Is It Possible To?

[tom_the_LD]

If you were to buy some standard 13A rope light (You know what I mean, the Christmas stuff which does all the effects), if you were to stick a 13A socket to 15A plug converter on it would you be able to stick it on a dimmer and fade it etc. and generally have control over it with the desk we have (which is a lovely sirius 24)

 

Cheers

[Frag_Me]

Generally speaking, yes - but if the ropelight has got funny controllers and suchlike it may not like you doing that. We've converted standard "plug it in and go" ropelights before no problem, but don't take that as gospel.

[Ynot]

If you were to buy some standard 13A rope light if you were to stick a 13A socket to 15A plug converter on it would you be able to stick it on a dimmer and fade it etc.

I doubt this would work. Most of the rope lights currently around the Xmas marketplace all have a multi-function controller (ie the box that creates all the effects). That box will require a constant voltage to allow it to work at all and do it's job - that then outputs the required voltage/sequence to the ropes (which may be mains, may be low voltage).

 

If you try to dim the supply to that controller you'll probably end up frying it!

 

There are commercially dimmable rope lights available - try your local hire source - that are simply a number of on/off channels wired thru to 3 or 4 mains inputs that CAN be dimmed/chased. I would NOT advocate a DIY attempt at modifying a dom3stic rope however.

[Ekij]

A rope light with a control box will (almost certainly) have a Switched-Mode Power Supply Unit in it.

Trying to dim this will result in no change (all lamps full) for most of the dimming range (possibly damaging the SM-PSU) and then the box will fail (all lamps off).

If there is no SM-PSU and the ropelight is fed directly it will almost certainly be a number of low voltage lamps in series.

If these lamps are normal incandescent lamps then they will dim fine.

If they are LEDs (which are becoming much more common these days) they will not dim "normally". LEDs are non-linear and you are unlikely to be able to get a dimmer curve that will give you the normal response, however they will be dimmable to some extent (probably seeing very little dimming from 100% -> 50% and then much faster dimming from 50% -> 10%, persistent light down to 0% (may even remain always on slightly if you have pre-heat).

[3guk]

From my experience it works fine, obviously if it has a transformer in it, then you may have problems, the stuff we have is just straight 240v and dims just perfectly !! It it has got some circuitry gubbins for doing effects, then most of the time you can just cut that box off, and feed it with 240V.

 

Be careful though, all the boxes I have cut off have not had any transforming gear in and hence have not come across many problems !!

[Jivemaster]

The chance of a SM psu surviving a phase angle dimming and remaining functional is slight.

[Dj Dunc]

In my experience, theres not a cat-in-hells chance. we once had an idiot so called "technical director" uni student. and it took two sets of ropelights to convince him that it would not work with our betapacks. These ropelights were the button push on box jobs.

[Dave Hallett]

If you were to buy some standard 13A rope light (You know what I mean, the Christmas stuff which does all the effects), if you were to stick a 13A socket to 15A plug converter on it would you be able to stick it on a dimmer and fade it etc. and generally have control over it with the desk we have (which is a lovely sirius 24)

 

Cheers

If you have ropelight which does effects and has a control box then no it is not possible without eventual sadness. If it is 'dumb' ropelight which just plugs in and glows then yes - we had a whole lot of it on the MTV EMAs. The only thing to be aware of is that some (less new) dimmers will 'bleed' enough voltage even when off to make a low wattage fixture (like ropelight) glow. So if you're using long bits (more than about 10 metres) per circuit it should be OK, but if it's 1 to 2m per circuit then try it first with your dimmers.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[tom_the_LD]

We have 4 zero 88 betapack 2's totalling 24 channels

[Ynot]

We have 4 zero 88 betapack 2's totalling 24 channels

Ummm.... Not really sure why this is relevant here!

 

However, one option here Tom is to hire in a DMX switch-pack. You can, IIRC, get single/dual channel packs, which mean you can plug in a fixture (eg rope lights) and assign the switch pack a DMX channel which will turn the mains on to the pack when the DMX channel reaches (eg) 50% and voila - rope light heaven!!

[Jamtastic3]

I've plugged in ropelights (without controllers) in switch packs and dimmers before and it's fine, but do you not need a 'dumbie' patched in with the ropelight when using short pieces through dimmers?

[GridGirl]

We have 4 zero 88 betapack 2's totalling 24 channels

 

If you do find ropelight that you can plug into your dimmers, I suspect the Betapack 2's will have enough residual current going through them to make short pieces of ropelight glow even when the channel is at zero....simple solution is to plug in a dummy load - grab a lantern that you're not using - even a 500w floodlight will do the trick if you have no spare theatrical units, put it somewhere out of sight and pair it with the ropelight channel; it will absorb the residual current and your problem is solved ;) Just don't forget that the lantern WILL come on when you bring the channel up, so put it somewhere where it isn't going to burn anything (ie, not lens-down on a wooden shelf - not me, a classmate!).

[b1nuzz]

just my 2p's worth.

 

We have dimmed standard rope lights before no problems at all. As long as they dont have a control box on them.

That goes a bit funy if you try to dim that.

 

Depending on the type of rope light, you may have to put a dummy load on the same circuit.

[robloxley]

Depending on the type of rope light, you may have to put a dummy load on the same circuit.

Surely it depends more on the dimmer, rather than the ropelight per se, whether you need a dummy load?

[Don Allen]

Yes it does depend on the dimmer, or more specifically on what method of triggering is used for the output triacs or scr's. Have a read of this LSC http://www.lsclighting.co.uk/forums/index....=post&id=47 to learn the difference between pulse fired which can supply almost every type of load and opto fired, which do not like pin spots, mirror ball motors etc.

 

Fitting a dummy load or "ghost light" can solve a lot of your problems.

 

Manufacturers will sometimes specify a minimum load for their dimmers to function correctly. Do your research and read up on the manufacturers specs so you don't have any problems with your show.