elektraLite

Long Island, New York-based Group One Limited is proud to announce that its longstanding lighting brand, elektraLite, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer. Unlike the other brands on the American pro audio and lighting distributor’s line card, elektraLite represents Group One’s singular manufacturing endeavor, which continues to be a success three decades later.

elektraLite first got its start when Norman Wright and Vinny Finnegan teamed up to purchase the lighting division from Mark IV Industries. “At that time, we were distributing lighting products from a number of European-based manufacturers,” recalls Wright, who has served as elektraLite’s VP of Engineering since day one. “Jack Kelly [Group One CEO] joined us soon after we commenced operations, and we decided to design and manufacture our own products because, at the time, we couldn’t find anything on the market that was geared to our dealers and market.”

“In addition to wanting to fill gaps here for unique and reliable products, we wanted to ensure safety by having them tested by an NRTL. So many of the products coming from overseas back then were not tested to any standard—and many still aren’t, even today—and the average person has no idea.”

The first product out of the gate in 1994 was the elektraLite CP1 lighting controller, which led to the launch of the seminal CP10 the following year. “The CP10 was the first of a range of small, easy-to-use moving light controllers that to this day people literally all over the world still use,” says Wright. “I personally have a CP20, which was introduced in 1999 and I still use to demo lights, and people ask me where they can buy one! Too many controllers, especially the laptop-based ones, are overly complex for the average user, so our early CP line really filled a niche.”

After manufacturing lighting controllers for nearly a decade, elektraLite pivoted and began focusing more on fixtures and effects, illustrated by the introductions of the “moving yoke” MY150 and MY250 (2003), “moving mirror” MM150 (2003), Elektrik Eye (2004), Turbofog (2004), and Paint Can (2007), among other notable products.

In 2009, the company started incorporating efficient, high-power LEDs into its designs, starting with the Dazer in 2009. From then on, elektraLite generated a steady stream of product launches that would go on to become industry favorites, including the 1018 Quad (2010), Pancake (2011), eyeBall (2012), elektraBar (2013), ML602 (2014), and many others. The first elektraLite Stingray, a 300-watt model, debuted in 2017 and ultimately expanded into a full range of products under that moniker over the following years.

“The introduction of the COB LED, and now the LED module into our current range of products, is just a far superior and efficient solution to producing a high-output even field versus the use of multiple LEDs,” he notes. Speaking of which, in the past few months alone, elektraLite has continued to delight its customers with technologically advanced yet surprisingly affordable new products, including the Aero, Vibe, and Ocular.

Looking forward, elektraLite’s current short-term mission is to continue researching and adopting well-tested new LED solutions for stage lighting. “We find it difficult how some manufacturers claim monstrous LED life expectancy when the LED itself has not been in existence for a tenth of the time claimed,” he says. “In the long-term, we want to build more diverse lighting products crossing into other markets, knowing that in the future those products will require far less energy to run than anyone today could have wildly predicted.”

Wright is quick to additionally point out that the people behind the elektraLite brand have been every bit as important as the products themselves—especially VP of Sales Vinny Finnegan, he says, who retired in 2019 and passed away in late 2023 at the age of 76. “Vinny was a cornerstone of Group One and a larger-than-life character,” Wright adds. “He was the quintessential cheerful guy—always happy and had a joke for everything. Without his presence and talents in our early days, elektraLite would truly not be where it is today.”

For more details on elektraLite’s past and present, come see the company at InfoComm booth #W1071 in Las Vegas from June 12-14, 2024, or visit its newly-designed website found online at www.myelektralite.com.

Nearly a decade after launching its popular elektraBar linear strip fixture, elektraLite now proudly unveils its new elektraBar Vibe. Measuring one meter in length, the company’s newest professional lighting bar takes a decidedly different approach than its predecessor.

