[SML] Dimmer Questions

[Ford Sellers]

Wayne is on-target, here.
If at all possible, use DMX for the Dimming (and Color Changing, if you go that route).
Otherwise, you will not be happy with the dimming performance.

We (Chauvet) Co-Developed a PSU to go into our mains-dimmable Ovation Fixtures (limited to a few skus) that provide that theatrical grade bottom-end dimming… but they are not cheap, and not (AFAIK) commercially available.  Altman later picked up the same PSU for their mains-dimmable Phoenix units.  Thankfully we didn’t share all of the technology with the PSU company… but that’s another story, for another day.

We only use these special PSUs in our Ovation ED200 ERS style, and FD105 & FD205 Fresnel fixtures (all warm white only).
You can’t use them in Color Mixing fixtures (I should say that it’s not worth the expense), as you’ll need DMX to mix the color anyway.  So, you’d be using DMX for the Dimming, too.

-HTH,
Ford

From: Stagecraft <stagecraft-bounces at theatrical.net> On Behalf Of jdunfee12--- via Stagecraft
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2019 10:11 PM
To: Wayne Rasmussen via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
Cc: jdunfee12 at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [SML] Dimmer Questions

You didn't define "better lighting", but if that translate to just more light, LED lamps are a great way to get more light from the same wattage of power.  But, as has already been pointed out, just putting a LED lamp on a circuit controlled by a dimmer can cause problems, even if the LED lamp is designed to be dimmed. None of the consumer ones I have tested perform well at the lower light levels. They go down to perhaps 10%, and then suddenly turn off at any level below that.  I suspect that just swapping out the tungsten bulbs, for LED bulbs in your existing light fixtures is not a great choice.

An alternative is to purchase full LED fixtures that have dimmers built into it. These fixtures are powered directly to (un-dimmable) line power, with the dimming handled by sending a DMX signal directly to the fixture on a separate cable. LED fixtures, with compatible light output to a 150 or 200 watt tungsten bulb, are going to be a lot more expensive, but will also give you things such a great color control.

The cheapest option may be to just upgrade the electric service and add another circuit or two. You may even get volunteer labor from someone in the congregation to do the wiring, making the upgrade cost just the cost of a few more par-cans.

-Joe
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