# Ariel Davis Dimmer Distro



## MNicolai (Sep 8, 2008)

Here's a thread, special request by Derek, of a nice antique piece of equipment we've had in our stockpile for awhile. It's an old Ariel Davis portable dimmer pack. The original wiring had dry rot, was underrated, single phase, and generally bad news. We don't use it as a dimmer pack anymore though, just a straight power feed. To accomplish that our electrician replaced the wiring on it, which only costs about $1500 for the new wiring, the feed from the transformer in the room we use it in, and the materials, of which the plug alone was ~$400. It's now a 3Ø/4W/120V/100A portable piece of heck. Personally, I wouldn't have had it rewired, but as it's the property of a school, purchasing a proper distro wouldn't have been in the budget. For your viewing pleasure though, I have photos!

[-]Michael Nicolai's Photos - Ariel Davis Power Distro | Facebook[/-]
[Mod. note: Pictures in post #35 below.]

Considering the wiring it had when I looked at it with my electrician, I'm very surprised it was ever able to get a UL listing.


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## derekleffew (Sep 8, 2008)

I really think that for $1900 you could have bought something more suitable. What happens if someone moves one of the handles below 100%?

Come to think of it, I *have* built a 24x20A 200A 3Ø 120/208VAC Wye Edison PD, with volt- and ammeters, for less, (not including labor).


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## MNicolai (Sep 8, 2008)

The modifications to the unit were one thing. A lot of the cost was simply getting the feed into the room we needed it in. The decision for it to be rebuilt was above me, I was just the guy who went to the electrician and made it happen.


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## Sony (Sep 8, 2008)

I would have rather used some Mini-Cam-Loks (E1015) instead of that thing...would have been cheaper and you could use the wall receptacle for other things when not using the distro, like chain winches or a small rental dimmer pack. I don't think I've seen that type of plug anywhere else except on a yacht and some cooking equipment in the cafeteria at my college. 

Like Derek said...you could have probably spent just slightly more and gotten a modern distro.


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## MNicolai (Sep 8, 2008)

Forgot to mention, the dimmers are still functional, it can still be operated as a dimmer pack, we just don't use it as one. Our big party trick is hooking up 15k christmas lights to it though and doing fun stuff. 

The cost of rebuilding the unit is almost irrelevant though. The wiring is still good if our electrician got ansy and wanted to take that wiring and use it on a distro that's worth our time. It had to operational for about four days days last December, so it's not exactly something we use frequently. However, it is a subject I'll be talking about with the electrician in a few weeks; we have to discuss the future of some old equipment in the same pile as this. He says there's 300A available there in total, but because of the way it's setup, we can only access the power behind the seven 120V/20A breakers. He's the one who has a budget to do something about it, so I'll see what he wants to do, but if he ever wants anyone to be able to tape more than 140A on it, then he'll need to replace it or change it up so that it can handle those sorts of loads. If that much is changing though, he'd be better off taking the new wiring off it and hooking it up to something else rather than modifying that unit any further. I put a lot of it in his lap, because the choir uses it for a single day of the year, plus three days of lead time for setup and rehearsals, so he needs to be able to justify purchasing or creating a new distro through his own creativity of thinking how something like that could be used elsewhere, for more than a gig that lasts four days and is only done every other year. Of course, by the time we get that in-depth, we start discussing the possibility of going LED, and then we stop to ask why we would even need that much power. It's this whole logisitical mess, and I consider the fact it was rebuilt a temporary solution.

Oh yea, and the people who had the authority to make demands on what kind of power feed they needed, are in their 70's and are very narrow-minded, so they don't care what happens long term, so long as they can turn on everything they need to be able to, and they also don't explain themselves to the people doing the work and paying for their problems, so it's hard for our electrician to say, "Well if that's what you want, you could consider going ______ route for a better solution."


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## derekleffew (Sep 8, 2008)

Sony said:


> ...I don't think I've seen that type of plug anywhere else except on a yacht and some cooking equipment in the cafeteria at my college. ...


The "pin and sleeve" connector is actually common for portable power distribution (especially in hotel ballrooms and exhibit halls), but seldom used for stage lighting. See the glossary entry (when it's working again) "Expo Plug."


