Snow - the mirror ball way

[dbuckley]

Not trying to be disrespectful, honest. Just I'm surprised that amongst the Blue Room there aren't more wackos who keep a forum eye on what the christmas light nutters get up to... They've just discovered DMX512 :unsure:

 

Two words: Planet Christmas

[andy_s]

You guys do live sheltered lives don't you...

Well I keep up as best I can, but I'm only part of an amateur group, so only spend so much time in a year playing with lights (ok, ask my fiancee and its 'too much time in a year')

Take a look at the Light Flurries

That answers Andy's question, that is exactly what I'm looking to do!

 

I see....I'd worked out from re-reading the posts properly that it's an affordable replacement for an effects projector that you are after, and Mr Buckley's gismo does the job!

[Brian]

The Albert Hall has a horizontal ball as part of it's kit and it works very well. It's normally rigged on the centre line on the circle front. It was certainly there last week when I was in.

Well it wasn't in a couple of weeks ago so I didn't get any pictures but it was yesterday...

...note the two different sized mirror pieces.

[adam2]

Can you just start your balls spinning :P as many times as required to get the right direction, before the show starts? Then turn the light(s) on when you want the snow.

 

Could you drive the mirror ball with a DC motor ? these allways start with the same direction of rotation.

It is only the AC ones that are random.

I have seen mirror balls that use a small battery rather than mains, perhaps one of these would serve?

[Ekij]

How exactly did "Light Flurries" manage to Patent pointing a light source at a mirror ball?

 

With regards to the motor starting in a random direction: It's been a while since I played with a.c. motors but I though a capacitor could be used to change the phase angle of the field coil to encourage it to rotate in the desired direction.

Failing that replace it with a D.C. motor and you're sorted.

[adam2]

How exactly did "Light Flurries" manage to Patent pointing a light source at a mirror ball?

 

With regards to the motor starting in a random direction: It's been a while since I played with a.c. motors but I though a capacitor could be used to change the phase angle of the field coil to encourage it to rotate in the desired direction.

Failing that replace it with a D.C. motor and you're sorted.

 

Larger AC motors, with three or more leads (excluding the protective earth) can often have the direction of rotation altered. Such motors generaly have two windings, one connected direct to the supply and the other one connected via a capacitor. Often the rotation can be reversed by connecting the capacitor in series with the other winding, though not allways, depends on the design.

 

The very small, very cheap, motors used for mirror balls have no such facility, and the rotation is either random (most common) or fixed and cant be altered (less common)

[Krais]

The very small, very cheap, motors used for mirror balls have no such facility, and the rotation is either random (most common) or fixed and cant be altered (less common)

 

I think that's what it comes down to, we got what we paid for. No matter, with a flick in the right direction the motor will change direction, so I just need to get them rotating before the audience come in.

I'll take a picture when I get a chance. It's no work of a master carpenter, but it is functional!

 

Carl