[prodestrian]

Our ECU Build thread is here if anyone is interested in how we're tackling this project:
South Australia Ghostbusters Ecto Containment Unit (ECU) Build Log

The only reason we have a chance of having it ready by Frozen Empire is because of the literal decade of work that has gone into this thread (we're referring to it constantly), so we definitely want to show our appreciation!

[prodestrian]

While working on our ECU build together last weekend a couple of questions arose about the lower section of the unit.
Specifically around here:


We weren't sure:

• How much wider the backboard is (this shows it as a 1" space on either side)
• If the corners are actually curved, not right angles.

There are almost no shots of this in the film or in the behind the scenes photos, but stepping through it frame-by-frame we found this shot which seems to answer both questions:


So we've opted to curve all corners on our backboard, and increase the spacing on both sides of the lower curved portion:


Unfortunately there's only this one single frame which is usable on the 4K Blu-Ray, when there's bright lights to illuminate that part of the ECU, but before all the smoke appears.
This earlier frame is good but too dark to use, and at an angle which doesn't really clarify anything:

[Kingpin]

These may not answer all the questions, but they may provide a bit more insight:

[prodestrian]

I'd seen that first photo before but not the second one, I only had the one where Ray is tapping on the ECU and you can't see the lower portion of the unit. Definitely useful! The shadows obscure the lower curve but I still think it's there.

Thanks!

[910dohead]

Sorry, I hadn't seen any of these replies. Either I never got a notification or it fell victim to me absolutely distancing myself from anything Ghostbusters in order to avoid spoilers from the new movie.

Well, shoot. Good eye! I don't think that's a detail that we either ever noticed or if it was disputed or not? I want to say that we discussed it at one point early on? We've built exactly 4 backboards for this prop at various points and I can't find a single instance where we rounded those two corners. I even read through these latest replies and went out to look at our backboard and the cuts are straight. Well, I guess we can use some sort of compound to build up the rounded edges or just invest in a new backboard? I just got off a short phone call with Onlyalad19 about the rounded edges and his answer was "Yeah, they're rounded. Our backboard is rounded." I thought so too, but it's not. Hmm?

I believe the distance of the undercarriage you're asking about is 2" around the sides and bottom of the backboard.

Also, when in the world did this thread get over 6 million views? Holy balls.

[OBSIDIAN]

You've been building this thing for ten years???

[910dohead]

You've been building this thing for ten years???

Yeah, we've been building this thing for ten years. I think that we can say with some confidence that we crawled so that others could run.

Is it alright if I ask if your gear is built or bought?

[prodestrian]

You've been building this thing for ten years???

Yeah, we've been building this thing for ten years. I think that we can say with some confidence that we crawled so that others could run.

Damn straight. The South Australia Ghostbusters decided to build an ECU at our Xmas party in December, and we unveiled it this week. That's 3 months from start to finish. You crawled so we could sprint!

Also at least 1 million of the views in this thread are us using it as build reference (or at least as a starting point).

[910dohead]

Yeah, I don't know where all these views are coming from? In just the last few days since I posted hitting 6 mil, it went up half a million views. Like, huh? Must be the new movie or the thread is being linked from somewhere? I dunno? I just wish I had more to report on though regarding the build.

[xXStevenXx]

… I guess we can use some sort of compound to build up the rounded edges or just invest in a new backboard?…

If you cut a piece of wood with a hole saw then cut a bounding square round the hole using the table saw, you’ll get a couple of nicely radiuses corners that you could glue into place pretty easily.

[OBSIDIAN]

You've been building this thing for ten years???

Yeah, we've been building this thing for ten years. I think that we can say with some confidence that we crawled so that others could run.

Is it alright if I ask if your gear is built or bought?

Is it alright if I ask if you welded the aluminum yourself? Sorry I asked.

[910dohead]

Yeah, we've been building this thing for ten years. I think that we can say with some confidence that we crawled so that others could run.

Is it alright if I ask if your gear is built or bought?

Is it alright if I ask if you welded the aluminum yourself? Sorry I asked.

Gotta love the fandom sometimes, right?

Well to answer your question, the aluminum handle and door for our containment unit was fabricated by Umoribawar/RJ Umowski from Freaky Geeky. I'm not sure if he's still producing parts for the community or not, but here is a thread praising his work: viewtopic.php?t=5470

We outsourced the work to him and he produced excellent results based on the blueprints and measurements that we had to come up with. So, it was more than just clicking a buy-it-now link on some site. At the time we didn't have the means of fabricating these parts ourselves. However, a member in our group Southland has the means to weld so we have since had access of being able to produce parts like these ourselves if we need to. So, there you go.

