators, step attenuators, etc. Here is an example which resembles the mystery dash part:



The one on the dash appears to have a connector on it similar to a variable attenuator (but is a step attenuator). The second one on the back of the roof rack might possibly be a programmable attenuator. I can't seem to find exact matches but these are now vintage parts.

Finally, this system connects to the roof heatsink, otherwise known as Fixed Attenuators.


This one is very similar to the original Ecto-1's heatsink (although not an exact match), which is no longer on the car.


The next one is what we all know to be on the car. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the car until I found out how wrong I was. I had a real Mandella Effect moment which made me take a very close look at my research. Blew my mind. Anyways, just I was about to stop looking, I came across the Telonic Berkeley attenuator and how strikingly similar their old logo looks. I don't know if there may have been variations on the logo, but they appear to have made small motors at one point. While technically the picture I posted was of an attenuator, it does appear to have a spinning pole.

Alright, I am totally burnt out on this. What do you guys think?

*EDIT* - Don't listen to me, lol. The two mystery Ecto parts could both be phase shifters.




and



Interestingly enough, the larger ones used a synchronous motor oddly familiar to the HGA as well as the manual ones having crank knobs?

[910dohead]

Cross post with the thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&p=4968492#p4968492

Here is the company logo which could very well be the maker of the bumper label (which I have redrawn).



If you're going to search like me, good luck.

EDIT - Also, I just realized that today is April Fools Day and I am not joining in on any sort of joke.

Here, I will go one step further.





Regal Manufacturing. 900 Ajax Avenue. City of Industry, CA. 91748. A division of Creftcon Industries formed in the 1940's and makers of industrial fittings/couplings and industrial machinery.

"THIS COULD BE IT!"

[Kingpin]

I really want to believe that's the logo, but it doesn't seem to line up with what limited material we've got so-far:

[910dohead]

I really want to believe that's the logo, but it doesn't seem to line up with what limited material we've got so-far:

A little detail I knew was 'there' but should've looked and compared exactly 'where'. Well, back to the drawing board.

[prodestrian]

Hey, so I think I might have found the source of the bumper sticker...

Unrelated Background Story

I was actually trying to find the source of the circuit diagrams on the wand/N-Filter/trap pedal/containment unit, and I ended up doing one of my multi-hour deep dives into image searches and old eBay auctions.
You know the one, it's on everything:


Ended up finding this:


Pretty close, but I couldn't find the exact model. Seems to be from an old car turn signal flasher or some other similar circuit. There's probably already an old thread somewhere on GBFans where it was found, but I didn't really need it anyway so I gave up looking. But I came across this thread and decided to have a go at looking for the bottom part of the containment unit label.

I went down a rabbit hole, I was pretty convinced it might be a Varian Data Machines motor but that didn't really seem to pan out.

Possible breakthrough

I found a Usenet thread from 2001, a group of very polite people (remember those days?) discussing building a Tesla coil.
One of them posted this:

Hello All,
I was doing some browsing the other day at MECI surplus. I came across several sync motors and I am curious if these are the type that work properly in SRSG service without further modifications.
Here is the nameplate data:
Terminal Data Corporation
Sync Motor
115 VAC 60 Hz
1500/1800 RPM
5 MFD

I seem to remember these as Teletype motors? It is about 1/15 - 1/20 hp size or so.

To which this reply was posted:

It appears you have found precisely the same motor that I used successfully for my SRSG.
Check the P/N on the label: 252193.
It has ball bearing construction and a strong spring behind the rear bearing to keep the armature loaded forward.

Same specifications, same part number! Jackpot?

But I won't know for sure until I see their logo. Does it fit? Is it the right shape?

Terminal Data Corporation

A bit of digging and I came across this product listing:
https://www.recycledgoods.com/terminal- ... e-vintage/



That looks like it could fit, right down to the position of the split (in the middle), and the wave shape.
Here it is compared with the two images posted previously in this thread:


Let's get a closer look at their logo. Unfortunately the company no longer exists, but there's some old magazine PDF scans which feature promotional materials.

Here's one advertisement for TDC Film Processors:


Enlarged logo:


And another one with a tagline:


Enlarged logo:


So, I feel pretty confident that this fits.

Where to now?

I'd love to get a look at the motor itself so we can see exactly what text is written next to it, but I've been unable to make any progress there. There were photos posted in that Usenet thread which might have shown the motor, but they're long gone (and not available on the Internet Archive). I went to the PupMan website which hosted the forums, they have loads of photos of members Tesla coils, but unfortunately doesn't seem to include either Greg or Jon's builds. I tried looking them up to see if maybe they had personal homepages which featured their projects, still no luck.

I also went down the path of trying to find some more auction or photo listings of some of TDC's vintage equipment, but most of what I came across was for a different "TDC" (Three Dimension Company from Chicago). There's barely anything out there.

I did find a list of trademarks, some of these could be good search keywords for various products they've released over the years:
https://uspto.report/TM/72414889

It's 11pm and I have to call it a day. But I'm keen to hear if anyone thinks I'm onto something here, or maybe if someone else can track down a photo of this elusive motor!

[910dohead]

100%. Now we just need to find the motor.

[910dohead]

It probably looks something like this:



Everything fits and looks genuine. You have no idea how excited this has made me. I'm about to call scrapyards looking for the teletype motor now.

