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Thread: lighting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    chesterfield uk
    Posts
    466

    Default lighting

    hi all
    just thought id have a chat about all of the lighting equipment i have in case anyone is interested.
    over the years i have built up a collection of lighting equipment that is very impressive (for a MOBILE DJ).
    i started off with an njd datamoon, only one and decided i wanted to be a lighting engineer.
    i then wanted to make the show look better and better so went out buying lighting equipment. i decided to purchase another datamoon to equal things out and bought a set of 2.
    then i thought i wanted more control of my lighting equipment so i bought a chauvet dmx 50 lighting board. at that time i didnt have any dmx lighting so i also purchased a chauvet intimidator.
    i started to really enjoy making the show look better and better. i wanted to get an effect that would wow the audiance so i decided on a laser.
    the one i choose was again a chauvet called a scan i think.
    it used 2 spinning discs to create geometric patterns.
    it wasnt what id hoped for and looked for something a little better and found it in the s69.
    when i first purchased this i loved it. the effects looked amazing to me as i had never seen a laser with galvos.
    i then thought i had all the lasers i needed and started purchasing more dmx lighting equipment. i bought 2 acme schimitars and was so impressed bought 2 more. then i saw an ebay auction selling 4 chauvet intimidator for £250 which is an amazing prive as they are £130. i snapped them up but didnt have anything to hang all of the lighting off. i decided on a goal post lighting rig and this made the show look amazing.
    i then saw another ebay auction selling 4 shimp dl11 laser a large flight case and 2 led spots for £250 plus postage. i thought this was a good price so bought them too. once i got them i decided it was an amazing price as the dl 11 were really smooth and did stable flat pans.
    i was very imoressed and loved my purchase.
    i yet again saw an ebay auction selling 2 chauvet yoke lights for a bargain price and had to buy them. the only snag was one was faulty. once i recieved the lights i got it out of the box and both worked fine. very impressed as they were a rediculously low price.
    this was all being controlled from a dmx 50 lighting board and was not good at dooing this so i bought a velleman interface and a piece of software called freestyler which is amazing.
    then i went on a bit of a laser bender. i wanted an rgb system and decided on the rgb f2000. this was a huge thing for me as i had never spent this amount of money on lighting equipment before. i bit the bullet and ordered it and oh boy was i amazed when it arrived.
    it was so smooth and controlled that i nearly fainted. and i loved the different colours.
    over time though it started to frustrate me as the only colour that was bright was the green and i could have bought a much better green projector for alot less money.
    in fact thats what i did next. i bought a 200mw green me 30k scanner laser. this was the cream of the crop to me. i absolutly love this light and so i bought another one. it cost about £300 with the postage and boy is it worth it.
    i bought a dac and software package off ebay for them called i show which is ok but im going to update soon i think
    i used it the other day at a small local festival at the pub my mate works in and everyone was amazed. it was an outdoor thing and the beams were very visible with a slight amount of smoke from my hazer.
    i am now in the process of building a 1watt laser system with power rating of
    300mw 532nm
    250mw 473nm
    450mw 635nm
    the scanner set i am using is the 20k scanner set from lasershow parts.
    i cant wait to get building this thing as im waiting on the order at the moment.
    thanks everone who reads this and please leave comments
    oli

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    1,896

    Default

    I too am interested in various lighting stuff, and by far, the laser is a bit hit!

    My first ever light was the "Wild Blaze" by Geni, and that was a pretty awesome light when I bought it. I then bought the USB DMX pro, and used Freestyler to control the RGY laser I boght off ebay. I eventually bought a intimidator 1.0 and then 2 LED pars. The intimi's lense is broken, and i'm not sure how i'm going to replce it yet, so its sitting away in the cupboard. I then upgraded my RGY stepper scanner to a 140mw green only, 20K scanner, which will soon have an additional ~600mw red added.
    I have done a few concerts and performances etc myself, mainly school disco's, but there is a concrt I run mah laser at every year, funnest one there is!

