Elation Professional is offering lighting installers and designers a "magic stick" that will create virtually any color of light, wherever it's needed as a rainbow effect over the dance floor in clubs or as a more laid-back recessed color-producing system in architectural installations. The company's TP-60 Octostrip is a versatile system of LED color-changing sticks that works equally well mounted on trussing as a club effect or tucked away in recessed areas of buildings where "hidden" cove-type lighting is required. Manufactured by Alkalite and distributed in North America exclusively by Elation, the Octostrip System is suited for a wide range of applications - from nightclubs, shows and concerts, to hotels, building lobbies, and other architectural installations.

Sold as a complete lighting system, the Octostrip consists of eight LED sticks plus a proprietary PD-80 controller. Each stick features 180 high-intensity red, green and blue light emitting diodes. At the flick of a controller switch, the LEDs can be combined to create thousands of rich, vibrant hues through RGB color mixing.

The LEDs used on the Octostrip sticks are the new surface-mount style, which produce a wider beam angle and smoother field of light. This makes the system capable of creating extremely smooth, evenly distributed color over the most spacious areas, with no shadows or tonal variations.

According to Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional, the Octostrip System is a timely product because it fits in with two of today's fastest growing trends in lighting. "Trend number one is that you're seeing a lot more LEDs used in club effects," said Loader. "Club lighting directors like the long life and energy efficiency of LEDs and, of course, having the ability to create any color through RGB mixing. The Octostrip is an attractive LED fixture that can be used as an exciting visual effect in clubs. It can easily be mounted on trussing to produce linear color sticks.

"A second big trend today is that recessed cove LED lighting is becoming more and more popular in all types of architectural installations," Loader added. "It's being used in applications where a large amount of light is needed, but the designer or installer wants a clean look with no visible fixtures that break the ceiling or other surface area. The Octostrip also meets the demand for this type of cove-style architectural LED product, because it works well in recessed areas."

Each Octostrip stick features both a wall/ceiling mounting bracket and an M10 bolt for truss installation. Stick dimensions are 1000mm x 30mm x 93.5mm with bracket, and 1000mm x 30mm x 82.5mm without bracket.

The PD-80 controller is the same control unit used with other popular Alkalite LED systems sold by Elation, including the Octopod and Riva systems. The controller features a sound active mode with built-in microphone, sensitivity knob, and eight preprogrammed chases. Other controller features include: speed and fade adjustment; manual RGB adjustment; master/slave mode; and selectable 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 43, and 48 control channel. The controller measures 360mm x 200 mm x 95mm, and includes an M10 nut for truss installation.