rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft

"Duncan Wood" wrote in message
news:@lucy...
> 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.
>
If you are talking about the potential when there is no load you may well be
right on?
Good point. If you had a dummy load on the dimmer you could alter that,
right?

>
>> 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
>
Very interesting.
Under what conditions would you find 50v?

>
>> "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.