# Strong Super Trouper Carbon Arc Stage Light



## RalphRussell (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm still not sure why, but I bought this on eBay last December. I had to drive to KC, MO to pick it up. It is extremely big and heavy (300+ pounds). What I think I want to do is get it to work, take some beam shots, and then sell it.

These were made during the 50's and 60's and at the time, they were the brightest stage lighting available. They have since been replaced by xenon short arc technology. The way it is designed, I think a large amount of the light is wasted. It is capable of lighting a persons head from 400 ft away. It can be focused into a sharply defined circle of light. The size of the circle can be adjusted with an iris.

A massive power supply converts 110 volt AC to 37 volt DC to power the arc. At that voltage, the arc draws about 45 amps.

The purpose of my post is to show it off and to see if anyone else has knowledge about these monsters they would like to share. The pictures did not come out very good. I included the second picture which includes me (5'9") on the right side so you can see just how big this thing is.

Personally, I think it kinda looks like a Martian death ray! (1950's Martians).


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## CLHC (Mar 7, 2006)

You Really Bought THIS! ? ! ? ! :huh:

Wow! Way to go there RR! Any beam-shots to be had?


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## Flash_Gordon (Mar 7, 2006)

Big Deal. I EDC one of those. :naughty:


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## RalphRussell (Mar 7, 2006)

CHC said:


> You Really Bought THIS! ? ! ? !
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No beam shots yet. But I did get some carbon rods. I haven't yet had the courage or completely figured out how to "strike the arc".


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## CLHC (Mar 7, 2006)

Okay, when you do figure out how to "strike the arc," (no  please) let us know—



Flash_Gordon said:


> Big Deal. I EDC one of those.


Where on your person? :wave:


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## Morelite (Mar 7, 2006)

:wow: That thing is huge, hope you have fun with it.

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, how much was it?


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## mahoney (Mar 7, 2006)

The outside of the unit looks in very good shape. If you have a local "roadhouse" theatre or an IATSE union hall nearby you should be able to find a stagehand who can show you how to strike the arc and keep it adjusted. These should be only used with good ventilation. They produce lots of heat and ozone. Oh, and a lot of light too. Enjoy


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## RalphRussell (Mar 7, 2006)

It cost me more to go get it than I paid for it. The price I paid to the seller was $202.50. Of course, after I bought it, another seller was offering 5 of them all at once for an opening bid of .99 cents. All you had to do was go get them in Buffalo, NY. No one bought them. You would need a really big truck to pick up five of these!

If nothing else, I bet I could sell the 12 inch lens on eBay and the rest of it could be scrap metal. The whole thing is actually a pretty dumb idea but now that I have it, I'd like to make it work!


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## mobile1 (Mar 7, 2006)

Holy Cow !!! BEAMSHOTS!!!!!


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## Phased_Array (Mar 7, 2006)

:goodjob: 
Very cool RR, blast shields down.


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## louie (Mar 7, 2006)

I've run them. What do you want to know?


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## lotsalumens (Mar 7, 2006)

Nice find Ralph! Should be sort of like a mega Megaray. Same general concept with collimating lenses and all...just a whole lot bigger!

Does it have any kind of self regulating feed mechanism or is it manual?

I've got a bunch of old carbon arc street lamps from the 1800's and those automatically strike an arc using a solenoid mechanism. Barring something like that I'd try separating the carbons slightly, applying power, bringing them together until they just touch, and then pulling them apart to draw out the arc. Be interesting to find out the approved method, and I'm looking forward to beamshots!

Here is a link to some interesting literature:

http://www.iatse354.com/354/354html/Strong2.htm

Have fun!

Charles


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## tvodrd (Mar 7, 2006)

Wow!! Ralph, you are a leader in the _true_ "super light" investigations! :bow: As a kid back in '64-66 I tried pulling the ~5/16" dia carbon sticks out of carbon D-cells and sharpening them with a pencil sharpener. Wrap 'em with #12 copper leads from construction scrap wire from new homes, bend it so they just touch and fake a reflector with aluminum foil on cardboard board behind it, and plug-it in. Hell for bright uintil the circuit breaker (110V) blew! (2-5 seconds!  )

The AN/VSS-1 landed yesterday and the trucking company obviously dropped/rolled the crate. The crate top was off, the ~250# light had spent some time upside down, and the cable and control box were missing. My receiving clerk got on the horn with the trucking firm, and I called PBS. I have pictures of the damage, and prelim communications indicate the trucking Co. is going to "pay" for the missing stuff. I hauled the light home today, and :woodie:  (Yeah, I got it bad!  )

Larry


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## Lunal_Tic (Mar 7, 2006)

OK RR and tvodrd looks like we've got contestants for a new Superlight Shootout. So who's got a vehicle big enough to bring both to the site? 

