casey_cole Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Hey! Our school has just bought two ex-hire Furze 2.5KW follow spots which are good in every way, except they have no dimmer - mechanical or electronic. We want two single channel, 13A in, 15A out dimmer packs with manual faders built into them, preferably cheap-ish - and I have worn my keyboard out trying to find a solution online to no avail whatsoever. Does anyone know of any product that meets our criteria? If so - please post some info, maybe a picture, and a link to somewhere that sells them. Thanks, CC Edit: Forgot to add what I've found so far: http://www.terralec.co.uk/prod.asp?I=16013...1=DIMMER_MODULE only 1kW. http://www.prolight.co.uk/product_more_inf...dnProductID=430 doesn't specify a wattage limit - but it hasn't got hot IEC sockets, so... (no price either) CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 There's more than a few options at 2kW, but at 2,5kW this is the only thing I could find from our friends in Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey_cole Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Oooh. Head of Drama won't be happy at that price tag (but who ever heard of the guy with the money being happy about giving it out? :huh:) I don't know much (anything) about 16A stuff - so could you provide a bit more help please. Would we need to take a 15A socket and some thick tri-core and wire it into the output of the dimmer? Or is the 16A output going to be a socket already - so use an adaptor? Bascially - how do we get it 15A female output? (Alternatively we could wire the spot straight in, I suppose...) Thanks for the help J. CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I don't know what sockets are fitted. Ring thomann to check, they're a friendly bunch and you don't even realise you're speaking to non-english people. Be aware that the Drama dept may have to use preferred suppliers, which could count thomann out of it. Price wise £99 is very good for a 16A dimmer. Most dimmers you will have come across will be 10A, despite the 15A socket fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Would we need to take a 15A socket and some thick tri-core and wire it into the output of the dimmer? Or is the 16A output going to be a socket already - so use an adaptor? Basically - how do we get it 15A female output? (Alternatively we could wire the spot straight in, I suppose...)2 options. 1) take off the 15a plug thats on the f/spot and fit a 16, thats no problem to do at all, 16a plugs are very easy to find, even terralec do them.. at a surprisingly lowish price. 2) make/use an adaptor, again quite simple, no re wiring of the dimmer unit itself or anything that hard needed! Just ask your supplier of theatre stuff to give you a 16a plug to 15a socket adaptor, basically a bit of cable with a 16a plug on one end, a 15a socket on the other. Or if your inclined to make one yourself, just get the parts I just listed and make one. Cable doesn't need to be anything special, 3 core 1.5mm will do, 3 core 2.5mm if you want to be picky! :huh: HTH. Tom p.s. Technically fluent people - Are we sure that single channel dimmer on the website of our German friends is a 16a ceeform and not one of their odd European plugs their gear so often has? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Oooh. Head of Drama won't be happy at that price tagThat's dirt cheap for a 15A rated dimmer. The really cheap stuff is all low current because it's easier to make a low-current dimmer that works - cheaper silicon, less heatsinking, less copper. p.s. Technically fluent people - Are we sure that single channel dimmer on the website of our German friends is a 16a ceeform and not one of their odd European plugs their gear so often has?Could be either - it doesn't say.I'd guess that it's a Schuko though, as I'd expect to see the flap in the photo if it was ceeform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 p.s. Technically fluent people - Are we sure that single channel dimmer on the website of our German friends is a 16a ceeform and not one of their odd European plugs their gear so often has?Have to say that looking at that picture there aren't any obvious recognisable sockets on it...There are two grey-ish shapes at the top that COULD be sockets, but don't recognise them....Would be well worth checking before buying. TD The pic on the Ultralite web site (German) is a little better, but still nothing too obvious. HOWEVER, on a whim I downloaded the pdf file which is fortunately in both German and English. It says that the 2 sockets or Schuko, so you'd be better off, I'd say, getting a Schuko plug & 15A socket and making an adapter lead - that means the spot could be used in other ways if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Ah, good digging there Tony! Was just about to post something very similar to what you put :huh:.. Is it just me or is that dimmer just a re-badged Anytronics dimmer? Basically, you can now do a few things, wire a schuko onto the tail of the f/spot, such as this one >> clicky or this one if you prefer a rubber/tougher version >> clicky2 If you want to keep your spots on 15a, then you can use that same plug and just make a pair of schuko plug to 15a socket adaptor. I'm sure you'll be able to deduce how to go about getting/making one of them from what I & others have said already. Good luck. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 http://www.prolight.co.uk/product_more_inf...dnProductID=430 doesn't specify a wattage limit - but it hasn't got hot IEC sockets, so...Looking at this one, it does say max 10A, and as the IEC's should each be rated at 10A you should, I'd say, be ok.Again, I'd suggest checking with manufacturer/supplier first. Not sure what you mean by 'hot IEC' though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Not sure what you mean by 'hot IEC' though....Hot condition? Bit strange of you to say that if thats what you meant.. Erm, if you really can't find a nicely priced, easy to get 2.5kw/10a rated dimmer, just down rate your spots to 2kw lamps.. Looking at this one, it does say max 10A, and as the IEC's should each be rated at 10A you should, I'd say, be ok.Again, I'd suggest checking with manufacturer/supplier first.These units ARE ok to pull 10a on, used them a few times for remote dimming. The guy I hire them off got them from cpc >> loverly link to the right CPC page Think those are your best bet mate.. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 some people using technology when it isn't required :huh: get a piece of card (suitable fire proofed of course )and place it in the colour frame furthest from the lamp,voila an instant dimmable follow spot , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingertom Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 For what its worth:I've just been through the same procedure with my house spots, and after much deliberation and research in to suppliers and technical backup etc, went for the Anytronics 2.5K Pro-dims. I have to say that I am more than happy with the units and they seem fairly robust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 One thought - 2.5k lamps in a school could just be overkill - lamp costs are also higher - why not see if there is a lower power version and use the cheap dimmers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 some people using technology when it isn't required :huh: get a piece of card (suitable fire proofed of course )and place it in the colour frame furthest from the lamp,voila an instant dimmable follow spotTrue, this could be a different option, BUT isn't necessarily the best option for dimming, especially when there's a chance that smaller (ie younger) people with shorter arms may well be spot opp-ing. It would make more practical sense to have a dimmer, and it would be safer, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 As far as I am aware, the industry standard follow-spot dimmer is the Mode SD2500. Available for £99 and has a large slider pot and a flash button. It comes without a case as standard so for stand-alone use you will need to buy a shroud for an extra £24. See www.aclighting.com/prices/pdf_prices/Mode.pdf. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.