Red_Carpet
Member
Hi all,
Again, this old chestnut raises its head. (sorry to all those who find this boring).
This time I am on a near-to-zero budget.
CUE LIGHTS
I am in the position again to create some new cue lights for a travelling Dramatics Group.
The stage and the control-desk are always in different places so no Permanent wire trunking etc.
Their requirements are.. 3 x (different coloured) Cue Lights with a controller for the Lights & Sound Controller on the control-desk.
These guys want the old-fashioned "one-light cue-light" version. i.e. ON=GET READY, OFF=GO
The cue lights should be a type of 12v bulb on a small mount (like a piece of wood) may be a car indicator (Red, orange or green) (These I already have in my stock).
The normal (and maximum) distance between the lighting box and the stage (cable distance = 50 meters) (line of sight = 30m).
Now, I want a nice control box with 4 good lit(*) switches 1=Mains and channels 1-3 . (* they need to be lit so the operator knows if the button has been pressed)
So from what I have researched, I see the options to transmit between Control-Box and Cue-lights are 1) cable or 2) RF
RF Option
I do not want to use those awful faffy hand-held RF remote-controls - I want a good strong control-box. ( I am not enough of a competant electronics-electrician to de-contruct a hand-held remote-controller either.)
I do not want to use the kinetic wall switches to transmit an RF signal as they are too large and do not light up.
I do not want to use an app on a smart-phone.
I could use and arduino-microcontroller and a multi-channel-RF-transmitter to send a RF signal when a button is pressed (but I would rather not)
Maybe 3 large-ish project boxes with and 12v-car-indicator lamp on the top with an RF receiver inside - however I also do not want batteries anywhere near this project.
So perhaps a cue-station-box (sited by the stage) plugged into the mains with three cables coming out of it with three pygmy-bulbs on a block of wood (Looks are not 100% important at the moment.) Inside this cue-station-box would hold a transformer to power the 3-channel RF receiver-relays and the three 12v bulbs.
Pros:
More Hi-tec,
more flexible.
Cons:
I can't find the RF rcvr and transmit modules.
More expensive if I use a micro-controller:Arduino etc
Cable Option
This would be the easiest but not very hi-tech!. Just run a master multi-core cable from control-box to three separate lights (maybe with a cue-station-box splicing the multi-core to a two cable system to power the lights).
I would use mains switches with mains powered pilot bulbs on the control-box.
Pros:
Easier to wire up
Cons:
Lots of cable
more expensive
Summary:
I think an RF option would be good but I have trawled through the net and can't find something suitable.
Anyone got any ideas or thoughts.
Thanks very much
Again, this old chestnut raises its head. (sorry to all those who find this boring).
This time I am on a near-to-zero budget.
CUE LIGHTS
I am in the position again to create some new cue lights for a travelling Dramatics Group.
The stage and the control-desk are always in different places so no Permanent wire trunking etc.
Their requirements are.. 3 x (different coloured) Cue Lights with a controller for the Lights & Sound Controller on the control-desk.
These guys want the old-fashioned "one-light cue-light" version. i.e. ON=GET READY, OFF=GO
The cue lights should be a type of 12v bulb on a small mount (like a piece of wood) may be a car indicator (Red, orange or green) (These I already have in my stock).
The normal (and maximum) distance between the lighting box and the stage (cable distance = 50 meters) (line of sight = 30m).
Now, I want a nice control box with 4 good lit(*) switches 1=Mains and channels 1-3 . (* they need to be lit so the operator knows if the button has been pressed)
So from what I have researched, I see the options to transmit between Control-Box and Cue-lights are 1) cable or 2) RF
RF Option
I do not want to use those awful faffy hand-held RF remote-controls - I want a good strong control-box. ( I am not enough of a competant electronics-electrician to de-contruct a hand-held remote-controller either.)
I do not want to use the kinetic wall switches to transmit an RF signal as they are too large and do not light up.
I do not want to use an app on a smart-phone.
I could use and arduino-microcontroller and a multi-channel-RF-transmitter to send a RF signal when a button is pressed (but I would rather not)
Maybe 3 large-ish project boxes with and 12v-car-indicator lamp on the top with an RF receiver inside - however I also do not want batteries anywhere near this project.
So perhaps a cue-station-box (sited by the stage) plugged into the mains with three cables coming out of it with three pygmy-bulbs on a block of wood (Looks are not 100% important at the moment.) Inside this cue-station-box would hold a transformer to power the 3-channel RF receiver-relays and the three 12v bulbs.
Pros:
More Hi-tec,
more flexible.
Cons:
I can't find the RF rcvr and transmit modules.
More expensive if I use a micro-controller:Arduino etc
Cable Option
This would be the easiest but not very hi-tech!. Just run a master multi-core cable from control-box to three separate lights (maybe with a cue-station-box splicing the multi-core to a two cable system to power the lights).
I would use mains switches with mains powered pilot bulbs on the control-box.
Pros:
Easier to wire up
Cons:
Lots of cable
more expensive
Summary:
I think an RF option would be good but I have trawled through the net and can't find something suitable.
Anyone got any ideas or thoughts.
Thanks very much
Last edited: