I am new to this forum and new to lighting in general, but I have done some research to try and educate myself before asking questions. I have been the sound guy at our church for quite some time, and have the fortunate opportunity to look at ways to improve the lighting in our sanctuary.
The sanctuary is currently lit by 21 2'x4' non-dimmable florescent troffers. The age of the current troffers and ballasts have led to constant problems with lights flickering and not working. The ceiling is 18' tall, so changing bulbs and ballasts by ladder is a pain; hence the desire to switch to LED lights of some sort. I recommended that we investigate using 0-10v dimmable LED panels to improve ambiance during holiday programs and such. Dimming to 0% is not necessary. If we can get something to dim to 10-20% without issues it would be acceptable.
I wanted to provide the ability to control the lights with a DMX theatrical controller to future proof the system if we ever decide to upgrade our stage lighting or add some color washing, but maintain a simple entry station control for everyday use. I have received a proposal from a rep at Full Compass (I have not received much when going directly to ETC) which included the use of an ETC Foundry Mini Panel and a Doug Fleenor Design wall station. This seems like a good proposal for our budget (~$1,000 for the controller) and needs, but I wanted to get some feedback since there was very little information on the Foundry system other than ETC's website.
I also noticed their Echo system. It wasn't immediately clear to me the benefits, if any, of this system over the proposed Foundry and DFD combination. Has anyone had any experience with either of these control systems for the application I am describing? I have seen other posts where people have wanted to do something similar with control, but referring to LED panels was not apart of any of those discussions.
The sanctuary is currently lit by 21 2'x4' non-dimmable florescent troffers. The age of the current troffers and ballasts have led to constant problems with lights flickering and not working. The ceiling is 18' tall, so changing bulbs and ballasts by ladder is a pain; hence the desire to switch to LED lights of some sort. I recommended that we investigate using 0-10v dimmable LED panels to improve ambiance during holiday programs and such. Dimming to 0% is not necessary. If we can get something to dim to 10-20% without issues it would be acceptable.
I wanted to provide the ability to control the lights with a DMX theatrical controller to future proof the system if we ever decide to upgrade our stage lighting or add some color washing, but maintain a simple entry station control for everyday use. I have received a proposal from a rep at Full Compass (I have not received much when going directly to ETC) which included the use of an ETC Foundry Mini Panel and a Doug Fleenor Design wall station. This seems like a good proposal for our budget (~$1,000 for the controller) and needs, but I wanted to get some feedback since there was very little information on the Foundry system other than ETC's website.
I also noticed their Echo system. It wasn't immediately clear to me the benefits, if any, of this system over the proposed Foundry and DFD combination. Has anyone had any experience with either of these control systems for the application I am describing? I have seen other posts where people have wanted to do something similar with control, but referring to LED panels was not apart of any of those discussions.