# Identify a Light Box??



## Studio (Nov 6, 2009)

I am trying to identify a 2' by 3' box hanging in the front catwalk of our original theater in my school (we have 2 theaters so the current teacher has no idea). This box has an approx. 6" by 4" opening with a large lamp and something that looks like a mechanical shutter. No DMX or controller just a plug. It is not pointed at the stage and is on the side of the catwalk that is further from the stage. See the attached sketch. Can anyone identify what this fixture of box? Is it a strobe? Any ideas??


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## avkid (Nov 6, 2009)

Any chance of a picture?


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## derekleffew (Nov 6, 2009)

I agree, a photo is in order. Something doesn't sound right. A 2'x3' box with an opening of 4"x6"? The only thing I can think of is a temporary worklight used during construction that was never removed. Is the plug a standard 5-15 Edison?


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## Studio (Nov 6, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> I agree, a photo is in order. Something doesn't sound right. A 2'x3' box with an opening of 4"x6"? The only thing I can think of is a temporary worklight used during construction that was never removed. Is the plug a standard 5-15 Edison?



Yes but all plugs in this theater are standard 5-15 Edison (there is a reason why we got a new one). No pics for a while but i will draw a sketch of the box and insides from what I remember.

EDIT:
Here is the sketch.


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## renegadeblack (Nov 6, 2009)

I'm going to take a wild guess here, but does it also have any additional inputs on it? Could it be an IR light for a hearing assistance system?


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## Studio (Nov 6, 2009)

renegadeblack said:


> I'm going to take a wild guess here, but does it also have any additional inputs on it? Could it be an IR light for a hearing assistance system?


Nope just a plug (same as dimmer system)


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## avkid (Nov 7, 2009)

Some sort of projector?


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## Studio (Nov 7, 2009)

avkid said:


> Some sort of projector?


Maybe I'll try to get pics soon but It might take a while.


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## fredthe (Nov 7, 2009)

Some sort of home-built special effect? Is there a motor inside to run the mechanical stuff?

-Fred


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## Studio (Nov 7, 2009)

fredthe said:


> Some sort of home-built special effect? Is there a motor inside to run the mechanical stuff?
> 
> -Fred



There are gears so i am guessing there is a motor and what looks like a shutter like on a followspot. Thats why I think it might be a strobe of some sort.


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## Les (Nov 7, 2009)

What type of lamp is in there? Is it an HID lamp? If so, it could be some sort of dimmable worklight, or with Woods glass - a dimmable blacklight.


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## Van (Nov 7, 2009)

If it's got gears, and judging by the sheer size of it, I'm going to guess that it is either an old "color wheel" or perhaps a very early or home built "scene machine". Back in the old days it was quite common to use a rotating disk, usually mounted in front of a par lamp, as a "color Wheel" the disk would have several holes in it, each about 4.5 " in diameter, slightly larger than a par lamp. You would turn them on, the motor ran off the current supplied to the lamp, the wheel would turn the wash color would slowly change as each cell came in front of the lamp. I've never seen one with shutters on it. or one that was quite that large. But who knows ? Maybe you have a relic right out of the 60's there.


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## Studio (Nov 7, 2009)

Van said:


> If it's got gears, and judging by the sheer size of it, I'm going to guess that it is either an old "color wheel" or perhaps a very early or home built "scene machine". Back in the old days it was quite common to use a rotating disk, usually mounted in front of a par lamp, as a "color Wheel" the disk would have several holes in it, each about 4.5 " in diameter, slightly larger than a par lamp. You would turn them on, the motor ran off the current supplied to the lamp, the wheel would turn the wash color would slowly change as each cell came in front of the lamp. I've never seen one with shutters on it. or one that was quite that large. But who knows ? Maybe you have a relic right out of the 60's there.



Theater was opened in 1972 (with the school) I will try to get photos and see if I can open it.


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## Studio (Dec 11, 2009)

I finally have pictures.


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## calkew5 (Dec 11, 2009)

This device looks like it was quite bad at whatever it was meant to do, judging by the fact that it never took off...anyone else have a giant box with a tiny hole in it in THEIR theatre?

That looks to me like an old incandescent medium or mogul prefocus fresnel lamp, which doesn't help...we knew it was old already.

I'm going to ask the obvious...have you tried plugging it in?


