ACME PULSAR S2 ROADTEST
ACME ROAD TEST / CX MAGAZINE – Written by Kurtis Hammer
The ACME Pulsar S2 is a unique product; it is a hybrid fixture that encompasses beam, strobe and wash functions, all with infinite pan and tilt and pixel mapping capabilities. It features a strobe/wash on one side and a beam on the other. Both sides can be running at the same time.
It would be classed as a small fixture, and a true jack-of-all-trades, but it’s true potential is in the completely new combinations of looks, strobes, washes, effects, beams, and more, that it can produce, all at the same time, while moving.
The ACME Pulsar S2 was recently used for the Australian leg of Paul McCartney’s world tour. The lighting designer for the tour, LeRoy Bennett, used 480 of them, and he also played a role in the design of the light, which is a massive endorsement for the fixture and for the ACME brand.
“ACME are enthusiastic about development. They actually manufactured a lot of lights for other companies before they developed their own, resulting in reliable products and the capability to churn out quality product quite quickly,” said LeRoy Bennett.
The ACME Pulsar S2 is a unique product; it is a hybrid fixture that encompasses beam, strobe and wash functions, all with infinite pan and tilt and pixel mapping capabilities.
Construction
It weighs 11kg but still feels quite sturdy and robust despite being IP20 rated. That said, you still wouldn’t want to drop it. It is hung on a single bracket making it much easier to move, hang, and get evenly spaced on a webbed truss. It lends itself well to being hung in any orientation and of course, it can be parked on the floor. The design of the light is not overly obtrusive or head heavy, so you can put them very close together, and close to other things. Its dimensions are 237mm x 176mm x 383mm (W x D x H), making it quite compact and great for hanging and placing in tight spaces.
Optics, Colour, and Brightness
When looking at the optics of the ACME Pulsar S2 you have to consider there are two parts; the beam/wash section and the pixel/strobe section, also with a beam. The beam/wash side consists of four 60W RGBW LEDs. While they aren’t TV key light quality (and are not advertised to be!) they are of a high quality. There’s a good range of deep colours for an RGBW fixture and you don’t lose too much intensity with the darker, more saturated colours. The beam/wash side outputs a respectable 4,400 lumens, more than enough for a small venue or show. It also features a 10:1 zoom ratio with a range from 2.5°-28°.
The pixel/strobe section has 96 3W CW (Cool White) LEDs for the strobe, 108 0.5W RGB LEDs for the pixel section as well as 9 10W CW LEDs for the beam section. The strobe section outputs 18,000 lumens, the pixel section does 2,200 lumens, and the beam section produces 1,300 lumens. The beam angle for the strobe is 108°, 115° for the pixel section, and a narrow 3.5° for the beam.
The ACME Pulsar S2 is a unique product; it is a hybrid fixture that encompasses beam, strobe and wash functions, all with infinite pan and tilt and pixel mapping capabilities.
Applications and Features
This is a fixture that was literally designed for the world’s largest stages, and to be used en masse. The sheer amount of tricks it has up it’s sleeve mean an LD could use it throughout the longest stadium show (and McCartney’s is one of them) and still look fresh by the encore. Strobe, video, beam, wash, movement – it does it all.
Control and Programming
There are a lot of parameters to consider, and that’s because of the extensive capabilities of the light. This is not a bad thing, as it is capable of some amazing looks. The infinite pan and tilt is almost an effect in itself. The Pulsar S2 looks awesome used in a dark room filled with haze after a few hours of programming. The Pulsar S2 has four DMX modes with 24 channels, 39 channels, 97 channels, and 21+ channels, respectively. It can be run through a media server and is compatible with DMX512, RDM, Art-Net and sACN. It has an onboard four button touch control panel, 3 pin or 5 pin DMX , Art-Net In/Out, and powerCON True.
Verdict
The Pulsar S2 does a lot of things and does them surprisingly well. Comparsions to other fixtures fail, as the Pulsar S2 is that rare thing in the lighting market; actually unique. I can definitely see thousands of Pulsar S2s touring through summer on the bigger shows. The Pulsar S2 is offering something completely different, something I really appreciate. It’s good to see design and research budgets going to produce something that is totally out-of-the-box. The dual head coupled with infinite pan and tilt is really what sets it apart. I hope it is a platform that ACME continue to build upon. This is a fixture that is definitely not a one trick pony.
The Specs
Light Source: Beam/Wash section: 4 60W RGBW LEDs. Pixel/Strobe section: 96 3W CW LEDs, 108 0.5W RGB LEDs. 10W Beam section: 9 10W CW LEDs
Total Lumen Output of Fixture – Beam/Wash Section: 4,400 lumens, Pixel Section (RGB): 2,200 lumens, Strobe Section (CW): 18,000 lumens. 10W Beam Section: 1,300 lumens
Optical System: Beam/Wash section: Beam angle: 2.5°-28°, Field angle: 4.4°-36°. Pixel section: 115°. Strobe section: 108°. 10W Beam section: 3.5°. Front Lens: 70x70mm
Pan & Tilt: Pan movement: Infinite. Tilt movement: Infinite. Automatic Pan/Tilt position correction. Movement: 16-bit resolution
Variable CTO: 2,500K-8,000K
Built-in colour macro effects
Motorised linear zoom system
Dimensions – Width: 237mm, Depth: 176mm,
Height: 383 mm. Weight: 11kg.
