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Compact 6ch switch pack & control for 240v coloured lights?


howartp

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Evening all,

 

Our community hall is often used for parties and the occasional disco.

 

It was recently refurbished, but the only bit left that we want to address is the side lighting. The main lights are standard 6' flourescents, which will remain as they are, but for parties we have 12 coloured 60w household-style lamps. They are wired in pairs back to a 6gang light switch. Most of the bulbs are dead, and the lamp units are hanging off the ceiling by their wires in some cases (cubs/scouts tend to hit them with a football!), so we want to replace them with new which will be protected inside wooden casings etc so they can't be knocked, and allow more control than just on/off.

 

I want to replace the light switches with something like a 6channel dimmer/switch pack (doesn't need to dim) then connect a 6channel lighting controller with a small number of chases plus sound-to-light plus manual control etc.

 

I've found a 4ch unit which will do pretty much what I want, but ideally it needs to be 6ch to take advantage of the matched pairs (3 pairs each side of hall).

 

The other option is something like the LitePuter CX-603 which needs a 6ch dimmer pack - but I don't want a full size 20+amp per channel dimmer pack - it needs to go on the wall (or in a wall-mounted box/rack) in the community hall so the smaller the better - I don't even need 5amp per channel, although that will allow for future expansion.

 

Does anyone know of any such product, or any ideas for alternate options I might not have thought of? I do like the idea of DMX lighting (I've got a 48/96ch DMX controller for our stage lighting and half a dozen cheap par56 LEDs from CPC which are lovely for special mood lighting), and if I need to rewire with 24v then that's something I'm happy to look at, but I think the costs of that will outweigh the use it gets when a simple unit on the wall to control 60w/100w bulbs will suffice.

 

I know someone is going to ask about budget - I'm anticipating spending between £200-£400 (hoping <£300??) for the controller and dimmer/switch pack side of things. The lamps and fittings will be on top of that. However if that's not doable then I'll consider increasing for the right product.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Peter

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The NJD DPX12/4 http://www.njd.co.uk/product.aspx?prod=nj942 will give you 12 channels and cost about £65 if you shop around. They BTW the newer ones are black and 5 pin DMX as per the link, many online shops show a older white version. I have 3, 2 in use and one spare but have never had a problem with them, they are rated at 4 amps per channel but from memory the manual says not to exceed 600w per channel with a halogen lamp.
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I want to replace the light switches with something like a 6channel dimmer/switch pack (doesn't need to dim) then connect a 6channel lighting controller with a small number of chases plus sound-to-light plus manual control etc.

 

 

 

Please make sure they can dim unless you want everything to look like a fairground.

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The NJD DPX12/4 http://www.njd.co.uk...aspx?prod=nj942 will give you 12 channels and cost about £65 if you shop around.

 

If your happy with external control, then you could always use a pair of 4ch packs and have two spare channels

 

Please make sure they can dim unless you want everything to look like a fairground.

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

I'm liking the look of the NJD gear that Tow has linked to - especially the NJ260's which will fit much tidier on the wall than the DPX12/4.

 

I hadn't thought about doing it this way, but I do like sleah's idea of 2x 4channels with 2 spare as an alternate option; I had thought of using 1x 4channel with 1 spare, pairing the pairs, but that would limit the usability.

 

I'm going up to the hall tonight to check on the wiring at the switches - if it is 6 pairs as I think it is then I think I've decided to go for 2x NJ260's. However if it happens to be 12 singles then I will get the DPX12 as suggested.

 

For control, I'm looking at the CX-603 / 604 that I previously mentioned (or CX-1203 / 1204 if I go 12 channels) unless anyone has any other ideas on that?

 

(The Stage 6P is a bit bulkier than I was thinking of, particularly as I'm hardwiring from the wall so don't want to have to put on Schuko connectors just to plug it in)

 

Peter

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