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## avkid (Dec 12, 2009)

Those pictures just confused me more.

Giant single slide projector?


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## shiben (Dec 12, 2009)

Maybe try plugging it in and seeing what happens? Really thats all I can think of to test it.


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## renegadeblack (Dec 12, 2009)

shiben said:


> Maybe try plugging it in and seeing what happens? Really thats all I can think of to test it.



Make sure to video tape it while you do it! I like explosions


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## echnaret (Dec 12, 2009)

Some strange sort of flood light? That's about all it would be useful for now.. I'm curious what it looks like on the inside.


shiben said:


> Maybe try plugging it in and seeing what happens? Really thats all I can think of to test it.


I too vote for video taping. If anyone's touched the lamp in the last couple years, it probably won't last long. How do lamps like dust?

I too am intrigued right now. I'll be curious to know if anyone can identify this.


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## erosing (Dec 12, 2009)

I would NOT plug it in if I were you...at least not without it being in a PROPER test enviroment away from flammables/combustables, and especially not while it's still in the air.


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## shiben (Dec 12, 2009)

Arez said:


> I would NOT plug it in if I were you...at least not without it being in a PROPER test enviroment away from flammables/combustables, and especially not while it's still in the air.



Oh exactly. Unhang it, bring it into a bunker or room without flammables or lots of sawdust, and get a very very long extension cord, etc. Wear safety goggles. But the only other option I can think of is take it apart bolt by bolt and try and figure it out that way. It looks to be a custom job, so the chances of someone on here being able to say what it does are next to nothing, and unless its got a lot of high explosive pyro in it, you probably dont need to worry too much about structural damage to your facility.


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## Studio (Dec 12, 2009)

I will see if the drama teacher that has been there for ages knows what it is before I plug it in.


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## ship (Dec 14, 2009)

Studio said:


> I will see if the drama teacher that has been there for ages knows what it is before I plug it in.



Some form of breakup of the beam but certainly no made factory fixture. This is a mystery fixuture I have never seen before. Home made and well done in an interesteing way but what is it for? Very fascinating fixture, almost art in a way in if it don't get figured out, leave it there for a future generation as with your own tagged (don't get plugged in) observations as to what it is or what you so far know about it.

If you cannot solve the mystery as to what it is and what it does, put it back for a future generation but keep it in the back of your head and write notes on it as to what you find. If nothing found, Scooby Doo mystery hunt for another generation to further research further based off your notes. Amongst them, not designed per a normal fixture in rigging or how its made.


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## erosing (Dec 16, 2009)

shiben said:


> Oh exactly. Unhang it, bring it into a bunker or room without flammables or lots of sawdust, and get a very very long extension cord, etc. Wear safety goggles. But the only other option I can think of is take it apart bolt by bolt and try and figure it out that way. It looks to be a custom job, so the chances of someone on here being able to say what it does are next to nothing, and unless its got a lot of high explosive pyro in it, you probably dont need to worry too much about structural damage to your facility.



I was more picturing a nice hot glass shower, assuming it still works.


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## gafftapegreenia (Dec 16, 2009)

I doubt anything will explode, it will probably just get stupid hot.


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## church (Dec 16, 2009)

the lamp looks like an old tungsten projector lamp - I have some like this on a shelf. I wonder if this a simple effects projector for doing a Pepper's ghost type effect. the levers may be for adjusting the mirror


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## Van (Dec 16, 2009)

Looking at the rods sticking out the back and assuming the knob back there tightens down to lock them in place. I'm going with some kind of Linnenbach projector. 
Seems to be a home made whatever it is. But I'm sticking with Linnenback


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## Synchronize (Dec 16, 2009)

Since it is pointed toward the house, my guess would be some sort of crude signal light for somebody the the back of the house. Followspot ops perhaps? I've heard of facilities that have a small signal light near the followspot(s) that is controlled by a switch near the board-op so that s/he may signal when the followspot(s) need to turn on. Since its such a small opening with quite a large lamp inside, I would guess that it wasn't designed for throwing light effectively. Maybe when the facility was built, they plugged that light into a circuit and brought it up to cue followspots or something else in the back of house.


