Cold Light Logocam Control
By Michael Gerasimov

To understand how these or those fluorescent lightning control methods are realized and to have an opportunity to compare their advantages and disadvantages, it is necessary to know how the fluorescent lightning are made.

Voltage-current characteristic of fluorescent lightning has drop-down character that is why for lamps work stabilization it is necessary to use starting regulators (SR). In professional television equipment electron starting regulators (ESR) are used, in international terminology they are called electronic ballasts. In lamps with regulated light flow more difficult ESR systems are used. These facilities have controlling clamps with the help of which lamps brightness can be regulated in two ways: to provide clamps with permanent voltage in 0...10 V interval or to include the variable resistor on defined nominal value between them.

All of the created cold light control systems are based on the mentioned opportunities.

Many companies offer wide model row of lamps: uncontrolled, controlled by analogous signal, with DMX control. Besides some companies add separate model with hand control, but the majority of companies apply hand control on lamps with other regulation types. In the majority of products the hand control is realized with the help of variable resistor.

The ideology of making of Logocam lamps would be right to call module. If it is necessary to have an opportunity of brightness control the based model U-Light 110/220/330/660 Dim is required. Then (depending on what control protocol is best in that case) it is necessary to add corresponding module. You can buy, for example, converter DMX-analog (Logocam U-DMX) offered by the Logocam Company, which is fixed in the lamp body. This facility provides hand brightness control. Besides Logocam offers so called Manual Unit, which is electron facility that can be connected to any facility of U-Light Dim series. It connects to entry control cutoff point and provides hand control of lamp's brightness.

As to recommendations about control choice, it is useful to remember the following rule: if it is about not big studio facility with small amount of equipment, than it is difficult to find better than analogous control way. However in big studio with significant amount of equipment DMX system allows to get rid of wires web. In case when it is necessary to give the order of fast changing scenes, especially with bright short flashes, the ideal decision is to use computer with special DMX board instead of control panel. Such principle is comfortable by the fact that the user always has the freedom in choosing. If he decides to switch from analogous to control to more convenient DMX protocol, it is not necessary to buy new lamps and to make new communication, it is enough just to add few additional blocks and in few minutes it is possible to work over the new protocol. Logocam luminariers control opportunities are mentioned in the table.

Logocam provides the series of uncontrolled lamps U-Light and series of lamps with controlled light protocol U-Light Dim on the market. The facilities if last series are equipped with two cutoff points of XLR control: entry plug and outlet socket. The analogous signal of 0...10 V should be provided on the entry and the cutoff point prong is "-" and second is "+". Presence of entry and outlet cutoff points allows connecting few lamps to one control channel by connecting outlet of one lamp with entry of another. However it is necessary to be careful here as the length of connecting cable cannot be more than 3 m, and total lamp quantity connected to each channel should be more than twenty. It is due to some peculiarities of fluorescent light control.

CA series console

Besides it is necessary to remember that phase control dimmers for halogen light can not be used for fluorescent lightning brightness control.

"Proland Distributions" Company.

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