Stuart91 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hi everyone, Found a whole bag of these items, lurking at the bottom of a box of "miscellaneous" that we picked up from a certain auction sale recently. Does anyone have any idea what they're for? The connector is a standard 9-pin D-shape, and they have what appears to be show names written on them, so I'd expect some sort of storage for a lighting desk, in the days before USB sticks. However, I don't know which desk, or if they're any use. Would they have any resale value on eBay? http://www.greatbigresources.co.uk/ebaypics/Dongle.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi-ul Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 What's inside it - I think those blue hoods unclip quiote easily Mi-ul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 The only similar thing I recall seeing is the 'keys' used to set fruit machine prices and payouts with different values have different pins shorted within the connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_keys Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Zero88 Alcora desks used to use something like this to allow memories to be saved - effectively an EEPROM wired to a 9-pin d-type connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianknight Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Zero88 Alcora desks used to use something like this to allow memories to be saved - effectively an EEPROM wired to a 9-pin d-type connector. The Alcora and Elara used them for show storage - the colour of the case also denotes which mark of desk they will work with - Keith from Zero could probably remember which way round the colours were! Might be worth trying to eBay them - some amateur companies and small theatre companies are still using the Alcora/Elara series so the modules might have a value! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirkenstein Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 If they really are Alcora memory, I'm calling dibs on at least one!Provided you don't want eBay prices for them.... Dirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 I'll crack one open later today and will try to have a look at it. Thanks for the suggestions so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBarl Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Zero88 Alcora desks used to use something like this to allow memories to be saved - effectively an EEPROM wired to a 9-pin d-type connector. The Alcora and Elara used them for show storage - the colour of the case also denotes which mark of desk they will work with - Keith from Zero could probably remember which way round the colours were! Might be worth trying to eBay them - some amateur companies and small theatre companies are still using the Alcora/Elara series so the modules might have a value! I'll go for this one. Most program dongles that I have seen use the parallel port and are a through device that let you still plug a printer in. Could the writing on the tape indicate a show that was stored on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Looks like a lil memory doohicky for a Diablo (or possibly other Zero 88 desk). I've definately seen one that colour on the back of a Diablo very recently, used for storing fixture profiles etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 It's an Alcora\Elara Mk2 or a Diablo memory store. They were listed at about £17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam M Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Zero88 Alcora desks used to use something like this to allow memories to be saved - effectively an EEPROM wired to a 9-pin d-type connector. The Alcora and Elara used them for show storage - the colour of the case also denotes which mark of desk they will work with - Keith from Zero could probably remember which way round the colours were! Might be worth trying to eBay them - some amateur companies and small theatre companies are still using the Alcora/Elara series so the modules might have a value! Yep I am pretty sure its an Alcora as I have used one recently. I think the one for the Elara has a green case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 It's an Alcora\Elara Mk2 or a Diablo memory store. They were listed at about £17. Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks! Do the same dongles work on all the desks, or are there different dongles for different models? (Coming soon to an eBay auction near you - fiver a pair?) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Hi Stuart The Blue memory store you have there is for the Mk 2 desks, and the Diablo. The Mk 1 desks used a Black (or in early versions, Cream) memory store. The Mk 2 desks have Blue (Alcora) or Green (Elara) front panels - Mk 1 were both Grey. Hope this helps, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 The Blue memory store you have there is for the Mk 2 desks, and the Diablo. The Mk 1 desks used a Black (or in early versions, Cream) memory store. The Mk 2 desks have Blue (Alcora) or Green (Elara) front panels - Mk 1 were both Grey. Very useful, thanks. All the dongles I have are blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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