LED Conversion Upcoming

[Michael K]

Did you mean the Ovation E-910FC by chance? And instead of 2s spots, did you mean MK2? Just making sure

Yes , shoulda copy-pasted, got a spreadsheet with specks/features I've been putting together, and must have conflated it with the 260WW some how, that and the ever present auto correct, unless there's a mini color mixing spot my fingers somehow know about

 

[Ron Foley]

why would you tear out the dimmer racks
you can get New Non Dim modules, retrofit processors from either Strand or Johnson Controls
the base rack (as you indicated) is a work horse.

the C 21 retrofit from Strand is exactly what is being supplied with the new C 21 dimmer racks.

 

[sdauditorium]

why would you tear out the dimmer racks
you can get New Non Dim modules, retrofit processors from either Strand or Johnson Controls
the base rack (as you indicated) is a work horse.

the C 21 retrofit from Strand is exactly what is being supplied with the new C 21 dimmer racks.

That's where I'm a bit torn. The theatrical consultant who came in and met with us brought up both options. Obviously, either the retrofit or new racks will give the same desired effects. Their caution was that at almost 30 years old (I know they're workhorses) that we should make the switch to new racks while we had the funding instead of potentially throwing money into something the retrofit and then having something more detrimental happen to the old racks down the road necessitating more funding needed to then replace the racks anew anyway.

 

[RonHebbard]

That's where I'm a bit torn. The theatrical consultant who came in and met with us brought up both options. Obviously, either the retrofit or new racks will give the same desired effects. Their caution was that at almost 30 years old (I know they're workhorses) that we should make the switch to new racks while we had the funding instead of potentially throwing money into something the retrofit and then having something more detrimental happen to the old racks down the road necessitating more funding needed to then replace the racks anew anyway.

@sdauditorium @Ron Foley In my not so humble opinion, if you retrofit your existing Strand racks, essentially all you're keeping is the welded steel frame, durable copper wiring and REALLY robust durable interconnects. (Basically parts with a '1/2 life' measured in centuries) Time, technology and electronics will march on but the portions of the racks you'd be keeping would continue to provide solid reliable service until the powder-coated paint fails and the steel rusts through.
Them's my thoughts.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[MNicolai]

That's where I'm a bit torn. The theatrical consultant who came in and met with us brought up both options. Obviously, either the retrofit or new racks will give the same desired effects. Their caution was that at almost 30 years old (I know they're workhorses) that we should make the switch to new racks while we had the funding instead of potentially throwing money into something the retrofit and then having something more detrimental happen to the old racks down the road necessitating more funding needed to then replace the racks anew anyway.

FWIW, I think the dimmer racks are a temporary problem at worst. Lot of projects coming online that are now fully LED with power control from DMX-controlled relay panels with no dimmers on-site whatsoever. I've got a couple projects in the works right now where the only dimmers are 0-10V control for the LED drivers at house/lobby lighting.

Puts you in a bind if you have an existing inventory of incandescents you want to keep using and your rack craps out on you, but at some point you have to ask yourself how much longer you're really going to need those dimmers for.

 

[Ron Foley]

would you replace all the electrical panels in your building, simply because you can get the funding?
most likely not.


As you move to LED you will still want to switch power, that is where hard contact Non Dims come to play
you can buy NEW Non dim modules for your racks.

and remember if you are replacing the CD 80 racks with the Sensor racks
there is a good size labour bill and you will need to extend the mains feeds it the power enters the rack from the bottom (as one would expect it would)
CD 80 racks are bottom fed
Sensor racks have there Mains stacked
and a good portion of the load lines will also need to be exretnded.
neutrals will also need to be addresed.

 

[sdauditorium]

All good points which reasserts my preference towards the retrofit instead of replacement. And, it wouldn't hurt to free up a bit more of that half million towards additional/better quality fixtured.

 

[sdauditorium]

At this point, I'm leaning towards retrofitting our CD80 rack and Environ house/worklight controls with Johnson Controls retrofits, preset stations, and a load of the non-dim relay power modules for our LEDs. Also in this, I want to configure the controls so that we're able to control house/work lights directly from our board and upgrade control wiring to DMX. We still have original AMX wiring from booth to rack with separate house/work light control via the house control panels, so I'm planning to have that incorporated with these upgrades.

 

[Ron Foley]

the control wire for the AMX 192 will most likley be Beledon 9156, this fine for DMX 512, no need to change the wire.
what are your control stations, Outlook or Microcontrol?

