New to this..got some questions...

The amount of control depends on your controller. If you are doing a small show where you want easy on the fly control, I suggest a DMX operator. I use one to control 24 odd pars and intels for my club lighting rig. I have pre formatted scenes with my intels doing one thing and the pars doing another. I have a "special" bank where the intels spot a certain performer. The conroller is amazingly simple to use and manipulate. If I have a scene running and I want to make my intels strobe on the fly - All I have to do is select my scanners and adjust the lights accordingly.

Yeah, DMX Operator. $150 works well for me.

Intels - I use trackspots at my lil venue. They cost around $1000 each new or you can buy them used at around $500 each. These fixtures are bright and amazingly durable. Very very easy to service and parts are always stocked.

I personally use an old set of mighty cans. You can get a set of four from ebay four $1000. 20 colors, 20 gobos, you can do a lot with these fixtures. Not as durable or bright as the trackspots.

Another option is color changers. Perhaps purchase 4-8 color changers and 2-4 tripod stands. Use the color changers as front and back light.

The tr@ckspots have been discontinued as well as the Mighty Scans, just FYI (but parts are still available like trucker said). Personally, I prefer the Mighty Scans over tr@ckspots mainly because the are much, much smaller and can fit just about anywhere in a lighting rig. This is crucial when you have low ceilings and small stage space. They may be small, but they are powerful and extremely flexible.

Tracks take up more space all the way around. In the truss, and in the truck on the road. The Mightys may weigh slightly more, but they are far smaller and more flexible in mounting situations. Again, in smaller areas where the band has to be closer to the lighting rig, it would be nice to be able to move around under the truss without cracking you head on the body of a light fixture. We've all done it and it aint pleasant.

While working a show at a local club, I put my Mightys up against the tracks and the Mightys were just as bright and effective (not to mention the colors matched just about perfectly). The one thing the tracks have that the Mighty's don't is the ability to dim the fixture to different intensities of light. But from what I've found that using my intelligents in conjunction with par cans, the pars are more for dimming/changing intensities and the intelligents are great for effects, motion, chases, etc.

The one thing to consider with intelligents when thinking brightness is that a fixture can appear to be brighter when it can be mounted higher in the air. This allows the beam of light to open up much more than if it is mounted relatively closer to the ground (just a consideration). Also, make sure you know what kind of power consumption you can handle at different venues. Four Mightys for instance, draw 8.3 amps of electricity, whereas four tracks draw 11.7 amps. If you only have one circuit, you have to consider having enough power to run everything. The last thing you would want is the group to be in the midst of powerful passage, trading fours, etc.,...you hit the controller to accentuate the music, and then, everything goes out....amps, lights, mics, etc.

Don't get me wrong though about seeming narrow-minded about these lights. I know that the Mightys are not the best intelligent lights in the business. But considering things like up front costs, maintenance costs, operating costs, usability, presentation, and all of the logistics of where the can be mounted as well as moving them around easily, the Mighty's win my vote for a startup intelligent system that gives flexibility way beyond just startup (if that makes sense to anyone).

The prices of the fixtures can fluctuate in and around each other from time to time. I put my entire Mighty system together (lights, clamps, safetys, cables, controller (show designer), and nice rolling road case I modified for the fixtures) for a little over $2000. You can't do any better than that for such a flexible and powerful system. For a fairly used set of tracks, you'll spend $2000 just for the fixtures, with no cables, no cases, no controller, no clamps, and no place to put them. Remember, you'll need to purchase trussing and stands for your lights.

Obviously the lights ARE the most important part when making a decision, but it is also important to consider all of the logistical aspects of using a lighting rig.

Let us know what you decide on.

Best,
-Tech

yea the mighty scans are very powerfull for the money, extremly smooth and prescise mirror movement for the money, there just hard to find, ive been looking around to buy 2 more for my system but i cant find them anywhere, the last one i bought was a factory refurb for 300$ at guitar center. If u can find a factory refurb, it would save you alot of money.

I wish AMDJ still made the mighty scan. They totally rock. GLP still makes them and the 150 watt arc version with rotating gobos.

Alright, thanks for the input in this thread and a couple others. Really helped out quite a bit. Anyhow, this is how I'm thinking about setting up, which is similar to what was discussed in a previous thread. Two Scan 250's positioned behind or to the side of the drums. 2-4 color changers, probally 250D's out front to the left and the right. Controlling all this would be a DMX Operator. So, I kind of understand how some of this works now, but I still have a few other questions. This would basically be on three tripod stands, so what is the best way to run power to all the fixtures and keep everything from becoming a tangled nightmare of cords? How do I know if I have enough power in the venue to run all the lights? In the case of the DMX operator, how do you control the "gobo shake" and "strobe" effects on the Scan 250's? The last question I have is if I need to buy anything in addition to what I will list next.

1x DMX Operator
2x Scan 250
2-4x Color 250D
3x Tripod Light Stand
4-6x C-clamps
4-6x Safety Cable
4-6x mic cable? (This I'm foggy on, how to chain them all together and how many cables/lengths I would need)

Thanks again for all your help.

Stage power is usually a tricky thing. You want as many separate circuits as possible. When you get to a venue, look at all of the outlets you have available (edisons). Then, find the breaker box and identify what outlets are on what circuit. Most edison outlets are on 20 amp circuits. The question is how many outlets are on the same circuit.

I'd say put the front lights on one circuit and the rest of the lights on another. Although, I don't think you'll run the risk of popping the breaker.

Dividing up the light show is crucial when you have to share a limited number of circuits with the band for amps and PA. Separating everything also means that if you do pop a breaker, you won't lose everything.

If the club has a range plug (like the ones used for ovens), you'll have 40-60 amps out of one plug on one circuit. That's ideal, particularly when you also have wall circuits to supplement.

Just don't put everything (lights, amps, PA, etc) all on one circuit; the power draw will either immediately pop a breaker or put some serious drain on things and they won't perform well at all because they cannot draw enough power to run properly.

Lighting entails lots of extension cords. There's no way around it. You can use splitters to join 2, 3, or 4 fixtures together as long as you take care of the circuit issue. I run all four of my intelligents through a strip surge protector and then out to the power source. That way I can power up and power down the fixtures without running to the wall to do so.

After a while, you'll start thinking about wire by the pound and by the mile, rather than by the foot. Knots and rat's nests happen. I have found though, that if you are gentle about laying out cable and taking it up, no matter how nasty the mess looks, it usually comes up pretty clean. Just remember to carefully wrap and tie off all of your cables and it will make life much easier the next time you lay it all out and take it up. This way, the cables are trained to wrap up nicely.

As for cabling specifically, you'll need a cable in between the controller the first intelligent fixture (Controller OUT to fixture #1 IN), then a jumper from that fixture (OUT) to the next fixture (IN), etc. When you get to the end of the run, put a terminator in the OUT of the last fixture. This keeps your DMX signal from echoing around in the feed and keeps fixtures from doing weird things. Some people do not terminate cable runs, but I do it just as a safeguard against problems.

Cable lengths are determined by the distance you need to run from controller to fixture and fixture to fixture. If you are running the lights from the front-of-house, you'll connect the controller to the snake, and then from the snake to the first fixture, thus, then you'll need an additional cable.

Just keep everything safe. Use safety cables for everything. Don't overload stands. Make sure the power is Kosher. Avoid tripping hazards.

Let us know how things turn out.

Best,
-Tech