Purchasing Student Case Study Questions

[Roxy]

Hello,

I am presently looking for a little help with a case study I am completing. Presenlty I am taking a Purchasing course and for a Case study I need to purchase a Lighting Console. Please note the Consoles I am asking about are older as the text book I am using is older.

If possible could people please rate the following as listed:

Leprecon LP-3000

1. Ease of use / progammable capable within minimal keystokes. Rate out of 1-10

2. Extra Control Space / please list channel if you know if not please Rate out of 1-10

3. Software Upgradeable / please Rate out of 1-10

Strand 520

1. Ease of use / progammable capable within minimal keystokes. Rate out of 1-10

2. Extra Control Space / please list channel if you know if not please Rate out of 1-10

3. Software Upgradeable / please Rate out of 1-10

ETC Obsession 2

1. Ease of use / progammable capable within minimal keystokes. Rate out of 1-10

2. Extra Control Space / please list channel if you know if not please Rate out of 1-10

3. Software Upgradeable / please Rate out of 1-10

If you don't feel comtfortable listing here please email me .

Thanks, so much.

Roxy

[derekleffew]

... Please note the Consoles I am asking about are older as the text book I am using is older. ...

So we should pretend it's 1998?

[Roxy]

[QUOTE=derekleffew;199549]So we should pretend it's 1998?[/Q

Yes, please

[Anvilx]

So we should pretend it's 1998?

Shoot, that means I have to pretend I am five. In that case I probably would of picked the Leprecon hoping that it would came with either a pot of gold or another box of cereal.

In all honesty the only one of them I have used is the Strand 520.

Strand 520

1. Ease of use / progammable capable within minimal keystokes. 7.5 A little bit quirky, I will never forget that they hid the off button under the print menu.

[metti]

Although I was not old enough to be purchasing light boards in '98 and I have the knowledge now to look back and see how great of an investment an OB2 would be since they are still widely used and rented whereas the other two are not, I will give it a shot.

All three are software upgradable although ETC had (still has) the best track record in terms of offering meaningful software updates. I would say that Leprecon is probably the worst in that regard.

It also bears noting that the LP-3000 was never intended to really compete with the other two. It isn't designed for theatre like the Strand and the ETC are and it doesn't have a proper command line. As such things like programming with minimal keystrokes aren't even really relevant since many functions are accessed through its handles and screen instead of buttons.

[metti]

Also, depending on configuration, the OB2 was way more expensive than the Strand and I believe they were both more expensive than the Leprecon.

[shiben]

Well shoot. I have only ever used the Obsession... The only real problem I had with it was I am pretty used to the Ion and Congo systems, and going backwards down the pipe is no fun at all. Heck, I have trouble with our Innovators when I need to use them because Im more familiar with the new gear. Its a real PITA when so many places around me dont have Ions or Congos. I would say the OB2 is the better of the group, then the Strand, then the Leprecon. Of course, in 1998, I was 10 and still wanted to be a garbage man, so thats about what its worth?

[museav]

Since this is an educational effort, most equipment needs to be assessed in terms of the specific application. Instead of defining what the equipment can do and making a selection based on that you define instead what is needed from the equipment and select equipment that supports those needs. For example, would the number of channels really matter in the decision as long as it supports what is needed or envisioned to be required? Should having 1,000 channels versus 100 channels garner extra points if all you need is 64 channels? And conversely, should having 32 channels gain any points if you need 64?

Also keep in mind that "ease of use" is going to be a very subjective factor depending on the individual and the application. Getting people's input on the ease of use is great, doing it on simply a 1-10 scoring basis could be very misleading as it would not allow you to correlate the individual and application upon which that number is based with those involved in your application.

[SteveB]

I know this is an educational project from a business major (EDIT: Or theater student taking a purchasing class, I believe ?), but even then, I have no interest in doing a bunch of research to determine channel capacities on control desks that are no longer manufactured. Sorry, but I'm no help to you on that part of it.

I can tell somethings about the desks themselves:

- LP3000. A rock and roll lighting control desk, not a "theatrical" desk. Made by Leprecon, in Michigan. Good company, smaller player in the market, known for rock solid dimmers and decent consoles. The 3000 was their top of the line at a time when the industry was moving to moving lights and control desks that could easily control moving lights. The 3000 was not known for it's ML capabilities as it was really a large manual console designed for rock and roll rigs with conventional Pars, etc... and maybe scrollers. Leprecon did what they could to keep it updated, but this was at a time when the VariLite and Wholehog desks were the console to go to, thus the 3000 became (IMO) a lesser used desk. I have only ever seen one in use. No longer manufactured.

- Strand 520. The top of the line theatrical control desk from Strand, not a Rock and Roll like the Leprecon. It was updated with new and improved OS software over the years . It's still in use on Broadway, getting requested frequently as it's a decent desk to control both conventional and moving lights. Strand as a company went thru a number of major changes during the period this desk was being manufactured, with some of the software of the Marquee lighting control systems being added to the traditional Strand type OS. The 520 was subsequently discontinued in favor of an entire new line of consoles.

- Obsession II. Theatrical desk, not R&R. Made by ETC, the major lighting company in the industry. The OB II was possibly the most widely used large theatrical desk in use. A follow on and replacement to the Obsession. Occasionally updated with new software. No longer manufactured

Some thoughts about your questions.

- Ease of use for the Leprecon was very good as it was a somewhat basic manual operation console. For the Strand and Obsession, ease of use was what I would considered easy and hard. Easy as basic operation was very straight forward, though the ETC might be easier to learn then the Strand (My opinion), hard for both as they are very complicated in terms of advanced functions and the tasks they could accomplish. The Strand is considered to be a better desk then the Obsession to control moving lights, but as a result is harder to get good at.

- Channel counts are kind of irrelevant as they "had enough" to accomplish the basic taks at hand for the time they were introduced. Ditto DMX addresses, which is as important a count as channels. At the time these desks were in wide-spread use, the move to large rigs of movers and more recently, LED lighting panels and fixtures have greatly expanded the channel and DMX addresses required of a desk and the hardware limits of the desks became the limiting factor.

Any particular reason you don't aim this project towards desks in current production - ETC Eos, MA GrandMA, Martin Maxxis, PRG V676 ?, Compu-lite, Wholehog III ?.

[metti]

Any particular reason you don't aim this project towards desks in current production - ETC Eos, MA GrandMA, Martin Maxxis, PRG V676 ?, Compu-lite, Wholehog III ?.

They aren't aiming this at current gen units because they are using an old text book that lists the three they have inquired about. Also, the Maxxyz was discontinued when they released the M1, leaving just the Maxxyz Compact.