phillyrhythm Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 HI Sorry for the silly question but I could really do with some help.I'm buildinga abig musical; sculpture and on the inside I'd like to have a three or four sets of different colured lights(fairy perhaps) Now I want to be able to move the feed from one set gradually to another so as to gently blend the different shades, could I do this if I attached them all to separtae dimmer switches or not, is there a way that I could control all four sets of lights from one controller?any help will be really appriciatedcheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 What degree of control do you need? Will you need to have control over the way they run, or are you happy to let the controller do whatever preprogrammed things the manufacturer decided to imbue it with? Is there a budget here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Mains Voltage fairy lights can be dimmed with the majority of both d0mestic and theatrical dimmers. The ones with transformers or controllers included cannot - this particularly includes all LED fairy lights. As to the actual control system itself - you will need to be more specific:What's the budget? Do you need automated control, or can somebody sit there twiddling knobs for the entire display? Can everything run a random pattern, or do you want specific sequences of colours/channels? What's the budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richb Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Might be worth checking out something like this http://www.surelight.com/surelight-product...d-light-strips/ have just had a sample - it's very impressive and seems resonably priced for what it is. All DMX controllable, and may save you time creating something yourself. Probably not the route if you want to se the lights (as in a mini festoon), but if it's to create a colour on your set or in reccess it may do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Mains Voltage fairy lights can be dimmed with the majority of both d0mestic and theatrical dimmers. The ones with transformers or controllers included cannot - this particularly includes all LED fairy lights. To be fair, ones with the eight pattern style controllers can`t be dimmed without removing the controller, as for trafo fed and LED string lights , they may not dim smoothly, particularly LED looks very steppy, but they will plug into theatre style dimmers, do it all the time with Multidims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Two options for you here, if you get fairy lights with incandecent bulbs (of the type that run direct from the mains with low voltage lamps in a series circuit) they will run fine on the output of most dimmers, some earlier forms of dimmers may need a load to be added with your lights in order to bring the wattage within the dimmers controllable range, this would apply in my experience to some earlier (but still found) electronic units like mini2 and to most wire wound resistive dimmers (fewer of these still in use as main controls but they are out there) . You could of course use simple domestic dimmers. If you are using Lo-Vo lights, particularly LEDs you may find the power supply they come with cannot be dimmed, if this is the case you could either make up a power supply to suit giving the appropriate volt output or use a standard laboratory bench supply unit that has a variable output (these will be readily available if you are in a school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleah Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 If you have basic static mains driven lights, then this sounds like the perfect job for the good old SoundLad 4 ch dimmer with the DMX XLR's wired backwards. You should have seen my Chrimbo tree last year :** laughs out loud **: 4 sets of cheap static mains fairy lights for a quid each from B&Q, made red, green, yellow and blue by taking all the lamps out and putting them back with all the same colour per string, IEC on each hooked into the SoundLab set to 4ch Auto mode, with the option of hooking up a DMX controller (Laptop) for sound to light :) May I present, in all it's glory, THE SoundLab G018VA 4 Channel DMX Dimmer Pack <clickity click>(May also be available from other suppliers) Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillyrhythm Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 cheers for all the help guys , I'll get back to you once I've sorted it cheers once again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybrandon Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Hi, sorry to hijack an old thread. Does anyone know where I can find battery-operated dimmable fairy lights, either LED or incandescent? If not, then 13A dimmable? If not ready made, what do I need in order to make them up myself? I assume a dimmable transformer and switch? We need some for draping over a small, simple stage set for a childrens theatre show. The show will be touring to tiny venues and we'd prefer to be entirely self-contained in terms of power and cabling, so our theory is to use battery power for any electrical elements on stage - though if needs be we could run one or two 13A cables off at the back. Advice would be very welcome! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossmck Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Battery operated and dimmable is probably going to be tricky.. as far as mains-powered ones I think at this time of year you should be able to get them from most DIY stores and Garden Centres (it's a bit trickier when you want them in June - they give you strange looks) As an aside I've found quite a lot of fairy lights requiring plug in transformers *will* dim, although this no doubt will reduce the life of the transformer. If in doubt contact the manufacturer, NOMA were very helpful in answering questions about their products for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrV Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Battery operated and dimmable is probably going to be tricky.. There's always RC4DMX http://www.theatrewireless.com/ You might have to wire up your fairy lights in parallel instead of series but they could be completely independent and DMX controlled all of a single 12v battery. HTHDave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllieH Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Realistically, what sort of length do you need? I've seen some very domestic battery-operated LED fairly lights running off AA batteries. But you're only likely to get 20 odd LEDs from this. Alternatively, if you're looking to build a fixture of your own, look up some of the tuts people have written on building their own LED fixture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 These guys have supplied me in the past rather well. I have go these http://www.lights4fun.co.uk/Outdoor-Lights...c1573/p721.aspx before for dimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllieH Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 @the_kid, need to be battery-operated or self-contained dimming (as I read the OP). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 I was assuming they could bolt on a mini single pot dimmer. but they do have battery chains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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