Let's talk ascor strobe units

A picture of what you have might be helpful.
In general these are electronic flash units meant for use in a photographic studio.
Sounds like you may have just the power supplies which provide the connections to the camera and the light which would have a flash tube along with a tungsten "modeling light" used to mimic the light produced by the flash tube so that the light can be positioned.
Most of the electrical bits are for powering the flash tube.

By the way, Welcome to APUG!

N2IDU said:

Hi my name is Pete and I am new to this site and I hope this is posting in the correct place. I collect and restore antique radio transmitters and receivers. Recently, I bought out an entire collection of an estate which included two Ascorlight Model A10 and also a metal tag marked Part B10. They are quite heavy and each has a chrome handle to carry them. I was curious to know what kind of purpose they were used for. They appear in good shape but very dirty.
Thanks in advance.

Peter
Old Shincracker, Vt.

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Ascorlight Model A10

Hi bdial,

Thanks for your welcome! Here are some images of the (power supply?) that you requested. The first two pictures is how they came before I disassembled one of them. It can be put back together with no problem. I am glad no one had turned these units on for many years. I was astonished and grateful I wasn't injured as I discovered a bank of 18 large Sprague... 400-475volt capacitors that were in series located in the bottom of the container. I also took an image of a strange type of light bulb which you can see plugged in on the circuit board.I was curious to know its specs. Very nicely made units through out.

Thanks for your response,

Peter

Ascor 800 series Flash System

I have Ascor 800 series Sun Gun flash system in storage. Two controllers, eight or more condensers, four flash heads, & flash tubes. Also have Sun Gun flash head, and two Sun Gun flash tubes. anyone out there want to take it off of my hands. There is one person, who wants the Sun Gun flash head, and the two Sun Gun Flash tubes. Would be happy to talk with anyone, who can use the complete system. I am John Moye (847)816-0950 CST I am 35 miles NW of Chicago, IL.

Fun and memories in finding this thread.
I worked in a catalog studio on 7th Ave and 26th St in NYC in the early 80s just as they were phasing out their ASCOR lights and switching to Speedotron. I remember a closet that was stacked floor to ceiling with the capacitor banks. I wish I could credit this photo, but I don't recall where it came from (Ack, can't post a photo until I have 5 plain text posts). I'll break this up into a couple of replies.

I see an attached image on my previous reply, did that come through?

I also once assisted someone at the corner of 14th and the park, I think his name was Harold, who shot food with the ASCORs. It was a fried chicken job, and I remember going through hundreds of chicken thighs to find the best looking one. Hours and hours of waiting on that day as we had to have the chicken prepared in one of their retail stores in their pressure cookers. I also remember the idea of keeping a broom handle nearby to pry someone off the ASCOR.

Someone else mentioned Balcar units here. Worked in another catalog place on 23rd and 10th in 1979 that had the really old gray Balcar boxes with the small rectangular plugs that seemed to have a lot of arcing problems. I was standing nearby one day when someone else unplugged a head while the pack was still on. Couldn't hear for at least a couple of hours after that.

I even have a Speedotron story where a 36lb 2400 pack had something go wrong and started buzzing and vibrating so hard that it actually moved. I am still using Speedotron equipment these days and have a Dynalight 800 pack that must be at least 40 years old that still works fine.

I bought my own very first flash, a Norman A202 (AC version of their 200WS unit) from Larry Farrel at Flash Clinic when they were on 5th Ave in 1979. And just 3 years ago I ran into Larry at the WPPI convention in Las Vegas where he was manning the Photek lighting booth in the trade show.

lcostet said:

Ascorlight QC-8 Sync Cord

My father was a freelance photographer in New York in the 60s and 70s and did some commercial work. He used an Ascorlight QC-8 Flash System for some location shoots, but I don't remember him having any issues with it. Fast forward almost 40 years, and needless to say, after reading all the stories about the Ascor units, I was a little nervous to plug in the power supply and test it with the flash heads. I am happy to report that it worked flawlessly. I am very impressed with its performance.

I was wondering if by any chance someone might have the sync cord that is compatible with the Ascorlight QC-8 Electronic Flash System? I do not know what happened to it. According to the Ascorlight manual, it was a 9 ft. sync cord with microphone connector, Model #081-106. It’s described as having a locking ring on the microphone type connector. The sync socket on the QC-8 is 5/8” in diameter and threaded around outside with a 3/16” metal contact in the center.

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Hi, My name is Brian Kuhlmann. I have just stumbled across this thread in my search for sync cords for the QC8. I have a few of these packs. They are basically brand new. I have had them in storage for the last 15 years and wanted to play with them but have no way to hook them to a shutter. Did you have any luck finding the cords or someone to retrofit?

Just ran across this discussion again. Great memories. Since my last post I came across a copy of the instruction manual for the ASCOR system. If there are any questions that the manual might answer for you, let me know.

Maybe Paramount will have the proper connector and circuit drawings to build one or two for you.

The reliable answer was Norman.

I still have an Ascor 800 system, and other related high speed and stroboscopic equipment. There is really nothing like it for massive power and short flash duration. A real opportunity for someone interested in dance or splash photos for half the price of a Profoto power cord. Ed Braverman 617 794 5835