pritch Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'm starting to look at replacement dimmers. A few years ago, we bought in response to an urgent need for new dimmers, but with budgetary constraints. In other words... we bought Chinese rubbish, with weird dimmer curves and various other problems. Must have:Three phaseSix channel10A (or more) per channel15A outputs OR hardwiredRack mountable; 4U or less if the dimmer has its own sockets, 2U or less if hardwiredNot Showtec/Botex/Whoever rebadges the same stuff Should have:No fansBreakers, not fuses Would be nice:DMX connectors either hardwired or on the rear - either way, somewhere other than the front panel would be nice The first thing that many people would suggest would no doubt be the Betapack. And that's what I was going to go for until I saw Strand 6packs on sale at similar or lower prices. Either way I'm going to be asking for quotes, so I dare say some people will quote less for the Betas than the Strand, and vice versa. Is there any practical difference between the Betas and the Strands?Is there anything else I should be looking at apart from these two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Remo Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Pulsar rack pak? Soldered by grannies in cambridge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madorangepanda Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We recently bought one of the Strand 6 packs as we could get a much better price than anything else. Everything is fine so far and it is holding it's own against our old Strand Tempus stuff that simply refuses to die. Another thing we looked at was the LSC dimmers, they seem very good but have a price tag to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomM Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Another 'default' option would be ETC: http://www.etcconnect.com/product.overview.aspx?ID=20071 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 I've just had a call on this very subject; it seems that at least one person in our organisation is twitchy about Strand, especially given the excellent support we've had from Zero88 when we've needed it. Anyone care to comment on Strand's service should we need help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 To point out a few extras that you get with the BetaPacks:They are fully RDM enabledOffer 100% Duty CycleAre convection cooled (no fan noise)Are made in the UK and come with a 3 year Warranty as standardHave readily available parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 To point out a few extras that you get with the BetaPacks: Is there any way of connecting the DMX line at the back of the packs, Jon? It's not a deal-breaker if it's not possible, but due to how tight things can get in our dimmer corner, it's certainly a nice-to-have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'm afraid the DMX has to be plugged into the sockets mounted on the front panel. They are on the top right, above the breakers and next to the User Interface which lets you set preheats, topsets, dimmer laws, patch individual channels, program backup states / sequences and lock the whole dimmer. This document give you a bit more of a comprehensive list of the BetaPack features:http://common.zero88.com/public/files/Betapack30908.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior8 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Pulsar rack pak? Soldered by grannies in cambridge! Built to last too. I like their stuff Mind you I'd recommend Zero 88 any time as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobTech Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I like the betapack 3's, but strands do the job just as well imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We have the Betapack 3s without any problems. It's not a complete solution but would right angled connectors for the DMX reduce the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jexjexjex Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 What about Lightprocessor or Anytronics packs? Dunno what they're like, perhaps others can enlighten us, but they'd meet your spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1159 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 What about Lightprocessor or Anytronics packs? I can certainly recommend anytronics packs. Have used a variety of both socket and hardwired versions in both install and hire stock. Very reliable. UK built with spares readily available and very good support. One occasion when I had a problem with one pack I happened to be passing near anytronics the following day and they ensured someone stayed late to meet me who then proceeded to fix the issue straight away (and the tea and biscuits while they did it were good too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Heres a +1 for LSC, thier Redback dimmer range is excellent in both design and build quality, and will fit 12channels of dimming in a 2-4RU Space depending on the configuration, and some of the things that the Redback line of dimmers can do is well pritty impressive (Was shown a demo of their wall mounted version at Entech 2011(Aust Lighting Industry Trade Show)) Just a interesting thing to note, the Jands FP12 (Dont know about the FPX), and the WM12 have both got a single fan in them when the internal temp gets over a certain level, but then again probably designed like that for the Australian climate where, we can have a 45c+ ambient room tempreture, and just convection colling, well wont do much I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munro Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 +1 for the Betapacks... We've got plenty of 'em, 1s, 2s, and 3s, all still going strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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