Planetarium Star Projectors

[SpitzSTP]

Spending some time on the GOTO/Viewlex after receiving a box of extremely hard-to-find parts from a supplier back east. There is only one place I know of in the USA for these types of parts and fortunately they have a similar projector in salvage status. One of the hemispheres was missing two metal fan covers and associated mounting hardware. Somebody had covered up the cooling fans with a bunch of black tape which is totally unacceptable. The covers permit lamp cooling while blocking escape of light through the fan blades which would wash out the starfield. No telling what happened to the original covers. In other news, twin xenon PSU's for the Saint STP projector are on order and are being manufactured in Germany this week thanks to AE Light USA and Auerswald GmbH. This is the final restoration hurdle for the STP, a project spanning five years.

[m2b]

I note with interest the six RCA type audio plugs on the side of the star globe in the center picture. I'm sure there use is not for audio but for supplying power to other projectors. I'm wondering what they are designed to supply power to?

[SpitzSTP]

That's a good question and an unsolved mystery. I don't think they were hooked to anything as some of them had been covered up with black electrical tape. There is another set of those on the other side of the globe. The machine also uses a number of rectangular connectors and I am curious what those are called. Anybody know? The rectangular connectors mate with plugs for the planet cages. Also used are these odd circular connectors which I determined are made by SATO PARTS Japan and look to be WWII vintage. Those have the hallmarks of another hard-to-find item. http://www.satoparts.co.jp/ Looks like I'll be spending some time in the Mouser catalog looking for suitable replacements for the circular connectors. Somebody hacked the wires off a long time ago, apparently deciding the star globes no longer need air cooling.

[m2b]

Looks a lot like a Cinch/Jones type connector.

http://www.cinch.com/markets/electro...s-sockets#euro

The round ones look a lot like speaker and/or 70 volt amplifier connectors.

[SpitzSTP]

Just returned from the last "field trip" of the year. What began in Florida to pick up another genset included a stopover in Georgia to visit a fellow star projector collector then on to St. Louis to visit the shop of a long-time laser specialist.

[SpitzSTP]

Just returned from the last "field trip" of the year. It began in Florida and included a stopover in St. Louis to visit the shop of a long-time laser specialist. Shown here is the HGM8 doing +- 7 watts. This one made it on the back of the truck for the long ride back to Phoenix

On the way into town I stopped over at my good friend's house to see the progress of his dome. Representing one of the very few privately-owned domes in the U.S., this one will house a Minolta Series IIB star projector formerly of Scobee Planetarium, San Antonio, TX. I hope to see some laser shows in this someday along with the crisp starfield these optical Minolta projectors are legendary for.

[SpitzSTP]

Unloading the truck was more fun than usual.

[SpitzSTP]

The machinist/welder is busy fabricating a 100+-pound base for the AVI Omniscan, a large rectangular aluminum pedestal atop which the rack and tower will mount. It will provide another 8 inches of clearance for the umbilical to snake up and down to coincide with movement of the scanning sphere. This may be the only fully portable AVI Omniscan system when completed The Onan gets some sun after being fitted with a new trailer. This one will be converted from propane to gasoline with the addition of a fuel tank, carburetor and fuel pump. These units out front have the neighbors wondering WTF I am doing in here.

[Funderland]

Trying to get information on how long a Digistar 3 SP1 projector should have lasted (we purchased in 2004 for more than $200K). Do we really need to replace it?
Thanks for any help (or direction on where to get unbiased help!)

[SpitzSTP]

Trying to get information on how long a Digistar 3 SP1 projector should have lasted (we purchased in 2004 for more than $200K). Do we really need to replace it?
Thanks for any help (or direction on where to get unbiased help!)

Please send a private message and include a description of the problem you are having with it. $200K is alot of money, perhaps it can be fixed. I (and my friends) are sympathetic to your cause. If I cannot help, I can quite possibly get you connected to others who can.