The Vibe sports 128 columns of seven RGBW LEDs for a total of 896 “pixels” each providing 0.3 watts for a combined 268.8 watts of emitter output. Boasting a generous beam spread of 120 degrees, multiple elektraBar Vibes can be linked together via side-panel locking plates to create a near seamless line of brilliant visuals for the stage. Fully DMX compatible, the product is controllable in 13-channel, 256-channel, or 258-channel modes, and can be seamlessly pixel-mapped in two columns of seven devices using Art-Net via the Ethernet ports on the back.

“Our new Vibe is a total stunner!” enthuses Brandon Tsaptsinos, Group One Limited’s national sales manager for the elektraLite brand. “The colors on our latest elektraBar absolutely pop and its pixel-mapping capabilities mean that there are zero limits on what it can be used for creatively. From concert tours to theatre to literally any professional environment needing a rich and vibrant splash of eye candy, the Vibe will definitely help set the right mood.”

A truly versatile performer, the Vibe is flicker-free and can be used in a variety of ways for illuminating a stage: as a cyc light, or for side, back, or front lighting. If the 120-degree beam spread is too wide, its width can be cut with an available glare shield for beam control and rough focusing. The product can also be aimed at the audience and used as a light source to project pixel-mapping LEDs, which can be combined into a larger composite image when multiple Vibes are deployed together.

Housed in a robust gloss gray aluminum chassis equipped with corrosion-resistant hardware and a rigid flat steel yoke, the Vibe can be mounted from either a single handle point in the center or from its included trunnion feet.

For more details on the elektraBar Vibe, come see elektraLite at USITT booth #2624 in Seattle from March 21-23, 2024, or visit www.myelektralite.com.

We are proud to announce the launch of Aero, elektraLite's new professional-grade moving light fixture. With its 350-watt COB LED and CRI of 95, the new moving light fixture is sure to hit the bullseye for countless installation projects. Perfect for any environment requiring a mover—from churches and schools to theaters, performing arts centers, and more.

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Las Vegas, Nevada - LDI booth 1202 – elektraLite proudly announces the launch of its new professional-grade moving light fixture known as the Aero. Perfect for any environment requiring a mover—from churches and schools to theaters, performing arts centers, and more—Aero is powered by a 350-watt COB single-source LED delivering a balanced Cool White (6500K) color temperature and CRI of 95.

“We worked with a number of lighting designers on the creation of our new Aero, so its functionality and feature set far exceed just the basic essentials that one might expect to find in a moving light at this price point,” says Brandon Tsaptsinos, Group One Limited’s national sales manager for the elektraLite brand. “Beyond its best-in-class lighting output and superbly rich color palette, there are plenty of amenities on this fixture that will make it an incredibly versatile performer for just about any application.”

The Aero is a full‐featured tool that is compact enough for tight spaces but bright enough for large stages where strong intensity, reliability, and diversity are necessary. The fixture’s superior lensing ensures that light output is high and devoid of troublesome hot spots, while its liquid-cooled engines provide near-silent operation ideal for quiet spaces.

The new mover boasts not only a CMY system, as one would expect, but also three dichroics per wheel that offer a palette of colors simply not obtainable by color mixing alone. Deep blues, deep reds, and greens are there, plus a CTO filter, on a separate channel, for color temperature changes.

The Aero is capable of producing considerably more than just colors. It is equipped with nine interchangeable static gobos and seven interchangeable rotating gobos. The rotating gobos are also indexable on a separate channel to give maximum accuracy in positioning. Additional standout features of the Aero include, a rotating five‐way prism, iris, frost filter, and strobe. Zoom (4-35°) and focus both have normal and fine controls for complete accuracy, while the dimmer also has a channel dedicated to different types of dimmer curves.

The new fixture offers 540° of pan and 270° of tilt, with fine-tuning channels. Control is achieved via a choice of 5-pin or 3-pin XLRs for hardwired DMX, or built-in wireless DMX. There are also “locks” on both pan and tilt for transportation purposes. The Aero’s Remote Device Management (RDM) and Micro C socket for an external power source, such as a mobile phone or external battery, also allow lighting designers and operators to set DMX channel assignments and set up menus without AC power. This is an obvious advantage when setting up menus for a truss full of fixtures.