After talking about the backboard and it's lower curve, we have decided that we're going to make a new one. The one we have now has a slight warp in it anyways (gotta love Home Depot's shit wood) so it only seemed right to replace it. We're debating on what type of wood we should use. Personally, i'd like to just use MDF but unfortunately it's too heavy. We need something lighter in weight. I think seeing the ECU in the new film pushed us at making that decision. One detail that is given away in the new film is

that there is no lower curve on that unit. It's a straight cut and there was a clear as day close up on it.

This Post Contains Spoilers

However, our build is based on the original and we're not doing any sort of amalgamation between the original and the Frozen Empire one. Plus, there are odd details on this new one that are strikingly different. We also think production might have based their measurements on these old fan plans:



The dimensions looked a little off when we saw it up on screen. Some of the details we noticed matched these old plans (which are not ours). So, that's our hypothesis but that's obviously up for debate. I might be seeing the film again this weekend and if so will be laser focused on all of the ECU scenes. Looking/ watching/focusing/dissecting, lol.

This new backboard would only take us a day to cut out and have all sanded up. I mean, I am not sure if you all want to see that or not? What we do need to do is sit down and figure out the internal trap box mech. That's priority numero uno.

[xXStevenXx]

... unfortunately it's too heavy. We need something lighter in weight.

For the SAGB backboard we used a 1/4" marine ply with 2" wide strips of 1/2" ply on the edges and around the centre, and 4" squares in the corners for the bolts.





It's very lightweight and still plenty strong enough.

My next post on our build thread is going to be about the backboard and our French cleat hanging system.

[prodestrian]

Well to answer your question, the aluminum handle and door for our containment unit was fabricated by Umoribawar/RJ Umowski from Freaky Geeky. I'm not sure if he's still producing parts for the community or not, but here is a thread praising his work: viewtopic.php?t=5470

He sure is, he's still working on aluminium throwers and currently a pretty incredible aluminium trap. Definitely worth following his social media pages (FB + IG) to see his regular updates and prototyping.

I might be seeing the film again this weekend and if so will be laser focused on all of the ECU scenes. Looking/ watching/focusing/dissecting, lol.

Did the same thing at the last screening I went to, noticed lots of differences to the original. But the one that broke my heart a little was the blue bumper label they used, which seems to be the incorrect Toshiba mockup from 2015. If they'd just gone to Page 4 of the thread, they'd have found the right one!

(Screenshot taken from YHS's behind the scenes set tour on YouTube)

It's possible they blurred it out on the physical prop seeing as Toshiba is still a real brand name. They probably wouldn't have had any issues if they'd gone with Terminal Data Corporation instead

I guess this is the way things are now. Any time one of us makes a discovery (correct or otherwise) about one of the original props, there's a chance it will end up becoming canon in the next film.

(Edit: I know the film isn't out everywhere yet but this image hardly seems worth wrapping with a "spoiler" tag).

[910dohead]

Here's what we need to do next:

- Rebuild the backboard.
- 3D print an ejectable "hero" trap.
- Figure out the trap insertion mechanism (Prodestrian has shown me in private what their build uses and generally giving me some advice with our electronics. Thanks, man. I'll get back to your reply. I just haven't had the time to sit down.)
- Figure out the electronics.

The backboard will take us a day to knock out but we just need to get together and figure out what kind of wood, etc. We want something that is pre-treated. The crap wood we have relied on the big box stores sucks ass. It literally sits in a spare bedroom and manages to warp doing absolutely nothing. Thanks for the suggestion xXStevenXx, though I am not sure with all the weight that we can go that route.

We really do need to 3D print ourselves a trap so we can work on the internal trap grab. I have files for one but online printing services are stupid expensive. Like $5 or more for a small part and when each piece is in the cart, it's hundreds of dollars. I'm honestly at the point where I am just going to make one out of aluminum. Either way, we need one to sort out the mech and start building that. If anyone knows of a 3D print service that isn't hundreds of dollars, please let us know?

This next step is one that I have already started to go down the rabbit hole on. I don't know what I am doing but that's the fun part; learning. Anyways, about a year ago, I came across a bunch of random arduino stuff at a thrift store. To me at the time it looked like it was part of a beginners kit, so I bought it and I only paid $1 for all of it. I have some stuff pictured here but there is a lot more to it. I think this is going to be the stuff that we need.



At first glance I didn't know what really any of this was but I had this feeling that once I figured out what it did that I could use it for something (if not for the ECU). Luckily, it appears that I can use this stuff to fashion ourselves a light kit for the unit. I've already started to sit down and mess with the stuff.



