When it grows up it wants to be a Vari*Lite...

[dbuckley]

On Aliexpress there are some tiny cheap movers, which are available under many brand names, so for a giggle, I got a couple...

 

Heres what arrived:

 

http://davidbuckley.name/pix/minimv1.jpg

 

The ruler is 200mm, or 8 inches in USA terminology. On the other side is a 3 pin XLR in and out, and an IEC mains socket.

 

One of the fixtures rattled on arrival, so an investigation needed to be undertaken. Don't you hate it when a new toy needs to be taken apart?

 

Six screws later and the covers were off. Two small screws had come undone, and on examination, they were two of the four screws holding the gobo stepper in place. Where One of the missing screws isn't is circled in red. Because there was stuff in front of where the missing screws were, I've put off the repair job till another day :)

 

Unusually, many of the screws have either torx or allen key heads, its a couple of weeks since they were apart so my memory has gone a tad fuzzy.

 

http://davidbuckley.name/pix/minimv2.jpg

 

So while we are inside, another view of the gubbins.

 

http://davidbuckley.name/pix/minimv3.jpg

 

So what do they go like? OK, they don't have discharge sources, so they aren't that bright, but they aren't useless. They aren't terribly quick either. They have 13 channel DMX control, 16 bit tilt and pan, RGB and strobing / colours, 8 gobos and gobo shake, but no gobo rotate. The RGB sources aren't perfectly aligned so theres a bit of colour fringing.

 

Theres a fan in the base, and another in the head, but they are surprisingly quiet. I use LED pars with similar looking fans, and they are embarassingly loud.

 

Heres a pair of them 1m either side of a 400mm mirror ball. About the same as a PAR36. In the context of a tiny stage in a fifty seat venue, they are actually quite cute and usable.

 

http://davidbuckley.name/pix/minimv4.jpg

 

Now there is no excuse why everyone can't have a moving light rig in their bedroom!

[david.elsbury]

David, it's interesting to see you post this - Jaycar Electronics (UK readers: similar to Maplin) carry some LED movers that look much like this.

[niclights]

I posted a review of something very similar here four years ago:

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=26407&st=0&p=222267entry222267

[dbuckley]

Four years ago!!! Bloody hell!

 

I suppose the first question is how the heck they managed to build what looks like substantively the same product four years apart :)

 

David, it's interesting to see you post this - Jaycar Electronics (UK readers: similar to Maplin) carry some LED movers that look much like this.

 

Looks just the same. Healthy markup though, I don't think both the lights together plus shipping cost what they are selling one for.