Semaphore station with guard tower

[Tordenskjold]

i've made a MLcad model of a semaphore station that i will use to maintain contact over bigger distances.

it will have about 4 men to crew it. two operators and two or three from the army to guard it.

It will also be equipped with a small cannon to get attention from the HQ or other stations

Some pics are here

does this look to bad or? havent put on any decorations or other stuff to make it look better, will do that if i get the spirit over me to actually buildt this :)

[ZCerberus]

i've made a MLcad model of a semaphore station that i will use to maintain contact over bigger distances.

it will have about 4 men to crew it. two operators and two or three from the army to guard it.

It will also be equipped with a small cannon to get attention from the HQ or other stations

Some pics are here

does this look to bad or? havent put on any decorations or other stuff to make it look better, will do that if i get the spirit over me to actually buildt this :)

Nice! I never would complain about a CAD MOC! I would advise you to put links directly to the pictures and not the brickshelf folder, as the folder is not yet public for us. This being said, I can only see the small thumb in the link, and I cannot discern the details. Change the links to go directly to each picture or post a reasonable sized photo of the whole thing right in the post and then we can discuss it better!

Keep on MOCing!

[Mister Phes]

I like it from this angle myself...

The pictures are small enough to post in the thread so no need for thumbnail links.

[Capn Frank]

Nice little fort

couple of quick questions,

what are the red and blue flags for? (windows maybe)

what kind of ideas have you got for small cannons?

P

[Mister Phes]

One thing Mr Tordenskjold could explain what a Semaphore station is to everyone. Admittedly I was unsure when I first saw the word so I looked it up within seconds, but since this is Mr Tordenskjold I'll give him the glory of informing those who don't know.

[Bonaparte]

Very interesting to see something like this. Did you base the messaging system on a picture of a real semaphore station?

The onces I have seen all had some sort of pile on the roof for conveying the messages.

Something like this:

[Tordenskjold]

Hi everybody. sorry for not giving an explanation of what an semaphore station is.

will try to do that now. It was used befor the telegraph to send messages over far distance by a cvhain of stations that was placed within sight of each other. or between ships or other items out of range for the human voice. it could be done with flags , position of arms on a pole opened or closed windows in special towers.

if anyone have seend a ww2 war movie then you probebly had noticed a signal man with two flags that send signals to some other ship/plane/company. Thats Semaphore.

Many countrys like England ,France, Sweeden and Spain made their own style of semaphore stations . their main purpose was military, to send messages of enemy and other urgent thing. this was much faster than a horseman could ride with a letter.

In semaphore each position of the flag(or whatever they used to signal with) meant something. and you had to have access to the code list to understand what it meant.

so to you mr Phred. the blue and red flags are what this station use to signal with. havent made a code list for it yet but it will come.

It will not have cannons as this is not a battle station, only a small cannon for making noise so that the nearby fortress could be noticed .

And to Mr Bonaparte. i have a pic in a book that show a drawing of one of the stations the English used, and made my station with that as a inspiration.

[Bonaparte]

Apparently these stations were used a lot in the previous centuries for communication.

Here is an example code used for naval purposes:

[Mister Phes]

Hi everybody. sorry for not giving an explanation of what an semaphore station is.

No, don't be sorry! You've got a very interesting thread and MOC happening here Mr Tordenskjold, its very educational and we all might learn something.

And to Mr Bonaparte. i have a pic in a book that show a drawing of one of the stations the English used, and made my station with that as a inspiration.

Is it possible that you could scan an image of this drawing and post it?

[Berry Syedow]

I had no idea what a "Semaphore Station" was, but thanks to you, now I do! I like the shape of the tower, so far. I'm interested in how it will progress, so keep us updated. *y*

By the way, did they use smoke to communicate from similarly designed towers before they developed these other systems? I'm just curious what the history is behind these semaphore stations, if there is any.

[Capn Frank]

Tordenskjold,

I had never even heard of a semaphore station before reading this thread.

Were these in common use through out europe? and when?

...

so to you mr Phred. the blue and red flags are what this station use to signal with. havent made a code list for it yet but it will come.

It will not have cannons as this is not a battle station, only a small cannon for making noise so that the nearby fortress could be noticed .

...

Now i understand the blue and red flags.

Do you know what type of small cannon you're gonna make?

P

[Mister Phes]

the blue and red flags are what this station use to signal with. havent made a code list for it yet but it will come.

That would be quite confusing if a sailor was colour blind X-D

[ZCerberus]

Now that we have the pictures this is rather interesting!

I like the tower design, and we can always use more people who are good CADers!

I must admit, though, the building on top of which the signals are placed looks like it could take quite a punishment. You said it would be unarmed, but I think you could arm it easily if you ever desired!