Problem going forward is that I am a complete novice with arduino. Electronics I understand to a point, but the arduino coding is what I am going to have difficulty with. The way I am looking at it is it's going to be similar to learning HTML? Haha, I have no clue but that's what it looks like to me. The setup of the ECU is simple but it's going to be interesting seeing how all of this is going to go together and work with the original parts.

That's another thing, all of the original parts are all over the place when it comes to the voltages. This is where I think we need to get a little creative with the setup. I figured that I would start with the button switches first. We have original bulbs with their caps but they require a lot of juice. Wiring the lighting up isn't going to be a big deal but I am not 100% sure how I am going to get them to function with the arduino? Well, I guess I will worry about that when I cross that hurdle. Right now I had wired up the terminals to the arduino and rested one of the LED's on the positive/negative leads inside of the housing. Lit right up and know that we're not going to have issues with that stuff. That's when I figured I could simplify the setup and just try and source some modern day replacement LED's that fit the setup. I ended up finding these:



They came in sets of 5 and in the respectable colors we need (Red/Yellow/Green). Each push button switch uses 4 so we'll have an extra bulb in case one burns out. These are 3V which is the smallest voltage I could find which I believe should work just fine? I just have to wait until these things get here to start messing with all of it. It's going to be some time 'cos I think they're coming from Taiwan?



As far as sound goes, my plan was to just repurpose some old sound kits I have laying around. I have a few of these still and think they'll be useful.



My plan is to reprogram the chip to incorporate the ECU sounds I have put together. I have a Crix soundboard and a Canakit amplifier that I pulled from an old proton build that'll work just fine. I've done this once already with Ecto-1 sounds. My buddy who owns the car has an eprom programmer so it's just a matter of borrowing it for some time. We don't need anything fancy, just for it to work. One of these thingies:



Also, here are the sounds I came up with for our build.



As far as the labels on Sony's ECU, I think it might be the same unit that they built for the end of Afterlife (which was sitting in the Ghost Corps office after the film wrapped)? Plus, wasn't the bumper label discovery made shortly after filming wrapped for Afterlife? I could be wrong since I haven't bothered to check while I type this. I am curious as to what their white Caution label says? I have a feeling they might have used our "old" version of that on the build? Either way, I couldn't make it out in the new film and never got close enough to the one at Ghost Corps to see it (though I have seen it in person once). Either way, would be interesting learning what they went with.

That's all I have for now. I might do a post showing how the push buttons work. That'll be something cool to show and would be some interesting filler outside any progress. Though I might wait to do it after I have these replacement bulbs in hand. I dunno, what do you guys want to see?

[prodestrian]

This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

I was curious where the "Caution: Do not remove cover. No user serviceable parts within. Removal of cover voids warranty" label from the front-center of the ECU door inside (in front of the cartridge bay) came from, looks like it was used on some old equipment by North American Manufacturing (and possibly also CEI Control Enterprises, and Hunkar Laboratories). Mainly servo valves for hydraulics as far as I can tell.

Here's an eBay auction with a very similar label:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/126005085230




It was also used on the Ecto-1 radar dish (on the side of the red "arrow"). As you can see the eBay photos don't exactly match the one in the film, the text is spaced differently. So the ECU/ECTO versions were probably printed for a different product, or maybe rejected because they were too small (and ended up in a pile of junk at APEX).

Not exactly a "groundbreaking discovery" because we already know exactly what it looks like (and the versions posted in this thread are already significantly more screen accurate) but occasionally determining the origin/lineage of a label gives us new leads on the ones we can't find. Maybe this will pay off in 5 years

[910dohead]

Not exactly a "groundbreaking discovery" because we already know exactly what it looks like (and the versions posted in this thread are already significantly more screen accurate) but occasionally determining the origin/lineage of a label gives us new leads on the ones we can't find. Maybe this will pay off in 5 years

Don't sell your find short as this is an excellent discovery. Congrats on the find! Too bad the part is expensive. This is most likely the exact label used on the Ecto-1 and it's a dead giveaway that the label was cut, removing the bottom line of text. Obviously something that is completely possible due to production cutting the bumper labels as well. I've been to the old Apex several times in the past and they have these sort of pull out cubbies behind their register. That's where you will find stacks of unused industrial labels and such. Just being there you get a sense of that's where they got all of the labels in quantity for the props used in the film. The only way to prove that though is if you can rewind time. I LOVE seeing stuff like this because I will always be looking at stuff like this in my travels hoping to come across one in the wild. An absolutely great discovery as small as it may be. Just another piece of the bigger puzzle! If money were no object...