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## Sony (Sep 8, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> The "pin and sleeve" connector is actually common for portable power distribution (especially in hotel ballrooms and exhibit halls), but seldom used for stage lighting. See the glossary entry (when it's working again) "Expo Plug."



The last exhibit hall I was in was the Rhode Island Convention Center for Digital Overload 2008. They used mostly used E1016 Cam-Loks from what I could see...but I guess it all depends on the venue. Some places like Cam-Loks and some places like Pin-Sleeve, it all depends on what the building designers prefer. The last place I saw an Expo Plug (or at least something similar) personally is on the Ferry going from Martha's Vineyard where my parents live to Falmouth, MA. They use a larger version (about 4" in diameter) for their Shore Power connection.

EDIT: Since some people seem to be misunderstanding me and sending me nasty PM's... I am not saying that Derek is wrong... I am merely stating I've seen more Cam-Lok's then I've seen Pin-Sleeve type connectors in my experience. I apologize, I may have worded it improperly (is was frackin 3am give me a break)...I've reworded it since then to be more clear.


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## STEVETERRY (Sep 8, 2008)

Sony said:


> I would have rather used some Mini-Cam-Loks (E1015) instead of that thing...would have been cheaper and you could use the wall receptacle for other things when not using the distro, like chain winches or a small rental dimmer pack. I don't think I've seen that type of plug anywhere else except on a yacht and some cooking equipment in the cafeteria at my college.
> 
> Like Derek said...you could have probably spent just slightly more and gotten a modern distro.



Err....I don't see how E1015 mini Cam-Loks would be useful here:

1. Code prohibits use of single-conductor cable below#2AWG in size in 520.53 (H)(2).

2. The biggest wire that will fit in an E1015 is #4AWG.

3. You cannot simply peel back the outer jacket of a multiconductor cable and install E1015's on the inner conductors, since then you do not have an extra-hard usage cable required by 520.68(A)(1).

All in all--the pin and sleeve connector was the right choice. However, IMHO--the wrong choice was not consigning that piece of equipment to the dumpster. But take heart--it's still not too late to do that!

ST


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## derekleffew (Sep 8, 2008)

STEVETERRY said:


> ...All in all--the pin and sleeve connector was the right choice. However, IMHO--the wrong choice was not consigning that piece of equipment to the dumpster. But take heart--it's still not too late to do that!


Gee, if only some manufacturer offered an economical DMX controllable switching system. 

Or this one.


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## STEVETERRY (Sep 8, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> Gee, if only some manufacturer offered an economical DMX controllable switching system.
> 
> Or this one.



Yup, that's the one.


ST


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## STEVETERRY (Sep 8, 2008)

MNicolai said:


> Here's a thread, special request by Derek, of a nice antique piece of equipment we've had in our stockpile for awhile. It's an old Ariel Davis portable dimmer pack. The original wiring had dry rot, was underrated, single phase, and generally bad news. We don't use it as a dimmer pack anymore though, just a straight power feed. To accomplish that our electrician replaced the wiring on it, which only costs about $1500 for the new wiring, the feed from the transformer in the room we use it in, and the materials, of which the plug alone was ~$400. It's now a 3Ø/4W/120V/100A portable piece of heck. Personally, I wouldn't have had it rewired, but as it's the property of a school, purchasing a proper distro wouldn't have been in the budget. For your viewing pleasure though, I have photos!
> 
> Michael Nicolai's Photos - Ariel Davis Power Distro | Facebook
> 
> Considering the wiring it had when I looked at it with my electrician, I'm very surprised it was ever able to get a UL listing.



BTW, I took another look at those photos. You have a serious safety problem with the open slots below the breakers. There is a potential shock hazard here.

I suggest you get rid of that thing on safety grounds alone.

ST


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## MNicolai (Sep 8, 2008)

Don't worry. Now that's been used for it's emergency, "We need 200A of power, 10 days from now," use, it's sitting in a pile of old equipment that later this month will be up for review between the electrician and I. My recommendation is to save the wiring we just retrofitted into it, and toss the dimmers. If there's a need for a proper power distro then, we'll purchase a proper power distro, or as an electrician, he'll make something, which he has mentioned as a possibility before. Too many people waited too long to address the issue of needing a power feed last December though, and because of short notice, this was all that could be arranged or an entire show that had been in the works for 4 months would've had to have been canceled. Now there's another 15 months to prepare for the next gig, and this time I hope everything can be done the right way.


