Inexpensive architechtural control options?

[dreamist]

Hey gang..

I'm looking at doing some re-wiring to get my house lighting under console control (it's currently all dimmed outside of my DMX environment), and am looking at my options for basic architectural control..

I operate an old barn theatre, and the house lighting is fairly sparse in general, so we're not talking about a lot of wattage here.. It's all currently handled on a couple physical dimmers. I was planning to pick up a 6 channel dimming unit to dedicate to the house lights.

I'm looking for the ability for someone to hit a button on a wall plate somewhere and turn on basic house lighting, as well as the ability to be able to fully control the house light channels via my console when in show mode.

The least expensive option I had been able to find so far is the Lightronics SR516D. Anyone have any experience with these? Are there other similar systems that I should look at?

Thanks for any ideas!

Joseph Dickson
Over the Ledge Theatre Co
Grand Ledge, MI

 

[doctrjohn]

I believe Doug Fleenor's PRE10-A will be a bit less expensive. The nice thing about that unit is that if it sense DMX from your lighting console it disables the buttons (assuming you put it inline with your lighting console). No more worrying about someone leaning against the station and turning on lights during a performance...

Best,
John

 

[Ford]

Take a look at the Preset 10 from Doug Fleenor. Google says that it's about $250 less expensive than the Lightronics unit.
You can record up to 10 snapshots. When your lighting console is plugged into the system with the Preset 10, the Preset 10 is passive.

Caveat... it uses alternate start codes to send data between multiple preset 10s at a time. This means that some legacy DMX products will have the infamous "7 second flicker". The only way to get rid of that is to a Fleenor Start Code Stripper.... which lists for about $250.

So, worst case, it would be a wash. Best case, you'd save about $250.

 

[microstar]

I have installed quite a few SR516's and they have always been reliable and worked well for the application. Agree that the Fleenor PRE10 would be a little cheaper though. If you're up for a little home-brew, you could get a Northlight Merge2 ($95) and a cheap ($90) Elation SD12 DMX console for the houselights and merge the main and houselight consoles' DMX. You'll need a power supply, case, and connectors for the Northlight pc board.
Disclaimer: I am a Lightronics dealer.

 

[dreamist]

I have installed quite a few SR516's and they have always been reliable and worked well for the application. Agree that the Fleenor PRE10 would be a little cheaper though. If you're up for a little home-brew

Looks like the Fleenor is only cheaper if you only want a single panel, unless I misunderstand.. The extra Lightronics panels are about half the cost of additional Fleenor panels.. (still damn expensive for what they are, but..)

I'd want at least two panels, so I think the Lightronics would have the advantage there.

Thanks for the thought on home-brew, I'll consider it..

 

[Scenemaster60]

Also, take a look at Interactive Technologies' Scene Station.
http://interactive-online.com/products/scenestation/overview
We installed this in our worship space 18 months ago and have not had a single problem.
We have 18 2.4k dimmers, 1 master (hard-wired) station and 5 satellite stations that are operating wireless with constant DC power.

I'd have to dig out the paperwork when I'm at the office to tell you what the control cost vs. the dimmers. The whole project was about 10k. for us.

 

[microstar]

Looks like the Fleenor is only cheaper if you only want a single panel, unless I misunderstand.. The extra Lightronics panels are about half the cost of additional Fleenor panels.. (still damn expensive for what they are, but..)

I'd want at least two panels, so I think the Lightronics would have the advantage there.

Thanks for the thought on home-brew, I'll consider it..

If you want multiple control points, yes, the LIghtronics will end up being cheaper. Plus there is the option of fader, button, combo, or simple switch stations where you can use cheap and commonly available push button or toggle switches to call up one or two presets at virtually no additional cost.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Also, take a look at Interactive Technologies' Scene Station.
http://interactive-online.com/products/scenestation/overview
We installed this in our worship space 18 months ago and have not had a single problem.
We have 18 2.4k dimmers, 1 master (hard-wired) station and 5 satellite stations that are operating wireless with constant DC power.

I'd have to dig out the paperwork when I'm at the office to tell you what the control cost vs. the dimmers. The whole project was about 10k. for us.

I have not used this but it seems really solid and attractively priced (in the $250 range as I recall for a single station.) Multiple stations possible - and wireless - so stick it anywhere or put one near dimmers and others without wire.

PS - More like $600. Sorry. Still a cool little product.

 

[RickR]

I've used both the P10 and Scene Station devices. They come out very similarly priced. The SS lets you avoid some wiring issues and does chases and fun stuff. The P10 has both 2 button and a merge/master versions, so the project details have made the choice. Often getting the 12VDC is the hard part.

The least expensive solution depends on the dimmer pack. Some have an emergency input that can be used with a simple toggle switch.

 

[microstar]

Take a look at the Preset 10 from Doug Fleenor. Google says that it's about $250 less expensive than the Lightronics unit.
You can record up to 10 snapshots. When your lighting console is plugged into the system with the Preset 10, the Preset 10 is passive.

Caveat... it uses alternate start codes to send data between multiple preset 10s at a time. This means that some legacy DMX products will have the infamous "7 second flicker". The only way to get rid of that is to a Fleenor Start Code Stripper.... which lists for about $250.

So, worst case, it would be a wash. Best case, you'd save about $250.

Just to reinforce, you are certainly correct that the PRE10A uses alternate start codes when using MULTIPLE units. But if you're only using one PRE10A, it behaves normally and does not use alternate start codes.

 

[gordonmcleod]

A low cost solution (but not typically DMX based) is to use multi preset dimmers often used in ballrooms and cinemas they usually have 3 or 4 preset levels set by pots on the pcb and fade between them on a dry contact closure and they also allow for a manual pot control
The Stanley Ash TEC8112 dimmer is one (http://www.ash-stevenson.com/dimmers.htm) or Kelmar systems(http://www.kelmarsystems.com/Sections/1lcs/index.html) and also Lutron Lehigh (http://www.lehighdim.com/lw2/index.php)