Scantrons!

How much for the Lumitron pencil?
Just imagine the proprietary shenanigans that would go on if today's systems still used punch cards (or scantron sheets)...
Page 548, Section 52 of the User Supplement states that "You must use the proprietary cards and writing implement to ensure proper functionality. Using any cards or writing implements other than those purchased from [company name] or a local authorized dealer may result in permanent damage to the console, which may even cause personal injury, of which are not covered by the included one year warranty. You may purchase new cue cards from [company name] at [website] or from a local authorized dealer." And then a pack of twenty cards runs something like $200, and they charge you $40 for a specific type of pencil.
 
For the picture, I'll just get one of my female students to wear the blouse, dress skirt, and heels they would usually wear when working backstage...
 
Hmmmmm, this picture
MonthlyMuseum_Vintage_photos-6-e1491933976170.jpg

makes me think of this:
LtUhura.jpg
 
An advantage to our half-dead old house lights was that we discovered we could put them into "siezeure mode" using the FX module in our stand MX, if you put the step time just right, it would pulsate with an effect we called "Starlight"

Do note that "Starlight" has not been used since we got new, actually dimmable, bulbs.
 
So I shared the link with My coworkers here at Stagecraft. I got pictures of a system that is being decommissioned right now.
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***BTW ! Anybody want this? I't apparently sitting at an electrical contractors shop in Redmond Oregon. I feel it belongs in a Museum, but then, I'm a sentimental sap.
 
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OK @Van I am curious about what those 24 rotary switches do?
Now to digress, in the mid-70s I got the super deluxe stagehand tour of the Palace Theater in Albany, NY. The place was still had nearly all of the original 1931 equipment in place. The dimmer board was amazing. It was an early remote system with the dimmers under the stage and the control board was on the back side of the proscenium stage right. It had linear sliders for the dimmers and with some of the dimmers there was a rotary switch for color changers on the spotlights.
I don't remember if they were Kliegl but the spots were like this:
KlieglColorchanger.PNG

I finally found a photo of the light board:
PalaceAlbanyLightBoard.PNG
 
OK @Van I am curious about what those 24 rotary switches do?
Now to digress, in the mid-70s I got the super deluxe stagehand tour of the Palace Theater in Albany, NY. The place was still had nearly all of the original 1931 equipment in place. The dimmer board was amazing. It was an early remote system with the dimmers under the stage and the control board was on the back side of the proscenium stage right. It had linear sliders for the dimmers and with some of the dimmers there was a rotary switch for color changers on the spotlights.
I don't remember if they were Kliegl but the spots were like this:
View attachment 14834
I finally found a photo of the light board:
View attachment 14835
Refresh my memory; Who made the four frame, semaphore, remote changers that were used on all of the full-bore productions of les Mis'? All I'm recalling is how much noise they made if they didn't fully seat in a selected color. (And then the game was guessing which one, or ones, was making the obnoxious LOUD buzz.)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Well Ron here is the Century changer circa 1960
.
CenturyColorChanger.PNG

I have no idea what was used after this and before color scrollers.
 
Refresh my memory; Who made the four frame, semaphore, remote changers that were used on all of the full-bore productions of les Mis'? ...
Suspect CCT Coloursette.
Meanwhile, in the UK, LSD(?)'s ColourMag, Rainbow, and Chameleon were early competitors [to Wybron]. In 1982-3, CCT had the Colorsette, a 4-flag semaphore type changer, allowing for subtractive color mixing, but it never caught on.
OR
Strand Semaphore Colour Changer, https://paulsmithld.wordpress.com/tag/semaphore/
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OK @Van I am curious about what those 24 rotary switches do?
Each rotary switch is a circuit, and is "patched" to whatever dimmer the dial indicates. Obviously this system is limited in quantity of both dimmers and circuits, but is significantly cleaner than a spaghetti patch. Century, Kliegl Bros., Hub all had a version at some point.
 
Suspect CCT Coloursette.

OR
Strand Semaphore Colour Changer, https://paulsmithld.wordpress.com/tag/semaphore/
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Each rotary switch is a circuit, and is "patched" to whatever dimmer the dial indicates. Obviously this system is limited in quantity of both dimmers and circuits, but is significantly cleaner than a spaghetti patch. Century, Kliegl Bros., Hub all had a version at some point.
I saw that one @derekleffew but it wasn't the ones that were in productions with the "light curtains" positioned with modified TV antenna rotators. I want to say the four-way semaphore changers were branded Hersey or Furse but I really can't say which with certainty. I do recall the light curtain positioners were quite the pain as far as reliability went.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
....
Each rotary switch is a circuit, and is "patched" to whatever dimmer the dial indicates. Obviously this system is limited in quantity of both dimmers and circuits, but is significantly cleaner than a spaghetti patch. Century, Kliegl Bros., Hub all had a version at some point.

Actually, I believe that is backwards. Each Dial represents a circuit. it's position represents intensity, the total intensity is controlled by the handle below.... Ill see if we have an old manual on our servers somewhere...
 
Actually, I believe that is backwards. Each Dial represents a circuit. it's position represents intensity, the total intensity is controlled by the handle below.... Ill see if we have an old manual on our servers somewhere...
@Van are you suggesting that each dial is a small autotransformer rather than a simple, line current rated, switch shifting loads betwixt dimmers?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
The real mystery here is what happens when the dial is set to 7, 8, or 9. If the dial was for intensity it obviously would go to 11.
Yeah, I might have been smoking something....
there's only six handles, why nine patch positions ? I can't find anything on our servers yet...
 
In addition to the 6 levers, it looks to me that there are 2 smaller rotary auto transformers above the clip board thing. I've seen that knob on many wall mount dimmers for older event spaces and in a couple of recording studios.
 

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