New equipment... yay... but the nerves about learning it...

tenor_singer

Active Member
Just got the tour of our new auditeria (audirorium where the floor doubles as the cafeteria). I am excited... yet nervous.

We have the following lighting:

Strand 300 series with 48 channels and 24 sub-masters.
Wireless HP PDA for focusing
A full rack of Strand CD80 dimmers
A ton of new Strand Ellipsoidals and Altman 6" Fresnels and cyc lights (16)
A back up controler on the stage by strand (called an auxillary control).

Please help nate and amanda (my stage and tech managers who regularly post here) out with any questions that he may have as this new equipment just out-jumped my tech sophistication.

Thanks!

Tenor.

Thank you.
 
Congratulations on what looks to be a great inventory.

I am confident that any questions you may have will be answered. In the meantime, I guess that you have been busy reading the manuals (and probably downloading them or copying them so that you have your own copies to make notes on).

Ensure that the originals get put aside for future generations.
 
Oh, that sounds like a very exciting upgrade for your school. Congratulations on the new equipment.

While I, unfortunately, do not know much about Strands equipment, I'm sure everyone here can put there heads together and figure out any problem that you may run into.
 
im pretty good with the strand 300(along with the people here who've helped me...), any questions just ask.
 
AVGuyAndy said:
Sounds preet fancy! What role does the PDA play?

The PDA is wireless and has strand's OS installed on it. There is a wireless receiver for the PDA linked to our console, so I can stand on stage and use it to raise and lower lights when focusing/patching...etc. instead of running back and forth to the booth to make appropriate adjustments.

Considering that my very first light board was an old luxtrol with solid state controls (carbon brushes sliding along a coil of copper wires for dimming) and that my first computer was the commodore vic-20, I am simply amazed at what current technology has to offer.
 
we have a R-120 weird remote, still very handy. though a pda would be nice...
 
the pda is amazing, it can be used for much more than focusing. I have one on our console. It can program the entire system. Patch, Cues, Subs, & normal stuff like levels. You can also run the whole show from it provided your console is turned on. It also, if using sn110 nodes alows you to edit the settings on those through the integrated web browser. I must say it is one of my favorite toys.

just a note, the pda can be added to any existing strand console that suports it. (I think just the 300 & 500's)
 
We run the HogIII PC and I have a small Sony Vaio laptop with WiFi, so I just use Remote Desktop Connection and have full control fo the lighting system - as if i was sitting at my desk. It's awsome! I even sometimes run the lights while sitting in the front row of our auditorium - that kind of freaks people out though when they figure out whats going on... it's amazingly helpful.
 
tenor_singer said:
my first computer was the commodore vic-20.

LOL - so was mine! and then how cool was it when the Commodore 64 came out!!
 
koncept said:
just a note, the pda can be added to any existing strand console that suports it. (I think just the 300 & 500's)

Actually, no. The console (300 or 500 series) needs to have two things: a working NIC and the network software installed/configured.

The PDA software will run on any Windows Mobile device with a network cnxn. You can fairly easily get the Strand board to recognize any PCI nic with DOS drivers given some DOS and TCP/IP know-how. You do need the key for the software though.
 
Mayhem said:
tenor_singer said:
my first computer was the commodore vic-20.

LOL - so was mine! and then how cool was it when the Commodore 64 came out!!

What was really cool was that my mother was hired to teach computer science at a local high school. She used to program HUGE mainframes with punch cards and was thusly considered the most qualified candidate (computer science degrees simply did not exist then). She was excited that her school purchased her a lab of 24 commodore 60 computers and got one for us at home. It didn't take long to toss the vic-20.
 
I have no idea what you guys are talking about,I guess i'm just too young. The first computer I ever saw was an Apple II.
 
Hmm... WRFU... Strand 300... I like wireless!
 
i love wireless, when they design a wireless soundboard (which my friend argues that something like that can't really work out) i would be in heaven.
 
Sombra2 said:
i love wireless, when they design a wireless soundboard (which my friend argues that something like that can't really work out) i would be in heaven.

It actually exists somewhat, however it does require a bit of computer know-how and a decent amount of money. Basically use something like a BSS SoundWeb system and a Windows PC combined with a laptop. Its a very expensive idea, but with all the advances in digital consoles we may very well see a WRFU of sorts for sound consoles in the future. It sure would make sound checks easier and possible with only 1 person.
 
Wireless is sweet

Wireless sound is alive and well. But I tell you it's easier to move the fader instead of punching in shortcuts to select all the info you need on your laptop. Running a show wireless is another deal. But do you really want to risk a remote automationm failure during a show?

Be carefull with wireless Strand. It is very cool and works great. The cost is negotiable. Look for your regional strand rep to negotiate it's price. They want to sell you the whole package (password key, PDA, and access point) for around $2k. I negotiated the password for a lot less and bought my own HP rx3115 pda for $325, and access point for $50. We have 2 530i, and 1 550i strand boards for a little trheatre, a symphonic hall and our arena. really good boards. cumbersome for movers, but a fairly decent library of fixtures. check to see if a router will get you more than 1 pda on line. an access point will only allow 1 wireless at a time. BTW- Strand is changing the wired remotes around. They don't have the R120-140 any more. they have a new one and it runs for about $1700. I negotiated my wireless cheaper. a $300 pda is cheaper to replace than a $1700 wired- but i recommend getting a tether or back for it.
 

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