Where do Macs get there power from

[techie18]

Hi all,

 

I am new to the Blue Room.

 

 

 

I was just wondering where Macs get there power from. I understand most of the areas of DMX and how all DMX fixtures are connected via XLR cables in a daisy chain from the LX board but do they get there power from normal domestic house sockets, do they plug into stage lighting sockets or do they get there power another way.

 

Can someone tell me?

 

I don't do much with intelligent lights in college because we don't have a DMX rig.

 

The reason I ask is that I want to purchase some DMX lights and a DMX controller. I am looking at getting a Geni- DM 4. Would I be able to control Mac 500s with this? I want to get some moving heads which can be controlled by a Geni DMX controller and don't know which ones are the best to get.

 

Thanks

 

James

[dunk_1984]

MAC's like most moving heads take power from IEC power, others have direct power.

 

The plug on the end of that could be a 13A 3 pin uK plug, or a 16A ceeform.

 

DMX is data, and does not carry power.

 

Also I won't start this one, but XLR is a connector not a cable or a protocol.

[paulears]

The power that we feed to moving lights and other things that don't like being connected to dimmers, we call 'hard power'. It might 'emerge' on a 13, 15 or 16 amp socket - the only important thing is that it is NOT coming from a dimmer.

 

Moving heads and mirrors come, as you've discovered in all shapes, sizes, qualities and brightnesses. Some are simple and maybe go left/right/up/down in a few colours and maybe with a few patterns (gobos). Others are much, much more sophisticated. You mention MAC 500s - perfectly good fixtures, maybe a little elderly now, but plenty of people can service them, and they are pretty tough.

 

Don't be offended, but we often get asked for opinions on what we term 'disco kit' - what we mean are cheap, and usually basic gear, often made by people other than the major professional players in the game. Much can be sourced from China - but can be good value for money. Usually this kind of stuff has a dedicated controller offereing a range of simple effects with not a lot of button pushing. A controller for a MAC500 needs to know how to work it - and the geni you mention isn't something many of us would be using or understand. I doubt it has the capability to control all the functions of a MAC500 - a fixture that usually has a much more sophisticated and capable control.

 

If you have to buy a Geni, perhaps it would be better to buy the matching Geni lights - Rather like saying you want to buy a quantity of parafin, and want to run a range rover on it. Daft comparison, I know - but that's how odd your combination sounds.

 

 

Often posts like this get a "what exactly do you want them to do" response - I think many of us can't quite work out what you are doing? Secondhand MACs maybe??

[smalljoshua]

MACs will work off of domestic power.

 

Personaly I woudn't use the GENI controler with MAC500's

A MAC 500 has over 10 Control Channels and IIRC the GENI can only control 4 Pan/Tilt/Shutter/Gobo for its Mojo Scan Units

 

Josh

[gareth]

With respect, James, this is fairly basic stuff ("how do moving lights get their power?") - shouldn't you have covered this on your BTEC course?

[Jram]

I was just wondering where Macs get there power from.

 

Porridge.

 

(Couldn't resist)

[techie18]

With respect, James, this is fairly basic stuff ("how do moving lights get their power?") - shouldn't you have covered this on your BTEC course?

Sorry don't want to sound stupid but we have never done anything with moving lights on my course. I ask because I find moving heads pretty facinating pieces of kit and would like to work with moving lights when I finish my course but with my course we are very unfortunate not to have a proper DMX rig. The only DMX fixtures we have are mojos which I know are powered by a domestic power supply. I know quite alot about DMX and want to learn more. I know more about analogue than I do DMX. As I say I don't want to sound stupid but this is something I can honestly say I didn't know!!Thanks fpr the reply anyway

 

To add more I probably will never get to use moving heads during my training so is this not something I need to know know before going into the industry as a proper LX technician?

[gareth]

Don't worry, I'm not suggesting you sound stupid! As they say, there's no such thing as a stupid question. If you don't know these things, then you need to ask. I just find it surprising that a BTEC course in theatre production doesn't teach its students some of the very basic stuff like how to get power to equipment like this. Perhaps if there's enough interest among your fellow students, your tutorial staff might be persuaded to devote a bit of time to learning about this kind of thing - if that's the case, let me know, as I live just a few miles from your college and I'm not that expensive!

 

Edit to account for additional bit of your post that appeared while I was typing mine! : I wouldn't say that it's something that you particulary need to know, in the same way that you need to know things like how to focus a generic or how to wire a plug ... but you'll almost certainly find yourself at a disadvantage at some stage if you don't have at least a basic grasp of automated lighting technology.