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## Chris15 (Sep 9, 2008)

Could someone please let me know how this "pin and sleeve" is different to cee form?

At first glance, you have another issue with that distro. A 4 pin plug... What's it missing, Neutral or Earth? Both are important for 90% of what our industry does, chain motors are one of the few exceptions...

And it's the wrong colour cee form for that application, Red cee is for 380 - 415 V AC, you should be using blue for the three phase voltages at play in the states...


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## derekleffew (Sep 9, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> Could someone please let me know how this "pin and sleeve" is different to cee form?


Physical size and ampacity, primarily. Pin and sleeve are available in sizes from 30A-125A. CeeForm seem to come in 16, 32, and 63A. For CeeForm info, see this BlueRoom Wiki entry, and IEC 60309. (Who knew they had a wiki also?) In the US, I only see CeeForms on European equipment, primarily on the video walls of XL Video, sometimes on Barco projectors. VLPS used to use Yellow and Red for their chain motor control and power, respectively. We always called them the mustard and ketchup connectors; it seems the red should have been blue.


Chris15 said:


> At first glance, you have another issue with that distro. A 4 pin plug... What's it missing, Neutral or Earth? Both are important for 90% of what our industry does, chain motors are one of the few exceptions...


The plug as pictured is 120/240 single phase. Hot, hot, neutral, ground. Perfectly valid.


Chris15 said:


> And it's the wrong colour cee form for that application, Red cee is for 380 - 415 V AC, you should be using blue for the three phase voltages at play in the states...


MNicolai's plug is Orange, the proper color for his application. Leviton appears to use: yellow for up to 125V; Blue 250V; Org 125/250V, Red 480V, Black 600V. See Leviton 60 and 100A Pin and Sleeves. With the exception of orange, the colors and purposes match.


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## Sony (Sep 9, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> Could someone please let me know how this "pin and sleeve" is different to cee form?
> 
> At first glance, you have another issue with that distro. A 4 pin plug... What's it missing, Neutral or Earth? Both are important for 90% of what our industry does, chain motors are one of the few exceptions...
> 
> And it's the wrong colour cee form for that application, Red cee is for 380 - 415 V AC, you should be using blue for the three phase voltages at play in the states...



Color coding is different in the US then it is in Europe and Australia. Also in the USA it is completely legal to combine the earth and neutral conductors.


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## Sony (Sep 9, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> The plug as pictured is 120/240 single phase. Hot, hot, neutral, ground. Perfectly valid.



MNicolai said that the box is now a 3PH/4W/120V (I actually think he means 3PH/4W/208V) system, which lends me to believe that it is not Hot, Hot, Neutral, Ground (A.K.A. 2PH+N+E.) Instead it is Hot, Hot, Hot, with a combined Neutral and Ground (A.K.A. 3P+E.) I may be wrong...maybe MNicolai could clear this up.


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## fredthe (Sep 9, 2008)

Sony said:


> Also in the USA it is completely legal to combine the earth and neutral conductors.


I'm not aware of any part of the NEC that allows combining earth and neutral conductors for anything involving a plug. Can you cite a specific part of the NEC that allows this?


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## Chris15 (Sep 9, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> Physical size and ampacity, primarily. Pin and sleeve are available in sizes from 30A-125A. CeeForm seem to come in 16, 32, and 63A. For CeeForm info, see this BlueRoom Wiki entry, and IEC 60309. (Who knew they had a wiki also?) In the US, I only see CeeForms on European equipment, primarily on the video walls of XL Video, sometimes on Barco projectors. VLPS used to use Yellow and Red for their chain motor control and power, respectively. We always called them the mustard and ketchup connectors; it seems the red should have been blue.
> 
> The plug as pictured is 120/240 single phase. Hot, hot, neutral, ground. Perfectly valid.
> 
> MNicolai's plug is Orange, the proper color for his application. Leviton appears to use: yellow for up to 125V; Blue 250V; Org 125/250V, Red 480V, Black 600V. See Leviton 60 and 100A Pin and Sleeves. With the exception of orange, the colors and purposes match.



