Need help controlling antiquated school stage lighting system

[shiben]

I'm sorry but I don't agree.

Autotransformers by their very nature are passive devices and have no significant effect on the waveform transferred through them.
An auto transformer at 100% will have the output identical to the input.

As per wikipedia:

As with two-winding transformers, autotransformers may be equipped with many taps and automatic switchgear to allow them to act as automatic voltage regulators, to maintain a steady voltage at the customers' service during a wide range of load conditions. .

The whole thing is literally just a transformer. If putting a transformer in line with your dimmer would be a problem, you would never be able to use a dimmer in an installed situation, ever, because there are several transformers between the generation station and the end user. Plugging it in would probably be totally fine. The worst I could see happening is someone turn it to below its operating voltage and the dimmers dont turn on.

 

[mstaylor]

do not hook up dimmer packs to the outputs from the Autotransformer circuits - yes it will fry them..if they worked at all. if it was me, i would rent a portable Sensor pack ( 24 x 2K ) - have a qualified electrican tie in feeder for you at the power mains that is supplying the Autotransformer, and run some soft stage pin up to the strip lights - daisychain the Sensor pack to your console output and thats it. unfortunattly with Auto's there isnt really any legit way to use their output to power packs..or anything other than an incandescent load.

C

Transferring power from the old board to rental packs plus running temp cables will work. But you could transfer the power to a breaker panel and place the circuits on breakers. That way your power is already distributed, you can plug the shoeboxes in up on the electric and patch to them.

 

[tvanbuskirk]

Thanks. By the way, does anyone know where in the NY/NJ area I can rent shoebox dimmers that can handle that kind of load?

 

[avkid]

Try BML Blackbird in Secaucus, NJ.
(201)617-8900

 

[tvanbuskirk]

A final post from me on this topic. After speaking to a technician from Century and also with a stagecraft and lighting professor at Lehigh, I had enough comfort to try my idea. It works fine.