Oniondan Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hey guys, This is my first post on here but I am a long time lurker. I am working for a small company that has requested that I build a light up sign for their upcoming summer events at music festivals. They want something that looks like this. Our logo is like this. I plan on just spelling the 'BOUTIQUE' word out. My initial idea is to use these light bulb mount battens on a wooden surface, & wire in parallel. I am going to use 25w bulbs and wire each letter separately so I can possibly get each letter on a separate dimmer to add cool effects. Anyone with experience, links or advice I would love to hear from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Sounds like a plan. The holder you linked to are a bit expensive though. My supplier has them at 92p each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owain Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 You can't mount those battenholders on a wooden surface - the connections must be enclosed in a non-combustible box, so it will need a pattress like this (not saying this one will fit other makes of battenholder) http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BG201E.html The ebay battenholder looks like a very nasty Chinese import. For this application you would normally use festoon lampholders which can be used externally, eg http://essentialsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Festoon_125.html http://www.david-rose-lighting.co.uk/festoon1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ojc123 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Depending on the application you may find 25W lamps are too bright. I made a thing like this years ago and had to use 10W nightlights to get the effect the director wanted in a small hall. Just try with a couple of lamps before you buy a shedload of too bright (or too dim) lamps. Learn from my fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJones Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 You could save dimmer channels by not having every one individually wired. You can still get some nice effects by breaking it down into 3/4/5 groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 For outdoor festy type events 25W golf ball bulbs are OK. Coloured ones an option though weatherproofing is essential. I also would be tempted to look at festoon fixtures. Individual wiring of each of 100 lamps on BOUTIQUE could prove interesting as well, I reckon letters or the 3/4/5 grouping Andy suggests is an option worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modge Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Also, depending on just how big this is getting, think about what the size of dimmer that will be driving it - it's quite easy to build something that won't fit on a 10A dimmer channel, so the splitting into groups or letters may actually be out of need, not aesthetics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oniondan Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Hey Guys, Thanks for all the advice. I will defo look at the 10w bulbs. I am well aware that the amount of power we will draw will be huge for sure a small thing. Will try and post it if I am successful! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_s Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 If you do dim each lamp individually, you might find that 10W or 25W to be too small a load for the dimmer to dim well. You'd either have to add a dummy load to each channel or think about dimming them in small groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Why do some people seem to be assuming that he's talking about wiring each *lamp* individually? Dan clearly said in his first post that he's looking at wiring each *letter* seperately, which is a fine idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_s Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My apologies - I misread the OP. Ignore my reply :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafferted Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 These are pretty cheap right now http://www.bdc.co.uk/clearance-lines/batten-holders/batten-lampholder.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 erm.... the key word here that everyone seems to be missing in recommending d0mestic lamp holders is FESTIVAL - with this in mind you'd need to ensure that any sockets & wiring you use is at LEAST IP44 rated. On a festival site no matter how high up you place something, someone will find a way to touch it, no matter how many layers of marquee you're inside at some point some rain will touch anything you take, no matter how carefully you look after it at some point this sign will end up on the ground in mud/dust/food/ With this in mind I'd be looking at buying ready-made festoon (which usually has appropriate weatherproof sockets and cable) and finding a way to use that in your sign so that from the outset you are building something that's safe and stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oniondan Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Again guys, thanks for your input. The idea of being able to dim each bulb individually would be amazing but I am well aware of the cost and complexity of this. For some of the bigger events, I am thinking of hiring in some active Showtec Sunstrips to act as a border to the sign and pixel mapping them. I think this, along with dimming each letter could work quite well! The festoon idea is something I was looking at. The only issue I see is that I currently can't see any that have lights wired closely together, the closest I have seen is one meter (Edit - the website in the link posted earlier says they do custom lengths. I will find out and reply for anyone interested). I will have to make sure this is IP rated. I also write the risk assessment so I am well aware that home made stuff would be put under extra scrutiny. Tom, you have clearly done this before. Everything gets covered in mud, dust and food. No matter how hard we try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin D Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 The cheating way of doing it would be to build a compartmentalised light box with a separate brighter lamp for each letter. (Ensuring its ventilated if using incandescent sources.) Cut out each letter, a bit of suitable gel in front with frost/diffusion gel behind. Cut or punch round 3 - 5mm holes in the yellow gel where the lights would be. A piece of polycarbonate or perspex fixed over the whole front and the whole things becomes much more manageable. It would look too great from acute angles though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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