[ATTN] Jim Weir or anyone knowing about old gyro compasses

I was looking for info on an old gyrocompass I have and was sent your
way by the fine folks of rcm.

Here's a post with all the information about it so far:

http://web2.airmail.net/thegoat4/stuff/gyro/

Anyone know anything about this contraption? I'd like to actually
spin it up just for the hell of it, but I'm afraid I may destroy it.
The tag in the fuzzy photo says:

TRANSMITTER
GYRO FLUX COMPASS
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
Mfr's Part No 12002-1-B Contract No W33-038 AC-3827
AN 5751-1 Ser. No. AF-44 57054
BENDIX AVIATION CORPORATION
ECLIPSE-POINEER DIVISION

The plug on it has seven pins in a symmetrical hex pattern with one
pin in the center.
No more pictures--camera died. Damnit!

More info about the thing:
====

I *think* this one is supposed to mount with the plug sticking
straight upward and the window facing the back of the plane. "Aft"
down. In that orientation the gimbal will always settle with the butt
end of it down. Any other way it'll settle at some weird angle that's
very unstable.
This has a mechanical caging device. A tag on the case says to run
it for a few fre minutes and then rotate a knob. On the tail of the
rear is a small port with a silted shaft inside. Rotating it will move
a small arm in the rear that has a latch at the base. After a full
revolution the arm and latch will retract slightly, releasing the gyro.
The pin it caught was what I was holding in one of the photos of the
inside. I had a photo of the caging arm, but that's stuck inside my
dead camera.

Two of the pins are wired together, so, six wires. The seven pins
are labeled A-G, A & C are tied together. Unfortunately, I'm nearly
totally colorblind and the wires are faded, so I don't know what color
goes where. I'll show an artsy-fartsy friend of mine and see if I can
trace 'em.

All six wires go all the way to the gyro--there don't seem to be any
sort of sensors on any of the bearings.

The delta-shaped arrangement looks like it may be a transformer or a
bunch of inductors. Of all three rectangular objects, each has two
metal plates going through in parallel and the wires going in go into
the jacket. I can't tell if the two strips are connected, but I don't
think they are.

The two large capacitors are in parallel. Both ends are tied to
wires that go into the gyro housing. One wire from the gimbal feeds to
one of the the capacitors, but all the rest go through the delta thingy.

====

Here's the rcm thread through Google: http://tinyurl.com/7yx7n

--
B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail.net
http://www.sorryeverybody.com/

Not a clue.

JIm



Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com