# Marx Rotating Beacon



## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

Picked one of these up because of the red//green light at the top. Eveything seems to work but the beacon does not rotate.  Bulb lights, socket could be cleaner and the beacon lens needs a bit of glue as the metal is pulling away from the plastic lens a bit. The blades at the top of the beacon seems flatter than I would have thought, I've seen this sort of thing work before. Anyone got any ideas?


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The beacon needs to spin freely from the heat of the bulb. So it will take tme to heat up. You can adjust the fans but just wait and see.


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

Thanks. Kinda what I thught. My daughter saw it last night and wanted to see it work.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've often thought of finding one of the really tiny fans and putting it under to add to the breeze. Sometimes the heat isn't enough, especially if you have any air movement near the beacon.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Try opening the blades up just a little.
That is what makes the light spin when the heat rises through them.
Experiment with them.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There's a sweet spot for the blade position, but opening them up too much is contra-productive. I found that for the Lionel one, they were open a lot less than I would have thought for optimum performance. 

The real problem is any friction at the point is enough to prevent them from spinning. I took a sewing needle and JB Weld'ed it in place of the point in one, that solved the spinning issue.


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## Artieiii (Apr 25, 2011)

i have a lionel version, it has a special bulb that has a dent in the top that reduces friction. The bulb has to get pretty darn hot for it to work. Here is a pic of the lionel bulb.
-Art


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Actually, they all have them. The dent in the bulb was merely to rest the pin of the rotating head on, it would be impossible to use the beacon without the dimpled bulb.


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## lionellines (May 18, 2011)

I had one and never had much luck with it spinning. Even after I switched the colored lenses for a Lionel version, performance was marginal at best. Sold it and never regretted doing so.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yep, they're pretty touchy to get going. I tinkered with one for a long time and finally trashed the head. I had another head that I used, it spun right away on the same bulb. Never could figure out what was different about the first one and the second one.


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