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Thread: Planetarium Star Projectors

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Wow.. you were at The Saint? That place was notorious .. I missed it by a few years but knew they had a star machine so I went looking for it about ten years ago. After searching for seven years I found it, in a Warehouse in Utah. nine crates total, remarkably intact. It was built by Spitz Corporation, the only one I know of that was ever built specifically for the entertainment industry. The starfields are accurate to the night sky, as Spitz used the star chambers from one of their other models called a "Model B". I knew from the records that Spitz had only built 3 model B's, one was at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, another in Flint, Michigan and the third in Uruguay. Apparently, Spitz re-acquired parts from the one they had sold to the Air Force and re-engineered it into the projector they later sold to The Saint. They only made one of these "hybrids". Some of the history behind this projector is remarkable, as the venue it was installed in was way ahead of its time.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Saint.JPG  


  2. #22
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    Aug 2011
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Hi Steve, thank you VERY MUCH for the tips and warnings. The head is a Spectra Physics Chroma 5 and it has a fiber-optic cable that goes to a pedestal upon which the spherical head is mounted. It also has a heat exchanger, power supply and a few other control-unit chassis. I am flying out there and renting a truck to fetch it in a couple of weeks along with all of the old Spitz Electric Sky racks loaded with equipment that drives the starball. This will be the second of two trips to this theater. Since I work a normal job, these adventures typically involve a weekend effort to fly there, rent a truck, remove the equipment, and drive non-stop back to Phoenix.. stopping only for fuel and to well, um you know. If I don't make it back alive you can have all of my stuff. When I have the AVI system unloaded and organized, I will definately be seeking expert advice so I don't mess it up.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Electric_Sky_1.JPG  


  3. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Grand Rapids, Mi
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    Awesome collection!! the big question will we meet you at SELEM?
    leading in trailing technology

  4. #24
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    Aug 2011
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Gee now you got me thinking how bad I want to go .. with only one week notice I wonder what airline ticket prices are going to be. I'll have to mapquest the city .. is this near to Raleigh Durham airport ?

  5. #25
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    Apr 2010
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    Grand Rapids, Mi
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpitzSTP View Post
    Gee now you got me thinking how bad I want to go .. with only one week notice I wonder what airline ticket prices are going to be. I'll have to mapquest the city .. is this near to Raleigh Durham airport ?
    Nope 50 miles from charlotte if I recall correct, it is in Newton, NC http://maps.google.com/maps?q=60+W.+...ed=0CBYQ8gEwAA
    leading in trailing technology

  6. #26
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    Aug 2011
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    333

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    Hi Chad, thanks for posting this. The Vomit Comet hehe that sounds cool. A shame about the Denver Planetarium.. the fate of many these days. There is a person I know who took down the dome in the old Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake, he has it at his house in Utah. I heard the Hansen got turned into a jewelry store. I was just in Denver at a high school planetarium a few weeks ago, and I saw this giant creepy horse statue at the entrance of the Denver airport with red glowing eyes and it kinda freaked me out.

  7. #27
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    May 2006
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    Native Floridian
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    SpitzSTP, if you ever come across an old AVI projector that has 4 G-120 scan heads (AVI Model S400) and happen to find a box of show tapes let me know. I could care less about the projector but the show tapes I will pay any price for. They will be just regular VHS tapes and will not work in an ADAT. As I understand it, due to neglect at AVI the bulk of this show material was lost. I hold hope that they are sitting on a shelf in a planetarium out there somewhere...

  8. #28
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    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central Florida
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    Quote Originally Posted by DZ View Post
    SpitzSTP, if you ever come across an old AVI projector that has 4 G-120 scan heads (AVI Model S400) and happen to find a box of show tapes let me know. I could care less about the projector but the show tapes I will pay any price for. They will be just regular VHS tapes and will not work in an ADAT. As I understand it, due to neglect at AVI the bulk of this show material was lost. I hold hope that they are sitting on a shelf in a planetarium out there somewhere...
    And what are you gonna play them on?

    Spitz; I am a bit speechless; you smoke they type of crack I dream about smokin. Those beasties you got deserve what I lovingly refer to as the smile of envy...



    I am afraid to ask the odds on even one of thosemaking a roadtrip to some magical SELEM in the future. Probably more likely that a lot of us trying to attend a LEM in your area.
    Love, peace, and grease,

    allthat... aka: aaron@pangolin

  9. #29
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    Aug 2011
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Will do, DZ. I never cease to be amazed at what I run across just sitting in a dusty box. I have been known to pull stuff out of the trash pile and cart it home, only to find out later that someone can actually use it. Staff changes over time and the memory is lost as to what certain stuff is, especially when it comes to old media. Cassette tapes, laserdiscs, 1/4 inch reel to reel, floppy and hard drives, 35mm slides.. they often wind up in the trash or better yet tossed in a pile in the corner because nobody has taken the initiative to take out the trash in ten years especially when it's behind the dome or in the attic above the dome. I will keep my eyes peeled!

  10. #30
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    May 2006
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    Native Floridian
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    Quote Originally Posted by allthatwhichis View Post
    And what are you gonna play them on?
    Aside from having owned an S400 in the past, nothing else I've ever had would have been capable of playing the shows. I'd have to build another projector very similar to the S400. Which, in my opinion, would be very easy. The hardest part would be yellow, but I have a perfect way of getting yellow. Alas, without these original shows, there's no reason to build a DZ-S400....
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails s400.JPG  


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