Ceeform can definitely be had in 125A varieties; I've wired them. I believe they are also available in 200, 250 and 400A varieties.

If, and there is some debate as to this,it is only 2 phase, then that would be kosher. Just because such a thing is rarely if ever seen out side the US...

Orange... not in the international standard as noted, and so I have no idea on it... Again if it is the 3 phase I read initially, it is problematic.


Sony said:


> Color coding is different in the US then it is in Europe and Australia. Also in the USA it is completely legal to combine the earth and neutral conductors.



I presume you are eluding to colours of plugs & sockets, which Derek seems to think match bar this orange wierdness...

Um, if it's completely legal in the states to combine N&E, then it's a wonder you don't lose more people to electrical deaths. It also UTTERLY defeats the purpose of a MEN system... It will probably also be very noisy...


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## STEVETERRY (Sep 9, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> Ceeform can definitely be had in 125A varieties; I've wired them. I believe they are also available in 200, 250 and 400A varieties.
> 
> If, and there is some debate as to this,it is only 2 phase, then that would be kosher. Just because such a thing is rarely if ever seen out side the US...
> 
> ...



Err...combining neutral and ground is only allowed with certain types of equipment (electric stoves, for instance) in residential applications.

ST


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## Sony (Sep 9, 2008)

STEVETERRY said:


> Err...combining neutral and ground is only allowed with certain types of equipment (electric stoves, for instance) in residential applications.
> 
> ST



Well in that case, ether MNicolai is wrong and it isn't a 3PH/4W/120V system and it's a Split-Phase 240vAC. or the electrician wired it wrong...I'm just trying to make sense of what MNicolai said. He said it was 3PH/4W/120vAC...the only way for that to work would be with a combined Neutral/Ground. I know there are some instances where that is allowed like you said with stoves and such. My boss also says it's allowed in commercial applications and we have opened up the main panel at the PAC I work at and that is how it is wired (Both the Neutral and Ground Bus Bars are bolted to the Panel without any insulation.) So something here is amiss...ether neither of us are wired to code, or something.


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## Sony (Sep 9, 2008)

Chris15 said:


> Um, if it's completely legal in the states to combine N&E, then it's a wonder you don't lose more people to electrical deaths. It also UTTERLY defeats the purpose of a MEN system... It will probably also be very noisy...



Electricity always takes the quickest path to the earth, if Earth and Neutral are combined together and grounded properly using a sufficiently large grounding rod then the copper will always have less resistance then a person and won't electrocute anyone. A lot of systems, especially in remote area's use a single wire system where power is provided by a single wire and then earth is used as a neutral conductor. Granted commercial applications can be quite a bit different...


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## cdub260 (Sep 9, 2008)

Sony said:


> Electricity always takes the quickest path to the earth, if Earth and Neutral are combined together and grounded properly using a sufficiently large grounding rod then the copper will always have less resistance then a person and won't electrocute anyone. A lot of systems, especially in remote area's use a single wire system where power is provided by a single wire and then earth is used as a neutral conductor. Granted commercial applications can be quite a bit different...



The grounding conductor serves one purpose only, and that is not to bring the electricity back to the ground. That purpose is to trigger the Overcurrent Protection Device when a short or ground fault occurs in an electrical system. Also, contrary to "conventional wisdom", electricity does not take the path of least resistance. It takes all available paths.

I would recommend that you spend some time studying Article 250 of the NEC, which covers grounding, and perhaps take a course in grounding. I would recommend Mike Holt's course on Grounding vs. Bonding. I took his course at the Electric West convention in February, and I found it very informative.


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## avkid (Sep 9, 2008)

STEVETERRY said:


> Err...combining neutral and ground is only allowed with certain types of equipment (electric stoves, for instance) in residential applications.


Neutral and ground should be bonded in the service panel only. (250.24B) NEC 2008


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## dramatech (Sep 9, 2008)

Oh by the way, the dimmer that is pictured was for it's time, 1951 thru approximately 1962, the hottest "state of the art" dimmer of it's kind. I worked for the Ariel Davis factory the summer that I was 16 (1956). My high school and my church had that same system.
I just built a dimmer system for Florida Southern College, that replace a console containing three of those 6 output autotransformers. The system was built in 1953 and was still working in perfect order.
Yes, it is dumpster material, but it is also easy to make fun of equipment that was built before you were born. When it was in it's prime, It was a lot easier to control six 2400 watt dimmers with those sliders than to use the big rotary handles.


