5 min on off light

Since you have two Vertigo fixtures, why not get the timer pack and set it to 10-15 minutes, and have it just go back and forth between the two fixtures all night long? This is an easy and hands-off approach to your problem. My recommendation: 15 minute duty cycle. I also suggest getting more lights just to break things up more.

It's not unusual for me to have a 20-hour day doing live sound. That includes driving to the event, load-in, set-up, line checks, pre-sound check, sound check, doors, event, tear-down and load out. It can be well over 24 hours many times, especially with the return drive.

Live sound is an entirely different animal.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Pickett:
Since you have two Vertigo fixtures, why not get the timer pack and set it to 10-15 minutes, and have it just go back and forth between the two fixtures all night long? This is an easy and hands-off approach to your problem. My recommendation: 15 minute duty cycle. I also suggest getting more lights just to break things up more.

It's not unusual for me to have a 20-hour day doing live sound. That includes driving to the event, load-in, set-up, line checks, pre-sound check, sound check, doors, event, tear-down and load out. It can be well over 24 hours many times, especially with the return drive.

Live sound is an entirely different animal.

tell me more about this timer. Sound like a good thing. I can have one light work and the other work later (after 10-15 minutes) and then with a really fast song have them both work at the same time. Now I know I have to buy different lights as well, because the same ones played over and over gets boring after awhile. But I am just starting out, so these are the first ones I have bought.

I started off much bigger:

10-foot truss with T-bars, 6 Par38's, Sunray III and Electra, plus the DMX Operator and the DP-DMX20L. I wanted control from the beginning. Over $1600 for an initial jump-in. That was 4+ years ago. I still use ALL of these fixtures and items.

What I would do is make sure that whatever you get won't be something you outgrow quickly. Plan several steps ahead. It saves money although it may cost more up front.

The ADJ Light Saver is a 2 channel NON-DMX unit that could be hung from your T-stand(flip the back panel around, it's great!) and can switch between 2 fixtures. It is even saying "Perfect for 2 Vertigos" if you need more of a stamp of approval.

Now, the T4 is a 4-channel version of the same thing, but the problem there is that you have to populate it with 4 fixtures or you'll have 2 periods of nothing. Not exciting.

Both the T4 and Light Saver are non-DMX packs.

With the newer/current ADJ DP-DMX-20L hybrid dimmer packs(can be switched on a per channel basis to switching or dimming, way cool!), and a DMX controller, such as the DMX Operator, you can make 2 scenes, and set them to go back and forth at 10 minute intervals. Nothing exciting, but does cost more than a Light Saver or T4, but opens you to expansion down the line with no waste of investment. You get your money's worth this way. When you add more lights, you can simply get either DMX fixtures or more dimmer packs as necessary. Now you don't have to side-line, store, dispose or sell off a Light Saver or a T4 because you've outgrown it.

Hit up my web site, check the pictures and my equipment list. Get some ideas. I don't typically state what I'm hanging on the truss, the pictures usually say it all. If you have questions, I can answer them as far as what I hung for an event(offer limited while memory lasts!).

My goals are always to do whatever I can to minimize overall investment down the line. This often requires a more up-front purchase amount. In my case, the DMX Operator is proving to still be WAY too much controller for my purposes, and I am barely using what it is capable of as it is and here it is 4 years later. Of course, please keep in mind I am a live sound production company and have to have lights to remain competitive. Lighting isn't my main focus, but I might as well get decent stuff if I have to spend money. If you're planning on doing this to make money, then spend some money and do it right. Trust me, you'll be cursing me as you see the totals jump way up, then thank me a year or so down the road when you see that "hey, I can still use this, I am glad I didn't waste the money on this since it allowed me to get this".

thanks bud. Great advise. I will use it, now I am saving so I will buy more lights and do what you said.

nice website with photos. I see one photo has 8 lights a horizonal trust with 2 tripods on side, I see you have just regular lights, I mean no intellgent lights saying. I heard from a lot of people that that what I bought Vertigo are better then Intelligent lighting, but i can't understand how if it's higher in price and with intelligent you can manipulate it via computer software or controller.

You'll have to be more specific with the dates for the picture commentaries so I can elaborate on what was going on. Typically, I do use a 15-foot I-Beam truss with Crank-2 stands. I have 2 additional 10-foot trusses and two extra 5-foot spans. I suppose I could create another 15-foot one if I wanted. Let me know what event you're talking about. I have only had intelligent lights since September 1, so before then it was 100% dimmer and power packs to control the lights using my DMX Operator.

Here's the deal with things like Vertigo over Intelligent lights:

Sound active lights use a simple circuit that is sound activated to cause the light to generate the movement of beams or even color changes(depends on the fixture). This technology is relatively inexpensive. The advantage is that you get movement without having control. However, I'm not knocking the random movement issues, because I personally like that.

