Lunar Pod question

You should buy a few relay packs for your effect lights. That way EVERYTHING can be controlled through the stage desk 16. They connect the same way as a dimmer, only they turn the lights on or off, rather than being able to alter the intensity. This will prevent transformer/motor damage due to plugging the effects into dimmers. If you went with this setup, you could also add two more par cans, which would maximize the usage of your dimmers.

But just FYI, if the Lunar Pods used a 120v lamp rather than 12v, you would be able to dim them safely because they wouldnt require an internal transformer.

Thanx Light Dude,

I'm going to get more PAR's (probably ten more 56's & sixteen 38's...56's for band situations & 38's for DJ'ing...I already have a truss system & plenty of light stands) & some relay packs in the near future. I was just wondering if I could go with that setup, for now. I have the Lunar Pods hooked up to my dimmer packs, right now. I really like being able to fade them in & out, instead of just on & off, but like I said, I don't want to damage them. I didn't know about the difference in lamp voltage, so I'll take your advice & run them seperately, with my power center, until I get some relay packs.

What are good relay packs to get?

Like I said, I'm pretty new to running lights & I'm just kind of winging it until I get more experience. I've always been more of a performer than a light/sound guy/DJ, but I'm working on the latter.

Anyway, thanx again for your imput. I really appreciate it.


Edit: Please, escuse my ignorance about my Stage Desk-16 & my DP-415's, as I just bought them two weeks ago & I haven't had a lot of time to try them out, yet. I just looked at the specs on my DP-415's & it says that they can be used as either dimmer or relay packs...

quote:

American DJ DP-415 4-Channel Dimmer/Relay Pack

The Elation DP-415 is a versatile 4-channel dimmer pack that also doubles as a switch pack. This compact unit features eight, 3-prong Edison sockets (2 for each channel) controlling up to 8 fixtures. The built-in hanging bracket is reversible to hang on truss or can be used with a clamp.

Features:

Compact 4-Channel DMX Dimmer
2 x 3-prong Edison plugs per channel (8 total plugs)
On/Off power switch
XLR In/Out
10-position dip switch settings to address DMX
Assign as a dimmer pack or switch pack
Changeable hanging bracket to hang on truss
LED On indications

I'm just not sure on how to utilize them properly. Can I use one to run my six PAR's & the other to run my effect lights? If so, how do I hook them up & assign each light to an individual channel?

Once again, here are the lights that I have...

6 - PAR 56's
2 - Lunar Pods
1 - Blade
1 - Trilogy
1 - Octo Bar
1 - Laser Widow

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

Its great that you got the DP-415 because you can change it to a relay pack just by changing a setting. This means all you need to do is buy more of these same packs when you want to expand your system. In order to hook up your effect lights, you must turn dip switch 10 to the on position. This will make it so that each channel turns on to full power when you move the fader up 50% or more.

Since you mentioned adding more pars, you could also plug in two or more per channel, as long as you dont exceed 1800 watts total per pack. Now the stage desk will limit you because it only controls 16 channels total. A way to get around this is to buy multiple packs and set them to the same address. That way you can control a bunch of lights but not have to worry about blowing the pack because your plugging in too much. You must make sure, however, that you want all those lights assigned to the same channel in the first place.

As far is dimming the lunar pods, you really shouldnt because it will eventually ruin the components inside of them. I suppose if you really wanted to you could because I have put pin spots (which have transformers) on dimmers all the time and they work fine. However, it is not the correct way to do things. If you do decide to do this, make sure you are always running them at full power when you use them, other than the fade in/out.

If you would like to try and use all those lights on the two packs you already have, you could easily do so. Just make one of them a dimmer pack (dip switch 10 off) and the other a relay pack (dip switch 10 on). You will quickly find out how convenient it is to run all your equipment on one light board.

Please let me know if you have more questions regarding your system. Good luck, and have fun experimenting.

I forgot to answer the question regarding the laser widow. To play around with creating your own images, you set the switch on the back to manual. Then you turn the two dials, which will move the laser around. There isnt any way to program the laser at all by saving your designs, so that feature is pretty useless.

Thanx again, Light Dude. I really do appreciate your help.

I'm going to just use my Lunar Pods as they should be used, without using them on dimmers. I really like them & want to keep them around for awhile. After I get to know my controller & 415's, I'll invest in a few more, along with more lights. I've got to get past the learning curve first. I thought that the Stage Desk-16 came with an instructional DVD, but I believe that it's sold seperately, although I didn't see anywhere on the ADJ site to order one.

Anyway, thanx again.