    Welcome to PL

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    chesterfield uk
    Posts
    466

    Default lens

    by lens im guessing you mean the one that focuses the beam. if its this you mean im guessing chauvet would supply one pretty cheap. i smashed a mirror on mine and just went to the local glass makers and asked them to make something up for me. this might be something to look into.
    also other lighting effects use the same size lens on the top and you may be able to hunt one down pretty cheap and use the lens off that.
    cheers for your post
    glad to hear other people with similar interests.
    oli

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    SOUTHAMPTON U.K.
    Posts
    1,357

    Default

    Sold off my lighting gear, but had the following-

    6 x TAS Mini Ultrascans (MSD 200)
    4 x Clay Paky Mini Scan (HTI 150)
    4 x Starlight Mk5 (MSR 1200)
    4 x Abstract Twisters
    1 Martin Supermoon (modified to take HTI 150)
    1 x Quasar 15KW strobe
    4 x Deathstar 2KW strobes
    4 x 400W UV cannons

    And about 2 KM of cable.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    chesterfield uk
    Posts
    466

    Default re

    nice setup

    if you dont mind me asking why did you sell it all?
    i know what you mean about cables. i have hundreds of leads. iv got about 40 dmx leads alone. its daft.
    cheers for your post mate
    oh just to make an addition i bought 4 acme dynamos and 2 smart ssx scans but they dont get used much as they aint too great. i also have an acme hazer hp line and a 2k strobe. not a patch on you 15k one though mate

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    1,896

    Default

    Any lights you wanna offload, throw em my way :P

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    East Sussex, England
    Posts
    5,248

    Default

    I'd advise that if you want to progress from mobile discos to proper rental, stop buying the Acme/Chauvet/etc stuff and invest in proper discharge fixtures from reputable brands. Buying decent 2nd hand lights from reputable brands is always better than brand new 'disco' brands. Look at Robe, Martin, Clay Paky, some Futurelight (old Robe OEM stuff and some of the newer stuff is ok), Optikinetics, etc You'll get decent spares backup and support, even on old outdated fixtures.

    Some of my current kit:
    6 Robe 250xt scans
    4 Futurelight 575 DJ scans
    10 Martin Destroyers
    2 MArtin Punishers
    8 Opti Solar 250's (lots of effects! )
    4 Stairville 1500w stobes (with mod chip http://www.hoelscher-hi.de/hendrik/e...pimpstrobe.htm )
    8 10mm LED Par64's
    14m of Mode Arcline strobe tube
    2 Stairville 1500w foggers (surprisingly durable and v. good value for money)
    Chamsys MagicQ running on PC wing with 15" touch screen

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    chesterfield uk
    Posts
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    Default re

    agree that its cheaper stuff mate but i aint looking at renting it out. to be honest i would like some martin fixtures but its very expensive for a mobile dj to afford and not really practical. over time im constantly updating and i am only 21 at the moment. i do wanna setup a lighting company but i feel i am a little too young to start with business and all that.
    at the moment i am updating my laser stock to good high quality hand built units. this is the start of me building my good quality stock up.
    at the moment i run a 1000 person event i set up every year and the lighting stock i have does a really good job of lighting it.
    for the price the effects i have really are fantastic. the quality is not as good but they are really effective. especially the intimidators and my 2 200mw lasers running ilda.
    to be honest i have never seen a mobile dj with the lighting stock i have and regually take out so for now im happy.
    cheers mate oli

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    East Sussex, England
    Posts
    5,248

    Default

    I'm not suggesting that you go out and change your stock over, I'm suggesting that as you choose to acquire more bits, look for the better brands. As an example, I've not paid more than £60 each for any of my Destroyers, £70 for the Solars, the most expensive of the Robes was just over £200.

    I also had Chauvet stuff when i started, and it depreciated and ate lamps (250w halogens) far quicker than i'd have liked. The stuff i have now is worth virtually as much as I paid for it still, so its also a more sound investment

    The other bit of advice i'd give anyone into lighting is to buy lots of the same effect rather than 2 of this and 2 of that. Lots of things all the same look much more impressive, even if they're not great effects.

    E.g. 8 cheaper scans doing clever sequences will always look better than 2 higher spec effects.

    The other thing is the desk (which i suppose ties in with the other thread). imho you're better off using cheaper lights on a good desk than a crap desk running good lights as you simply can't make the most of them with a simple controller. Being able to grab 8 lights and add 2 or 3 different fx to various attributes within a few seconds is essential to being able to run an exciting lighting show (again imho) Look at those big parcan matrixes you see sometimes. Simple lights, but a clever controller makes a very impressive look. Yes you may be able to achieve the same look eventually using a cheaper controller, but the time factor may just be too prohibitive.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    1,896

    Default

    I remember when I had to do lighting for a school concert, they had a crappy 8 channel DMX desk for me to control my LED pars. The response time was total crap! If I had to sink a show to music using that, i'd give up instantly....

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