Upgrading Circus Lighting Rig - Console

[RealPerson]

I am currently working with a Chicago based circus group(nontravelling) on upgrading our lighting rig. The group was previously focused on teaching classes but is now switching to being performance focused. We are currently working with a very limited inventory of lights but as we start producing more shows we plan on increasing our inventory. The current inventory is 6 COLORado 1-Quads for side light, 6 PAR64s for front light, and a Leviton MC 7524 light board.

I am working with a budget of $5,000 right now and am looking to get a new light board and possibly a few front lights but I think getting new lamps for the PAR64s should suffice for the next show. In terms of light boards I am wanting to get an EOS based one since that is what I know best and it will give us room to grow. I am looking at the Element 1, classic EOS, and the nomad. I have used an Element 1 in the past and worked on a nomad very briefly. I am looking for advice on which console to go with and to see if folks had any other suggestions. Thank you for your time.

 

[techieman33]

I would lean towards nomad to free up the extra money for more lights. As long as your show is mostly cue based and you have a touch screen then you should be ok. And you can always expand with fader wings, command wings, or custom keyboards if you need to as more more becomes available in the future.

 

[jglodeklights]

An Element Classic (Windows 7 Version) would be reasonable if you can find one with its faders in good condition. I'd avoid the XP based version of it as you can't upgrade past EOS 2.9. 2.9 isn't bad, but there is a lot of fader logic that has been improved in 3.0 and 3.2 that makes busking anything much better. My main quibble with the console is it was produced pre-unified EOS key layout. It lacks certain dedicated buttons like those for accessing and storing palettes (for example you need to double-tap the "FRAME" key to put Color Palette on the command line). You'll need one or two good touchscreen monitors to smooth your workflow. For your budget it would fit.

I'd divorce yourself from the idea of an EOS Classic- they are long in the tooth at this point and cannot run the current software. They aren't meant to run for 30 years like some of the Expression consoles and most of the internals will be reaching their life expectancy if they haven't already.

A Nomad build out would also work very well, though you could very well end up spending $4000-$5000 between the dongle, DMX interface, computer, touchscreens and interface devices. There are some alternatives to say grabbing an EOS Programming wing like customized keyboards and encoder devices like the JOSC at/2 Encoder Module. If you ever do tour it would likely be the easiest setup to bring with you especially with a couple of portable style touchscreens and say a Windows Surface PC.

 

[jtweigandt]

If it were me.. Nomad with the standard 2 universes.. Consider a used All in one pc with touchscreen and add an inexpensive second monitor screen. 1. You'll have the Eos family workflow at your fingertips, and can put the expanded eos keyboard on your touch screen and also have virtual faders for your submasters. 2. You can use it without the "gadget" and set it for artnet, which you can get an artnet box in the 200 buck range and run your long runs with Cat5e cable. If the money drops out of the sky, transition to a conventional console will be more seamless with essentially zero staff training.

Nomad 2 universes 560 bucks.. Used all in one pc.. 300 to 500 artnet 150 extra monitor 150.. Lots of capability for under 1500 bucks.

I'm running on the pknight 2 universe artnet boxes for the last season .. have been reliable and bullet proof so far. I have 3 active with a "hot spare" mounted next to them.. and a fifth stored in a drawer. About 115 bucks a pop when I got them. Very easy to address with just their push buttons and led display. We were getting too long on our dmx daisy chains, and too many devices and suffering from some "dirty signal problems" Sub dividing the dmx runs further fixed that, and also made the cabling much more logical and traceable.

 

[egilson1]

I recently did a nomad set up with an Elation Netron EP2 - 2 Port Ethernet to DMX Gateway and a cmd_key programming keyboard. That was just under $1500. I already had the laptop.

 

[rsmentele]

I know you asked about Eos specifically, but buying a Netron gateway as egilson1 suggested would give you a 4 universe license to Onyx software. Why spend more money? Add an NX-K programming keypad for under $400 and you get 4 encoders and command keys.
Just offering other ideas to save money.

 

[derekleffew]

but I think getting new lamps for the PAR64s should suffice for the next show.

Do the old ones light up or not? There's not a lot of value in incandescent lights "partially working."

 

[RealPerson]

After reading over all your comments I am going to go with a nomad setup as it is the most flexible and cheapest compared to the other options. Thank you all for the advice it is much appreciated!

 

[RealPerson]

Do the old ones light up or not? There's not a lot of value in incandescent lights "partially working."

The old ones do currently light up, I used them in a show last year and one showcase this year. I just don't have any clue how old the lamps are that are in them and they all have varying levels of brightness that I am hoping to fix with new lamps. I have barely started my search for front lights but since we don't have a proper dimmer rack I know I want LED and I am hoping this upcoming show will build up enough of a budget to a few ellipsoidals.

 

[techieman33]

The old ones do currently light up, I used them in a show last year and one showcase this year. I just don't have any clue how old the lamps are that are in them and they all have varying levels of brightness that I am hoping to fix with new lamps. I have barely started my search for front lights but since we don't have a proper dimmer rack I know I want LED and I am hoping this upcoming show will build up enough of a budget to a few ellipsoidals.

You probably have different wattages and beam spreads.

 

[RealPerson]

I know you asked about Eos specifically, but buying a Netron gateway as egilson1 suggested would give you a 4 universe license to Onyx software. Why spend more money? Add an NX-K programming keypad for under $400 and you get 4 encoders and command keys.
Just offering other ideas to save money.

I am currently working with this group as a part time gig/volunteer so I don't have a lot of time to learn new software. I understand we could save money if we went with something other than EOS but I would rather save time.

 

[RealPerson]

You probably have different wattages and beam spreads.

I could believe they have different wattages. I believe the beam spreads are all the same. To be honest I haven't had a chance to check with how little time we have each show. This upcoming show we fortunately have way more prep time for.

 

[almorton]

Look at the lenses (with the lamps off) and if they don't look identical they're different spreads. Dead clear is very narrow spot, sort of speckled frosted is narrow spot, lots of little "stripes" like an old style car headlamp is medium flood (or  maybe wide flood).

Wattage will be on the rear of the lamp, either printed on the back of the reflector or on the ceramic connector.

 

[RealPerson]

Look at the lenses (with the lamps off) and if they don't look identical they're different spreads. Dead clear is very narrow spot, sort of speckled frosted is narrow spot, lots of little "stripes" like an old style car headlamp is medium flood (or  maybe wide flood).

Wattage will be on the rear of the lamp, either printed on the back of the reflector or on the ceramic connector.

I appreciate the help but I do know how to check this. I just haven't had the time or chance to yet as I am barely ever in the space and, even when I am there, classes are going on so I don't have the opportunity to break out the extension ladder to check. I am waiting on someone who is there more often to send me pictures of the lamps.

 

[almorton]

OK NP