Par-Plus?

[Jamie]

Hello All;

I just took over the lighting world at a high school and there are 16 of these fixtures laying around. I have never seen these in my life, but they are essentially a PAR 64 but instead of a sealed lamp, there is an odd assembly. This assembly has a removable lens in the front of a reflector housing a FLK 575w lamp. At this point it sounds simply and routine, but the kicker is that the lamp assembly is attached to a track. There is a knob that sticks out of the back of the PAR can housing that one can twist to "spot" and "flood" the lamp like a fresnel.

The only hint in this mystery is that "PAR-PLUS" is inscribed on the focus handle.

Any guesses???

 

[mstaylor]

Sounds like a fresnel. Does it have a name on it and could you post a picture?

 

[kicknargel]

A picture would help, but sounds like maybe knock-off of a source4 Parnel.

 

[Les]

Expanding on the knock-off idea some--

Does it have that weird wavy lens?

How about the cord -- is it rubber or fiberglass sleeved?
[A rubber cord with molded Edison plug usually indicates a cheap knock-off]

 

[SteveB]

This was indeed an Altman creation.

Retrofitted reflector fitted into a standard PAR64 housing. Idea was variable beam spread, like a modern ParNel. Poor shock isolation for the lamp, as well as the lamp movement track had parts that would expand/contract at different rates, making the whole thing sticky.

I recall a rental shop that tried them and never went with them.

See the attached pdf file.

 

[derekleffew]

Wow, SteveB, for an old guy, your memory is not as bad as I thought.
I knew I had seen the name, but couldn't for the life of me, place it. IIRC, this product was on the market/advertised for less than a year. Jamie, consider yourself privileged to own such a rare piece of useless lighting history. Consider sending one to ship for his museum.

This must have been Altman's attempt to compete with ETC's Source Four PAR, before they did the StarPAR. I can't imagine the output is pretty. I think someone else may have developed a similar idea using a multi-leaf reflector, not unlike a vegetable steamer:


Here's an original piece of propaganda, from Lighting Dimensions, June 1997.

Since the ad says "retrofit and modernize", it shouldn't be that difficult to "un-retrofit and un-modernize" back to a standard PAR64 lamp with MEP socket.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

So is it just that the product sucked so much that it died so fast? Honestly, it doesn't seem like such a horrible idea, especially considering that Uni-Par seems to be making their version work.

 

[ship]

So is it just that the product sucked so much that it died so fast? Honestly, it doesn't seem like such a horrible idea, especially considering that Uni-Par seems to be making their version work.

Now especially for our old time gear historian - would love to visit his collection, I have a PAR 64 ray light kit like strobe light retrofit. Kind of like a AF-1000, but with small assembly behind it and it takes DMX. What is it? (This one not currently funtioning and on the shelf for the mover repair dpt. for them to fix, and to add to the mover museum - once that dept. gets their act together.)

 

[derekleffew]

...I have a PAR 64 ray light kit like strobe light retrofit. Kind of like a AF-1000, but with small assembly behind it and it takes DMX. What is it? ...

Is it a Diversitronics Strobe Cannon? I believe at least one other company made a similar product, as well as the 360Q and S4 Strobe Cap.

 

[ship]

Is it a Diversitronics Strobe Cannon? I believe at least one other company made a similar product, as well as the 360Q and S4 Strobe Cap.

Strobe cannon seems familiar in name and spare lamp for in stock.... very good. Where do you get your info or how do you organize it?

 

[derekleffew]

...Where do you get your info ...?

Thirty-four years of reading Lighting Dimensions, Theatre Crafts, manufacturers' catalogs, plus working with various gear in a multitude of venues. Google helps too, but one has to know what to search for.

...or how do you organize it?

Gray matter RAM. Sometimes bytes get lost or fragmented, see above. Often I can't remember my address, phone number, or my cat's name.

 

[Jamie]

Thanks all;

They are indeed the Altman version SteveB recalls. Haven't rigged one up, but here's to hoping the photometrics are somewhat reliable!

James
Proud owner of 16 useless pieces of lighting history

 

[SteveB]

I recall demo'ing 2 of these at our space,, way back...

They were very punchy, similar to a ParNel, with pretty good beam. Trouble was they used the FLK lamp which had horrible filament support and in typical use in ellipsoidals, would blow if you breathed too hard.

On this fixture it was a clear case of wrong lamp for the purpose. Had Altman had access to the GLC or a similar lamp, it might have worked, except they had to solve some of the sticky optical train issues that cropped up once the fixture had gotten hot.

My memory also tells me this was before either S4 Par or ParNel had been introduced, but maybe not....

SB

 

[derekleffew]

...My memory also tells me this was before either S4 Par or ParNel had been introduced, but maybe not. ...

From ETC | Explore the Source Four | History :
1995 Source Four PAR
1999 Source Four PARNel