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## STEVETERRY (Sep 9, 2008)

dramatech said:


> Oh by the way, the dimmer that is pictured was for it's time, 1951 thru approximately 1962, the hottest "state of the art" dimmer of it's kind. I worked for the Ariel Davis factory the summer that I was 16 (1956). My high school and my church had that same system.
> I just built a dimmer system for Florida Southern College, that replace a console containing three of those 6 output autotransformers. The system was built in 1953 and was still working in perfect order.
> Yes, it is dumpster material, but it is also easy to make fun of equipment that was built before you were born. When it was in it's prime, It was a lot easier to control six 2400 watt dimmers with those sliders than to use the big rotary handles.



Guys, I'm sorry for the following blunt comment:

Can we please stop wasting time over a completely obsolete piece of junk that has undergone a completely ill-advised and unsafe rewiring, and should be in the dumpster in the next 10 seconds? I feel like this thread has stolen an hour of my life that I can never recover!

Surely we have bigger fish to fry!

Get rid of that Frankenstein thing, now!!

ST


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## MNicolai (Sep 9, 2008)

Sorry for the confusion, 3 phase, 4 wire, and _we're_ pulling 120V out of it one way or another. How it is exactly wired, I do not know. My electrician took care of it, it worked, and we didn't ask questions. I'm sure it's wired properly; for the amount of money we spent getting the feed from the transformer, he certainly would not skimp on the quality of his wiring job. He's an extremely safe electrician who would rather yell at us and tell us we're crazy than do something under pressure.


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## derekleffew (Sep 9, 2008)

With today's copper prices, that "thing" is worth more today than any time in the past forty years.


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## Sony (Sep 9, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> With today's copper prices, that "thing" is worth more today than any time in the past forty years.



haha, true tale! 

My boss found some old 6 Channel Analog Dimmer packs somewhere...they are from the 1970's and are fried all to hell (someone but 15 amp fuses in where 10 amps were specified then proceeded to overload it.) He still wants to fix them and use them...I don't know why. We don't need them...we have 192 Stand C-80 Dimmers


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## fredthe (Sep 9, 2008)

MNicolai said:


> Sorry for the confusion, 3 phase, 4 wire, and _we're_ pulling 120V out of it one way or another.



I agree with ST - throw it out NOW

As you describe it, it is using a common neutral/ground. If that connection through the plug was ever flaky or bad, someone WILL likely get killed.

Just because something is OK when permanently wired doesn't make it safe (or legal) with a plug in the middle.

-Fred


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## cdub260 (Sep 10, 2008)

MNicolai said:


> Sorry for the confusion, 3 phase, 4 wire, and _we're_ pulling 120V out of it one way or another.



3 phase, 4 wire is intended for powering three phase motors on industrial machinery. It was never intended for providing 120 volt power. If you intend to continue using this piece of equipment, it needs to be converted to either a single phase, 4 wire service, or a three phase 5 wire service. As it is currently set up, this piece of equipment is inherently unsafe, and should be taken out of service immediately.

One other thing. If your electrician thinks this set-up is acceptable for running 120 volt branch circuits, you need to think about getting another electrician.


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## derekleffew (Sep 3, 2010)

I thought some might enjoy the brochure advertising the device in question when it was new.
The Davis Consolette. (Use of the suffix "-ette" used to be quite popular: leatherette, dinette, portolet.)


LIGHTING ARTISTRY with ARIELITE® "par excellence", 1960-1961 Edition, Ariel Davis Manufacturing Company, ©1960.

The Davis Jr. was a more "portable" version, offering similar functionality at reduced capacity.

If only stagehands looked like that today! Va-va-va-voom!


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## dramatech (Sep 3, 2010)

Thank you Derek, I am 69 years old, worked for Ariel Davis the summer I was 16, born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and used nothing but Ariel Davis dimmers during all of my young life, until mid twenties. I had never heard of, or seen a Davis Jr. Dimmer pack. Wow! what enlightenment. I would love to know how many of those things were ever built

Tom Johnson
Florida's Most Honored Community Theatre


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## derekleffew (Sep 5, 2010)

I thought you'd like that, Tom. As for how many units of the Davis Jr. dimmer were sold, I doubt very many. After all, it incorporated a newfangled material--fiberglass!