-LT


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## lotsalumens (Mar 7, 2006)

Larry,

Hey I did something similar as a kid! Attached battery carbons to two screwdrivers with insulated handles, wired them up to 110v wall plug via a salt water resistor, and had great fun melting things with the setup. The water in the resistor would eventually start to boil, dissolving more salt and lowering the resistance until the breaker tripped. What fun. I still wonder where my parents were while I was burning holes through the desk in my room and melting sand in a haze of smoke. Amazing we all survived childhood!

Sorry to hear about the VSS-1 and I hope the shipper makes things right as much as possible.

Ralph, 

Are the levers on the front of the light for colored gels? 


Charles


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## tvodrd (Mar 7, 2006)

Hey, Ralph, you were _smarter_ than I was as a kid! I didn't have the brains to throw-in some series resistance! (Like a 3kW floor heater or something!  )

Larry


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## lotsalumens (Mar 7, 2006)

Oh...it must have looked like I signed my message "Ralph". That second part was just directed at Ralph.....


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## lotsalumens (Mar 7, 2006)

P.S. A big four slice toaster works quite nicely as well. I have used one in the past as a ballast for an 1890's arc streetlamp that had no built in resistance. 

Mmm...extra crispy.


Charles


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## dcarch8 (Mar 8, 2006)

As I remember, the key is to keep the gap distance between the carbon rods constant after the arc is made. I forgot if it's the positive or the negetive pole gets used up quicker.

dcarch8


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## jeffroalpha700 (Mar 8, 2006)

Here is Strongs current website: http://www.strongint.com/. Go to the "Manuals" section and there is a phone number at the bottom. They should hopefully be able to provide you with at least a photocopy of the manual.

I need to find it, but I have an old Strongs product literature binder that has that model along with the gladiator and others in it. The binder is from the '60's or '70's. I can't remember if there are instruction manuals inside.


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## louie (Mar 8, 2006)

The manual is available at film-tech.com (manuals/misc):
Film-Tech Super Trouper PDF 

This is Strong's standard 1kW carbon arc lamphouse, also used for film projectors. You need 6mm negatives and 7mm positives. New rods can last about an hour. The manual covers the basics of operation. These things spew smoke, fumes and God knows what. Do not operate with direct leakage of the arc light - not only is it dangerously bright, but emits UV and who knows what - like an arc welder.

Striking the arc is not hard at all. Trimming everything - arc gap, feed motor speed, drive current etc, takes a bit of skill. Hopefully, your reflector is in good shape, and aligned. 

Operators typically carry their own pliers or a wooden clothespin for fast carbon changes.


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## James S (Mar 8, 2006)

Loui is right about the fumes and the UV from the arc. You need an arc welding helmet (NOT an acetylene helmet, they dont block enough) to look at the arc. And the fumes can be nasty since it's not just an arc, you're actually burning carbon so it can make carbon monoxide as well as very fine carbon dust that can cause lung problems (like didn't I read an article that fullerines might cause cancer if inhaled in large quantities, and this is how they make them  )

Though I've never actually operated one myself, they did strike one up for us on a backstage theater tour in Chicago once a long time ago. Very cool!

There was a flexible pipe coming out the top of that one to suck away the fumes. If you operate without the proper airflow through it you will make more CO and other nasties not to mention the possibility of overheating the mirror or something.

That being said, you'd be crazy NOT to try to get it to strike an arc if the power supply and other connections and such are in good condition.

Take lots of pictures, we'd love to see the internals and such.


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## RalphRussell (Mar 8, 2006)

Thank you all for responding!

Louie asked: I've run them. What do you want to know?

I did get a hold of the manual (the one from film-tech.com) which describes how all of the controls work. It tells how to stike the arc by briefly touching the two rods together. The problem I'm having is that it shows how to move the positive rod towards the negative by simply pulling the carriage with your finger. When I try that it doesn't budge. Either I don't get how to do it or the carriage is somehow jammed.

lotsalumens asked: Does it have any kind of self regulating feed mechanism or is it manual?

It has an automated feed but its not self regulated. Instead, you adjust the current which changes the "burn" rate of the rods. I know the blower motor works but I don't yet know if the feed motor works. Thanks for the link!

lotsalumens also asked: Are the levers on the front of the light for colored gels?

Yes they are, but I didn't get any gels with it. The purpose of the blower motor is to keep the gels from melting.

James warned of the dangers.

