shindyra Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hey there, I have set pieces which I plan to include certain non standard lighting elements on, I was wondering what you guys thought would be the best solution to controlling these "fixtures" from the lighting booth:DC12v vehicle lighting barVarious rope lightsHousehold table lampsI was wondering if it would be possible to get things like these patched in to DMX somehow. Cheers in advance, Will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddproduction Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 How are the ropelights currently powered? Do you know the wattage of the table lamps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I use wireless DMX for anything lightingy I cant get a cable to. For mobile stuff then yes, one needs batteries. Which usually means 12V batteries of one size or another. So one needs either relays or dimmers that accept wireless DMX and operate off 12V. For table lamp props and the like, it is worth noting one can get 12V bulbs that look like household lamps from your local specialist light bulb suplier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindyra Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 How are the ropelights currently powered? Do you know the wattage of the table lamps? Ropelights are just a mains plug, not sure of the wattage of the table lights, they can be changed if they need to be specific to work. I use wireless DMX for anything lightingy I cant get a cable to. For mobile stuff then yes, one needs batteries. Which usually means 12V batteries of one size or another. So one needs either relays or dimmers that accept wireless DMX and operate off 12V. For table lamp props and the like, it is worth noting one can get 12V bulbs that look like household lamps from your local specialist light bulb suplier. But what hardware and controllers do I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddproduction Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Do any of these need to be dimmed, or just switched on and off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindyra Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Do any of these need to be dimmed, or just switched on and off? If the desk lamps could be dimmed it would be good but the other things are just on/off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddproduction Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 That saves trouble. The table lamps should work fine on any normal mains dimmer, im assuming something like 60w bulbs. For the vehicle light board, you could use a 12dc transformer such as a laptop PSU (check the current output though) To switch the vehicle lamps / ropelights you have three options: (in descending order of preference)1: Use a dedicated DMX switch unit (look for relay board at http://www.milinst.co.uk/)2: Plug kit into dimmer and set the dimmer channels to 'switch' (DMX values below 50%=off, above 50%=on) (depends on which dimmers you have)3: Plug kit into dimmer and dim between 0-full as normal (could damage or destroy transformers though!) The switch unit is safe to use with all the kit. A dimmer in 'switch' mode won't produce a perfect AC curve so could cause problems with transformers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emsgeorge Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 cpc have 12v transformers (for halogens) for less than £2 on their latest offer list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindyra Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Where could I get a good mains dimmer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddproduction Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 What's your budget?At the bottom end, there is a plethora of dimmers under various brand names eg 'Showtec Multidim' with DMX, and 4 channels of dimming on IEC sockets.Some of them do have switching capabilities but I'm not sure which, do have a search around. Thomann are normally good stockists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindyra Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 What's your budget?At the bottom end, there is a plethora of dimmers under various brand names eg 'Showtec Multidim' with DMX, and 4 channels of dimming on IEC sockets.Some of them do have switching capabilities but I'm not sure which, do have a search around. Thomann are normally good stockists. Awesome thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 The later Showtec Multidims can be switched from dimming to switching mode, although its not as good as a dedicated switch pack (I believe its just software change that forces 0 or 100% output in switch mode) and it is set for all 4 channels, so you couldn't have 2 dim, 2 switched Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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