I have an American Flyer #758 Sam the Semaphore Man unit that works well with one exception. It lights up, and Sam comes out when he should, but the semaphore itself does not move. I removed the bottom plate and discovered that at the base of the semaphore tower there is a spring fastened by a small cotter pin that is threaded through a tiny hole at the bottom of the rod that would move the semaphore. There is also a sliding mechanism attached to the solenoid unit that obviously is supposed to push the rod up at the same time that Sam emerges. But all the mechanism does is compress the spring without moving the rod. I can't tell if something is missing or just misaligned. I would be happy to send a photo to anyone willing to share their email address. As always, any advice, or directions to a diagram/photo of what the inside of the unit is supposed to look like, would be appreciated.
John
gottcent There is also a sliding mechanism attached to the solenoid unit that obviously is supposed to push the rod up at the same time that Sam emerges. But all the mechanism does is compress the spring without moving the rod. I can't tell if something is missing or just misaligned.
I rebuilt a Sam of my own several years back, I think you have pretty much zeroed in on the problem: The push rod or the semaphore blade is frozen somehow. Both items should move freely with little or no effort. The spring itself does not directly operate the rod, it only serves to help return it to the down position. In my case I had to completely replace the pole and the pushrod as it was stuck inside the tube. The items can be fabricated out of brass tube and piano wire.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
I would be happy to post a photo but I can't figure out how to do it. When I click on "Insert/edit image" I get a box that asks for Source, Image Description, and Dimensions. What does that mean?
gottcentI would post a photo but I can't figure out how to do it.
To post a photo to this forum you need a hosting servce like Photobucket, that's the "source". Here are a couple of pictures I took from my rebuild. The first is a picture of the disassembled unit prior to repainting. The part you are most probably having trouble with is the pole and the pushrod assembly, it is in the center of the picture:
When the soleniod is deactivated the semaphore blade should naturally return to the raised position. If it does not, that is an indication that there is a problem with the pushrod binding in the signal standard.
This is what it looks like with the solenoid activated; the pushrod connects to the semaphore blade with a little hook on the end that goes through a hole in the blade. When the rod goes up, the blade comes down. It it doesn't look like these pictures, then your blade may be hooked through the wrong hole.
stebbycentral,
I have a 758A Sam on my bench right now, but the semaphore pole is loose and wobbles in it's base. What is supposed to hold it tight?
Jim
RedfireS197 stebbycentral, I have a 758A Sam on my bench right now, but the semaphore pole is loose and wobbles in it's base. What is supposed to hold it tight?
Thanks.
John,
Can you move the semaphore blade by hand? If not, loosen the screw that holds it and try again.
Thanks to all who've tried to help with this--esp. the photo of the unit's parts. Yes, I can move the blade by hand, but it's quite stiff. I've tried spraying TV tuner cleaner inside the pole and that helps a little, but not a lot. I suspect I may have to replace the push rod assembly as one of you said he did some time back.
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