Use of MIrrorball

[mrstebbings]

Anybody got any ideas about how to rig a mirror ball (i.e.disco-ball) to spin on a horizontal axis, so that the spots go down on stage (and up in the audience side!) instead of round?
MichaelS

 

[seanandkate]

If you are allowed to modify it, you can drill a hole for a rod that can extend past it's north and south "pole" by a couple inches. With a couple U-brackets, you now have two mounting points that can keep it horizontal. The motor can still do it's thing on the side. Think of it as a mirror ball rotisserie. (Or you can buy mirror balls that do this sort of thing).

EDIT -- Actually, now that I think of it, you could totally use an ACTUAL rotisserie for this. Just subtract chicken, add mirror ball.

 

[gafftaper]

@seanandkate nailed it. Get a rotisserie and shove it through a mirror ball. Just work carefully, there is not a lot of structural integrity inside mirror balls. You wouldn't want to accidentally tear it in half.

 

[RonHebbard]

If you are allowed to modify it, you can drill a hole for a rod that can extend past it's north and south "pole" by a couple inches. With a couple U-brackets, you now have two mounting points that can keep it horizontal. The motor can still do it's thing on the side. Think of it as a mirror ball rotisserie. (Or you can buy mirror balls that do this sort of thing).

EDIT -- Actually, now that I think of it, you could totally use an ACTUAL rotisserie for this. Just subtract chicken, add mirror ball.

@mrstebbings and @seanandkate After you've ate your chicken and replaced it with your mirror ball, if its "spots" go up on the stage side and down in the house, swap the entire assembly end to end and its "spots" will move in reverse, even though the spit's motor's none the wiser.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[FMEng]

If you eat under cooked chicken from the rotisserie, the spots move randomly in all directions, but I don't recommend that method.

 

[RonHebbard]

If you eat under cooked chicken from the rotisserie, the spots move randomly in all directions, but I don't recommend that method.

@FMEng While we're swerving off into the bizarre ; are you posting of eating under cooked chicken, in sense of insufficiently cooked chicken?
OR In the sense of you, yourself, eating while sitting under properly cooked chicken.
Veeeeerrrr on down the road. . . . (Why is a song coming to mind?)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[seanandkate]

@FMEng While we're swerving off into the bizarre ; are you posting of eating under cooked chicken, in sense of insufficiently cooked chicken?
OR In the sense of you, yourself, eating while sitting under properly cooked chicken.
Veeeeerrrr on down the road. . . . (Why is a song coming to mind?)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

But then all the hot grease from the chicken would land on you. Never cook your rotisserie chicken at trim height kids. Pro tip.

 

[Van]

One issue, not addressed here yet, is that Mirror-ball motor are not tied directly to the ball. They turn through a clutch because when the gear motor shuts off the ball needs to continue to turn for a second or two so that the momentum of the ball doesn't strip the reduction gears. A 12, 14 or 16" mirror ball has a lot more angular momentum then you might expect. If you were to use a rotisserie motor, you might want to consider placing a nylon sleeve through the center of the ball, something that the spit rod can just turn inside. This will help mitigate gear lash when starting and stopping the motor.
*You might be able to just insert a brass ferrule into the hole on each side of the ball rather than threading something all the way through.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I keep trying to do with mirrors. Some arrangement should change direction of movement....

 

[Van]

I keep trying to do with mirrors. Some arrangement should change direction of movement....

Oh, That's the other thing. Because of the shaded pole motors used on most mirror ball motors, you can never accurately predict which way it will turn. There ARE purpose made CW and CCW motors, but if it's a cheap generic motor it's a crap shoot as to which way it will turn each time.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I mean from horizontal to vertical.....

 

[Van]

I mean from horizontal to vertical.....

couldn't you just turn the mirror 90°?

 

[RonHebbard]

couldn't you just turn the mirror 90°?

Or ask the patrons to tilt their heads?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Reminder: Rotisserie motors are frickin *noisy*...

 

[Dan Fischer]

We own one of these and use it with a 10 degree S4 and it works great!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028LD6G4/?tag=controlbooth-20