I'm about to throw down some cash to buy 20 Par-56's for my back truss. I am touring with a band, will be hitting a different show each day. But as usual, the cheaper, the better. What dimmer pack do you guys suggest to power all these guys?

I will only need 4 channels. White Red Blue and Purple.

Again, this will need to be a DMX dimmer pack, as I'll be daisy chaining off of my intelligent lights.

The number of channels will be determined by the type of bulbs you intend on putting in the 56's.

I took a quick look through the ADJ's dimmers, and they look to support only 600 watts per channel max (maybe I just missed the higher-powered ones, but I didn't see them). I do know there are other dimmers out there than can support more power per channel (I use dimmers that support 1200 watts per channel).


Regardless, you'll probably end up with more control channels/more dimmers because if you want to put 300 watt bulbs on the truss, and 500 watts in the front wash, you need the dimmers to support such power requirements.

Plus, having the cans split up into more channels, you can thin-out or thicken your scenes so everything is not on at the same time. Also, you can make better chases. Think about it,

Best,
-Tech

I already have 8 DYS Bulbs, these are 600 watt bulbs. These par cans are going to be lifted pretty high in the air, the concerts will be for crowds over 1,500 and more.

I'm in the process of buying the 20 par cans for the back truss where I'll need the dimmer pack

What I'm saying is, one dimmer pack is not going to work for 20 par cans.

If you put 600-watt bulbs in 20 par cans, you have a total of 12000 watts of power. If you divide that up by 4 channels, like you say, you will require 3000 watts of power per dimmer channel.

Regular dimmer packs usually cannot support that many lights on a single channel without blowing a fuse.

Since most of the dimmer packs available through ADJ only support 600 watts per channel, you can only put one par can on a single channel, thus you will need 5 dimmer packs to support 20 cans.

You may be able to find other dimmer packs out there that can support 1200 watts per channel, but with 600 watt bulbs in the lights, you'll still need 3 dimmer packs to support all 20 cans.

just as tech said.........

nicely worded

Check out the DPDMX 20L!!

The LCD is nice.

Though it still only supports 600 watts per channel.

20 Pars.....

If you are careful with your programming you can run it all on three dimmer packs.....

For example...

Use 16 cans for your downstage wash.
Divide the cans into 2 zones.... Outside cans and inside cans. Put 2 cans on each channel.... Program scenes with your controller that doesn't use more than 2 channels on a dimmer on at once.

Use the last dimmer and four cans for top drum fill.

I use this same setup at my venue with 20 pars and three dimmers. As long as you are careful with your programming, you are golden. Your entire back truss will run off of three 20amp circuits. I use a DMX operator to control the lights, it leaves no room for error.

Your channel layout will look like this:
1: Red (outside 2 cans)
2: Green (outside 2 cans)
3: Yellow (outside 2 cans)
4: Blue (outside 2 cans)

5: Red (inside 2 cans)
6: Green (inside 2 cans)
7: Yellow (inside 2 cans)
8: Blue (inside 2 cans)

9: Red (drums)
10: Green (drums)
11: Yellow (drums)
12: Blue (drums)

13: Red (downstage left front)
14: Green (downstage left front)
15: Yellow (downstage left front)
16: Blue (downstage left front)

17: Red (downstage right front)
18: Green (downstage right front)
19: Yellow (downstage right front)
20: Blue (downstage right front)

NOTE: The DP-DMX 20L is rated at 10amps (1200 watts)per channel with a maximum of 20 amps (2400 watts) total per pack. One pack can handle 4 cans at full or 8 cans at 50%. These packs totally rock.

All,

We also make a 6 channel pack that offers up to 1200 watts per channel- "DP-640". The DP-640 incorporates two A.C. power cords that are each fitted with 15 amp Edison plugs. The 15 amp plugs can be upgraded to 20 amp plugs to offer a total of 20 amps or 2400 watts per circuit. Each circuit powers three channels on the pack. In addition, each channel can individually be set to switch or dim, each channel can accept individual DMX addresses, digital display, adjustable master and channel dim level settings and panic dip switches. You can view the product page through the link supplied below.

DP-640 Link