Abstract: A stroboscope which generates high intensity light flashes may be manually adjusted to the speed of a rotating object and provides an indication of the speed of the rotating object in revolutions per minute. Connection of an external synchronizing unit into the stroboscope automatically disables the manually-controlled oscillator and substitutes synchronizing control pulses derived from a rotating object which is to be synchronized, these control pulses occurring at a frequency which is sixty times the frequency of the rotating object.