Atomic 3000 on a Smartfade?

[Jay Ashworth]

My community theatre has needed a strobe for 2 shows in a row now, and the topic of just buying one came up in our production meeting. I found an A3000 on eBay for Under $300, which is quite a bit less than I'd expected, but I want to make sure I understand its DMX implementation well enough to be sure we can drive it from the Smartfade 24/96 that's in the municipal theatre we play in.

Anyone who has one have an opinion on this?

I do know we'd have to have them pull in a 240VAC receptacle, since I'm pretty sure there isn't one on stage, but that's a subordinate issue.

 

[MikeJ]

The atomic has several modes, from 1 channel to 4 channels. 1 channel is a fixed intensity with the channel varying the strobe rate. The most common is the 4 channel, that has Dimmer, Rate, and a couple channels to give you different effects like Ramp up/down, lightning, STAB/Blind, etc.

You should have no problem running it on a smartfade. I would use 4 chanel mode. Its the mode dip switch I think labeled "effects" You can also lamp these down for 120v operation, but the 208-240 lamp is Significantly brighter.

 

[MikeJ]

That's a good deal on that strobe too. If you are going to have a 208 or 240v outlet run in the theater, you might as well have a few put in. The labor is the big cost; you could have 4 20A circuits for not much more money. This would give you a lot of flexibility in the future. If you rent in moving lights and LEDs in the future, it could be a big benefit. At least run 2 circuits, provided the power and space in the breaker panel is there.

With the efficiency of new led movers you can run a lot of fixtures with little power.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

That's a good deal on that strobe too. If you are going to have a 208 or 240v outlet run in the theater, you might as well have a few put in. The labor is the big cost; you could have 4 20A circuits for not much more money. This would give you a lot of flexibility in the future. If you rent in moving lights and LEDs in the future, it could be a big benefit. At least run 2 circuits, provided the power and space in the breaker panel is there.

With the efficiency of new led movers you can run a lot of fixtures with little power.

Fair point. I wonder how many 240/20's I can fit in one conduit.