 

[sdauditorium]

No clue, actually. They're bronze in finish and have a fader for incadesecent house light control, a square button for on/off for control, and four more square buttons to control aisle lights and three various banks of fluorescent fixtures in the house. There's no name or markings on them otherwise. A Google image search didn't give me any clues either.

 

[Ron Foley]

these wouls be Micro control or Accent
(Accent) have a small processor on the back card
Micro Contol

Micro Control photo attached

 

[epimetheus]

I've been delving a lot into these things, my excuse is that my college is getting a renovation in a couple of years, but mostly because I find it interesting to look at all the new shiny things. So IMHO...

I would go with Ovation E-290FC over the ColorSource Spots, for the increased output and amber emitters (plus they're a bit less.)
If you don't need the extra zoom of the Mk 1 spots, I would go for the Most 2s spots, to get the all rotating gobos and variable cmy filter, plus the extra output won't hurt. I Would also go for the Mk 2 profiles for FOH specials where the shutters, and higher CRI would make a difference.

Any way, lots of demos to come, have fun. Good lu... er break a (scenic) leg

We've had 4 Mk2 Spots for about a year and love them. We're using them as backlight eye candy, but the worked well for specials during our Christmas production as well. We just ordered 2 Mk2 Profiles to replace our pair of VL770's on one of our FOH catwalks. The morning before our last show of our Christmas production one of the 770 lamps decided to go a-bomb and take out the reflector and who knows what else. Turned out good because it convinced the powers above to sign off on the Mk2 Profile purchase.

 

[bharrell]

We would be happy to talk about upgrading or replacing your Strand racks and distribution system as we offer high quality dimming/relay/distribution systems. Let me know if interested.

 

[mikefellh]

In our case currently our fluorescent house lights use the old G.E. solenoids that are controlled with 24v switches,although next time it comes to changing bulbs we'll consider going with dimmable LED and replace the solenoids. What the solenoid and switches look like (we have type top style switches):

 

[Ron Foley]

The other note I would like to make
if you go with the Strand C 21 retrofit kits and Vision net, you can use the existing control wire from the Micro Control
as noted DMX will run on the existing AMX 192 control cable
and Vision net will run on the existing Micro control wire

So you do not need to worry about any control wire.

attached is a photo with Vision Net running over 300 plus feet of microphone wire for the data pair

 

[sdauditorium]

Just an update: we have a meeting scheduled for next Wednesday with McKinstry to go over the auditorium portion of the project. At this point, here is my adjusted, proposed fixture package that I'm looking at pending fixture demos:

• 60 - Altman PHX 250W LED Profile, RGBW
• 30 - Altman PHX 250W LED Profile, RGBA
• 1 - Chauvet Pro Rogue R2 Wash
• 15 - Chauvet Maverick MK2 Wash
• 8 - Chauvet Maverick MK2 Spot
• 4 - Chauvet Maverick MK2 Profile
• 16 - ETC ColorSource Cyc
• 3 - Altman UV 705
• 18 - ETC Desire D60 Vivid
• 20 - Chroma-Q Color Force II RGBA 12"
• 4 - Elation Protron 3K Strobe
• 2 - Robert Juliat Roxie Cool White LED Followspot
• 1 - ETC Nomad 6144 output dongle
• Ion 6K Output Upgrade

Data distribution, rack upgrades, etc., will all be covered separately.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Go for the Oz over the Roxey, imho.

 

[JohnD]

From the limited info available, the OZ (and the wide throw Alice) look very good, output equal to a 1200 watt followspot. ACT lighting doesn't have them listed in the price list yet.
As far as the listed demos, I wonder how the Altman PHX will do. I also wonder about the former issues with Altman and firmware updates. I wonder if they can be easily done on site or do the units have to be shipped back to Altman.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I've been assured the price of the 600 watt LED will be comparable or a little under the 1200 hmi. And quieter. And a few months to shipping. Well see. Luckily I'm specifying for deliveries in fall of 2019.

 

[Michael K]

• 60 - Altman PHX 250W LED Profile, RGBW
• 30 - Altman PHX 250W LED Profile, RGBA

A word of warning, last I heard (which was a while ago), the Altman Phx has terrible color fringing, so be sure to look out for that and try a few different angles and a selection of gobos. (perhaps related to what @JohnD mentioned?) Also, at least on paper, they put out ~1/3 as much as a 575w S4 in open white, and ~2/3 as much light as the variable white Ovation do, and will have noticeably poorer white and color rendering.

I'm really pushing the Ovation line, @Ford where do I submit my resume?