- Latest News
- ETC introduces Fire and Ice LED fixtures
2/15/2010
Continue Reading...
Responding to demand for more of its Selador™ LED lighting fixtures, ETC is introducing two bold color-spectrum-specific versions: Fire and Ice. Fire features a warm wash of saturated reds, oranges and ambers never before seen from LEDs or gels. Ice provides, in one powerhouse fixture, a palette of brilliant deep indigo, blue, cyan, green (and [...]
FAQ’s
This page contains answers to common questions handled by our support staff, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions.
When I receive the Dimmer Panels, describe my assembly steps? A: The short answer is: None. Unlike many dimmer panel manufacturers, the Dimmer Racks or Panels manufactured by Electronic Theatre Controls are custom assembled and pre-wired at the factory for you specific project. The racks or panels will arrive without the dimmer modules. The load terminals will be prenumbered and load-balanced using the numbering scheme from the plans and / or specifications. If there is no pre-determined numbering scheme, we will propose one in our submittals. And then, upon approval of these submittals, use this numbering scheme. Once you’ve terminated the load and feed conductors you simply plug in the dimmer modules (the load breakers are included in the dimmer modules.) and place the door on the panel and you’re done. If you ship these parts and pieces separately, how much room do I need to store the components? A: Depends, but not much if we work together. When you place an order we will, upon submittal approval, release product at your request. Typically we’ll sit down with you and put together a release schedule starting with back boxes and enclosures – then racks or panels – then distribution and so on. With planning we are usually able to get the product to you as you need it and minimize your need to pay for unnecessary storage space. How much heat does your Dimmer Panel produce? A: Depends. We produce different dimmer modules for different applications. The major factor effecting heat output is dimmer efficiency. The noisiest dimmers produce the least noise. The typical method of slaying noise (EMI or RFI) is by increasing the Henry rating of the Inductor or ‘Choke’. In other words a Dimmer with a rise time of 350ms will be 98% efficient and therefore be 2% inefficient – (2400 watts x 2% = 48 watts). I want you to know if the ventilation inside the dimmer room will be adequate (an excellent question – by the way) give me a call and we can sort it out together. What about ‘footprints’, the specific sizes for our gear? A: Here’s another chart listing our most commonly used products, if you don’t see what your looking for, call LCC at 800.890.3727:
What is an ‘ELTS’? – There’s already an ASCO switch in the project to provide emergency power, why do I need another transfer switch? A: An Emergency Lighting Transfer Switch or ELTS is a highly specialized (and expensive) piece of gear designed to meet the rigorous UL 1008 standard as described in Section 520 of NEC. Among other things, in its emergency state, it switches the common and the hot conductors for each individual emergency circuit. In a nutshell, it allows a dimmed circuit to be designated as an emergency circuit. Here’s a detail: How am I supposed to wire the ‘distribution strips’? A: You will not be expected to perform any internal wiring on any component in the system. The names, numbering and nomenclature used by designers of Theatrical lighting systems are designed to be end-user friendly, not installer friendly. Many of the terms used by theatrical lighting designers can be confusing. Most folks think of switchgear when they hear the term ‘distribution’. But in theatrical terms ‘distribution’ translates to connector strips, outlet boxes, pigtail boxes and / or floor boxes. These devices are typically connector strips – and these connector strips are pre-wired and numbered, UL listed assemblies. These raceways can be anywhere from 48” to 180’, but typically are two or three feet longer than the proscenium opening (that’s the opening to the stage visible from the audience) of the stage. If you purchase theatrical power distribution from us it will always be pre-wired, pre-numbered and UL listed. You will need to mount the devices, using hardware we provide, and terminate the load conductors inside the pre-numbered terminal box. The numbers in the terminal box will match those at the terminal inside the Dimmer Panel. Why does the specification require ‘gridiron junction boxes’? A: Because in theatrical applications, the load conductors over the stage area will often ‘fly’ up and down with the connector strip. What this means is that the load over the stage must be terminated in a permanent location (gridiron junction box) and then be pendant mounted to the connector strip. We also pre-wire and pre-number the Grid Iron Junction boxes. If we need pendant rated SO cable, who supply’s it? A: It’s your call, but if you buy it from us, we’ll pre-cut it and send along the correctly sized Cradles, Picks and Grips. I can’t find a Control Schedule in the Plans and Spec’s. How do I know which dimmer will be controlled by which control zone? A: All zone assignments are performed by our technicians during system activation or ‘turn-on’. Since our system is microprocessor based, all the configuration information is ‘sort’ or determined by computer settings What type of wire will I need for the signal or control wiring? A: Here’s a chart that covers most device type:
I don’t see a wire type for DMX Station to DMX station, why is that? A: Passive, or un-terminated, Station to Station or Daisy Chaining, is ‘non-compliant’. In this FAQ you say that a Daisy Chain between DMX Input and / or Output Stations will result in a ‘non-compliant’ network. But the bid documents and/or bid drawings show a daisy chain? A: You will, of course have to decide how to deal with this sensitive situation, but from a purely technical point of view here’s an explanation of why station-to-station interconnection via daisy chain is non-compliant: DMX-512 uses the EIA/TIA RS-485 wiring scheme. RS-485 provides for up to 32 nodes (transmitters or receivers) on a single linear bus. The linear bus is a single cable run is terminated at each end with a 120-ohm (nominal) resistor between data + and data -. Rack to Rack Daisy Chains are fine, because they are set up to be a true liner bus. That is, they are on a single cable run and terminated at each end. But this is a static or fixed Network – the wiring doesn’t change. But inputs and outputs are not static – they are designed to allow the owner to move the console from location to location. Passive stations, in the middle of the Daisy Chain, cannot be terminated without special hardware. If the owner plugs into, or out of, this Chain, they create a “T”. Only very short “T” type connections are permitted under the standard. Theater technicians have learned through experience that DMX-512 is very robust and continues to work even with significant rule abuse. However, the unfortunate result of not following the rules is a network that is more prone to unpredictable operation and is difficult to troubleshoot. In order to be a compliant EIA/TIA RS-485 network, permanent systems should be installed by the rules – within the node limits, using the correct wire type and be properly terminated. Traditionally this has been done with DMX splitters and combiners in a hub and spoke design. Home runs for all these DMX stations are going to be extremely expensive to install. Are there alternatives? A: Yes; if a particular installation makes a hub and spoke Network impractical or too costly to install – don’t install a non-compliant network – consider the following options: This is a nice start, but I have more questions who do I call? Contact John or Jeff: Suite 301 Franklin, TN 37221 |