- #1
davedude
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Found this in a back cabinet. It's old. I think the case was taken off. Anyone have an idea of what it is.
What is this equipment I just found?
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Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around identifying an old piece of equipment discovered in a cabinet. Participants explore its possible functions and origins, focusing on its mechanical features and potential applications in aviation or military contexts.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant requests pictures from different angles to assess the equipment's size and features.
- Another participant speculates that the equipment could be the heart of a TARDIS, indicating a humorous or speculative approach.
- Discussion includes observations about the equipment's ability to rotate 360 degrees from three sections, suggesting a possible similarity to a 3-axis gyroscope.
- A participant proposes that the equipment resembles a gyroscope used for aircraft attitude control, detailing its function in maintaining orientation and reporting angular position.
- Further technical details are provided regarding the use of servo-driven gimbals and synchro transmitters, with one participant identifying the manufacturer and part number associated with the equipment.
- References to historical context are made, including the equipment's potential connection to inertial navigation systems and its removal from scrapped aircraft.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express varying degrees of certainty about the equipment's identity and function, with some proposing specific models and others offering more speculative interpretations. No consensus is reached regarding its exact purpose or origin.
Contextual Notes
Participants rely on visual evidence and manufacturer information to support their claims, but the discussion remains open-ended regarding the definitive identification of the equipment.
- #2
berkeman
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Can you post pictures from different angles? And maybe put some common item or a ruler next to it to show its scale... 
- #3
Jobrag
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What does the label say? Are there any other labels? Any other markings at all? My first guess is that it's the heart of a TARDIS.
- #4
davedude
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Here are some new pictures of it.
- #5
berkeman
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It looks like the center part is free to rotate some in the outer frame? If so, by how much?
- #6
berkeman
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And in that last picture, can you zoom in on the white label near the base? Is it a calibration sticker?
- #7
davedude
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It has the ability to rotate 360 from 3 different sections, so in all directions.
- #8
berkeman
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davedude said:
Like a 3-axis gyroscope?
- #9
davedude
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Yes, I believe so
- #10
Baluncore
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It looks like a gyroscope used for aircraft attitude control, such as an artificial horizon. It could also be from a tank or mobile gun. The gyroscope is mounted in servo driven gimbals that maintains the initial orientation of the gyroscope. A synchro transmitter on each axis sends a multi-phase signal that reports the angular position of the gyroscope module within the gimbals for each axis. It therefore gives the orientation of the vehicle / aircraft.
Power and signals are routed through slip-rings through each gimbal rotational axis. It has servo-motor driven gimbals, to overcome the friction of those connections across the gimbal bearings. Any slight error in the position of the gyroscope within the central module is detected and fed to a servo motor that will cancel that error and so maintain orientation of the gyroscope.
Power and signals are routed through slip-rings through each gimbal rotational axis. It has servo-motor driven gimbals, to overcome the friction of those connections across the gimbal bearings. Any slight error in the position of the gyroscope within the central module is detected and fed to a servo motor that will cancel that error and so maintain orientation of the gyroscope.
- #11
Baluncore
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The synchro transmitters were made by Clifton Precision, a division of Litton Industries Inc. They were not necessarily the manufacturer of the complete unit.
The code number we need for a positive identification is probably written on the cover that is face down on the bench top. We don't need a photo, just the text.
I am sure it must be a directional gyro.
The code number we need for a positive identification is probably written on the cover that is face down on the bench top. We don't need a photo, just the text.
I am sure it must be a directional gyro.
Last edited:
- #12
Baluncore
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Manufacturer 06481. Part 657650.
06481 was the manufacturer cage code for "Litton Systems Inc, Guidance And Control Systems Div".
Now merged to become “Northrop Grumman. Guidance and Control Systems”.
Google 'Litton 657650' leads to the “LN-12 inertial guidance platform and associated G-200 gyroscope”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LN-3_Inertial_Navigation_System
The LN-12 units were built and tested in the 1970s. (There are two orthogonal gyros inside the canister).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LN-3_Inertial_Navigation_System#Genealogy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_navigation_system
All these directional gyro units will have been removed from scrapped aircraft or replaced with triaxial fibre optic gyroscope units that have no moving parts. That would explain why it has been put aside and forgotten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre_optic_gyroscope
06481 was the manufacturer cage code for "Litton Systems Inc, Guidance And Control Systems Div".
Now merged to become “Northrop Grumman. Guidance and Control Systems”.
Google 'Litton 657650' leads to the “LN-12 inertial guidance platform and associated G-200 gyroscope”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LN-3_Inertial_Navigation_System
The LN-12 units were built and tested in the 1970s. (There are two orthogonal gyros inside the canister).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LN-3_Inertial_Navigation_System#Genealogy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_navigation_system
All these directional gyro units will have been removed from scrapped aircraft or replaced with triaxial fibre optic gyroscope units that have no moving parts. That would explain why it has been put aside and forgotten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre_optic_gyroscope
- #13
davedude
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Wow, thanks!
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