rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft

On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:43:30 -0000, David McCall
wrote:

> You would probably get away with it because the voltage at zero is pretty
> small.

WEll with most dimmers over 10 years old it's 240V.


> However, it would certainly be considered bad practice by anyone here.
> As long as the circuit is connected, there is a always the possibility
> that
> the
> circuit could become live and hurt someone. I would have the lamps
> connected
> to a dimmer, but have an easily accessable conection off stage that
> could be
> unpluged before anyone had to touch it. Being Am-dram, I might have the
> person that could be in danger pull the plug personally before he enters
> if he is off stage at the time.
>
> Did you really mean to say 50 volts? I'm from the other side of the pond
> and have never heard of mains power at 50 volts. 250 is more likely.
>
> David
>

50V secondarys are quite common


> "Bob Nixon" <@> wrote in message
> news:$@...
>> Hi all
>> Like to pick your experienced brains
>> I am an Am-dram SM and we are in the UK doing "Absurd Person Singular
>> Alan
>> Ayckbourn " There is a point in the play when the female character is
>> constantly trying to sincerely commit suicide by various means other
>> characters mis-read her actions as her struggling to do something
>> One action is to climb on the table with a rope (washing line) to attach
>> the rope to the light flex in order to hang herself, to accomplish this
>> she removes the lampshade and bulb having already turned off the power
>> at
>> the wall switch [There has to be two fittings so that one remains "on"]
>> She then ties the rope at the top of the flex and pulls twice and it
>> holds
>> However on the third pull it slides down the flex and pulls off the bulb
>> holder exposing the bare wires, Someone misunderstanding her action
>> thinks
>> she is trying simply to change the bulb and offers to do this realising
>> the bare wires he tries to refit a bulb holder but he is very poor at
>> doing this and someone comes in and not thinking turns the power back
>> "on"
>> so giving the man an electric shock
>>
>> My question
>> 1) The light fitting needs to originally be operational (How can I
>> secure
>> the bulb holder so that it will be sufficiently attatched to safely
>> operate correctly and light the bulb BUT loose enough to be pulled of
>> easily when she pulls the rope first time after the third pull (ie pull
>> 1
>> + 2 hold, then pull three pulls off bulb holder at one pull)
>>
>> 2)WHAT VOLTAGE WILL THERE BE AT THE bulb when the LX operator pulls the
>> fader to zero ( Our LX guys very experience amateur operators /
>> designers
>> feel the will be virtually no voltage not enough to give a shock (we are
>> on DMX system)
>> I feel it is unsafe, but don't want to cause unrest and loss of
>> friendship
>> and trust not knowing the correct situation first However If my theory
>> is
>> correct I will make the safety first decision and over ride their ideas
>>
>> We have a 50v system with 50v bulbs could this be attached to the DMX
>> channel as a switch rather than dimmer circuit.
>>
>> Sorry for long winded question
>
>

Use a 12V bulb (you can get them in mormal gls sizes) & an isolating
transformer or lose the bulb holder to the grid & use a dummy flex.