Exhibits – Theatrecrafts.com

Avolites

Avolites QM500 90 way control desk

There was an era, before keyboards, before touchscreens, when a desk's channel count was directly proportional to the desk's length, with an individual fader for each dimmer. Avolites' QM500 bridges the gap between that era and the next: still a fader for each of the 90 (later 180) channels it could control, repeated across three fader banks - but with an electronic brain added to store states and chases.
Like Strand for the Galaxy, Avo opted for the Motorola 6809 processor for its fast multiplication capabilities. There was enough memory for 500 states - hence the name. Chases started filling memory up from the bottom, cues down from the top; you could keep going until the two met!
An LED display let you use the computer to label faders, but the console's analogue roots were still clear in the pin-matrix used to assign faders to submasters, and the analogue outputs via Socapex connectors on the rear. Plus, of course, in that cocoon of sculpted oak: how many other consoles carry an embossed nameplate identifying their 'joiner and cabinet maker'?

Serial Number 00084010