Apollo's Right Arm

[SAWYeR]

So I'm looking at renting two of Apollo's Right Arms for my High School's Winter Musical prodution of Gershwin's "Crazy for You." I was just wondering if anyone in the Booth has used these before, and if so, how they liked them. Any comments are greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Joe

[Charc]

Originally Posted by SAWYeR

So I'm looking at renting two of Apollo's Right Arms for my High School's Winter Musical prodution of Gershwin's "Crazy for You." I was just wondering if anyone in the Booth has used these before, and if so, how they liked them. Any comments are greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Joe

Are you planning to use these with a modern ERS? If so, why not go the I-Cue or ellipiscan route? Cheaper, easier, go for it!

[SAWYeR]

Yes, these will be used with SourceFours. I have two reasons for using the Right Arm: 1: I need to be able to hit all areas of our stage. Mirror units cannot cover our entire stage due to it's size (40' wide x 45' deep). 2: Our school is looking into giving us money to buy some of them, and we want to try them out first.

[Footer]

Played with the unit a bit on a few showfloors, looks to be pretty great if you want a repositionable spot. They are not fast enough to be even close to do hot moves. I would rent scroller/throw scrollers on the front, hook it up to the included power supply and you are set. Looks to be a great unit, I have yet to see one out in the wild but there always have to be a first in the neighborhood to get something first. If you are looking to do the rent/buy thing, tell the dealer that you are doing that, they can usually take the rental price off the buy price or give you some type of deal.

[bobgaggle]

we're doing that show in 3 months...just starting pre-production

[gafftaper]

Sorry a little late to the party here. I've got four shiny new ones in boxes on my bench right now. They aren't the top of my priority list at the moment but I'll let you know what I think of them when I do get them up.

Initial reactions:
-They LOOK Cool in the box.
-The power supply is wired with European color code. So you have your choice of a green/yellow, Blue and Brown wires.
-Tiny but nice manual tells you what the color code means.
-Remember it has a built in power supply (unlike the I-cue) and it has a 4 pin output on the side to give DMX+power to whatever you hang from it.
-You need a male and female connector for the instrument you hang from it, plus a third connector to power the Right arm. This third connector goes to a Non-Dim power source.
-There is a safety cable for the right arm and a separate safety cable for the instrument itself. This second safety for the instrument is not the best design, as you really have to squeeze, bend and thrash it to install it.
-I purchased Mega-claws to hang them from. Turns out it comes with it's own very fancy c-clamp so that wasn't necessary.
-If you buy several Kelite will send you gum, a hat, and maybe even a t-shirt if you are really special.

If I don't report back by the end of the month drop me a P.M. to remind me.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by gafftaper

...
-The power supply is wired with European color code. So you have your choice of a green/yellow, Blue and Brown wires.
-Tiny but nice manual tells you what the color code means. ...
...

Shouldn't you have already known this? (Hint: <spoken with a cockney/snooty French/firm German accent> "Charlie Brown is zee hot wire.")

[Grog12]

Originally Posted by SAWYeR

: I need to be able to hit all areas of our stage. Mirror units cannot cover our entire stage due to it's size (40' wide x 45' deep). 2: Our school is looking into giving us money to buy some of them, and we want to try them out first.

That statement is..................False. Depends on how you hang it.

But if you're going to buy right arms I'd definetly demo a few. Call your local rep you might be able to get them for free if your school is serious about buying them.

I didn't know the right arm had a power out on it...that rocks.

[Kelite]

I purchased Mega-claws to hang them from. Turns out it comes with it's own very fancy c-clamp so that wasn't necessary.
-If you buy several Kelite will send you gum, a hat, and maybe even a t-shirt if you are really special.




Yes, the very fancy C clamp has a slotted keyway within the lower portion of the clamp to ensure accurate positioning of the Right Arm while installed on the pipe. When the unit homes, this feature provides an accurate zero.

Oh, all right. You buy a few Right Arms and I send some swag. That's not THAT uncommon- is it?

And if there are some schools interested in a demo or two- certainly contact your local Apollo dealer or bounce me an email offline. I'm sure we can find a local dealer with a demo that would love to share with you!

[Kelite]

<-There is a safety cable for the right arm and a separate safety cable for the instrument itself. This second safety for the instrument is not the best design, as you really have to squeeze, bend and thrash it to install it. >


This second safety, according to the Right Arm product manager, will slip right through the space provided on the Tilt Adjustment Arm when the bolt is backed out a few turns. This added space allows the safety to wiggle right through the space provided without having to use a hammer, Vice-Grips*, or other horrendous 'bang on it' type tool.