My Lighting Rig And American Dj Led Par 64 Pro

[MintyDave 0]

I have recently finised sorting out my pre wired light rig and have saved a good 30 minues plus on setup and knock down. The rig is the single goalpost bar from the giraffe 4' stand. Originally the bar was about 8' long and to start i cut it down to 6' to fit in my van. I have a IEC block to connect lights into secured on the centre on the bar with a 10m iec lead supplying power.

 

I have mounted an acme miracled in the middle with 2 acme scanners either side of that with iec and dmx cables measured and made. all wires are clipped up and for small gig/venues thats all i use. The bar fits in a solid box in the van and its literally a case of dropping in onto the stand, connecting the mains supply and its ready to go. Adding a ca-8 controller gives some basic control.

 

For bigger gigs i add 2 extra lights (gobo flowers) and with the power and dmx cables in place its simply hang and connect - a 2 minute job. Ca-8 controllers give basic control until i get round to full dmx control from a desk. with a couple of led par cans on the floor i am happy with the effect of my rig for all of my regular venues. If a full 10' goal post rig is required i just need to drop the lights off leaving the cabling in place. Overall the rig is very tidy with minimal cable visibility and certainly no dangling cables. a couple of right angled iec and xlr plugs will make it even better. Must post pictures asap

 

I have just recieved my new american dj led ar 64 pro cans with elation led controller and would like to share my views. OK they have only done 1 gig but i had loads of time to set up and experiment and tried everything.

 

the cans have dmx in out, a euro plug as standard on a 1m flex. The addressing sysytem is digital as opposed to dip switches which makes setup very easy when you get to know the display. They work in 3 6 and 7 channel dmx modes as well as stand alone with static colour, colour change, fade cycle, auto cycle (mixture of colour and fade) ,sound to light and master slave (comrade comrade for those who are that PC). You can easily control fade speed chase speed and brightness from the menu system.

 

I use the cans with the elation led controller whcih is a small simple to use dedicated controller built specifically for led par cans. You need to set the cans on 3 channel dmx mode to use this controller. With the unit you can have hands on control of the following features. Colour change using the 8 preset buttons, Manual Colour mix using 3 sliders, master fade, 16 chase patterns with control over chase speed, strobe with adjustable speed control and black out. In addition you can record your own chase sequencies and use the sync (tap) button to follow bpm.

 

Last night i used them at a wedding in a church hall. The venue had strip lighting with 1 switch and as without lighting it was too dark the cans were extremely usefull. I set them up on the stage (on floor) shining them on the white ceiling. The venue was flooded with light and the master fade ensured it wasnt too intense. At buffet time i opted for a lighter colour for people to see what they were doing and during a dance set had them running with the track bpm.

 

Overall im very impressed and as smoke machines are banned in many venues they offer a great overall effect. The cans come with a filterframe and i understand a diffuser gel is available to give a better view from the front.

 

Drawbacks - the floor cans are not ideal for hanging on a rig due to their bracket size. Thay are large but lightweight. The controller lacks sound to light and have yet to figure out if you can do an auto colour fade as opposed to colour change. Some of the dmx sockets feel a bit weak and 1 in particular is difficult to plug into. The internal sound to light is a bit erratic and i wouldnt use it.

[Robster 0]

MintyDave

i would like to thank you for the time and effort of writing this mini review. I am thinking of going the LED par can route with a controller and i am very interested in real world set ups. I use a 4ft giraffe stand myself.

 

This sort of information is brilliant , the reason why i visit this type of forum ..so i can gain practical , useful information that will benefit my business.

 

Thanks once again and please update us on any further experiences / changes you make..sounds a nice set up matey

 

 

Thanks

Rob

[MintyDave 0]

MintyDave

I am thinking of going the LED par can route with a controller and i am very interested in real world set ups. I use a 4ft giraffe stand myself.

 

As i said the brackets are too big to hang on the rig but am considering getting something smaller

This sort of information is brilliant , the reason why i visit this type of forum ..so i can gain practical , useful information that will benefit my business.

 

Thanks once again and please update us on any further experiences / changes you make..sounds a nice set up matey

Thanks

Rob

 

Glad to be of assistance. A little bit of work in advance and not a great expense has saved me a lot of time (especially when wedding meals have overrun and your setup time has been slashed) and makes for a tidy setup. wires for me have always been a bug bear.

 

I cant stand to see single t bars with odd lights and wires wrapped up like spaghetti - not the best image when we are trying to raise the profile of the profession - but thats just me and my obsession with symetry but i appreciate its all that can be used on occasions and not everybody has an integrated stand

 

Dave.