As far as an update is concerned, we did purchase a new backboard for the unit. I can't remember the type of the wood but it's a lot lighter but also more pricier. The good thing is we found a perfectly flat piece which hasn't bowed since purchasing it. I mean we had to look through the entire stack to find a good piece. It's been cut to the size we need to work with but we haven't done anything yet as far as shaping it yet. Our schedules right now are bonkers and we'll get to it soon enough. Also, if anyone reading this has the means to 3D print us a ghost trap, please get in touch with me. The places I used to use are either gone or far too expensive. We need us a trap to work on the inner door of the ECU.

[prodestrian]

This is most likely the exact label used on the Ecto-1 and it's a dead giveaway that the label was cut, removing the bottom line of text.

I don't agree that it's the same exact label as the Ecto and ECU, the font weight and spacing is very different. The eBay listing is for a product manufactured in the 1980s so maybe the Ecto/ECU label is from an older model, and they since tweaked the font:


But it's still interesting and maybe we'll find a 1970s version listed someday with the correct label.

Also, if anyone reading this has the means to 3D print us a ghost trap, please get in touch with me. The places I used to use are either gone or far too expensive. We need us a trap to work on the inner door of the ECU.

After seeing the HasLab trap prototype in person yesterday at the NYC firehouse (and getting to hold it), and knowing that my franchise has a bunch of them on the way later this year, I'm still leaning towards rebuilding our door to work specifically with HasLab traps because there will be so many floating around at events. This is as opposed to the 3D printed TacoBelli trap we're currently using. There's pros and cons of both approaches though. The TacoBelli trap doesn't have the screen-accurate release mechanism, so I had to DIY that (so far it hasn't broken). 3D printed traps can also be heavier than injection-molded traps, which can potentially make them too heavy to wear on a belt (especially if you've got working doors/lights/sounds/smoke).

But the printed trap has already taken a pretty big beating from the last few months of use, it has red ECU paint from impacting the sides of the trap chamber. The guiderails at the base of the chamber do help to align the front wheels, but until the rear wheels have been inserted there's still a strong chance of hitting at a slight angle, which can cause damage to the trap. Not a problem for $20 of 3D printed plastic (material cost, not printing time), but for an expensive limited-edition toy I'd want to guarantee that we won't be causing damage. Even if we add protective foam in certain places (any potential contact points) in the chamber, the ball catches we're using could potentially scuff up the plastic. So this is one scenario where the printed trap (or several of them) might win out, but that's a lot more work. Also the HasLab is Afterlife-style, so it has giant wheels underneath which would probably need to be swapped out for standard skateboard bearings, and the V-Hook mount would need to be removed as it's far too tall for smaller wheels. And the massive skirted knob on the side might need to be swapped out too.

I guess it depends whether you're happy to always use a specific trap for ECU demos at events, or if you want the ability for one of your members to "catch a ghost" with their HasLab trap, then run up and flush it into the ECU (without having to sneakily swap the trap for a different one).

Either way, it's better than using a chunky Matty Trap

[CelestialChoc]

Hey there! Long time lurker of this thread alongside my fellow South Australian Ghostbusters and just wished to share a little discovery I made while producing my own set of original ECU Labels for our ECU Project.

At first glance this photo had all the typical labels in their proper location, but after noticing it shows a surprising amount of the top box I spotted it.

A bright white and red label where I expected to find a Memorex label! So far I've haven't seen anyone else mention this correct me if I'm wrong but it's clear atleast the propmakers working on the Afterlife box were aware of this particular label as their box spotted a close approximation to what I'd expect to see with a higher def photo of the original

Has anyone spotted this label before? anywhere on the Ecto? or somewhere else obscure? I'm curious as it seems everyone just assumed it was a memorex label for a long time and comparing the two it's clear with the letter placement and colours they're very different.

Thank you for reading and allowing me to add to this discussion I hope this helps everyone getting a more screen accurate ECU design further along!

[910dohead]

This is a label that I have been looking for as to what it is since discovering it on the upper conduit box. Right away we noticed that it wasn't the same as the label on the right facing of the unit (the "Corp" label). The first thing I did was re-combed our reference pics of both the Ecto-1 and the Ecto-1A to see if the label was on either vehicle, but it doesn't appear to be. When you call it a Memorex label, is that specifically in reference to something Memorex produced? My thought process on this was that it is somehow related to the still unknown label underneath the handle on the door, which are both "Caution" labels followed by a short mechanical blurb. I've poured over more "Caution" labels than I care to have in order to match up the length of the characters. I think I know what the handle label says but not 100% sure since there have never really been clear photos of the text. As for the conduit box, I have no idea what it says. It doesn't match up with the handle label.

