Lynx Synchro Scan Lights - My Latest Project

[djeric68]

Just thought I'd share my latest project with the group.

I have had these lights since 1988 but never had the controller. Then in 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit and tore the roof off of my shop and covered them with water, mud and debris. I cleaned them up and put them back in storage. Finally, I found a controller on Ebay around 2008 but the lights did not work so everything sat around in storage longer. Recently I decided I need to get these running. Each fixture has two 120v circuits - one for the logic & motors, and one for the light bulbs. So far I have gotten the logic to work on 2 of the four fixtures that I have. The light circuits blow their fuses immediately so I'm pretty sure the capacitors and/or diodes in the 40v DC power supply are shorted, but that is a much easier fix than the logic. I hope to get all 4 fully functional over the next few weeks. Check out the videos of them in action.

I have been trying to get owners/operator manual and schematics from Lynx but they are having trouble locating any documentation from the 1980s relics. There are several switches, jumpers and dip switches & I would like to know their function. None of them are labeled on the silkscreen of the PCBs. I have begun to draw my own schematics while trouble shooting them and have printed all the chip datasheets to help figure things out. Not the easiest or fastest way to do it but you learn a whole lot more about them this way.

Anyone ever seen these lights in action in a club? I have only seen them in one club and I bought them when the club closed. Someone else got there before me and bought 4 fixtures and the controller but I bought these 4 anyway because they are so cool. I thought I would just buy another controller and enjoy. Little did I know it would be 25 years before I would ever see them spinning again.

My videos...
http://youtu.be/5QTF-PnG_mE

http://youtu.be/dLyQr3DKTo4

http://youtu.be/PqHuSPUYhx0


Link to some marketing cutsheets
http://vintagenightclublighting.blog...atalogues.html

The only video I have ever found of these in a High End Systems promo...starts at the 20 second mark and lasts all of 8 seconds! Video also shows HES Laser Chorus and many other vintage lights from the 80s. They don't make clubs like this anymore.
http://youtu.be/1qSnlci0r8M


There are two 150 watt bulbs in each fixture. No fancy color wheels or gobos. You can leave them all white or use GELs to color them. I'm thinking about using an old Pulsar touch panel and some solid state relays to "chase" the light circuits. I have been wondering.... what would these look like with 5-10mw diodes?

[Martinfreekie]

Nice work. I remember seeing Syncro Scans and Syncro pins in action years ago. I love old lighting fixtures like this.

[djeric68]

Nice work. I remember seeing Syncro Scans and Syncro pins in action years ago. I love old lighting fixtures like this.

Thanks for the compliments. I love the old vintage lights too and I would get an clay paky astrodisco if my garage ceiling was high enough. That is the ultimate vintage light in my opinion. My garage has HES laser chorus & vipers in red, yellow, orange, green plus a Mobolazer ML10-300, 2 G-Beams with G-Scan heads, 2 RG-Beams with sc-100 scan heads and various moonflowers, pin spots, helicopters, etc.

Once I get all four of my synchro scans working fully, I will start work on the 4 synchro pins that I have. Never ending projects! I do not have a controller, but I spoke to Lynx and I'm going to buy one of the few used synchro pin controllers they have.

I'll post updated pics of the synchro scans once I have the lights working.



Eric

[djeric68]

Success!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSRZq...n2y_LS2adz0Fjw

[Martinfreekie]

Excellent work. You have some great lights in your collection. The ultimate vintage light I would love to get hold of is the Nisel Radar but I don't stand a chance of ever getting one.

I remember playing round with some syncro pins in a club years ago. The controller was a 19" rack mount with a small joy stick. You could individually switch the pan and tilt between manual, auto and sound activation IIRC. Another place had loads of them circling the dance floor. They where great before the days of DMX moving head fixtures.

Vintage lights are really hard to get hold of in the UK now however, for some reason Clay Paky Astro Disco IIIs seem to appear on Ebay fairly regularly. I really do want one. I want to convert one to run off a HTI lamp if the wiring can take the extra voltage required.