You also get +1,000,000 points for originality!

Go Norwegian ally! Go!

[Norrington]

(I

[Capn Frank]

the blue and red flags are what this station use to signal with. havent made a code list for it yet but it will come.

That would be quite confusing if a sailor was colour blind X-D

(I

[Tordenskjold]

Hi again got some new pic on BS now. where you can see some interior of the building.

also added a cannon with a low wall to it.

As i said before. this is notment to be a battle position, only a lookout ans signal station places on a hilltop or high mountain. Where the guard can see far distance and in case he see something he can send a signal back to the fort(or fleet base or whatever you need to give an alert) either direct or via several similar station that constant check the station before and after them in the chain for new signals.

the cannon is to use in case the signals are not spottet right away or if its urgent that it will be delivered .

To mr Phred . the first time a visual telegraphis spoken about(apparently) was by an Englishman called Robert Hooke who speaked to the Royal Society in 1684 but that was never fully functional.

in about 1790 the French Claude Chappe and his brothers startet building a semaphore network that was in use in France until ca1850. England and Spain had several lines to, and in Sweeden. In Sweeden the last operating semaphore line was between an island and mainland sweeden.it closed in 1880 ..

thanks alot everybody *sweet* it feel'good to read those compliment's :-$

[Mister Phes]

Mr Tordenskjold, when you finalise the design of your Semaphore Station in MLCAD, are you going to buy the bricks and built if for real? Or will it only ever be an MLCAD creation?

[Capn Frank]

...

To mr Phred . the first time a visual telegraphis spoken about(apparently) was by an Englishman called Robert Hooke who speaked to the Royal Society in 1684 but that was never fully functional.

in about 1790 the French Claude Chappe and his brothers startet building a semaphore network that was in use in France until ca1850. England and Spain had several lines to, and in Sweeden. In Sweeden the last operating semaphore line was between an island and mainland sweeden.it closed in 1880 ..

...

That's interesting and good information Tordenskjold. Thanx.

Is there a website or book you recomend to read more information about semaphore networks?

That signal cannon is different from this model:

I can't quite make it out though, what did you improve or change on the cannon?

P

[Tordenskjold]

hi mr Phes. my plan is to build the station for real , but dont have enough parts yet. and im sick and dont have energy for doing so much nowdays. but as i get enough lego ill build at least one of these. i have made a map of an island wich i want to have as my own colony. and there i will need at least two signal stations .

and to mr Phred : you can read this article on Wikipedia about Semaphore, i have some parts of an old norwegian book that i have used, but mainly everything stand in this article.

I have made some changes to the cannon

added a lever base in the back and two 1x1 round plates to make the barrel longer.

[Mister Phes]

hi mr Phes. my plan is to build the station for real , but dont have enough parts yet. and im sick and dont have energy for doing so much nowdays. but as i get enough lego ill build at least one of these. i have made a map of an island wich i want to have as my own colony. and there i will need at least two signal stations .

That sounds promising Mr Tordenskjold! Did you receive the Email with the attached part files for MLCAD?

and to mr Phred : you can read this article on Wikipedia about Semaphore

Ooooooo look Mr Bonaparte - a Wikipedia link. Is this one in the index yet?

[Tordenskjold]

That sounds promising Mr Tordenskjold! Did you receive the Email with the attached part files for MLCAD?

Ooooooo look Mr Bonaparte - a Wikipedia link. Is this one in the index yet?

Yes thanks alot. im going to reinstall mlcad sometime. but im afraid i will loose a lot of my models and so one so i therfor will wait until i have made drawings of all i have started on.

i have the book with the pic of a drawing of one of the English semaphore stations. will find it this weekend and make a scan of it. then youll see :)

[Mister Phes]

Why do you think you'll lose a lot of your models? Can't you back them up first?

[Tordenskjold]

i have made so many own names of parts that if i install mlcad again they wont be there. i think.

[Capn Frank]

...

and to mr Phred : you can read this article on Wikipedia about Semaphore, i have some parts of an old norwegian book that i have used, but mainly everything stand in this article.

Thanx for the link *y*

...

I have made some changes to the cannon

added a lever base in the back and two 1x1 round plates to make the barrel longer.

kool,

I added it to the MOC cannon index for others to look at

you can read this article on Wikipedia about Semaphore

Ooooooo look Mr Bonaparte - a Wikipedia link. Is this one in the index yet?

maybe i'll post it in the Wiki thread X-D

P

[Bonaparte]

Ooooooo look Mr Bonaparte - a Wikipedia link. Is this one in the index yet?

Now it is part of the Wikipedia Links! I've added an entire new category: "Buildings and Building Techniques"