AC or DC

[treefrog]

I have a quick question for the electric minded of you. I bought a great little advertising sign from the 1950s, with a character by Ronald Searle for Lemon Hart Rum. This is a cased item, with electric terminals on the back as below. I thought it was backlit but, in fact, it has a large ribbed metallic disc in the back that creates a motion image in the glazed image at the front. The disc is rotated by a small motor, but the wiring is fairly hefty and I have never seen a motor like this before. There is no writing or data on the name plate on the back of the sign. I had heard that DC acts as a generator, so if metered when rotating it should show a voltage. Any ideas ? I am wondering if this would have been AC, as it would likely have been sited in a shop or pub of the time and easier just to plug in.

[badpenny]

I'd suspect by looking at the contacts it's likely to be DC.
However, I can't actually see an electric motor in your photo - it looks more like a solenoid that clicks the wheel around.

That orange drum at the back looks very much like the sort of solenoid you'd find in a pinball.
The photo is fuzzy.
If you could do clearer ones from every angle I could probably suss it out. The bit near the front could be a mercury switch, however, it's difficult to make out.

You are unlikely to do any damage trying low DC in a high volt AC circuit, but do it the other way round and you'll allow the magic blue smoke to escape and you'll never get it back inside again.

BP

[coppinpr]

I remember similar signs, they had a fairly slow click motion that (usually) switched between two or more sets of lights. I guess this one gives the impression of the drink being poured. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that it ran on much the same power source as the pinballs of the day. Is there no rating on the solenoid barrel. Very unusual if there is not, as these often needed replacing.