I need help identifying this RV accessory

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Rymo

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Hi, all.  I thought this community would be the best place to reach out for assistance with this.

I have been trying (without luck) to identify an item that is shown inside an RV that is featured in the movie The Lost World:Jurassic Park from 1997.

The RV used in the movie was a highly customized 1996-1997 Fleetwood Southwind Storm. I have attached a few photos of the item in question.  Does it look familiar to any of you?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks, -Ryan
 

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Gary RV_Wizard said:
Why do you think it's not just a fake movie prop, e.g. just some lights in a board?
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Good point. All of the other electronics in the RV that are mounted above the mystery object are real devices that I've been able to identify. HF transceivers, power amplifiers, lighting controllers, rack-mount audio mixers, etc. That's what makes me think that the mystery device is probably a real device as well.
 
Looks like several old school high profile external media drives to copy 5 1/4 inch floppy disc,. DVD or CD ROMs.  IOW, a movie prop.
 
Not certain, but it kind of looks like a gang charger for walkie talkies.  I found a picture of a similar one.
 

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I would guess some type of computer RAID hard drive array.      The box on the shelf above it looks a bit like a Sun Sparc Station, not sure which model, at first I thought it was an IPX, but that is wrong, maybe even an early Ultra Sparc of some type.  I know lots of  models it is not, but not sure what it is.      I know for sure it is not a Sparc Station  5, 10, or 20, it is also not an Ultra 1 or 2
 
Isaac-1 said:
I would guess some type of computer RAID hard drive array.      The box on the shelf above it looks a bit like a Sun Sparc Station, not sure which model, at first I thought it was an IPX, but that is wrong, maybe even an early Ultra Sparc of some type.  I know lots of  models it is not, but not sure what it is.      I know for sure it is not a Sparc Station  5, 10, or 20, it is also not an Ultra 1 or 2
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My first thought was also along those same lines, that it might be a RAID drive array or maybe a tape backup drive, but I haven't been able to find anything from 1996-97 that looks anything like it.

The white device on the shelf above it is a JVC GV-PT2 Multimedia Printer.
 
NY_Dutch said:
They look similar to the hot swappable RAID hard drive setups I had in my pre-retirement server room.
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I had thought the same thing, but most RAID arrays I've found from the mid-90's are a bit larger.  The device seems to have a brand badge on the lower right corner, but it doesn't ring a bell to me.
 
jackiemac said:
Don't you guys recognise a Dinosaur Detector when you see one? Sheesh..... :eek: ::) ;D
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I gotta go with Jackie on this one!  :D  If you think you recognize the devise, you are showing your age!
 
jackiemac said:
Don't you guys recognise a Dinosaur Detector when you see one? Sheesh..... :eek: ::) ;D
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The only Dinosaur detector I've ever seen had a big radar screen.....Just saying
 
jackiemac said:
Don't you guys recognise a Dinosaur Detector when you see one? Sheesh..... :eek: ::) ;D
Click to expand...

Coming from you Jackie, I thought it would have been a Loch Ness Monster detector.  ;D :D ;)
 
hard drive array, for large/fast networked data storage. The things that look like levers are because the drives are hot-swappable... if one dies you can just pull it out and swap in a new one.

It's likely a broken piece the movie folks had on hand already... editors use this kind of thing in their non-linear setups.
 
There used to be a surplus yard in Sun Valley (north Los Angeles) that collected all sorts of obsolete electronic detritus, everything from computers to test equipment, individual components to full racks of obsolete equipment. They would ultimately wind up as scrap metal, but before they reached that state Hollywood prop masters would visit on a regular basis to grab pieces for set dressings.

I loved to wander around the place when I was working in Los Angeles in the 1970s and apparently they're still in business. Apex Electronics and Surplus.  Click on the links in the left column for more pictures.  Everything from electronics parts to missle guidance systems, torpoedos and nose cones in life threatening piles that you're free to wander through. Just hope an earthquake doesn't hit while you're there.

Here's a LA Weekly "Best of ..." story about the place:

Best UFO Parts Supply

And the Yelp listing with still more pictures:

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/apex-electronics-sun-valley-2?select=uZF3YUOUzo5UhJPmwPchhA
 
In '69 when I was getting ready to graduate high school, I was looking at cars and trying to convince my dad I needed a TR4A-IRS. 
At the same dealer they had the Sunbeam Alpine that had been used in the first couple of seasons of Get Smart.  It was filled with fake gauges and even a fake radar screen hidden behind the radio speaker grille.  Even had a fake machine gun that rose up through a hatch in the hood and the parking brake lever rotated the license plate bracket to change plate numbers.
Dad didn't buy me that one either.  Maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for at the time.
 
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