Turning of Fixtures

[TalJ]

Hi,

This question might really by stupid, as there is probably a really simple solution to it...but here it goes anyway:

I am using freestyler to control 4 scanners in my school theater. The scanners are fixed at the top of the grid, 8 meters above the stage, and the only way to reach them is to climb some ladders.

When I was putting all this together it hit me that I don't have a way to remotely turn off the fixtures.
I decided to plug the scanners into a seperate power line that has a on/off switch, and run it into the booth from where I can control it.
So basically i'm leaving the power switch on the fixtures ON, and switching the power outlet to them OFF when I am shutting down the theater.

Please tell me that the manufactureres thought about this...there probably is another way to turn them ON/OFF, maybe through DMX?

Thanks in advance,
TalJ

[remco_k]

Some intelligent fixtures have a 'lamp off' function* in their DMX protocol. I think that especially high power intelligent fixtures (like >500W) have this functionality and should be used before unplugging power.
You should have a look at your fixtures manual, if it can turn off its lamp and how you can control that. Then you might be able to turn off the lamp, but not the entire fixture, so it will keep using up useless power. You have to cut the power few minutes after you've turned off the lamp.

I think that for most intelligent fixtures just unplugging the power is not a problem at all. Because many fixtures don't have a 'lamp off' function in their DMX protocol and with many fixtures their inbuild power button also completely cuts off the power.
To be shure, you can check your fixtures manual, because I can imagine that some fixtures still need some active cooling after the lamp is shut down. When you unplug the power hard like you do and your fixture is not build for that, then there could be some damage over time. So check that, just to be sure.
I do mobile lightshows with several rented equipment, and when I'm ready there is no other way to turn off the fixtures then just unplugging the power. The fixtures I use don't have a lamp off function, and unplugging the power is the same as turning the fixture off by its inbuild power button, what exactly does the same. So I guess you are okay the way you do.

* with 'lamp off' I mean that the actually lamp is going off, not just that the shutter gets closed.

[TalJ]

Thanks alot!