What’s the number one issue you can think of when it comes to using big ol’ mercury vapor and sodium vapor fixtures in places like arenas and convention centers? I am not looking for “they make my girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife look like crap,” in case you were wondering…
You can’t dim them! Until now!
Colorado company Wybron (you know, the color scroller peeps) have released some awesome products geared towards solving the problem of giving the big off/on HID fixtures used for general wide-area illumination some control. Now, it’s really not geared JUST for the big general illumination sources – we’re talking about ANY arc source that needs intensity control – Source Four HIDs, film and TV HIDs – anything that doesn’t have dimming/dousing control can now have the luxury. Wybron also manufactures a shutter unit that fits nearly all entertainment and film fixtures to give the HIDs more control over intensity.
The mechanical dimmer/douser and iris units also have the InfoTrace technology from Wybron so you can get updates on what’s going on with the gear, and troubleshoot accordingly. Also, no dipswitches – remote addressing!
The Eclipse Iris:
The Eclipse Shutter:
From the product page for Wybron’s product page on the dimmer/douser unit:
The Eclipse IT Iris, a motorized iris dowser, fits nearly every sports, theatrical, and film lighting fixture. For arc source fixtures that can’t be dimmed electrically, using a mechanical dimmer like the Eclipse Iris is the only option.
Lighting legend George Izenour designed the mechanism for NBC more than 50 years ago, and Wybron later added modern coatings and DMX control to the strikingly innovative design.
The configuration of the Eclipse Iris provides incredibly smooth transitions from open to closed, and when it’s fully open, no fins block the field of the luminaire.
The InfoTrace technology gives the user a ridiculously awesome amount of information about the equipment in the InfoTrace system – for example:
- Know the condition of equipment before, during, and after a show
- Remotely set DMX addresses from the safety of the deck — no more setting DIP switches manually
- Immediately receive an alert if a lamp goes out
- Track lamp duty cycles to predict lamp failure
- Predict maintenance on equipment
The mechanical dimmer/douser units also have a wide range of sensors:
- Unit Temperature Sensor: Measures and reports the temperature within the center panel.
- Voltage Sensor: Reports the fixture’s voltage level.
- Pass Through Current Sensor: Measures the electrical current passing through the XLR connector wiring harness.
- Unit Current Sensor: Measures the amount of current a unit consumes.
- Timers: Tracks how many hours the unit has been operating since its last maintenance cycle.
- Fan RPM Sensor: Monitors fan.
- Aperture Light Sensor: Detects if the fixture’s lamp is on.
- Self Test Mode: Mode that moves the gelstring without any DMX input command.
- Reverse Polarity Protection: Shuts down automatically if scroller is plugged into a Coloram II power supply.
Okay, this is awesome. Architectural lighting designers as well as entertainment lighting designers, are you paying attention?
Check out the Eclipse IT Mechanical Dimmer/Douser Iris and the Eclipse IT Shutter from Wybron.
Thanks, Jennifer!
