Automated Fixtures Legacy Moving Lights

[JFutty90]

So I am in the market for used lighting equipment, and have been scouring usedlighting.com and other such used equipment locations that seem legitimate.

But I am running into issues as of late. I am looking for fixtures with specific information and while the used sites that I have been frequenting, they do not have all of the information that I am typically looking for and do not know it off the top of my head. The main things are voltage, beam size, zoom ranges, lamp wattage, and other smaller details that aren't super critical but useful. So with this lack of information, I try to go to the manufacture site and see if they have information about the fixture or others similar to it. The issue then becomes that not all manufacturers have all the information or even just a list of legacy/discontinued fixtures.

So finally the question- does anyone know of a secret way to get a list of discontinued products by manufacture that would then link to pages with all the information about the fixture, or do I continue this rabbit hole of individual pages that aren't linked to anything?

Or does anyone know of a sight that you can put in requirements for moving lights and it spits out a list of fixtures that fulfill that requirement list whether discontinued, brand new or otherwise? Because that would be completely amazing.

 

[Catwalker]

I know that the complete information is often available on Martin's site, as I have checked for info on discontinued products there. It's not really hard to find, i just Google the fixture and it pops up. I can't say anything about websites for other manufacturers though.

 

[cbrandt]

If the manufacturers don't have any legacy information on their site, your best bet is to google "fixture name manual". You'll have to do some digging, but that should get it. It would also be worth searching for the cutsheet, although those don't hang around in the backwaters of the internet for as long as the manuals do.

 

[DELO72]

One thing to be careful of and keep in mind as you source older fixtures-- Gravitate towards ones that still use a common lamp type. You don't want to buy fixtures where the lamps have been discontinued, or are soon to be discontinued. (example: VL4) Pick something that is either recent enough that the lamp will be available for years to come, or pick a fixture that uses a very common lamp used in a variety of other fixtures/applications. And example of that would be the HE Studio Color or VL500. It's easily 16+ years old, but the 575W lamp in those is still used by dozens of other fixtures on the market and so will be around for a long time. Same for the MAC 2K.

 

[Kelite]

Mark, you're right on the... well, mark, actually!

JFutty90, the comments listed about lamp requirements certainly should be considered. A number of older scanners and movers can be had at a bargain price, especially if you have some mechanical electrical savvy, but the lamp availability will make or break the deal.

Is there anything in particular you're looking for?

 

[JD]

I have always been amazed at how good a resource google is when it comes to old spec sheets and manuals! On trick is to remember that the >exact< model you type in may not hit. Often it is because it is a derivative model of a core model with a different number. If you don't get a hit, play with or simplify the model number and you probably will find it. I also find the "Image Search" to work better than the general web search. Your eye is better at spotting pictured than parsing a long page of text.

 

[cbrandt]

The other thing you can do, is ask us! We'd be happy to recommend older lights that are more robust.

 

[Amiers]

Another thing you could do is if you are showing interest in the fixture send an email to the guys at used lighting with your questions and generally they will do the leg work for you about getting the fixture information. If you want the information a bit quicker you can always call them ask about a fixture and again if they don't have the information in their files they can call the person selling the fixture and get the information you are looking for.

 

[JFutty90]

So overall looking for
120v
Zoom preffered between 26 and 36 with being smaller/larger respectively not being an issue, fixed would be closer to 36 if possible
not over 55lbs (lighter the better due to having to use a ladder to get the 16' grid

Everything outside of that is low importance. I have used VL2000 spots in there and they were wonderful, but a little on the high side of price I was hoping for (around $800-$1000). Currently don't have a set budget but also working in a small community theatre where budgets are tight.

Console for control is variable but we have a Leprechaun LPX48 in there full time and a Jands Vista brought in regularly by me for the larger and more demanding shows.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[soundlight]

i just searched UsedLighting and found some VL2000 spots for under a grand each. With shipping they might be a bit more, but they're really going to be the cheapest units that get the job done. Unfortunately not many people make/made wide fixed lenses for fixed angle movers. I do know that there is/was a 32 degree lens for the Technobeam, and more recent-model Technos should go for around 500-600 each in good working condition and if you were able to find some of the 32 degree lenses those could be nice. They have a color wheel with a lot of actually useful colors and you can throw steel gobos in them (unlike VLs) so your gobos will be cheaper. Plus there are plenty of used gobos out there for them. They take the same size gobo as a Studio Spot 250.