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## church (Dec 16, 2009)

the pepper's ghost and linnebach projector are very simple:

A linnebach projector theatrical lighting device by which silhouettes, colour, and broad outlines can be projected as part of the background scenery. Originally developed in the 19th century by the German lighting expert Adolf Linnebach, it is a concentrated-filament, high-intensity lamp placed in a deep box painted black inside. One side of the box is open and contains a glass or mica slide carrying the design to be projected; it can be projected from behind onto a translucent screen or from the front of the stage onto a backdrop.


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## Studio (Dec 16, 2009)

Synchronize said:


> Since it is pointed toward the house, my guess would be some sort of crude signal light for somebody the the back of the house. Followspot ops perhaps? I've heard of facilities that have a small signal light near the followspot(s) that is controlled by a switch near the board-op so that s/he may signal when the followspot(s) need to turn on. Since its such a small opening with quite a large lamp inside, I would guess that it wasn't designed for throwing light effectively. Maybe when the facility was built, they plugged that light into a circuit and brought it up to cue followspots or something else in the back of house.



Actualy it hangs right above our curtian and points at the back wall/balcony of our stage, I don't know it is a projector because there are steel support beams infront of it, however it may have been moved throughout the year.

This theater still has a record player and reel to reel tape player sitting in the corner, so it could be very old.

I belive there is a dimmable outlet near it.


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## fredthe (Dec 16, 2009)

Studio said:


> This theater still has a record player and reel to reel tape player sitting in the corner, so it could be very old.


Hey! I still have both, and I'm not that old!

> I belive there is a dimmable outlet near it.


If it's got a motor, DON'T plug it into a dimmable outlet.

-Fred


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## fredthe (Dec 16, 2009)

Studio said:


> Actualy it hangs right above our curtian and points at the back wall/balcony of our stage, I don't know it is a projector because there are steel support beams infront of it, however it may have been moved throughout the year.


It might just have been hung there for storage, so its present location may not be a clue as to its use.

-Fred


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## MillburyAuditorium (Dec 16, 2009)

What company did the lighting system in the theatre? ColorTran, ETC? Or mixed?


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## fredthe (Dec 16, 2009)

MillburyAuditorium said:


> What company did the lighting system in the theatre? ColorTran, ETC? Or mixed?


If ship can't ID the fixture, it's likely not a commercial fixture. Also, if the theater was opened in '72 (and is still original equipment), the _lighting system_ is not ETC. It might be Strand, Colortran, or any number of other manufacturers. 

-Fred


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## shiben (Dec 17, 2009)

fredthe said:


> If ship can't ID the fixture, it's likely not a commercial fixture. Also, if the theater was opened in '72 (and is still original equipment), it's not ETC. It might be Strand, Colortran, or any number of other manufacturers.
> 
> -Fred




Quite frankly, I agree that it looks like a homebrew. Non-standard rigging devices, the fact that a lighting device of any type is chained straight to the truss, and the fact that Ship hasnt seen it all point to the fact that its homemade.


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## cbenjes (Dec 18, 2009)

Brian:

Looks like it's on old scene projector. We had one very similar in my high school theater that was built in the mid-1960s. Basically, you place a transparency over the opening and the image is projected onto a white cyc. When I visited my old school a few weeks ago, it was still hanging there, and I'll bet there are only a few people still around who remember what it was used for.

We used ours for things like the final scene in the production of "Sound of Music" where we had a transparency of the Swiss Alps projected on the back wall as the cast was "escaping over the mountains" out of Austria. If the image is decent, it works OK. The problem is that if it is mounted on chains (Ours was and still is) the image tends to sway back and forth unless you stabilize the projector somehow. Even the slightest movement gets magnified by the projected image, and sometimes if there was a good breeze from the air conditioning, it looked like our "Alps" were having an earthquake.

Seems like your old theater and my high school theater have a lot in common.

Chris


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## calkew5 (Dec 18, 2009)

I'm leaning toward it being a projector, too. Looking through a box of old lamps the other day, I found a projector lamp that looked just like the one in your photo.


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## venuetech (Dec 18, 2009)

It looks to be an attempt at making a linnebach projector
Linnebach lantern -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
the distance from the lamp to the media is much closer than the unit that we had in my old school.

The one we had worked great and had a 14x14" slot for the media, that was about 12-14" away from the lamp. any detail in the image had to be larger than the lamp filament. we cut gel and taped it onto the frame for the scene. and had multiple frames for the show.


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