Mirror ball, disco ball – a symbol of clubs and discos
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They certainly belong to those prime attributes of discos and dance clubs. In the 80s of the last century, it was them that, along with bulb colorophones and smoke generators, were the basis of equipment in every important place in the city. Today, lasers, scanners and other effects, most of which are computer synchronized with each other, have joined this group.
The history of the disco ball
The first mirror balls that were hung from the ceiling appeared on dance floors in the 70s, but they experienced such a real boom in the 80s and XNUMXs of the last century. Despite their already quite old age, they still have not lost anything in their popularity. Of course, these state-of-the-art models are heavily packed with electronics and are fully self-contained disco effects. However, these traditional mirror balls are also still very popular.
Types of disco balls
Disco balls can be divided into two basic groups. The first are the traditional so-called mirror that shine with reflected light directed from the headlights. The second are LED spheres that have their own light and are completely self-sufficient in this respect. When deciding on a classic SLR, we will have to equip it with a drive that will rotate it and reflectors that will illuminate it. In order to give its effect, the mirror ball should be illuminated from at least two sides. LED balls have their own internal lighting and a programmer.
What reflector to illuminate the mirror balls
We can choose a spotlight that gives one color, but a large part of the available spotlights is equipped with a 10W RGBW LED that allows you to change the color. The most common colors of the light source are: red, green, blue and white. Most of these more complex reflectors have a built-in programmer, where you can set, among others, color order and speed of change.
The size of a disco ball
We can buy very tiny spheres with a diameter of several centimeters, but we can also purchase really large spheres with a diameter of even several dozen centimeters. Here, when making a purchase, remember that its size should be adapted to the size of the premises in which it is to be suspended.
Drive to the ball
A traditional ball will need a drive to spin. The drive must be compatible with the size and weight of the ball which rotates around its axis. Such a drive can be battery or mains powered. Of course, the network drive is definitely more convenient, and the battery-powered one is most often used only with such small amateur balls, which are most often used at home. Depending on our needs and wallet, we can buy a simple drive with a single speed as well as a very extensive one, which will have different speeds and will be synchronized with the music being played. Some drives are equipped with LED diodes, which will additionally illuminate our sphere from above.
Depending on our needs and preferences, the market offers us various models of both those classic mirror balls and those shining with their internal light. Regardless of the type you choose, the ball must first of all be of the right size for the place where it is to work. The cost of mirror balls largely depends on their size and the quality of the material used. Most often, we can buy the smallest ones for several dozen zlotys, for the larger ones we will have to pay several hundred zlotys. Among the mirror balls, we most often meet those with silver mirrors, although we can also find balls made of mirrors in other colors. Among the drives, the price range is also large and depends primarily on the power and functions that a given drive has. For the cheapest one, we will pay PLN 30-40, while for the one with extensive possibilities, which has a number of functions, e.g. the ability to change the direction of rotation, we will have to pay correspondingly more. It is important that the power of our drive is adjusted to the size and weight of our ball. You have to remember that a traditional ball shines with reflected light, so you must buy spotlights to illuminate it. LED balls, on the other hand, can be found both those that are suspended from the ceiling and those that we can, for example, put up.