[techie18]

Thanks. My tutor knows loads about this kind of thing because he has been in the industry but I guess the way they look at it is if moving lights are not down in the course specs as something we do not need to know then there is no need for them to teach it to us!!

[Olie]

I am not sure that a forum is where you should be looking to get answers like this.

 

The question where do MACs get there power from is simple enough, generally it comes from a power station.

 

However the fact that you are asking the question and distiguishing between domestic and industrial supplies shows a lack of knowledge that I think is best answered by working with people with experience or on a course that covers this material.

 

I am sure you will soon find out that the destiction between a domestic and industrial supply is not that simple. The question you should be asking is how much current does the fixture draw and how much current can my electrical installation supply. When using moving head fixtures it is critical that you carry out the correct load calculations and ensure that the current you want to draw can be supplied. If you get these wrong then things tend to get very hot and go bang, or if it is realy boring the trip just goes. This is not something you pickup from a forum but learn through experience.

 

Presumably you have worked with generic lights. The prinicpals of loading are eactly the same with intelligent lights as they are with generic lights. Is this covered on your course or do they just assume you have loads of dimmers with a big fat electrical supply?

[Ynot]

I want to purchase some DMX lights and a DMX controller. I am looking at getting a Geni- DM 4. Would I be able to control Mac 500s with this? I want to get some moving heads which can be controlled by a Geni DMX controller and don't know which ones are the best to get.

I will be the one to question your need to actually BUY anything.

 

If you don't understand how DMX works or how to control fixtures, then the LAST thing you want to do is go out and invest in unfamiliar equipment.

You say the college has no DMX setup at the moment. That, I assume, also means no way of distributing DMX to the stage/grid etc. So anything you bring in will have to be powered from a hard-mains source and also fed with a DMX signal from a suitable desk.

As several have already said, a Geni desk is highly unlikely to be able to cope with the fine niceties of a beast like a Mac 500! Horses for courses, as they say!

 

Your best bet by far will be to look at hiring some kit to try out the opportunities that movers can offer, but I'd advise doing this only when you have a specific project in mind - that way you should hopefully have a target set in your mind for what you might want the fixture to do that your generic rig cannot.

 

If you DO decide to go ahead and buy, why are you looking at the Mac 500? These are pretty big moving heads, and weigh a fair amount. They're also not the cheapest options - even second hand.

If you look around there are smaller, more suitable heads like the Mac 250's, Robe 250's and such like - easier on the pocket and the back muscles!

[Droycewalker]

Just a quick suggestion, but have you considered visiting somewhere that has a rig with movers and have a look at how it's set up? We regularly recieve students at our venue, and will always do our best to answer questions, no matter how "stupid" people may think they seem... Alternatively, before splashing your hard earned around willy-nilly, look into hiring a moving head (a Mac 250's a fairly good start...) and a desk (Strand 300 or Pearl... Whatever takes your fancy...), download the 250 manual and play. You have to go fairly out of your way to bust things and it's only through experimentation that you get to learn how things work sometimes...

[Chris Beesley]

Looking at the Geni DM-4 its basically a DJ orientated controller for the range of Geni scanners etc available thru Maplin - with this in mind it will seriously limit the functions of higher spec moving lights. It might be worth looking into some of the more theatre/show dedicated suppliers etc for more ideas on ideal controllers/consoles. As the guys here have mentioned hiring can be a superb way to gain experience with the equipment and also trial what's best for a venue.

Another tip could be to take a day or two this year to visit ABTT and PLASA etc?

[techie18]

We do have the facilities to cope with DMX. We have a Strand 520I LX board. But we just don't have things like movers. If we need them we tend to hire them in but this rarely happens due to the cost amd we have to have a pretty good reason to need to use them in our LX designs. I keep on at college about buying a set of movers because I feel that digital lighting such as movers are the future. Give it a couple of years and the old 1630 spots and fresnels will no longer be used as movers and other digital fixtures will be the way to go. Does anyone agree with me on this? For our lessons with DMX the only instruments we have are a set of mojos.

 

To answer your question I know how DMX works. I obviously know that power comes from a power station, but when you have never used Macs it is pretty difficult to know where to actually plug one into!! I have carried a Mac 500 in a previous theatre I was at but just didn't seem where it was actually plugged into becuase by the sound of it it obviously doesn't get plugged into a circuit onstage which then takes the power to the dimmers like with notmal lanterns.

[Ben Langfeld]

Being picky, James, no lanterns send power to the dimmers. Also, generic fixtures are here to stay for another decade or two yet, so get comfy. Movers and LEDs might be gaining a lot of ground in RnR, but theatre is a whole other ball game. Movers and generics complement each other, and there's no need to choose one or the other.