Control/Dimming Sad, but true

[derekleffew]

A $35,000 lighting rental and I have to bring in my Chauvet DMX-4 or the show cannot go on. Whattaya gonna do? Sixty Sensor dimmers were just not enough.

 

[soundlight]

And China saves the day, yet again. I've got one of them, too. No parts shaking around inside of it yet!

 

[len]

Them yellow and green cords are sure purty. I wish I could get me some a dem.

 

[BillESC]

For the money the DMX 4 is pretty hard to beat.

 

[soundlight]

For the money the DMX 4 is pretty hard to beat.

Yup, and the switch pack feature is really nice, too.

 

[Wolf]

Any chance you got a price break since you had to use your own equipment with the rental package?

 

[derekleffew]

No price break on the rental; and I'm not charging for the DMX-4. 52 hours of straight time, 12.5 hours of OT, and 8 hours of 2.5x more than compensates for the price of a DMX-4.

 

[Charc]

What did you have on the DMX-4?

 

[SerraAva]

It happens more then people will like to admit. Liberty Medal in 2007 at the NCC, my Elation DMX Branch/4 saved the day. The splitter ended up getting fired, long story, let's just say catering is evil. So I luckily had mine and just plugged on the DMX lines into it instead.

There have been any number of shows where a 'cheap' piece of gear has saved the day. It is just not talked about like it is a taboo or something.

 

[DarSax]

I had seen that thing before. Am I reading it write that the entire thing can only handle 15A, or is that the max rating for each of the dimmers?

 

[soundlight]

15A max for the whole pack. 10A max per dimmer. So if you have a thousand watt fixture that you really need to put on this thing, you can, but you only have 5 amps left for the other three channels.

 

[Sean]

15A max for the whole pack. 10A max per dimmer. So if you have a thousand watt fixture that you really need to put on this thing, you can, but you only have 5 amps left for the other three channels.

Well.... that means you can only TURN ON 15A at a time. You could have 4 1000w fixtures on the pack, so long as you only turned on one at a time.

Specials, anyone?

--Sean

 

[derekleffew]

What did you have on the DMX-4?

Well, of all things, puck lights (just like in your home entertainment center or bookshelf). Each dimmer channel had 9 or 10 120V/20W lamps. The Scenic Designer never discussed the set lights with the Production Electrician.

Does anyone else see the dichotomy in connecting a DMX-4 to a GMA NSP?

 

[JD]

So if you have a thousand watt fixture that you really need to put on this thing, you can, but you only have 5 amps left for the other three channels.

Ah... I would not put a 1k load on it. I know it's rated at 10 amps per channel, but they only use 15 amp Triacs, so a more realistic limit is 600w per. (40 amp is considered the recommended size for a 1k dimmer.) Still, they are great little packs! I have a couple of the Elation units which are the same basic thing except they hard wire a 12/3 cable on it and give it a 2.4k pack rating. Same Triac, and yes, I had a couple pop at 1k. (search threads for info about upgrading to 25 amp.)

btw: Do yourself a favor- If you have the lid open, squirt some GE silicon between the filter chokes. "United they stand, Divided they break off the board!"

 

[n1ist]

Other things to watch out are the switch, power cord, and IEC connector as they are often not rated for 15A on these packs.

 

[gafftaper]

I'm really laughing over here. Derek works at one of the largest casino theaters in Vegas. You know those big events you see on TV or pay-per-view from Vegas... well many of them happen at his work place. I don't think there are many (if any) people in the Booth who work in a facility as large as this or with as large of a budget.

And the conversation behind the scenes...
"It's only hockey pucks, I'll drive home and get my Chauvet 4 pack."