Building a Lighting Console?

[JD]

Topic swerve but I remember that back in the day linear pots were very hard to find. There was a very popular recording console, by Tascam I think (Paul Winter Consort toured with one for a while) that used a rotary pot on a sliding sled, with old fashioned radio dial cord wrapped around a pulley on the pot shaft, and there was a knob extended to the top of the mounting plate. I have also seen people use an oversized pot, and only use about 20% of the throw with a metal bar extending through a slot in a curved panel. Then there was the classic Times Square dimmer pack which used 6-600 watt household dimmers mounted sideways in the housing with a nylon gear on the dimmer shaft, then there was a pivoting piece with a handle on top and on the opposite side, an arc of teeth to engage the gear.

I don't recall there being a problem finding linear pots, it's just Log pots were more common due to their use in audio boards. You just had to spec on the order Linear or Log.

I remember that Times Square stuff! I remember one coming in for service. I opened it up and my jaw dropped! You have got to be kidding!

 

[DrPinto]

Absolutely, because that Kliegl Bros. two-scene preset was the pinnacle of lighting console design. It's been downhill ever since. /sarcasm
Perhaps they "were easily replaceable without tools or soldering" because they broke so often? I still have nightmares/flashbacks.
.

For someone replacing a six dimmer auto-transformer system with this Kliegl board, it WAS the pinnacle of lighting console design at the time!

I wish that modern boards incorporated the modular sliders that were backlit. They look so freakin' easy to service. I just finished replacing some pots on a Leprecon board and it was a total PITA.