Super Trouper (spotlight)

Super Trouper is the registered trademark of a series of follow spotlights used in stadium, concert, and special-event lighting. The lights are manufactured by Syncrolite of Dallas, TX, which acquired the Super Trouper and its larger cousin, the Gladiator, from its former manufacturer Ballantyne Strong of Omaha, Nebraska (originally Strong Electric Corporation of Toledo, Ohio) in December 2015.

The Super Trouper is also the subject of the eponymous 1980 ABBA hit song.

The lights were first manufactured in 1956. Initially, the Super Trouper utilized a high-intensity carbon arc lamp, which produced an almost snow white spot that set the performer apart from ambient stage lighting. In the 1980s and as carbon arc lamps fell into decreasing use, the spotlight began to employ a high-intensity xenon lamp as its light source.

Because of the Super Trouper's brilliant light field, many performers specify it in their technical riders. A large segment of U.S. entertainment venues, including proscenium theaters and arenas, continue to utilize Strong Super Troupers as their primary follow spotlights and it remains the "standard" that all other spotlights are generally judged against.

The Super Trouper line of xenon follow spots is inclusive of four production models: Super Trouper Long Throw, Super Trouper Short Throw, Super Trouper Medium Throw, and Super Trouper II. Each model is available in either a 1600 watt or a 2000 watt variety. As of 2006, Strong has limited production of Super Trouper Short Throws and Medium Throws to special request only.

With very few exceptions, Strong has maintained a consistent design on Super Trouper models since the first xenon-type models were introduced in the late 1970s. Initially the reflector unit was composed of electroformed nickel with a rhodium plating. Today, Super Trouper follow spots are shipped from the factory with a similarly-designed nickel reflector, though a dichroic coating has supplanted the rhodium coating.

The xenon-type Super Troupers had utilized a larger "AC" igniter assembly, which had been specially designed to function with the original high-reactance power supplies. As suggested by the name however, Super Troupers were intended for portability and "trouping" and the bulky two hundred pound (90 kg) plus power supplies were not conducive to travel environments.

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Wikipedia