With intelligent lights(I have some of those too), you get lots of control, but at a cost. Intelligent fixtures use DMX control, so you don't use a dimmer pack with these fixtures, that technology is built in. In the case of these color changers I have(Color Fusion), they use 7(NOT 4) channels of DMX control, of what I can remembner are: Red, Gree and Blue(1 channel each), Dimming, strobing and some mix mode. These are wash lights, so no movement. I have another brand's color changers, and I get dimming, color change, change speed and strobing, so 4 channels of control. These also are wash lights, so no movement.

I have, from the same brand, some moving yoke lights, which have anywhere from 6-9 DMX channels depending on how I configure them. I have Up/down and pan(L/R), dimming, gobo selection, gobo movement and speed, gobo bounce, color change and some other stuff. I can really just move this light all over the place.

Now, if you were looking at the October 1, 2006 pictures, there was a Sunray III and a Projector 150 in the middle, controlled via a PP-DMX20L(power pack). On the left and right, underhung, are the Color Fusions.

Using Dimmer packs, you gain control over lights you can safely dim, which is basically any type of incandecent or halogen ParCan type light. There are other lights. By dimming, you can vary the wattage output of the channel on the dimmer pack, thereby increasing or decreasing the amount of power available to the fixtures on the channel, which equates to more or less brightness. In the case of your Vertigos and any other "hi tech effect" lights with a motor, you do NOT want dimming, you want switching, which is simply on/off. Why? Starve that motor and you'll cause it to burn out and cause other eletrical problems.

Using a DMX controller, you can control your channels you want to dim and switch on/off, as well as manipulate your intelligent DMX fixtures. Alternatively, there is computer software packages that can control the fixtures as well by using DMX control, typically using a box or cable that goes from a 3 or 5-wire DMX to a USB port on the computer.

Back to non-Intel lights. By using something like the DP-DMX20L, you can choose from up to 4 fixtures you want on, depending on how you configure the pack. So, let's say, in my example, I use my Sunray III, my Mystic, my Vertigo and my Projector 150 connected to a PP-DMX20L(relay pack, simple on/off). I can put the Projector 150 on channel 4 and leave that one on all night and rotate through various logos I created. This leaves me three other lights I can choose from all night light. Say, run the Sunray III for 2 songs, then the Mystic for 2 songs, then the Vertigo for 2 songs.

As far as "what is better", that's a matter of opinion and application.

Take my scenario:
By using a 250-watt intel color changer, I replace 4 Par38's(I typically would hang a cluster of 4, gel'ed Red, Blue, Green and Yellow and then color blend). By going to the color changer, I concentrate more light in a smaller area, which is what I want, but I am limited to the color gels in the unit. But, if I total up the wattage of the Par38's at full on, I use 600-watts, meaning if I use 3 banks of these Par38's, I use up a 15-amp circuit(1800-watts), while 4 of the color changers is 1000-watt draw. I typically need to cover a minimum of 4 positions, but 6-8 is more my norm. I say this because you'll need to conserve current draw because you'll rarely get the power you need for big events, like what I do. What's better? In my case, I can live with the fewer color choices, and I get strobing, so the color changers work great for me. I can leave my tiny ADJ strobe in the truck since it's too small for my events anyways. Even if drop to 3 Par38's per cluster, I would then end up losing a DMX channel, which is OK, and then drop to 450-watts total draw per cluster, allowing me to run 4 3-lamp clusters at 100% on a 15-amp circuit, for a total of once again 1800 watts. I can run 6 of the other color changers at 1500-watts, and run 7 at 1750 watts total draw.

But what about the Color Fusions? Well, I can take out the intel color changers and wash most of my stages pretty good with the Color Fusions, which at full draw my pair eat a whole 15-amp circuit.

What about dance lights? Well, in my case, my Rover II, Electra, Sunray III, Mystic, Vertigo, Double Twist, Trilogy, Reflex and Barrel Flex work great, and personally I can't see how an intell effect is going to replace those.

But what about my moving yoke fixtures? My purpose of those is to be able to shoot a beam where I want it, be it a spot-light into the stage, or a beam above the stage or above the audience or into walls or into the crowd. I do intend to show off the fact that it moves, but the movable gobos(with or without bounce) and color changing will help to boost energy levels of the audience. With more sophisticated systems, I have seen big production shows using only moving heads for all their lights(and they still used follow-spots).

I even have a pair of follow-spots coming in any day now. Why? My clients want them and will want them used and operated during events.

Well, I went way off topic. Sorry, I'm obsessed with current draw these days. I think the main point is that as you grow, think ahead in not just control, but to draw as well. Always front-end your fixtures with a power distribution unit with a circuit breaker(not fuse) in it. Why? Pop your breakers, not house breakers, so if you pop yours, you can quickly reset it and you retain control over your gear and not anger the venue operator. There's a whole checklist of things to go over on that as well. Use Furman units, they work the best. I have lots of it, it's all I use for my power.

If you want to take this conversation off-line, use the general purpose email form(Contact Us link). Might be easier and I can ramble on less coherently.