Adding a raceway

Hi, I am looking to add a raceway of some type to our mezzanine/control booth at the back of our auditorium. We currently have a catwalk that is approximately 15' from the original apron, but we are adding a permanent extension to the stage, adding 8 feet. Our current catwalk will act more as overhead configuration if we attempt to use those fixtures, so for right now we have par cans rigged to the rafters to provide flood lighting when all the way forward on the extension.

Presently, I am trying to sell the people that control the money on the fact that if we are going to use the extension, we need to invest in either another raceway behind/below the catwalk or in the back. I definitely prefer the idea of in the back simply for accessibility. What do you think is better to plan for as far as a raceway in the back? The rear wall is about 45 feet from the stage, and the dmx cabling runs through that booth to our new booth on the floor so that is not an issue. It is probably not feasible to run power back there off the original dimmers, so I was looking at the Strand R21 powered raceway, which has dimmers in it and our current DMX can just pass through it. We are also open to the idea of using portable dimmers and just mounting a batten to the wall of the booth.

Any ideas are appreciated, I would like to make the sticker shock on this as little as possible as I then have to convince them to buy me some 5/10 degree profiles to cover that distance!

Thanks, Eric
 
...What do you think is better to plan for as far as a raceway in the back? ... It is probably not feasible to run power back there off the original dimmers, ...
Well, the power for the dimmers has to come from somewhere. How many circuits/dimmers are we thinking? Do you have unused dimmers in your rack now? Or dimmers whose circuits could be duplicated? Should you decide to go with distributed dimming, there are several other manufacturers besides Strand who make SMART dimmers in a BAR. Dimmer doubling may also be a possibility/desirable feature. How accessible is the remote location, say to reset a breaker?

Let's hypothesize that you need/want six 20A dimming circuits at your new location, and the closest power source is near the existing dimmers, and you have empty slots in your racks. You could: a) Run 13 #12 wires from dimmer rack to new raceway. Or b) Install two 20A 3Ø breakers in a new panel, and run 2x5 #12 wires to feed a dimming raceway. I suspect a) and b) will cost out (labor+materials) very similarly, but b) will be slightly higher.

From the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/9344-sensor-vs-et-intelligent-raceway.html :
I'm sure ANY (well, almost any) theatrical dimmer and raceway manufacturer can incorporate dimmed 120V, switched 208V, DMX, convenience 120V, and Ethernet outlets in a single raceway. All those panelboards and data-distribution devices have to live somewhere--why not conveniently located in a "dimmer" room?
 
Well I guess what it boils down to is would it be better to run from my existing CD80s all the way back there or would it be better to run electrical service back there and add dimmers there. Either way I am probably going to end up adding dimmers as I currently have four open dimmers in the CD 80s and would like to add at least 6 separate channels. I already have two 20A services up there but I need to maintain at least one for the occasional use of follow spots or video cameras in that booth. I could probably run a second through the conduit for one of the existing circuits. All of my power comes from SL and runs through the cement floor and my dimmers are on SR with signal running under the floor and output through the ceiling to all the stage fixtures and house lights.

Also, I tend to look at Strand as that is what the whole setup is and since I have limited experience, I go with what I know works and I can rely on.

For accessibility, the booth where I would like to install would be amazingly accessible, but to mount to the bottom of the catwalk would require the use of our 30' ladder for focusing for every show.

This is probably A LOT simpler than I am making it I just want to make sure I'm considering all the variables. The company that we use for our equipment would spec it out for me but doesn't do electrical wiring so I may as well buy the stuff myself and have an electrician install it.
 

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