My theory is that Sony must have dug up some old reference in their archive regarding the ECU. After seeing the prop they built for Afterlife, it was apparent that they had access to certain details, but the reference probably wasn't the greatest to go on. I say that because there are details they nailed and details they got completely wrong. I did ask for access to that reference but since Afterlife was still in theaters, I was told to ask again later; to which I did. However, Frozen Empire had gone into production and I was once again asked to check back later. Sony has been helpful to us before though. They did provide us with a picture of the "Corp" label that did come off the Ecto-1A. Sadly that part is now long gone. From what I understand, Sony sold off the Ecto-1A parts to a scrap dealer. I assume that either that part went along with it or it is on the Afterlife Ecto and the label was sanded off and painted over (high possibility though no confirmation).

I'll have to look into what you have done for the label and go over it. Right off the bat though, I don't think the label is red. It's an optical illusion. The red color of the unit is messing with your eyes. It looks the same with the corp label and I can assure you the box and lettering are all black. The ink on those labels also faded overtime and gave the lettering a red look later on. That's why on some packs "SLO BLO" looks red as well black on the lettering on the small stickers that go on the hook mount part on the throwers. I am thinking that's also the case with this Memorex label. Another detail to point out is that the lettering isn't centered. Look at the last line on the sticker and you can tell it ends off center. Much like how this paragraph is formatted. Just a tiny detail to note if you're looking for total accuracy. Just a few things to point out but either way it looks good.

I haven't made a version of the label yet for ours. Also, probably what it says on the Afterlife ECU is just the prop makers at Sony came up with. I wouldn't put too much faith into what it says unless you have better reference? A lot of Sony's labels say random stuff on the new props. Either the reference clearly didn't show what the labels said or Sony avoided putting company names on the new labels? I think it's probably a mix of both. We didn't get the full Fort Detmerring scene on the blu-ray releases because Sony is cheap in terms of paying out royalties. They'll throw down the insane cost it takes to buy a fleet of cars and doll them up for a film, but they'll look the other way when it comes to giving John Volstad a few bucks to be in a full deleted scene. I mean, they do have to pay GM royalties whenever they release an Ecto-1 from now on. I also think that includes the Clippard license now, which is crazy to think about.

[CelestialChoc]

Ah fantastic! I'm glad I wasn't the only one to spot it and to also not find it among the Ecto labels. When I refer to the "Memorex" label I'm referring to what you call the Corp label as that's what the majority of fan recreations of the label use for the hidden text on their versions. Until we eventually get the full details on the labels revealed that's what I tend to call them, same as referring to the label under the ribbon cable box as the "Linkabit" Label, these are just short names and to correct my vagueness here are the labels I'm referring to:



Yeah it's funny how all the new productions have slowed the ability to get new reference material out there but I look to seeing if anything new comes to light with you, especially to see why they get some details fairly well replicated but others completely off, atleast for now with the Ecto 1A reference photos we have good approximations on some of the labels just a shame they're long gone.

Thank you for your notes, I've gone ahead and made some further corrections to this "upper box" label I've created a fully B/W Version as well as a faded version. I'm only following the text on the afterlife box as a temporary substitute until some new detail can be found so I won't be adding any brand marks just yet. I look forward to your progress as well and would love to discuss more about the labels in the future

[910dohead]

Thank you for your notes, I've gone ahead and made some further corrections to this "upper box" label I've created a fully B/W Version as well as a faded version. I'm only following the text on the afterlife box as a temporary substitute until some new detail can be found so I won't be adding any brand marks just yet. I look forward to your progress as well and would love to discuss more about the labels in the future

I'll go a bit further by saying the verbiage you chose for your label also isn't matching up with what I am seeing in the reference. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, I am just trying to be constructive with it in hopes I can point out a few things that should create a better take at the accurate label (even though it will be a guessing game). The first line of the label appears to be 5 words. To me, the first two words are short. Meaning they could be "If the" or "Do not" followed by 3 words that might be 5 to 6 letters long. Something like "If the valve hatch vents". Second line looks like 4 words with the last word being potentially longer than the others. Looks like it starts with a 5 or 6 letter word, followed by a pair of 3 or 4 letter words and ends with a 7 or 8 letter word. Something like "Shut off the electrical". Finally, the last line appears to be 3 words. Probably 5 or 6 letters for the first word, 4 for the second word and 5 or 6 letters for the final word. Something like "Source when using".