For posterity, some more information, from the SML archives:

> NP> Can anyone tell me the manufacturer and model?
> 
> Because I am slow to respond to e-mail, I note that the instrument has
> already been identified as one of Major's EXAL series ellipsoidals,
> ...


More about how Ariel Davis Manufacturing became Electrol Controls is in the footnote in the wiki article Electro Controls. If we don't start writing this history down, it's going to be lost forever, as so much already has.


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## dramatech (Sep 5, 2010)

Thank you Derek for that piece. The last part answered something that has been driving me mad, as I have read the many threads on CB.
Explanation: for five years I travelled with a number of ice skating shows. I would build the skating rink on theatre stages for small shows that visited medium sized cities in minor markets. I was always a day ahead of the show, allowing time to build ice. Once I had the retaining floor and chilling coils down and was making ice, I would have a bit of time between every spraying. I loved to wander around the theatre and see what type of lighting and sound equipment they had. In turn, I could inform the lighting person what type of board he had to work on, when he would arrive early on the morning of the show. Needless to say I ran into some very interesting control boards. In Redding California, I found an older 2 scene preset board that I was not at all familiar with. It had Major, Salt Lake City, Utah. Having been born and raised in SLC, I thought that I knew all of the Salt Lake dimmer manufactures. The thing that was even more troubling was the fact that It had all the smackings of an Ariel Davis/Electro Control product.
In following the many valuable theads on CB, everything that mentioned "Major" was about equipment, that surely wasn't from Salt Lake.
The attachment that you included in your post, explains that really well.

Tom Johnson
Florida's Most Honored Community Theatre


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## MNicolai (Jan 22, 2012)

Some links in this thread to photos have become broken, so I'm giving them life again. Photos are of our Electro Controls slide-patch system, and our Electro Controls "portable" dimmer system. "Portable" in quotes because it weighs about 200lbs.

The slide-patch system was gutted during a renovation in 2008, but the portable dimmer system is still kickin'. We never use it, but for the greater good one of these days it should be dismantled for the greater good of humanity. Last I saw it, both the slide-patch and the portable pack were sitting on a pallet somewhere in the dark depths of the basement.



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr


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## MNicolai (Jan 22, 2012)

The gutting of the slide-patch system was part of a $65,000 renovation of our "Little Theatre". Here are some before/during/after photos of that renovation. Getting rid of that piece of history was definitely necessary for us to advance our the quality of our events. Now, we're selling out cabaret dinner-and-a-concert performances every few weeks. Only seats ~85 people in that configuration, so it's not a big money maker, but it's fun, makes us a little dough, gives the students a chance to design their own lighting, and helps bring in new audiences.

You have no idea how hard it is convincing a school district to tear out the seats from their theatre and go with portable seating. Of all of the work I did on this project, that was my hardest task -- convincing them to spend $20k on new seats. Now they look back at it as one of the best decisions they've made.

(by the way, thanks to Spencer Lyons @ ETC for lending me the Selador fixtures used for Metamorphoses, two of which are Vivid-R's that are in use below the surface of the water through some crafty scenic design)



Pre-renovation. by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Little Theatre Renovation by smoke-test, on Flickr



Metamorphoses by smoke-test, on Flickr



Metamorphoses by smoke-test, on Flickr



Metamorphoses by smoke-test, on Flickr



Metamorphoses by smoke-test, on Flickr




Copper Box by smoke-test, on Flickr



Copper Box by smoke-test, on Flickr



Copper Box by smoke-test, on Flickr


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## JonCarter (Jan 22, 2012)

dramatech said:


> Yes, it is dumpster material, but it is also easy to make fun of equipment that was built before you were born. When it was in it's prime, It was a lot easier to control six 2400 watt dimmers with those sliders than to use the big rotary handles.


 
Hear, hear, Dramatech! Ran lots of shows on a plant having four of these things side-by-side. Very easy to do dimouts with a yardstick! And if you're on a budget, it ain't "dumpster material" if it works and does the job.


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