[prodestrian]

It probably looks something like this:

Oh, that looks damn good!

You have no idea how excited this has made me. I'm about to call scrapyards looking for the teletype motor now.

So happy to help! Good luck with your search!

FYI I don't believe TDC ever actually made Teletype machines, and most of their more modern machines wouldn't have had motors. I'd be leaning towards their film processing machines or something similar, which unfortunately makes it harder.

I even went onto the MECI Surplus website on the internet archive to see if the motor was ever listed on there:
https://web.archive.org/web/20010111073 ... .meci.com/
(Searched around 2000/2001 when the forum post was made). No luck though.

[910dohead]

I have always had a hunch that the motor would most likely be found in the large ticket tape computer processors. I think a lot of the proton pack parts comes from these type of machines (including the GB1 ribbon cables). Probably a very specific type of make/model though and are all now rare as can be. Most likely a Burroughs from the late 60's/early 70's?



Also, excellent research and sleuthing!

[prodestrian]

OK, so it's 12:40am and I have to get up for work in 6 hours...

But I couldn't help myself and I kept searching...

Enjoy





EDIT: For posterity, here's the original auction listing for the source images of this slightly different model motor:
https://urun.n11.com/arduino-urunleri-v ... P478605865
Won't give you much information but it's there if anyone wants it (or wants to know what the sides of the motor look like).

[910dohead]

Amazing! Mystery solved.

[Lowberg]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIVE THAT MAN A MEDAL!

[tobycj]

You've most definitely earned it! Fabulous work!

[marcbaye]

I identified the "Mystery dash part" while digging on parts for my Ecto-1 replica: it's a Waterproof Fox XK radar detector

First, here are the two mystery parts:


(Mystery dash part)

[Austin]

You did it! You crazy son of a bitch, you did it! Well done!

[Tommorris22]

Wow dude! Strong work. It was entirely possible that this never would have been found. Great job

[Stroudy]

Wow!

What a find!

[Lowberg]

Ahhh, its so close but it's NOT the same label.

It doesn't have INSLUATION CLASS B and the Serial Number box is not on the bumper label.
Part number is slightly different 252152 vs 252193

I think it's 100% Terminal Data Corporation as the label is nearly identical and the logo slit checks out.

We just find the right part no and we got it... Back to work!!!!!!

[Demon Vice Commander]

This is an incredible find!

[910dohead]

Yeah, that's evident on the addition of the serial no box and whatnot on the IRL example of the motor label. It's a close second but the actual label will be for part no 252193. That could've even been for a motor that was never even made. If you look at some of the reference posted earlier, you can see the mention of bankruptcy with TDC. The labels could've very well been printed up but went unused and wound up in a scrapyard such as Apex in California. Printed up for a product that might not have ever saw the light of day cos of bankruptcy with assets hauled off and sold as scrap.

I've been to Apex many times and they actually have small label drawers that you could usually get stacks of unused production labels in bulk from various companies. I highly think its a possibility that's how Boss Films obtained all of their labels for the props. Just products of 70's garbage that sat in scrap and then used on props in a 1980's film production. Either that or Stephen Dane and co. bought a box of identical motors and peeled the labels off and used them on the packs and containment unit. That's entirely possible as well. Either are possible but one of the scenarios is what happened.

The pictures posted are the closest example anyone has ever come to the label in regards to GB props ever. It most certainly solidifies itself as proof that we now know who the manufacturer was and have an decent example to go off of if anyone were to ever find an identical example in the wild. I wouldn't even be surprised if by the end of the day or the week that someone gets one in hand.

[Kingpin]

It's always a joy seeing this little prop mysteries unveiled in the light of day... Fantastic work, guys.

[Volguus]

Stupendous sleuthing! And on the relay graphic as well! My faith in this little corner of humanity has been restored.

[cray]

This is the best thing I’ve seen in a while! Excellent excellent work!!!

[prodestrian]

Ahhh, its so close but it's NOT the same label.

Yes, fully aware of that, I just didn't feel the need to spell that out here (plus it was nearly 1am...)

The point was that there are so many similarities that we can be 99% confident that we now know what the bottom of the label looks like. There's still a chance that the 252152 and 252153 have different text on their labels, or maybe TDC changed their logo right after releasing the earlier model? Anything's possible

I'm in Australia so I'll leave it up to the other sleuths to track down a real motor and settle this once and for all, but at least everyone's Containment Units can be made just that little bit more screen-accurate

Hopefully someone can have a go at putting together a better quality vector version of the TDC logo next, that's beyond my limited Inkscape skills.

[RedSpecial]

Absolutely amazing to see this mystery solved after so many years of searching by so many folks.
Congratulations, prodestrian

[Brads_gimmick]

I'm in Australia so I'll leave it up to the other sleuths to track down a real motor and settle this once and for all.

AUSSIE ! AUSSIE ! AUSSIE !

You're out there doing our Country proud on the world's stage mate! Way more than any Crocodile Hunter or Vegemite.

[AJ Quick]

Now available for pre-order as a label!

https://www.gbfans.com/shop/metallic-bumper-label/

(Chris, I'll make sure to get some out to you for your contribution. I'll send you an email!)