With that information, if you look at the verbiage you came up with, you can tell that they don't match precisely. If it were me, i'd take to Google or some of the other search engines and take to the rabbit hole of online "Caution" labels. Start researching them based on the length of the letters and eventually coherent matches will start revealing themselves. Use these matches to formulate different versions that might make a label that makes sense in what it's telling the reader what it should do. I've learned that when you do this, you'll start to see words that the blurry label is actually saying. This was my exact process in the Caution label underneath the door handle. I say that with some confidence as i'm probably 85% on knowing what that original label is saying. I mean I can't confirm but it feels like I discovered a way to see without actually seeing, if that makes sense. Meaning, you're on the right track if you come across an actual label that ends up saying;

IF THE VALVE HATCH VENTS,
SHUT OFF THE ELECTRICAL
SOURCE WHEN USING.

Also, the "memorex" sticker you made is pretty close. However, there are some details that are off. I can also assure you that the Corp is not actually Memorex. I won't say the company name as of yet, because I am trying to find the actual label in the wild (which might not happen, these things are insanely rare and quite possibly no longer exist or in museums which might not even have the label). The Linkabit label you made is too big. It's a lot smaller than people realize. The actual dimensions of the label are 2.48" x 1.23". Very tiny little baby label.



Just so you know, this particular label has slight differences than the one that was in the Ecto-1A (which I do have a picture of). Compare it to what you have and it should be helpful. Anyways, I hope that any of this is helpful to you and anyone else cranking out an ECU for either their group or a Halloween prop. Someday we'll drop all of this here when the time is right.

[grantofkings]

Now we needed to look at the reference to figure out where whatever these thing-a-ma-jiggies are called go.


Everything is plotted out and now it's time to drill some holes and mount some greeblies!


This is how we mounted the top ones. The original screws for these are small. If we were to try and mount these with just the screws, chances are they will eventually fall out as the threading won't bite into the wood very well. We screwed some rubber gaskets to the sides which actually creates a powerful suction that will keep these on pretty darn well. Then we will glue the screws into the wood which will just add more support to them. That comes after paint though (if you pay closer attention to the reference, the base of these greeblies are actually painted red along with the screws).


Here they are in place. Notice how they're slightly offset to each other. This is actually how they are if you pay close attention to the source material.

Any chance you'd be willing to share info on these? I know the manufacturer, but pinning down sizes is hard even with their spec sheets.

[910dohead]

I would have to dig up what the sizes are but they weren't fun in trying to nail down the right size. It's always a risk in that you have to buy the parts and just wait and see if you were right. I might still have the original packaging that they came in. They were NOS with the dimensions, but it would require digging. We have a whole box of wrong parts somewhere that the baggies might be in.

Not only that but there has been stuff going on with this project. It was DOA for a minute but gears are starting to turn again. Albeit slowly, but there have been a few awesome people behind the scenes that have greatly been helping us get our butts back in gear. Thank you Toby, Eric & Dave. We'de still be over here with our thumbs up our butts if it weren't for you guys. Also, thank you Cole for the work/research you've been doing. Even though we haven't talked directly, I know what you've been up to because good word travels fast. Lastly, thanks to everyone that's helped past, present and future. I just want to say that because it always has meant a lot. I'll have more on this soon later and I will see if I have those dimensions still.

[prodestrian]

Not only that but there has been stuff going on with this project. It was DOA for a minute but gears are starting to turn again. Albeit slowly, but there have been a few awesome people behind the scenes that have greatly been helping us get our butts back in gear. Thank you Toby, Eric & Dave. We'de still be over here with our thumbs up our butts if it weren't for you guys. Also, thank you Cole for the work/research you've been doing. Even though we haven't talked directly, I know what you've been up to because good word travels fast. Lastly, thanks to everyone that's helped past, present and future. I just want to say that because it always has meant a lot. I'll have more on this soon later and I will see if I have those dimensions still.

This is exciting news! Can't wait to see your updates, when you're eventually ready to share them with everyone.

We're planning to post more detail on this in our own SA Ghostbusters ECU thread (hopefully soon), but our goal for the last con of 2024 was to add a second wall for the shutdown switch and the second red lamp. There's already some decent reference in this thread for the two breaker boxes, but we wanted to include the two power meters. They didn't have to function or be high accuracy replicas, in fact we wanted to make them out of cake tins (which we eventually did). But we still wanted to know what the originals looked like, and as far as I could tell nobody has ever really researched them.

