ACR Supernova "Continuous" Version

A truly classic and special unit!  This is the Supernova unit produced from ACR.  Imported in the US by NESS, this unit features a very large dome where an MSD 250 arc lamp is housed (the original SN250 lamp has been changed out to the newer MSR equivalent; both for reliability and availability).  The large dome rotates in both directions and with adjustable speeds from a super high quality Philips DC motor.  Speed, direction and lamp ignition are controlled from the dedicated wired controller (With a special 7 pin DIN connector).  The rotation belt between the motor and rotation bearing assembly was deteriorated when I received the unit so I found that GE water filter o-rings fit the unit perfectly.  It’s a cheap replacement and easily available.  Also this unit’s dome had been painted silver so I found similar color paint and changed it back to its original glory!

The Supernova is an interesting unit.  It was available in a few different versions.  The most common unit is the “Classic” Supernova.  It featured a SN250 bulb and had a special timer circuit in the unit where it allowed the lamp to be ignited for 4 minutes then automatically turns off for at least 15 minutes.  There was also a “High Power” version that has a SN400 unit with twice as much power for larger rooms / venues.  This unit is the “Continuous” version that featured a much more improved electronic circuitry that allowed the lamp to be continuously ignited / powered for up to 60 minutes before it needed to be powered down. 

This unit has the common 140 small holes for many small beams (similar to a super mirrored ball).  Other available options were domes that had large slits cut into the dome for “Flat Blade” beams of light, and others had larger holes for bigger beams.  For venues / clubs with lower ceilings a half-dome instead of a full ball was available.  For larger clubs / venues longer axle lengths could be purchased so the ball would hang much lower from the base.  The domes were also available in Chrome on special order.  This unit was built in Switzerland.                  

 

MBT Saturn ME-2021-1 Unit

This was an interesting find.  This is the Saturn unit from MBT.  It looks similar to a cosmos ball unit but the difference is that it does not do complete rotations.  The unit has 1 central motor in the base for rotation and through an offset linkage, the unit pivots around with stabilizer rings to keep the ball in place.  The light source for the unit is a 24 volt, 150 watt FCS common lamp.  Unit is made in Taiwan.     

 

Mode Electronics Star-Lite ST-1 Strobe Units

 

Back in the classic club days there were many smaller strobes that were used as clusters for effect.  There was the common "egg" screw in strobe and the hanging strobes from companies such as Diversitronics, High End (Lightwave Research) and these from Mode.  I think these were the best from the units offered.  The Mode units were available in 5 colors: amber, green, red, pink and blue just like the Mode Arc-Line strobe runner tubes.  These are basically just a small piece of Arc-Line tube cut off and a single self-contained strobe unit.  These units hang from the ceiling or bar and flash at random.  Simple effect, but looks awesome in multiples!  Units made in England. 

 

METEOR Infinity Touch Control System

One of the best relay touch systems ever built!  This is the Infinity control system made by METEOR.  It has 2 pieces for operation.  The rack mount control panel and the dedicated relay pack.  Connection between the 2 units is a simple telephone cable! So simple!  The controller is a 16 channel unit with touch sensitive buttons for "Live" operation and standard push button switches for programming and replay.  You have the option to use it as a standard touch panel system (with bump and latch buttons) or use it as a programmable chase controller (Comes with 16 pre-programed chases and 4 different speeds) or both!  It has on-board memory for programs and recall up to 32 scenes and adjustments for all parameters of the unit.  One controller can operate multiple relay packs since the packs have in and out connector.  Control protocol is MMX (Meteors proprietary language).  Unit made in the US!