stubbo Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 hi I have a couple of questions for you guys, 1. can act 6 strand digital dimmers be used to supply power to moving heads 2. if they were used would this be legal and safe as my business has been asked to reinstall such a system back into a club that previosly used dimmers act6 dimmers to supply power vai multi-core cables to the rig to the 10 moving heads I am not the sparks my sparks has his doubts about this can you advise guys thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 hi I have a couple of questions for you guys, 1. can act 6 strand digital dimmers be used to supply power to moving heads 2. if they were used would this be legal and safeSimple answer - NO.NEVER supply dimmed power to any moving light, or anything else that needs a CONSTANT FIXED 230v power supply. You will risk damaging either the dimmer pack, the fixture or both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frazer Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Unless the movers required an external dimmer such as some Vari*lites then No. Nearly all movers require hard power. You would use Act 6's to provide power for other generic lanterns such as Par Can's. Install some technical power outlets in the rig for the movers to power from. Most movers have built in dimmers anyway, which is controlled from the lighting desk. Frazer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Even if it were possible, (it isn't) it would be a waste of dimmer channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 All moving lights prefer hard power - a line run directly from an MCB/RCBO/fuse, sometimes through a relay. Some can cope with a supply from a dimmer in 'switched' mode - but it is a case of 'coping'. As a rule, they don't like it. A few want a dimmed supply as well as the hard power - external dimmer tungsten Vari*lites for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMX Will Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Never a good idea, and to re-iterate whats been said, most fixtures in general require hard power. I wish I had spare dimmer channels to waste! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Show the customer cost difference between 6 off 5A MCBs against 1 off Act 6 dimmer sure he`ll see your point without having to get technical on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubbo Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Thanks guys for the advice been doing some homework of my own too, it would seem that they were using the act6 dimmers to switch the power to the movers which are robe xt's rather than fork out for a high current swiching control box!! for their mains it looks as if they have been using the channel test buttons to switch the power on and off to the individual heads, I have advised them that this is not good using it like this and also the rcds and mcbs are protective devices only as per regs and should not be used to switch power to the movers, they need the switching control (high Current) each mover takes 400va and there is 10 of them also the other effects which are non DMX, cans etc have been wired onto one phase which has burnt, any sugestions on what type of switching to use I could go to proteus and get them to make up a box but like all good club owners they never want to spend big money!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody74 Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 but like all good club owners they never want to spend big money!! I wonder how much it will cost to buy a new club after the first one burns to the ground ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Thanks guys for the advice been doing some homework of my own too, it would seem that they were using the act6 dimmers to switch the power to the movers which are robe xt's rather than fork out for a high current swiching control box!! for their mains it looks as if they have been using the channel test buttons to switch the power on and off to the individual heads, I have advised them that this is not good using it like this and also the rcds and mcbs are protective devices only as per regs and should not be used to switch power to the movers, they need the switching control (high Current) each mover takes 400va and there is 10 of them also the other effects which are non DMX, cans etc have been wired onto one phase which has burnt, any sugestions on what type of switching to use I could go to proteus and get them to make up a box but like all good club owners they never want to spend big money!! The surge is big when the lamp strikes but not when you power the unit up, it`ll power up he electronics but can be left to remote strike the lamp from the desk or, dunno if robes do martin does , have sequential strike where they strike one after another, after power up. So a big switch in addition to breaker at the end is one solution seen employed,other people here better qualified to comment, individual breakers per unit which of course are not to be used as switches to reset units... Mebbe move this to power section might get quicker answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Phillips Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 If they want to spend BIG money, buy and Avolites Art rack which will then cover your hard and dimmed power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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