Best screenshot we could find:


The first meter has a distinctive shape of the front panels, they're two different models.
I know the text in the middle of the first/left meter is blurry, but we'd already been looking at the vintage Westinghouse logo and it looked like the same shape to me, so I took a guess that it might be a Westinghouse meter. After a bit of digging I tracked one down, and it seems to be the exact same model (or at least a very similar one if it has different internals):


It was listed as a "Westinghouse Three phase, three stator watthour meter.. Spec's: type D5S-3M; form 9S;CL 20; 120V; 60 hz,4 wire Y; Ta 2.5; Kh 1.8."

The front panels look identical to me (with the exception perhaps of the white sticker on the right-side, which covers up the text which is visible in the film).

As I understand it, the front lever/pin on the glass is used to set the needle to zero without needing to take the cover off. Analog Westinghouse meters from that era use this same type of Zero Adjust lever, sometimes with a separate locking key that has to be removed first before the lever can be lifted.

And then while I was at work the next day, Steven managed to find the second/right meter, a Westinghouse D4B-2FM:



Interesting to note that these meters are very tall (maybe around 12"), but they don't seem stick out that far in the film (not that we ever really get a good side view of them). So our guess is that they're actually mounted to the wall behind the panel and there's circular cutouts for them in the panel that the Square D breaker box is attached to. It'd be interesting to know if they were installed for the film, or if they're actually a real part of the firehouse basement? In the So-Cal & Denver Ghostbusters video tour of Engine 23 (from 2010) they walk into the basement and the electrical meter on the opposite wall from the ECU (next to the equipment shelves) seems to be there still. But the footage is very shaky and I don't think we get a shot of the breaker box wall, so I'm not sure if the whole thing was fake or just the panels that the breaker boxes and chart recorders were attached to. Probably a question for Kingpin

Anyway, hope someone finds this useful/interesting...

[910dohead]

Oh, you're not alone in going down this rabbit hole. We definitely thought about doing the other wall and i've done extensive research already. Though I will say that I had some help so others have been looking into this as well. However, the reality of this project is big enough for us already. The wall itself is a struggle alone to move and wanting to take it to events would be tough. We figured having the entire setup would just be one giant logistics nightmare (expensive too) and decided to forgo in building its entirety. I can't even wrap my head around how some groups have pulled it off in the past. There was one Italian group that had an amazing setup, but I forget who and where I saw it.

That's some pretty good detective work you've done on the meters. I was never really able to pinpoint exactly which meters they were but this is definitely eye opening. I figured the meters were going to be the hardest to find so I looked into those last. Thanks for sharing this information! We love it when a reply pertains to the discussion part of this thread and helps dissect/solve some of the mysteries. I will also throw all of this into the hat. I did try and pinpoint all of the other stuff like the Leeds & Northrup Speedomax/Micromax readers, breaker boxes, etc.

Square D Breaker Box - Catalog D96352 Series A2:


Westinghouse Type Tap Bus Plus Disconnect:




They're NOT exact matches but have been the closest I was able to find.

Also, I have actually done some inspection on that exact video you mentioned as well. I am led to believe that everything the equipment is attached to are faux walls. The only thing in that room that is legit, plus possibly still there (not sure since the discovery museum refurb) was the red door on the opposite side of the steel support (I even think that they might have moved it to another wall since filming?). I tried to study the basement based on what I could find (since i've personally never have been inside the actual building/had the right contacts too but was denied) and the whole layout of the room is very confusing. It looks pretty straight forward at first glance, but then the more pics you see and the further you look into it, it starts to not make too much sense? The part of the wall where the red door is located is definitely real, but then where the fake support beam starts, everything to the right is a prop for the film. The wall sort of shoots off into another direction or it could be the opposite wall? Giving the containment unit some room to have all of the pneumatic stuff they used to blow out all of the smoke and air. At least I think it does? It's been a moment since I looked into all of this and I am throwing this reply together very quickly.



I mean, I dunno? Just take a look and just see how confusing it already is. The layout confuses me but I guess that I would understand it more had I ever got the chance to be in the shooting location. I all just leads me to believe that the equipment HAS to have been mounted on faux walls.



Also, I did ask Ivan Reitman once what happened to the set piece and he said he believed that it was all scraped. Which is a damn shame, but maybe he had misremembered and hopefully some day the piece winds up in a prop auction or something to that ilk?

Side note, the last two pics are not mine and I didn't take them. I don't even really remember where I got them, but I think they were on a public forum? If they're your photos and you don't like them being here, let me know and I will remove them. I haven't obtained any permissions to repost them, so please let me know.