It's in my garage. My wife won't let me bring it in the house. I'll make sure I open the garage door when I try it. I have an arc welding helmet that I plan on wearing when I try to strike the arc.


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## louie (Mar 8, 2006)

The right carriage lever is simply spring loaded to the wire guide/worm drive system. You may simply have the carriages at the extremes of travel and compressed the springs. Or the carriage spring system may just be jammed from lack of lube. Many operators don't even know about the spring strike feature. They just struck the arc by turning the feed knob at the back quickly in and out. The whole mechanism is pretty simple and I'm sure if you examine it carefully, it will be clear. Try moving the carriages without any power or even any carbons installed. Notice how the feed mechanism works, with the wire guides in the worm drive. Note how the gap adjust knob positions both carriages simultaneously, and the feed knob moves the carriages together or apart. You should be able to get an idea of where the gap should be by where it is when new carbons are installed, and the resting post. Then you trim after striking by the pinhole projection on top. After it settles down, and you have the current and feed motor adjusted, it can operate with little attention for1/2 hour or more, and then maybe a little occasional tweek of the gap. This is all 100+ year old technology. One thing I find interesting is the huge electromagnet built into the top, run by the 40 amp arc current draw. This is to control the tailflame of the arc! So this sucker not only belches noxious smoke, gasses, and radiation, it also has a huge electromagnetic field. Did I mention these are fun to run?!

I would not worry about getting out the arc welding gear to operate the lamp, I just would not operate it without all the doors closed. Yes, it feels a bit like a nuclear pile is running in a little box in front of you, but so what. If for some reason you feel you must try running it with the doors open, I think the arc is dangerously bright and wicked with UV radiation. I would not do it without arc welding gear on, including leaving no skin exposed or letting anyone without such gear near it or able to see it.


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## RalphRussell (Mar 8, 2006)

louie, I think I've got it now, there is little lever that snaps into the worm gear. You have press it down to disengage the carriage. I was able to disengage and move the left carriage but the right is frozen. All I need to do is work it loose and lubricate it. Thanks for the help!

I'm not seeing the electromagnet in the top that you describe. The only thing in the top is a small light bulb that comes on when you open the door (like the fridge).


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## louie (Mar 9, 2006)

It's just a U shaped rod with the feed cable for the positive carbon coiled around it. I think it's actually behind the reflector assy. IIRC.


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## mdocod (Mar 9, 2006)

when I saw the first picture, as I was scrolling down, I said, "hmm, looks pretty darned cool." then I scrolled far enough to see the pic with you standing next to it, jaw dropping!!

that thing is a monster- size wise and looks wise it's even cooler looking than those tank lights!!

Just a thought- It sounds like it is old and somewhat unhealthy technology that might be fun to get working again, but might not be something you want to run on a daily basis... Have you thought about the potencial for an electronics upgrade? perhaps gutting some of the internals and using a regular ol ballast and high pressure xenon, or sodium, or mercury type bulb in it... seems to me that the optics in this thing could be a lot of fun.

(really makes the light in my sig look like a toy), i'm jelious.... i think I need to go find myself a big new spotlight to play with, lol.


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## louie (Mar 9, 2006)

I had 2 of the same basic lamphouses for a home theater. The theater version has knobs for easier reflector adjustment. Light output spec from the manual is 4,200 lumens.


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## lotsalumens (Mar 9, 2006)

Whoa..that's some home theater!!


cfb


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## markdi (Mar 9, 2006)

has to have more than 4200 lumens

very kool


neat pictures


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## dcarch8 (Mar 9, 2006)

When I was a kid, I tried to make an arc lamp using carbon rods from zinc batteries.

It worked very well, however, the glass components I used to make the housing melt from the heat, I discovered at that time that molten glass is a very good electric conductor. Glass is a good insulator only when it is a solid.

dcarch8


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## yuandrew (Mar 10, 2006)

I also made an arc lamp; out of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils shapened at both ends, a DeWalt 12 volt battery plus some wires with aligator clips on the ends. 

Hook everything up, touch the tips together for a half second, then draw apart slowly (and shield your eyes! I didn't have a welding hood on me and had to look away when it struck; it lit my entire bedroom up in a bluish white glow)

I burned my hand though when the alligator clips heated up from the current draw. It also wrecked havoc with TV and radio reception, I wonder why?


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## pertinax (Mar 10, 2006)

If you'd set those carbon rods up in a normal orange flower pot, you'd have a dandy furnace for melting metal. The ceramic can take the heat, and you can pour metal out the hole in the bottom, if arranged right.

Ah, the good old days. That's bound to be illegal these days. Everything else is.


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