[Kingpin]

It'd be interesting to know if they were installed for the film, or if they're actually a real part of the firehouse basement? In the So-Cal & Denver Ghostbusters video tour of Engine 23 (from 2010) they walk into the basement and the electrical meter on the opposite wall from the ECU (next to the equipment shelves) seems to be there still. But the footage is very shaky and I don't think we get a shot of the breaker box wall, so I'm not sure if the whole thing was fake or just the panels that the breaker boxes and chart recorders were attached to. Probably a question for Kingpin

You rang?

My photos are currently inaccessible (910dohead came to my rescue as he posted one of the photos I was looking for), but I can confirm the panel with the utility and breaker boxes was a false wall.

As for the red door:

This red door is part of the original stucture of Fire Station №23 (and granted access to Firehouse's old coal storage bin), and sits on a roughly 45° angle, you can see it towards the top of this architectural drawing from 1964:



When the production team dressed the basement, they built a replica of the coal bin door for the Containment Unit false wall. The whole assembly would've looked roughly something like this:

Or:


(I really need to finish my plans and get some 3D renders made, instead of relying on somewhat incorrect plans from the same year Nelson Mandela was incarcerated.)

If memory serves, those two photos from the basement were snapped by Boomerjinks. While the main reference gallery here is still down, you can see some of his photos (including some of the basement) in the topic when the California and Denver teams visited Fire Station №23 back in 2010.

Noteworthy additions:


(With the Firehouse's real breaker boxes)

Inside the coal bin, on the other side of the 45° wall:

[910dohead]

Rad! Seeing those floor plans definitely made it make sense. Also, not sure why I never noticed this before.



So, either the production recreated the coal door or simply temporarily moved it? Maybe there were two doors and one has since been lost? Either way, thanks for sharing that. I've never seen those plans before.

I've also wondered if any of the scrap pieces there might've been production used? However, I very much doubt that as Columbia would've had everything removed from the premises.

[prodestrian]

Oh, you're not alone in going down this rabbit hole. We definitely thought about doing the other wall and i've done extensive research already. Though I will say that I had some help so others have been looking into this as well. However, the reality of this project is big enough for us already. The wall itself is a struggle alone to move and wanting to take it to events would be tough. We figured having the entire setup would just be one giant logistics nightmare (expensive too) and decided to forgo in building its entirety. I can't even wrap my head around how some groups have pulled it off in the past. There was one Italian group that had an amazing setup, but I forget who and where I saw it.

Totally understand that! For the record here's where our setup is at so far as of November 2024:

As you can see our "shutdown" wall is built the same as our ECU wall, it comes apart into two pieces so we can fit it onto a trailer. All the components (both breaker boxes, the pipes, hoses, meter box, lamp etc) all fit inside the wall so it acts as its own travel case. This is all Steven's genius design of course. We took a lot of creative liberties with it such as only going with a single meter box and condensing it down significantly. The plan is to eventually have another wall which joins the two together, but this probably won't need all the support structure behind it (it can attach directly to the other two) making it lightweight. We need the whole thing to fit onto a single trailer, we're not going to start hiring trucks.

Yes, I've been drooling over the Ghostbusters Italia setup for 10+ years as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p4RGUn6Cws

There's a Speedomax chart recorder on eBay at the moment here in Australia, but AU$1200 is a bit much for us. It also looks extremely heavy, and there's only one available. Maybe we'll recreate it someday but there's a lot of other more important projects on our list!


"Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by...that droid over there"

[Kingpin]

So, either the production recreated the coal door or simply temporarily moved it?

I'm 95-98% certain the red door visible between the Containment Unit and the breaker boxes was a copy, in addition to it looking a little taller (The door for the coal bin is about 8 rows of concrete high - if we use the mould lines as an informal guide of measurement, where the door near the breaker box appears to be 9 or 10 rows of concrete high), and the hinge on the door near the breaker box is very different in design.





I believe the red door by the breaker boxes was removed when the false wall/s were dismantled after filming.

I've also wondered if any of the scrap pieces there might've been production used? However, I very much doubt that as Columbia would've had everything removed from the premises.

Given Daniel Taylor (the "caretaker")'s use of Fire Station №23 for community events and also for some music recording (there was a sound booth in the Firehouse's former hay loft on the third floor), I suspect most of the scrap in the basement was either from the events he'd been involved with, or parts of the Firehouse's fixtures and fittings that had fallen into disrepair. I believe the only bit definitively left over from its Ghostbusters days was the tan paint on the walls.